by Lola StVil
“You wanna try again?” East says, studying his emotions.
“Okay, I have three kids and two ex-wives,” the Seller says.
Easton signals to Aaden that the Seller is lying yet again. Aaden summons a fireball with his other hand. He now has two fiery orbs ready to go. The Seller suddenly finds himself rethinking his previous statement.
“Okay, okay. I have no kids and my ex-wife pays me alimony. Happy?” he says.
Easton sneers at him.
“Hey, don’t look at me like that. I am a businessman—a businessman with a big gambling problem and a bookie that doesn’t take IOUs,” he replies.
“I don’t really want to kill you, but in the past few hours, I’ve had to do a lot of things I didn’t want to do,” Aaden warns him.
“How about you give him a reason not to hurt you?” Swoop says.
“For starters, I know who the Architect is,” he reminds them.
“What’s your name?” Diana asks.
“Orkin,” he says.
“Well, Orkin, since you tried to get us killed, we’re going to need a little more than just the identity of the Architect. We will need his exact location,” Diana replies.
“That wasn’t part of the deal,” Orkin protests.
Aaden holds his hands high above his head and lowers the orbs of fire down onto Orkin’s face.
“Okay! Okay!” Orkin begs.
Aaden stops just inches away from making contact with the Seller’s skin. The Seller gets up and dusts himself off.
“All I wanted was to make a little money from you guys. And then make a little more money from the demons who wanted your location. I knew they wouldn’t kill you guys. I always had faith in you,” he lies.
“Orkin, start talking—as if your life depends on it,” Swoop warns.
“Alright, alright. For starters, the Architect is not his real name.”
“Yeah, we kind of figured that,” East says sardonically.
“His real name is Apex, and he has been around for a long time,” Orkin says.
“Apex. I know that name,” Dylan says.
“I figured you would, historian,” Orkin replies.
“We can get the history later. Right now, we need to know what he looks like and where we can find him,” Aaden says.
“Can you describe him?” Diana asks.
“I can do better than that. We had dealings a few years ago, and I keep a log and a picture of everyone I do business with. I have his picture right here with me. I can give it to you—for a small fee,” Orkin says.
Before the team can respond, Dylan disappears and reappears behind Orkin. He snatches the picture from him with ease.
“Hey! That’s my property. You can’t—” Orkin is in the middle of bitching when the building starts to shake. Without warning, the ceiling collapses.
“Guys, get out! Get out!” I shout as if they could hear me. But it’s too late, the ceiling falls and crushes the team—or it would have had it not been for Aaden holding a large slab of the concrete up above his head.
“Hurry!” Aaden says between clenched teeth. The team grabs Orkin and races towards the exit. They make it out of the factory just as it crumbles to the ground. Everyone has escaped except Aaden. I don’t see him anywhere.
“Where are you? Aaden, I can’t see you! Where are you?” I shout frantically at the screen. The team is also freaking out. They search the area but see no sign of the second-in-command.
“Silver! Silver!” Swoop shouts at the mountain of rubble. Swoop and the rest of the team turn over large chunks of debris, hoping to find Aaden under it. But the search is cut short when the ground cracks open and the entire block starts to shake.
“Up there!” Dylan says as he points towards a figure looming in the sky. Argh! I know that asshole! He is Stone, a highly skilled demon with the ability to manipulate earth.
“We gotta get out of here!” Orkin says.
“Why? Don’t you and Stone have an agreement? Didn’t he pay your greedy ass to betray us?” Swoop accuses.
“No! I didn’t take money from him. Apex sent him. He must know what we’re doing here. We have to go!” Orkin begs.
“Not without Silver!” East says as the ground continues to shake uncontrollably.
“Do what you want, but I’m getting on my Port and—” Orkin is struck by a large slab of concrete. It hits him with such force it splits his head open, killing him instantly. Dylan grabs hold of Orkin’s collar and shakes him furiously.
“No! Don’t die! Where is Apex? Where is he?!” Dylan begs.
“Dylan, he’s gone. We have to find Silver,” Swoop yells.
“Diana and I will take on Stone. The rest of you stay down here and look for Silver,” East says as he takes off into the sky. Diana quickly follows behind.
Aaden, where are you?
As the team looks for Aaden, I turn my attention to the battle in the sky. East gets the lasso around Stone and, together with Diana, manages to drag him out of the sky. But as soon as he’s on solid ground, Stone naturally has the advantage. He summons the surrounding tree branches and makes them come to life. He silently orders them to ensnare Diana and East. The two of them struggle to break free but have no luck.
Stone pulls the lasso from his waist before it can drain his energy. He discards it and continues to strangle East and Diana. Dylan finds a rusty, jagged piece of metal a few feet away. He grabs it and disappears. When he pops up again, he’s in front of Stone. He stabs the demon in the eye, causing him to lose control of the branches. Diana and East quickly free themselves.
“I found Silver!” Swoop shouts.
Please be alive. Please be alive.
“Is he okay?” Diana shouts as she runs towards him.
“He’s alive, but I can’t move him by myself,” Swoop says.
“Hang on!” East says as he ties his lasso around Stone’s neck. This time he knots it repeatedly so that it stays on and saps all of Stone’s strength. Stone is still howling in pain from Dylan’s attack, making East’s job easy. Once Stone is bound, they all run over to Swoop and Aaden.
Aaden managed to make it out of the building before it fell, but the blast propelled him right into a rusty spike. The jagged metal went right through his left leg and took a large chunk of flesh with it. The team tries to help, but when they lift his leg and try to separate it from the spike, Aaden groans and a flood of blood oozes out of him at an alarming rate.
“No! He’ll bleed out if you remove the spike,” Diana says.
“What do we do?” Dylan asks.
“Whatever it is, we need to hurry. Stone called for reinforcements,” East says as he directs their attention to the swarm of demons in the air, heading straight for them.
“Go! Take off!” Aaden growls.
“No! We’re not leaving you. We’re gonna pull your leg off the spike,” East insists.
“If we do, he will bleed way too much. He could die,” Diana says again.
I can feel my heart leaping into my throat. I’ve never been this terrified in all my life, not once. I want to turn away from the screen, but at the same time, I’d kill anyone who tried to separate me from what’s happening.
“Diana, we have no choice. He might die from blood loss, but he will certainly die if the demons get to us. We are outnumbered. We need to go,” East reasons. Meanwhile Aaden keeps ordering the team to leave him behind.
Thankfully the team ignores his pleas and yanks the spike from his leg. I ball my hands in a fist in front of my mouth and bite down on the tip of my tongue. The blood oozing out of Aaden’s leg seems to flow forever. By the time he is finally free, the demons are a breath away. With no more time left to spare, the team helps Aaden take to the air. Stone regains his powers, and together with the other demons, they call upon the city to cave in on itself. Denmark crumbles into an avalanche of dust.
As soon as the team arrives, the Healers quickly attend to Aaden. They assure us that they can fix him up. Dylan flies of
f to see what he can find out about Apex. He’s positive that now that we know his real name, we should be able to learn more about him. The team tells me how sorry they are that they didn’t bring Orkin back alive. But I remind them the mission was a success.
“Pry, we still don’t know where to find Apex,” Swoop reminds me.
“No, but we know who he is and what he looks like. We got this. I know we do. You guys did so well. I’m so proud of you.” They smile, and I can’t help but smile back.
The fact is, for the first time since this awful day started, we actually have something to celebrate. The team got out alive, and even though we don’t know where Apex is, we know who he is and what he looks like. For once, the Noru catch a break.
It’s about damn time!
I stand in his hospital room, watching him sleep. Knowing that he’s laid up from an injury, however minor, reminds me of just how much I love him. And how losing him would absolutely end me. I want to crawl in bed with him just to be next to him and hold him close. But I don’t dare because I’m not sure what his reaction would be. What if he pushes me away? What if there simply isn’t enough space on the bed for both our issues and us?
I knew that we wouldn’t be in the “honeymoon” stage forever. I knew we’d argue about one thing or another. But I was hoping it would be something minor. Something like us not spending enough quality time together or whose turn it is to pick the movie we watch. Yeah, I know, that would never be a real issue with us. Honestly, I thought working with beings we used to date would be our big issue. But I’m getting along with Diana, and right now, I’m pretty sure Aaden likes Bex far more than he likes me.
I want to talk to him, but I feel like no matter what happens, we’ll end up arguing. Maybe I should give him some time. Or maybe I should confront the issue? Argh! How am I supposed to know what’s the right thing to do? Where the hell is the instruction manual? My mom and dad argued but not very often. They had so much drama when they were dating that by the time they got married, they had already been through so much, very little rattled them.
Did Aaden and I get married too soon?
I don’t feel like we did. If I had it to do over again, I’d do the same damn thing. Maybe I should wake him up and tell him that. I should tell him that he’s my world and we can fix whatever is broken with us.
According to him, I’m what is broken…
Panic and worry settle over me. Suddenly I’m not sure being here is the right thing. I turn around and slowly begin to exit my husband’s room.
“Where are you going?” he says as he opens his eyes.
Crap!
“I…I thought you should rest,” I reply.
“I’m fine,” he says.
“Good, good,” I reply, then I clear my throat and look around the room and avoid his eyes.
“Where’s the team?” he asks.
“Dylan went to do some research on Apex. Diana went to Mrs. Maybelle’s to check on Nix. And the Healers are examining the rest of the team. We should find out who Apex really is and why he hates us, soon,” I reply.
“Okay. How…I mean…what did the head Healer say about you? Are you okay?”
“She has one more test to do, and then she’ll come see me,” I inform him.
“How are you feeling?” he asks.
“Great!” I reply with the enthusiasm of a cheerleader. Argh, why did I say it like that?
“So in other words, you’re still feeling weak?” he says.
“Yeah, a little,” I confess.
“Are you taking the mixture the Healer made for you?”
“Yes, I’m being a good little patient. Turns out I’m good at a lot of things—well, except being a good wife. I’ve apparently failed at that, dismally.”
Shit! Why did I say that? Why couldn’t I just let it go? Maybe he won’t take the bait. Maybe he’ll let it go.
“I never said you weren’t a good wife,” he says.
“Oh, you’re right. You just said that I am incapable of love,” I reply.
Pryor, shut up! Shut up! Please, Omnis, let him be more mature than me; let him move on to another subject so we don’t have to talk about this.
“Did Bird get a chance to check up on RJ?” he asks.
Great! He’s changing the subject…wait! Why is he changing the subject? So, what, he doesn’t want to talk about it? I know why I don’t want to talk. He hurt my feelings and said some really awful things to me. But why doesn’t he want to talk? Hey, I should be the one who doesn’t want to talk, not him!
Pryor, does it matter? He’s giving you a way out of a conversation you both don’t want to have. Let it go.
“So you really don’t want to talk about us? Seriously?” I snap.
So much for letting it go…fuck!
“Are you sure you want to do this now?” he asks.
No!
“Yes,” I reply out loud.
“Okay, well, I don’t.”
“I’m new to this marriage thing, but I’m guessing the two beings in the relationship have to talk things out at some point.”
“I’m sure they do, just not now,” he says curtly.
“Seriously? So, what, now you get to dictate how our marriage will work?” I bark at him.
“We don’t have enough going on? We aren’t nearly as far ahead as we should be on this mission—”
“Don’t do that! Don’t act like we’re not talking because of work. We’re not talking because you decided to ice me out.”
“No, we’re not talking because I don’t know what to say to someone who is okay with dying. Someone who puts everyone’s feelings aside and only focuses on her goal.”
“Is that really what you think of me?”
“What else am I supposed to think, Pryor? Tell me, when you ingest something that can kill you and do it with a smile, what the fuck am I supposed to think?”
“So now you’re lying there, sorry that you married me? Is that what you’re saying?” I demand.
“No, I’m not sorry I married you. But I am sorry that I’m not the leader of this team. Because if I were in charge and I commanded you not to swallow the Sive, you would have heard me and done what I asked. And it pissed me off to no end to know that the only way I can get through to you is to be ‘official’ about it. Why can’t I have a say with you as your husband?”
“So because we’re married now, I have to blindly do what you say? Is that what I’m supposed to do?”
“NO! WHAT YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO DO IS NOT MAKE ME HAVE TO CUT YOUR DAMN CHEST OPEN IN THE MIDDLE OF A WAREHOUSE!”
“I said I’m sorry.”
“Stop saying that! You don’t think I know you? You think I can’t see that you’re lying to me?”
“I am not lying. I told you already I am sorry for what happened. What else do you want me to do?”
“You’re sorry? Okay. Let me ask you this: If we could somehow go back, if we could be in the warehouse, holding each other, and you had a chance to change what you did, would you? If you could go back and leave the Sive in my pocket, would you? Or would you do the very same thing?”
I don’t even need to think about it. I know the answer even before he’s done with the question. What’s worse is that he knows what my answer will be.
“Pryor! Would you do the same thing all over again? Would you swallow the Sive?” he demands.
“Yes…yes, I would.”
“Look, I love you. I really do, but right now…I just want to be alone.”
“Aaden—”
“Pryor, I need you to go.”
I nod slowly, lower my head, and start to walk away. But just as I place my hand on the doorknob, a thought occurs to me. I walk back to Aaden and speak my new revelation softly.
“You have every right to be angry with me. I made your worst fears come to the surface. Hurting you may have been the result, but it was never the goal. I wanted something for us, something more than missions, grief, and bloodshed. But you were right, it
wasn’t just about us. There’s someone else I thought about when I did what I did, and no, it’s not Diana,” I inform him.
“Who is it, then?” he asks.
“My father. He gave me the middle name of someone he loved and cared about. He said my having their name meant they would also live on. When I was a kid, that made absolutely no sense. Ever since my dad died, there’s been this hole inside me. Some days, the hole is as wide as an ocean; other days, it’s the size of a pinprick.
“But no matter how small it got, it was always there. It stayed with me every minute of every day. But then you told me about Summit. And suddenly, I got it. I understood what my father was talking about. Naming our child—even our make-believe child—after something he believed in meant my dad would somehow live on. Then I found out about the virus, and it was like I was losing him all over again. And I couldn’t let that happen. I couldn’t lose my dad twice.”
I can feel a lump forming in my throat. The more I talk, the more my voice trembles. I force myself to stay calm. I am not going to break down now, that’s not the point of this conversation.
Aaden looks at me. He’s torn between his concern for me and his ever-present anger for what I did.
“We don’t have to talk about this now,” he says, looking away.
“Yeah, we do. I need to clear the air. You told me how you felt about what I did. And now, I want you to know how I feel,” I reply, regaining a steady tone.
“Okay, fine,” he mutters.
“You told me that I broke you today. That may be true, but you broke me years ago. You took large chunks of my heart with you every time you disappeared without a trace. You knew I loved you, yet you traveled the world, sleeping with everything and anything with wings. Every girl I heard about, every one-night stand tore me apart.”
“We weren’t together then,” he reminds me.
“Do you think that made it hurt less? You knew I loved you. And you loved me. You knew where you should have been—with me. But you weren’t. You used sex and distance to try to make everything okay. Every girl you were with and every mile you put between us crushed me.”
“Pryor—”
“I’m not done. When we finally got together, your past caught up with you—with us. And suddenly, you were going to be someone’s father. That’s not an easy mixture to swallow, believe me. But I learned to love Sparks and I learned to care about Diana. The truth is you could have come with a hundred kids and I would be okay with it because they are part of you. I made space for you in my heart and in my life. I accepted you and your past, even though that past kept biting me in the ass. When we got married, I thought I would finally have you all to myself, but I was wrong. I lost you again. I lost you to your other love.”