by Lola StVil
“Is that what you tell yourself at night so you can sleep better?”
“Randy—”
“Marcus, he was your kid and you threw him away. And as someone who has also been thrown away, I can tell you that it really sucks. Maybe Malakaro had to be this dark in order to survive the cruel world you left him in.”
“I made sure he had a good family and that he had everything he needed.”
“YOU ARE WHAT HE NEEDED! YOU COULDN’T LOVE HIM AND BE THE FATHER HE NEEDED BECAUSE YOU WERE TOO WEAK!”
The First Guardian leaps to his feet, grabs Randy by his shirt collar, and lifts him up off the floor with one hand. Randy dangles in the air and tries to release himself from Marcus’s hold. It’s no use; the First Guardian’s grip is absolute.
“Marcus Jason Cane. Release him. Now,” Emmy orders. Marcus glares at Randy and makes no attempt to let him go.
“MARCUS!” Emmy yells.
Her husband blinks rapidly as if trying to snap himself back to reality. He slowly places Randy back down on the ground.
“I wonder where Malakaro gets his evil streak from,” Randy says as he swallows hard and straightens out his shirt. Marcus has great restraint because I would have knocked him out for sure by now.
“Randy, you have heard Jason’s side of things, but you haven’t heard what Marcus has to say. You came in here ready to judge him the same way you accuse Marcus of judging. You have questions, then ask. But understand two things. One, Marcus doesn’t owe you an explanation. He’s talking to you because he cares about you.
“The second thing you need to remember is that this is my home. We love you and you are welcome here. But like everyone who enters my home, you will be respectful. The same rules we have for our kids, we also have for their friends. You can ask questions. You can seek answers, but you will do so respectfully or exit my home. Do I make myself absolutely clear?” Emmy says, sounding extra official.
“Yes,” Randy replies.
“And Marcus…try again,” she says in a warm but firm tone.
The First Guardian rakes his hands through his hair and sighs deeply. He picks up the fallen chair where Randy once sat. Randy sits down again, but his eyes dart back and forth between Marcus and the exit. He may have been a little afraid to walk into the living room, but after what’s happened, he’s downright terrified. Yet, to his credit, the human summons up the courage to stay in the room.
“What is it you want to know?” Marcus says, forcing himself to stay calm.
“What happened with the two of you? What did he do that was so bad?” Randy dares to ask.
“Every time I visited Jason, there were more and more troubling occurrences. I didn’t let that stop me from seeing him, but as time went on…Jason couldn’t process what it meant to be good. He had no empathy. No remorse. No soul. I wanted to bring him home, but it would have been like taking in a ticking bomb.”
“Did you try to explain it to him? Maybe he would have changed,” Randy suggests.
“Randy, walking away from my firstborn son was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life, both as a human and as a Guardian. I replay that day over in my head every damn night before I Recharge. I look for some sign that Jason could have been different, and the fact is, there is none. You think Jason would have been different had he stayed with us, but have you stopped to think maybe Pryor could have been different? Maybe Sam?”
“No…I never thought about that.”
“Well, think about it. Jason is smart, powerful and clever. Bringing him home meant risking my children’s innocence and, even worse, their lives.”
“Yeah, I guess. It’s just…when your parent just looks at you and says they don’t want you…” Randy’s eyes fill with tears. He blinks them away.
Marcus softens his tone and looks Randy in the eye. “I had made up my mind that I was done with my son because I knew I had to be. But while my head said one thing, my heart…he was my son. He was my flesh and blood. If anyone could save him, it had to be me. So I went back, one last time. No one knew about it. I didn’t even put it in the journals. I went to see Jason at his house.
“I landed on the block where he lived, and there was an ambulance there. I was afraid something happened to him. I rushed over there, but thankfully he was unharmed. I was so relieved I could hardly stand. I then thought to myself, I don’t care what Fate says, I want my son with me.
“But first, I watched the scene play out, trying to understand what took place. That was when I learned just how cruel my son could be. You see, Jason’s adopted family had just gotten him a puppy a few weeks back, named Friday. Jason and the puppy were very close. But the boy next door, Max, also liked the puppy. The reason why the ambulance was there was because Jason called to the puppy and it didn’t go to him. Instead it went to Max, who was walking by.
“Jason used his powers and made the puppy attack Max. The thing is, Max could have survived the attack, it was a small dog. But Jason made sure that the puppy latched on to the carotid artery in Max’s neck. The boy bled out on the sidewalk. Jason saw the whole thing. And while the boy was dying, Jason calmly strangled the puppy. I overheard his adopted mom as she spoke to him, horrified by what had happened. ‘Jason, why did you do that? You loved Friday and he loved you.’ And my son looked at Fate and said, ‘I’d rather be obeyed than loved.’
“That was the last time I would see him as my son. I walked away because I had to. I hope the day never comes when you have to make that kind of decision.”
“He could have killed all of you,” Randy says to himself.
“Yes.”
“Do you regret it?”
“No. But it doesn’t make it any easier to live with,” Marcus admits.
“I just thought maybe there was hope…”
“Randy, there was never any hope. Not with Jason. Please, stay away from him.”
“Mr. Cane, I know you weren’t trying to be the bad guy in all this. But honestly, all the reasons you are listing for why you walked away from Jason are also all the reasons why you should have stayed.”
“I told you there was no saving Jason.”
“We saved Swoop from herself, maybe we could have done the same for Jason.”
“I don’t think that’s possible,” Marcus replies, trying really hard to keep his voice calm.
“But you don’t know that. That’s just my point. We don’t know what he could have been had you stayed. Maybe you are right, maybe he was born bad and nothing could have been done. But maybe, just maybe, had you been around every day for his whole life, he would have changed. You cheated him out of the childhood he was owed. And now he’s a monster, yes. But he’s the monster you made.”
It’s an hour later and we have all gathered at the warehouse. We should go on and discuss what Pry has found to help us with the Malakaro issue, but we don’t. No one here can refrain from looking at Randy. The human shifts his weight uneasily and bites his lower lip.
“Do you guys hate me?” he asks.
“No,” we all reply, too quickly.
“Pry?” Randy asks.
“I don’t hate you, but I am really sick of you getting on my dad. You don’t know what it was like for him. You weren’t there. He tried really hard to make an effort tonight, and you threw it back in his face.”
“Pry, he lifted me in the air by my neck. He could have killed me,” Randy replies.
“You know he would never do that. He cares about you,” she pleads.
“Yeah, I know,” he says.
“Then why were you being such a jerk?” Diana asks.
“I never told you this, but when my mom left, I got arrested.”
“Arrested? For what?” Pry asks.
“I tried to steal a gaming system. I also blew up the garage with some dumb experiment. Oh, and I threw a rock at a cop car,” Randy replies.
“Um…why?” East asks.
“Because I wanted to get her attention. Guys, Malakaro could have started his ‘end t
he world’ thing from anywhere, but he chose here, where his father is,” Randy pleads.
“So you think Malakaro is crying for help?” I ask.
“If so, we should all go right now and hug him. And bring cake. I bet he likes cake,” East teases.
“Very funny. Look, Pry, I didn’t mean to go off on your dad. I guess I’m still kind of mad at my mom. I tried to stay focused and remember I was talking to the First Guardian, but…every time I opened my mouth, things got worse,” Randy admits.
“That’s when you do a little thing called ‘shut the hell up,’” East suggests.
“Yeah, that would have been helpful,” Randy says miserably.
“If you’re still mad at your mom, tell her. But stop taking it out on my dad. I’m serious, Randy. He’s going through a lot right now,” Pry warns him.
“Should I apologize?” he asks.
“I’d wait until he goes back to blinking again,” I reply.
“Pry, you said you found a way for us to get to Malakaro. What is it?” Swoop asks.
“Before we go any further, Randy needs to tell us whose side he’s on,” Pry says.
Randy is about to protest, but we all back Pryor. We remind him that our goal is to kill Malakaro, and if he’s not a part of that, then we are on different sides.
“Can’t we find a way to keep him alive but take his powers?” Randy asks.
“That would be great. Oh, and if we’re not too busy eating rainbows and jumping over cotton candy clouds, we should all hold hands and sing,” East says sardonically.
“Hey, it’s possible that Malakaro can change,” Randy argues.
“WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM!” Swoop snaps at him. We all turn and face her. She’s rarely pissed off. But right now, Swoop looks like she could easily take out the whole city with her rage.
“Swoop, I didn’t mean—”
“He killed my sister—your girlfriend. He killed the only guy I loved. And the father of my child. He tried to kill Pryor’s brother, and let’s not forget about the thousands he’s killed just for the fun of it. What does this guy have to do to show you he’s evil?”
“I wasn’t trying to upset you, Swoop. And I know what he did. I have a hard time with it too. But Key had the biggest heart I know. And I don’t think she would want us to go hating anyone so much—even Malakaro.”
“Well, we should ask Key what she think—oh, wait! Your friend slit her throat!” Swoop barks.
“Okay, enough,” Pryor reasons.
“No, it’s not enough. Randy, you better pick a damn side. I mean it. You can’t be friends with our enemy. You can’t see him. You can’t talk to him. You can’t follow him on Instagram. So just knock that shit off!”
“I don’t agree with the way Swoop worded it, but she’s right. Randy, you need to pick a side. And you need to do it now,” Pryor says firmly.
“Pry, I pick you. I will always pick you,” he says, sounding hurt that she even asked.
“Good. Then we are done with communicating with Malakaro?” she asks him.
“Yes…”
“Good. If I find out you two are communicating in any way, you are off the team. Am I clear?” Pryor demands.
“Yeah,” he says slowly.
“Good. Now Diana and I are onto something.”
“Onto what exactly?” Swoop asks.
“A very powerful poison. All we have to do is coat it on a blade, get close enough to Malakaro, and puncture him with the tip of the blade,” Pry replies.
“He’s too strong for just any old poison. You’ve seen what he can do,” Swoop says.
“Well, this isn’t just any old poison,” Pryor says, signaling to Diana to explain.
“Pryor and I have been searching for something that could reduce Malakaro’s powers long enough for us to take him down. We found something even better—a poison that could suck out all of his natural powers,” Diana adds.
“What’s it called?” East says.
“Black Rain. Once it makes contact with your skin, it cracks it open and out seeps every single drop of natural power you have. You are not only left powerless, but you are weak and can hardly stand let alone fight,” Diana says.
“Diana, if Black Rain is so powerful, why haven’t we heard of it before? Why hasn’t anyone thought to use it on Malakaro? Or any other evil, for that matter?” Swoop asks.
Diana and Pryor exchange a quick, anxious look.
“C’mon, girls, share with the class,” East pushes.
“Black Rain is really amazing. It is by far the most powerful poison in existence. But very few Healers can make it because the necessary ingredient is almost impossible to obtain—venom from the Sapphire Serpent.”
“What the hell is that?” East asks.
“It’s a blue, magical snake with gemstones for eyes. Its fangs are sharper than diamonds, and its skin is made up of a thick layer of acid-like substance. It can eat its way through any material on earth. It’s about the size of a python.
“Although the Sapphire Serpent is very treacherous, the real danger comes from the creature’s mother; she is a mammoth serpentine beast with six heads, the size of a small city. She is more commonly referred to by us humans as Hydra. She is ultra-strong, ultra-fast, and relentless in pursuit of her target.
“But that is when she is in her full animal form. In her half-human form, she is known as the White Lady. In that form she is also lethal, as her breath renders its victims to ash. She stands guard over her serpent children in a valley located in China called Devil’s Backbone.
“Everyone who enters the valley without permission is killed in slow, gruesome ways. However, it is said that if a guest brings the White Lady something rare and valuable, she will grant them passage and permission to collect venom from her serpents.
“Unfortunately, just because ‘mom’ gives permission, doesn’t mean the snakes will give up their venom easily. They store it in a pouch under their bellies. It is nearly impossible to access that area while they are still alive. And needless to say, if you kill any of the White Lady’s snakes…it’s game over,” Randy says calmly.
We all turn to look at him.
He shrugs his shoulders, then smiles. “I’ve been doing my research. While you guys are out in the field, I’m learning as much as I can about the angel world. Research is nerd candy. And I love candy,” he says.
“Okay, so we have to go to Devil’s Backbone and somehow get the White Lady to give us permission to enter her land and collect venom. If she says yes, we would still need to somehow fend off a few thousand poisonous magical snakes and hope we get out with our lives. If she says no, it’s very likely she will impale us with any of her six heads. Did I miss anything?” Swoop asks in genuine disbelief.
“Oh, yes. One more thing,” Diana says carefully.
“Wait! I’m not ready,” East admits. We all look at him as he takes a dramatic breath. “Okay, Diana. Go ahead and put the icing on top of this we’re-all-fucked cake,” East says.
“The Devil’s Backbone is in a small valley wedged between two mountain ranges. The mountain on the right is filled with Fire Swans,” she says.
Fire Swans are a bitch, but we can take them. I’m good so long as she doesn’t say something crazy like “the other mountain is filled with Egons.” Egons are the demonic equivalent of Paras, powerful and hard as hell to fight. They sleep in a nest. The best thing to do is to avoid waking them. But once you wake them, you’re screwed, big time.
Egons look like walking skeletons and have blue fire in their eye sockets. And to make matters worse, the rat bastards are immortal.
“Okay, so the mountain on the right has Fire Swans. What’s living on the mountain range to the left?” East asks.
“Egons.”
Fuck. Me.
Chapter Twenty-Three:
What Matters
We’re all gathered at the warehouse, getting our gear ready for the mission. In addition to the team, we call on Spider because, as usual,
he got us the weapons we needed. As we unpack the items he brought us, Randy is off in the corner sulking. We try to focus on getting ready, but Randy sighs heavily every few minutes. He moans and howls as if someone is actually hurting him. The fact is, he’s fine. He’s just not happy with us right now.
“Oh, for Omnis’ sake, Randy. You can go with us next time,” Swoop says.
“Do you know what this mission means to a fantasy junkie like myself? I mean, the wings are cool and everything but now you guys get to use swords, blades, and a machete! Swoop gets to carry a machete!” Randy says, unable to hold back his excitement.
“The only reason we’re using these weapons is because the mountain with the Egons takes away powers. We need these blades as weapons,” I remind him.
“When did you guys learn swordplay?” Randy asks.
“It’s all a part of our training. In case we go places that drain our powers,” East says.
“First, Pry, I’m hurt that you could take up swords and not tell me. Second, I need to go with you guys because this mission is too cool to sit out on,” Randy counters.
“Well, maybe you should stop being friends with the king of darkness,” East says not so subtly.
“You guys asked me to stay away and I will. Okay, I didn’t last time, but I will, for Pry,” he promises.
“Great, thank you,” Pry says as she gives him a quick kiss.
“We’re glad to hear it; now sign the contract saying so,” Swoop says.
“Really? You guys don’t trust me?”
“We trust you, or at least we try. But sometimes we fail. So help us out,” East replies.
“Pry, do you want me to sign this?” Randy asks.
“Yes. The best friend part of me knows that you mean what you say. But as a leader, I’m afraid you do have to sign,” Pryor adds.
“What happens if I sign it but go see Malakaro anyway?”
“If you see or speak to Malakaro again, you grow a tail and your penis shrinks,” East says casually.