Noru 4: When Angels Break (The Noru Series, Book 4)

by Lola StVil

“So you two just happened to be doing charity work together?” Bex says, not letting it go.

  “Yes,” Hunter says simply.

  “Yeah, right,” Bex says, shaking his head in disgust.

  “It’s just a party. We’re not getting married or anything, relax!” Hunter says.

  “Don’t tell me to relax. The only reason you’re doing this is because you enjoy taking shots at me. You’re a whiny little brat and I won’t let you use Key just to get to me.”

  “I am not trying to get to you.”

  “Bullshit! You always go after what I have,” Bex snaps.

  “From what I understand, big brother, you no longer have her. In fact, you don’t have the super Noru either. So, what exactly is it you’re doing here?”

  “Hunter, don’t,” I warn.

  “I’m sorry, Pry, but my brother is out of line. He can’t tell Key who she can and can’t date,” Hunter says.

  “You’re right. I have no right to tell her who she can be with. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to let you use her as a weapon in this sick little war you insist on waging between us.”

  “Oh, for crying out loud, just unzip and measure already!” Diana snaps.

  “Diana is right. I don’t want to hear this right now. It’s my birthday, and I would love it if we could have some peace. I can’t make all of you get along, but I can order everyone to shut the hell up,” I reply.

  I can’t say that the tension disappeared, but at least it’s quiet. Bex and Hunter avoid eye contact, and the rest of us keep our thoughts to ourselves. I could just wring Key’s neck for taking Hunter to this damn thing. The two brothers have never gotten along. They’ve been like oil and water ever since I’ve known them.

  Suddenly, an idea occurs to me and I whisper it into Randy’s ear. At first he protests, but I beg, and soon he does as I ask. He gives me my present. It doesn’t matter what else I get from Randy, I always require a song because his voice is so beautiful. Randy begins to sing and his voice fills the car with haunting melody. Everyone in the car can’t help but get pulled in by it.

  As Randy finishes his song, the car pulls up to the private entrance of the Lincoln Center. The Angel world has an entire wing of the Lincoln Center cloaked so that only the humans who know about us can actually see it.

  I’ve always loved coming here. They have a grand marble staircase, Swarovski crystal chandeliers, and rich fabric wallpaper. The banquet hall is one of the most opulent places owned by the Angel world.

  “I’m excited,” I confess.

  “Really?” Swoop says in disbelief.

  “Yes. I know I don’t usually like these things, but tonight I’m open to it. This is going to be fun!”

  “Fun for you, but what about the girls who won’t get a chance to dance with me? How will they handle the heartbreak?” East asks sincerely.

  We all roll our eyes and decide to ignore the walking ego that is Easton. Although no one is hugging and saying they’re sorry, the group seems a little more willing to let the drama go, for now. We all get out.

  There are Paras at the entrance. They were placed here to ensure our safety. Only one problem—they’re all lying on the ground. We rush over to them. Someone blasted them right in the chest. Now all six Paras lie dead.

  I order my team to enter the building with caution and kill anything without a soul. Hunter and Bex round up the Paras who were in the cars behind us. We coordinate quickly. The Paras take the right entrance, and my team takes the left.

  When we enter, we find freshly mutilated dead bodies on the grand staircase. The blood of Paras, Quo, and humans is all mixed together to form a morbid rainbow-colored stream. The blood makes its way down the steps and adds to the river of gore in the center of the vast room. Everyone who came to the ball has been slaughtered; only one being stands in the middle of the mass grave.

  “Hello, sis,” Malakaro says pleasantly as he sips Coy from a champagne flute.

  All of us raise our hands and blast Malakaro. The flow of energy never makes it to him. There is a barrier between the steps and the center of the room. All of our powers together cannot break it. I think about Firebug, but I know she’s not strong enough to open this barrier. And even if she were, I would never allow her to be in danger.

  “You’re late to your own party,” Malakaro says.

  “WHY DID YOU DO THIS?” I rage.

  “It’s your birthday, and I wanted us to have some time alone so we could talk. Families talk during major celebrations, from what I understand.”

  “We are not a family, you sick fuck!” I cry out.

  “You hate me. I hate you. We try to kill each other whenever we’re in the same room. I believe that’s the very definition of family,” he says.

  “What do you want?” I bark, determined to keep my voice steady.

  “I will let the barrier go. When I do, you will come to me and we will talk. It won’t take long. Then you can go back to your party.”

  “There’s no way she’s going near you, jerkoff!” Aaden says.

  “Silver, rushing to my sister’s defense. She took your powers away. Even if the barrier wasn’t keeping you away, how would you defend her?”

  “Take the barrier down and I’ll show you,” Aaden replies bitterly.

  “Ruin, I’ve missed you,” Malakaro says when he sees her.

  “Sorry, can’t say the same,” Diana counters.

  “Do you miss your wings? I hear it’s hard to get around without them. When you don’t have a Port available, do you have to take the bus?” he asks.

  “You just killed hundreds of Paras; we will get payback,” Bex promises.

  “You sound hostile, Kon. I’m guessing it’s the stress of being rejected by my dear sister.”

  “You killed my friends! I swear to Omnis I’m gonna end your life,” Hunter promises.

  “Aw, baby Kon, hello. We haven’t had a chance to meet. So, let me introduce myself to you.” He stares at Hunter, and suddenly Hunter walks to the wall and starts banging his head on the wall.

  “No!” Bex shouts as his brother continues to hurt himself.

  We all try to pull him away from the wall, but he refuses to stop injuring himself. The front of his head bursts open and blood gushes from his wound.

  “Okay! Okay! I will come see you; just make it stop!” I shout at Malakaro.

  “Good. Now, I’ve kept a dozen or so humans alive. Any one of you tries to join my sister on the other side of the barrier and I will make the humans give themselves a lobotomy. Am I clear?”

  “Yes, just make it stop,” I beg.

  Malakaro simply looks over at Hunter and his hold on him is released. Key and Bex tend to him. Aaden looks back at me, terrified to let me face my brother alone. I signal to him that I will be okay. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but right now, we really don’t have much of a choice.

  He releases the barrier, and I slowly walk through it. I do my best to avoid stepping on the bodies out of respect. However, there’s no avoiding the blood. My heels are soaked in it. Once I am face-to-face with Malakaro, I’m thrown by how much his eyes remind me of my father.

  “I’ll keep this short, as I know you have a birthday to get on with,” he says.

  “What do you want?”

  “You know about the five vials that I need to be at full power. I know you do. But what you might not know is that as of last night, I now have four of them.”

  Shit! Shit! Shit!

  “You’ve had all this time and you still haven’t gotten the last vial? Losing your touch?” I ask, refusing to let him see the panic going on inside me.

  “Well, I must admit it is taking longer than I thought, but I’m nearly there.”

  “So this is what you wanted? To give me an update on your evil plans? What, you don’t have Facebook?”

  He laughs. It’s a cold soulless laughter that goes right through me. But I can’t help but marvel at how handsome he is. How can evil be so damn beautiful?

&nb
sp; “I know that you have angels helping you. They might tell you that you are protected from me, but I think we both know there is no protection from me,” he says with certainty.

  “You would be wrong to think I’m afraid of you; I’m not. I’m ready whenever you are,” I vow.

  “No need to battle today; it’s your birthday. I’m here to make you an offer. Consider it a gift from your big brother.”

  “No, thanks.”

  “You should hear me out; it’s a good deal.”

  “Does it involve your head on a pole?” I ask.

  “Maybe next year.”

  “I’m bored,” I inform him.

  “Then let’s move on to my offer. I have been told that there is a good chance you know where the Blue Rose heir is. After I find the last vial, I will need the Blue Rose to drink half of it in order to gather the power I need. If you tell me who the Blue Rose heir is, I will allow you to pick which of your friends gets to live.”

  “I have a counter proposal. You stop trying to gather more power and I will allow you a peaceful death.”

  “I see. Shame, I thought we could work out a deal,” he replies as he heads towards the entrance.

  “You might look like my father, but you are nothing like him. I can see why he didn’t want you,” I shout as he starts to walk away.

  He looks back at me. He then makes a slight gesture and the last remaining humans around the room cry out as they stab themselves with various sharp objects.

  “Stop it!” I shout.

  I look around frantically, trying to find the direction of the screams. It’s too late; the screaming stops. Now, everyone that came to the ball is officially dead. Malakaro could have easily gone out the window, but instead, he leaves through the front entrance. He does that to prove how powerful he really is.

  He uses his mind-control powers and renders my team and the Paras motionless. They watch helplessly as he walks right by them. When he walks past Randy, he suddenly stops and faces him. The two lock eyes for the first time.

  No, no, no…

  He looks at Randy for what feels like forever. But thankfully he continues to exit. On his way out the door, he calls out to me.

  “Little sis, do try to enjoy your birthday; you will not have another.”

  Chapter Eighteen:

  As Of Today

  The cleanup takes some time. After it’s done, I call a meeting with the team in an alleyway across from Lincoln Center. It feels strange to have a meeting without Bex, but it’s something we will all have to get used to. And even if Bex was part of the team, over a hundred Paras were murdered; he needs to be with his people right now.

  The last time I saw him, he was taking his brother to the clinic for his injury. I asked if he needed help, but he said he was fine. I know he wasn’t, but there was nothing I could do. And much like Bex, I needed to tend to my people.

  “Did you call the Face?” East asks.

  “Yeah, she’s all right. Thankfully she was late in getting to the ball. She was lucky,” I reply.

  “Pry, does Malakaro really have four of the vials?”

  “Yes. We confirmed it with the Face. Malakaro only has one vial left to find.”

  “Then he comes after me,” Randy says in deep reflection.

  “That won’t happen, Randy. We won’t let him get to you,” Key promises.

  “He was able to murder a room full of Paras, Key. Face it, there is no defeating Malakaro.”

  “Randy, you are a part of this team, and I don’t care how bad things get, it is your job to have faith in us, in yourself. Malakaro has no idea who you are—”

  “Pry, he stopped and looked at me!” Randy objects.

  “If he knew who you were, he would have already taken you. He offered us a deal because he has no idea where to start looking for you. He’s desperate,” Aaden says.

  “Maybe we should take his deal. Maybe I should just surrender to him,” Randy suggests nervously.

  “This isn’t just about you, Randy. If Malakaro gets his hands on the last vial and the Blue Rose heir, he will destroy not just this team, but all of humanity. Do you get that? You giving yourself up to him is not an option. Our parents kept the world from ending, and I will be damned if it ends here and now, with us,” I inform him.

  “Then maybe we need to look at the other option,” Randy says softly.

  “I’m not taking your life,” I reply.

  “Even if it means saving the world?”

  “Even if it means saving two worlds. Now stop thinking of ways to end it and help us find East’s powers,” I demand.

  “We have so much going on, I can take the heat of being hunted for a while. Let’s focus on Malakaro,” East says.

  “Malakaro is exactly the reason why we need to get your powers back. We need everyone at full strength for what we are about to attempt,” I tell them.

  “And what is that?” Aaden asks.

  “We’re going to get East’s powers back and then go after the last vial ourselves.”

  “You want to take your brother head-on?” Key asks.

  “We don’t have a choice anymore. The time to sit and let the Paras help us is over. And in case you haven’t noticed, the Paras aren’t as strong as Malakaro. So we need to take care of this ourselves.”

  “Pry, you get how dangerous this is, right?” Randy says.

  “No matter how this ends, I need to know that we did everything possible to stop that lunatic.”

  “I agree. We need to get ahead of this,” Aaden says.

  “Okay, let’s do it,” Key replies.

  “Same here. What do you want us to do?” East asks.

  “Well, we can’t find the powers if we can’t find the Brothers,” I reply.

  “We don’t have to find them,” Swoop says as she hangs up her cell phone and joins us.

  “What are you talking about?” Key asks her twin.

  “That was my contact. The Brothers want to talk to us and strike a deal for the return of East’s powers.”

  “Really? Just like that?” I ask.

  “I’m sure there’s something underhanded and evil in their offer, but it’s better than chasing them around,” Key says.

  “Key has a point. We’ve been looking for days and haven’t gotten anywhere. I’m sure they’re setting us up, but we’ll be ready,” Aaden adds.

  “Where do they want to meet?” Randy asks.

  “Central Park, 7:00 a.m.,” Swoop replies.

  “Fine. East, call the Face and see if she can arrange for a few extra Paras to come with us and be the lookouts. Key, we need you and Diana to make some healing mixtures in case we’re attacked. Swoop, make sure everyone on the team has a blade and a Holder. Randy, your dad hasn’t seen you in days. East has been able to Mind wipe him; still, you should maybe stay home tonight,” I suggest.

  “Yeah, it’s been a while,” Randy agrees, grateful for a chance to get back to the normal life he knew before, even if it’s for only one night.

  “Hey, Diana, my dad’s been hounding me about spending time with Sparks; can you stop by his place after you’re done with the mixture?” Aaden asks.

  “Yeah, sure,” she says with an easy smile as Sparks lights up from hearing her dad.

  “I need everyone to be back at my house by sunup so we can head to the park early. We don’t leave without getting the location of the Layu vial,” I inform them as I head back towards the banquet hall.

  “Pry, they finished cleaning up. You don’t have to go back,” East says.

  “I know, I just want to make sure things are okay in there,” I reply.

  The team exchanges looks of concern and follows me inside. All the bodies have been cleared out, but in my mind’s eye, I can still see all the corpses looking up at me. And even though Malakaro is long gone, I still feel a shiver when I look at the spot where he once stood. In the corner of my eye, I see a pool of blood near the wall. It spans out to the size of a beach ball.

  “I can’t be
lieve they missed this. It’s someone’s blood,” I reply as I rush to wipe it off with the fabric from my gown.

  “Pry, it’s just a spot,” Randy says.

  “No, it’s huge. Don’t you see? It keeps getting bigger,” I reply as I scrub harder and harder to clean up the stain.

  “Pry, it was a dot, and now it’s gone. You cleaned it up,” Swoop says.

  “NO, IT’S NOT CLEAN!” I scream.

  I rub on the spot and nothing happens, so I start using my hands. I rub them over the stain until they’re raw and bleeding. Aaden takes my hands and restrains me.

  “PRYOR!” he yells.

  “I have to clean it up. They were innocent and now…I have to clean it up.” I place the palm of my bloody hand over my lips. He kneels down on the floor beside me.

  “This is not your fault,” he says firmly.

  Before I know what is happening, I find myself sobbing into his chest.

  “You know what, we’re gonna go home and change. C’mon, Pry. Let’s go change,” Swoop says.

  As Swoop and the team help me to my feet, Aaden whispers something to them that I can’t make out. Whatever he said, they are all in agreement. Soon we’re back at the house and back in our regular clothes. Diana makes me a quick mixture that heals my hands. She takes off to spend time with Uncle Rage.

  Meanwhile, news of the deaths spreads like wildfire. The Para world is in mourning. They are having meetings and gatherings all over the world to discuss the Malakaro problem, or depending on who you talk to, the Noru problem.

  I’m about to text Bex and see if there is anything I can do to help with the rising fears in the Para world, but before I can press “send,” Aaden appears in my room on a Port.

  “What’s wrong?” I ask.

  “The team is attending to the tasks you handed out. Randy is spending time with his dad, and we’re all set to meet the Brothers in the morning. That means you have the night off.”

  “What? No, I have a lot of stuff to do.”

  “No, you don’t. As your second in command, I’m telling you that you are not okay. You need to take a few hours away from this place. I have something very important to show you.”

  “What is it?”

  “You’ll never know if you don’t get on,” he says, signaling towards the Port.