by Lola StVil
“Randy, we can’t just—”
“Silver,” East warns.
I reluctantly agree to give Randy a few hours to do some research and figure out who could be involved in The Center. He heads to the kitchen with his laptop. Diana volunteers to clue Randy in on everything she knows about The Center, which unfortunately isn’t much.
“Swoop and East, can you two help Randy?” I ask.
“I will, I just have an errand to run first,” East says.
“Seriously, there’s something you need to do that’s more important than finding your friend? Your leader?” I ask, baffled.
“There’s nothing more important, Silver, you know how I feel about Pryor. But I need to do this. I’ll be back in a half hour. If something comes up I’m just a Port ride away,” he says.
It’s only then that I realize he’s waiting for my okay on the matter. The fact of the matter is with Pryor not around I am the new leader. A role I really don’t relish.
“Fine, but you get half an hour, no more,” I reply.
He thanks me and hustles out of the house quickly.
“What is he up to?” Swoop asks.
“Something he doesn’t want us to know about; something I’m pretty sure is against the rules,” I remark.
“Says the guy who nearly ripped a Para’s wings off,” Swoop teases me. I look back at her and my anger has subsided (at least for the time being). And now I am left with only my fear that she’s hurt—or worse.
“Silver, it’s going to be fine,” Swoop says as she embraces me.
“She’s been with them for hours. The things that they’ve had time to do…” I reply, mostly to myself.
“We’ll get her back. I’ll go help Randy and we will come up with something, believe me,” Swoop replies.
As Swoop rushes off, her twin sister comes down the steps, now fully clothed. She sees me head for the door and calls out after me.
“Silver, where are you going?”
“I can’t do this, okay? I can’t just stand here knowing that she’s…I feel like I should…I have to do something, anything. She needs me.”
“Yeah, Pryor does need you. She needs you to stay calm. She needs to know that you have control over everything, including your emotions,” Key scolds.
“Okay, okay, you’re right,” I reply.
“Now, we will figure this out as a team, okay?” she says.
“Yeah, okay. We will find her,” I say to myself.
It doesn’t matter what I say out loud, the frenzy and panic in my chest won’t subside. And now that the wrath has died down slightly, it leaves more room for longing. And longing for Pryor leads to—yes, there it is. Pain.
I gasp and place my hand over my chest. It feels like someone has taken a knife to it and is cutting it open. I reach into my pocket and pop a blue pill I take to control the pain. I don’t take it often because it can be habit-forming. But right now, I really need to keep this pain under control.
“Are you okay?” Key asks.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. What about Bex? Any word from him?”
“No, but I don’t expect to hear anything. If he has an update, he might contact East or Swoop.”
“He’s pissed at you?”
“He won’t look me in the eye,” she says sadly.
“There’s been a lot going on,” I offer.
“I was so stupid. How could I hurt him like that?”
“Look, I’m no expert, but he has some things to explain too. So when this is over, you two need to figure things out,” I suggest.
“You’re right and we will. Bex and I will get past this. I really want to.”
“I know,” I reply softly.
“Then can you help me?” she asks.
“Help you how?”
“We are already in so much drama, if Bex finds out that I came to you and tried to…you know…can we just keep what happened in your bedroom between us?” Key asks.
“YOU SLEPT WITH HER?” someone shouts.
We look towards the kitchen and find Diana standing in the doorway, livid.
Fuck!!!!
“Diana, it’s not like that,” I explain.
“You lying asshole!” she accuses.
“What?” I reply, clueless.
“You had me believing that you changed for the redhead. That you were some kind of an angel. The whole time you’ve been giving it away to every Noru, Para, and Quo. Tell me, Silver, exactly how many girls are you currently fucking?”
“It’s not like that, Ruin. You don’t understand,” Key says.
“The hell I don’t; Silver acts all ‘good’ and convinces everyone that you’re different but it’s all it is: an act. He will sleep with any and everything. So exactly how many bottles of Trickk did you two go through? How many times did he have you convulsing in fits of ecstasy? Hey, did he do that thing with his tongue?”
“Diana, enough!” I caution her.
“Ruin, it’s none of your business what did and did not happen between me and Silver!” Key rages.
“I’ve lost everything in the name of helping Silver, so it is my business,” she protests.
“You have no idea what we’re talking about. In fact, why are you even here?” Key demands.
“Oh, so now that I’m done saving your life all of a sudden I’m not needed? Just like a junky, ungrateful.”
“I am not a junky! I had too much to drink one time,” Key says.
“Oh, please save it for someone who doesn’t know what a Tic looks like. You’re living off of Coy, drugs, and delusions. The fact of the matter is nothing you do will change what’s happening with the redhead and your boyfriend.”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about and you really need to shut up now,” Key says, growing hysterical.
“How can you be Noru and so damn weak? Don’t you get it? Silver and Pryor are going to be together. There’s nothing you can do about it. You will lose Bex just like I lost Silver. The fact is no one ever wins at love. And believe me, sweetheart, sleeping with Silver is the same as a human putting a gun to their head. It will only bring pain.”
“For the last time, I did not sleep with Silver!” Key protests.
“Then what the hell were you doing in his bed? Tell me, I’d really like to know,” Diana demands.
“Yeah, me too,” a voice says from the front door entryway.
I don’t have to turn towards the door to know who has entered the house—judging from the look on Key’s face it could only be one angel—Bex.
Chapter Six:
Out Of Our Hands
By now both Swoop and Randy are back in the living room. They watch as Bex looks at Key with a mix of fury and hurt. Yet when he speaks his voice is not raised, rather it’s steady and calm.
“Did you sleep with Silver?” he asks.
Keyohmi looks back at him with regret and profound sadness. She’s about to say something but when she opens her mouth nothing comes out.
“Bex, you and Key need to talk about this alone,” I advise.
“Why? It seems like everyone in this room already knows what’s going on; everyone but me. So, catch me up, Key,” he says.
“We are not doing this now; am I clear?” I demand.
“Fine,” Bex retorts.
“What happened with the Para?” Randy asks.
“What happened is that Silver tried to execute a high ranking Para in front of everyone,” Bex replies hotly.
“I needed answers,” I remind him.
“Yeah, well now we have to be even more careful because if the Paras know that Pryor is gone, they will try and rescue her themselves and take this mission out of our hands,” Bex says.
“The Paras are the reason that the Center even exists,” I remind him.
“We don’t know that. And when we decided to send you off to The Center, we didn’t know—”
“We?” I ask.
; “I was asked to weigh in and I voted to send you to The Center.”
I don’t remember tackling Bex. It happened quicker than even I could process.
“DO YOU KNOW WHAT THEY DID TO ME IN THERE?” I scream.
“I didn’t know,” he vows.
“And now they have her. They have her and it’s all because of you!”
“We didn’t know, Silver,” he insists.
We argue between blows and the team tries in vain to separate us. Finally, Swoop stands between us.
“Swoop, move!” I warn her.
“No, you two need to stop. We don’t have time for this,” she reminds me.
“You and I…we are done. You got that? We just work together. We are not friends and I promise you if something happens to her…Bex, I will kill you,” I vow in a deadly tone.
“Nothing is going to happen to Pryor. Now can we be grown-ups, please?” Key says.
“This from the girl who can’t stay out of other people’s beds?” Diana says.
“Diana, enough!” I bark.
“Why is it so hard for you to just shut the fuck up?” Key asks.
“Don’t be pissed off at her for what you did,” Bex protests.
“I didn’t do anything,” Key replies.
“Then how the hell did you end up sleeping with a half demon?” Bex adds.
“I had a little too much to drink and I went to see Silver at his dad’s house—but nothing happened, I promise,” she pleads.
“So you didn’t end up in his bed tonight?” Bex asks.
Key opens her mouth but no words come out. She bites hard on her lower lip in an effort to keep from bursting into tears.
“Key, it’s not a hard question. Were you in Silver’s bed?”
“Yes,” she whispers.
He nods slowly and starts to make his way upstairs. She calls out after him.
“I talked to the Healers at the Clinic. They told me when you were unconscious you called for Pryor—not me. Pryor.”
“So you end up in another guy’s bed because I may or may not have mumbled something in a half-conscious state; a state that your suspicion put me in. Key, I asked you if everything was okay between us and you said yes.”
“I was trying to keep us together,” she reasons.
“You lied to me, you try to poison me, and now you’re screwing my teammate? That’s not keeping us together.”
“Bex, you don’t understand.”
“Yeah, I do, and I’m sorry if I called out another girl’s name. I didn’t do it to hurt you. I don’t even recall doing it. But the question isn’t why I called on Pryor. The question is with everything that’s happened with us, why would I call on you?”
Key doesn’t have a reply. Instead she just stands there looking wounded and in pain.
“This conversation ends; now,” I inform them.
Everyone looks back at me but they remain silent. Her sister takes her hand as the couple exchange a glare between each other.
“What happened with the Paras? Are they sending the Omari after Silver?” Randy asks.
“No, I took care of it. I made an arrangement with them,” Bex says.
“What kind of arrangement?” I ask.
“I can’t get into it. Let’s just say it’s handled,” Bex insists.
“How much do they know about Pryor’s disappearance?” Swoop asks.
“They don’t know she’s gone,” Bex replies.
“What, why not?” Key says.
“Because if they did, they would launch a rescue mission—right after they put us under lock and key. The fact is no other team will work as hard as we will to get her back. We let everyone know she’s gone and suddenly the mission is out of our hands.”
“Bex is right. Besides, we don’t know who we can trust,” I tell them.
“But didn’t Silver already announce that Pryor was gone?” Swoop says.
“I convinced them you were drunk and talking crazy. I made it so that everything you did tonight was due to a bad reaction to drinking and drugs. I told them that I would see to you getting some help,” Bex says.
“And just like that, they let it go?” Randy asks.
“Well…yeah, sort of,” Bex says.
We all exchange a look of concern.
“Bex, what aren’t you telling us?” Swoop says.
“I told you everything,” he replies.
“I agree with Swoop. I know I just started learning angel history but you guys don’t do well with angels trying to kill each other. There are usually consequences from the stuff I’ve read,” Randy remarks.
“Like I said, we made a deal.”
“What deal did you make, Bex?” I demand.
“It doesn’t affect any one of us personally and we need to get back to looking for Pry,” Bex says.
I would like to push the issue but he’s right. So, I order everyone to get back to work. That is, everyone but Diana. I tell her to meet me upstairs. Meanwhile, the team gets back to work. As Diana and I head upstairs, we catch a glimpse of Key reaching for Bex’s hand as they enter the kitchen. He pulls away…
* * *
“What the hell is your problem?” I shout the moment we are in my room alone.
“You’re putting this on me?” she replies.
“Why do you have to act like this?”
“You’re out there nailing everything that moves and I’m the one to blame?”
“Damn it, Diana, don’t do this.”
“Do what?”
“Make me regret contacting you.”
“The way you’re acting, you already regret everything, including the day we met.”
“That’s not true.”
“Liar! You hate the guy you were back when it was just us. But that guy—that demon—was important to me. He mattered to me and you just want to act like he never existed and that’s bullshit.”
“We can’t do this. We can’t keep having the same discussion over and over again. You wanted me to be a full-blown demon and I can’t do that. I can’t turn my back on the Angel world.”
“An hour ago you marched into headquarters and damn near ripped that angel’s wings off. It felt good. You’re just too afraid to admit it because then you would have to face the truth—you are a demon. More so than any other demon I have ever encountered.”
“I did what I had to do,” I reply as I turn away from her.
“You did what was natural.”
“I am never gonna be the guy that you want me to be. Do you get that?”
“Did you sleep with her?”
“Diana, you and I are not together!”
“Then why do you keep calling me?”
“I needed you to help Key.”
“Silver, there are hundreds of Healers you could have called but instead you called me”
“So?”
“Wow, you really aren’t going to say it, are you?” she pushes.
“Say what?”
“You miss who we were before this stupid team came between us. You miss doing whatever you wanted and being accountable to no one. You miss us.”
“Diana…you have to start dealing with the fact that you and I are not involved.”
“You’re accusing me of not dealing? Silver, you can’t even say Pryor’s name. You’re the one who is refusing to deal with things.”
“I’m done with this conversation,” I reply, shaking my head as I head towards the exit.
“You’re treating me like I’m some delusional lovesick human. The only one delusional in this room is you. You refuse to face facts: you might never find the location of the Center.”
“Get out.”
“You might never get to her in time.”
“GET OUT!”
“Everyone here knows the truth except you: Pryor’s probably already dead.”
I grab her by the throat and slam her up against the wall with such brutal streng
th she gasps. The sheer fury coursing through me makes my hands shake. She looks back at me with delight.
“There he is—my Silver. The demon I love.”
My father ingrained in me that hitting a girl was a sign of a weak angel. I’ve hit female demons before but it was always in self-defense. But outright attacking Diana leaves me feeling disgusted with myself. Yes she provoked me, but it’s still a crap move on my part.
“I’m sorry,” I reply as I let her go and step away from her.
“Don’t be. It’s the first honest moment you’ve had in months.”
“Calling you was a really bad idea on my part. I thought we could be…I was wrong to call you. It won’t happen again.”
“So you want me to go away?”
“I want your help, but you can’t give it without causing pain to everyone around you. And I can’t have that. So yeah, you have to go.”
“You are so ungrateful.” She swears.
“I know you saved Key’s life and—”
“I’m not talking about her. I’m talking about you. I tried to save you from yourself. I took your Rah so that you could not do anything with her.”
“That’s not the reason you took my Rah.”
“The hell it isn’t. I tried to keep you away from her because I knew what it would do to you if she were taken to The Center. Yet you did everything to undo all my work. Now you’re standing here scolding me like a damn child when you’re the one who has no self-control.”
“You took my Rah to punish me. Don’t try and pass it off as some altruistic move,” I counter.
“Okay, maybe I did. Maybe I’m a selfish bitch who wants what she wants. But you were told to stay away from Pryor and you didn’t. You let your feelings for her take over. You wanted her and nothing else mattered, not even her safety. Tell me, what does that make you?”
Her words attack my soul with the ferocity of a Soul Chaser. I gasp softly as she utters the thought I had been running away from since this all started.
“Silver, you want me gone, fine. I will go. Just remember this: you can blame it on Bex, you can murder every Para there is, or even set the world on fire, but the fact still remains: Pryor is gone because of you.”