by Dima Zales
Just when we are about even, I realize that that was as close to saving her as I was gonna get. We could be even but I would never pass her. The others dove in after us, but there is nothing they can do to help. The only one who can save her is me. But I’m not close enough.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, the bird was no longer falling. She had tricked the hunter. She was taking flight. Ameana had sprouted wings and was pulling up. I am stunned. I am seconds from the Port when I come back to my senses and pull my wings out.
I fly up with such fury, I change the wind pattern on the mountain. It starts blowing out of control. I land on top and there stands Ameana, her wings gone.
“Guess my Snap is used up. Oh, well,” she says simply.
“Get off the mountain,” I say to everyone but Ameana. Everyone looks at each other.
“GET. OFF. NOW!!!” My voice causes the mountain to shake. Rocks fall off the side. Rio takes Emmy and everyone flies away immediately. It was just me and my second-in-command.
“What the hell are you doing?” I ask.
“Did you think I was just gonna die for you? Did you think I wouldn’t have a backup?”
“Back up? You call a Snap a backup? What if it was faulty?” I blare.
“Well, then, that would be perfect because then you could rescue me. I know you have a weakness for weaklings.”
“What do you want from me?”
“I want you to stop wanting her.”
“How do I do that?”
“You were supposed to choose me.”
“I did! I choose you. What more can I do to make you understand that? You’re the one I just risked my life for. You’re the one I gave my Rah to.”
“I know how you feel about her. Don’t make me out to be crazy.”
“You jumped off the mountain with no damn wings. What do you call it, huh? What the hell do you call this?”
“A promise that’s been broken.”
“What did I promise you?”
“It’s what I promised myself. I said I’d never love anyone. Ever. But I broke that promise for you. And now…I can’t even remember why.”
“Get this straight: you are my second and you will not be this reckless again. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“You do anything that puts this team at risk again and I’ll strip you of your wings permanently and leave you on earth. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
I walk over to the edge of the mountain.
“Will you take me home?” she asks.
“You found your way here. So find your own way back.” I fly off the mountain, leaving her there.
I never would have left my girlfriend alone on the top of a mountain with no way to get back home. But right now she is my second in command, not the girl I love.
And I suspect the guy who left her on the mountain wasn’t the guy she loved. He was just her boss and he had given orders. The only thing Ameana and I had in common at that moment was that both of us were in love with people we no longer liked.
12
The next morning, I was going to cancel going to the concert. But I realized Jay would have killed me. So I let them go to the concert and I stay behind to go see Tony-Tone.
The moment Tony spots me, he takes off. I pull out my cell as I take off after him. The fact that he’s running means he’s done something; suddenly, having our only clue partying in a crowd a country away feels like a very bad idea.
“Rio, get Jay to take Emmy home. The rest of you get back here. Tony’s up to something. Hurry!”
I hurl myself at Tony, we crash down to the ground. I strike him hard in his chest. He gasps.
“Okay, okay. This guy came in. He said he was a GW but there is a small chance he might have been a Runner working for Akon. I was gonna turn him down but he offered me three third-coats. That’s a lot of money.”
“I will put my hand through you and pull out that waste of space called you heart right now if you don’t tell me what you sold.”
“Let’s not get violent. There’s a good chance I did nothing wrong,” he says desperately.
“He paid you three third-coats and he doesn’t even have wings! Where did you think he got them from?”
“Hey, like the humans say—don’t ask, don’t tell.”
I pick him up off the floor with one hand and slam him into the nearby tree. I hold him there and reflect a quick flash.
“Please, no.”
“Talk, rat.”
“I sold him something I got from the market.”
Hun’s market is run by seamy Sellers who are always on the run from the council. They sell items that have been outlawed by both Omnis and the council. The founder of the Market was Hun Moorland. Hun was a ruthless terrorist with a background in chemistry and biology.
Hun was killed when the bomb he was making to blow up a building in the heart of downtown Tokyo accidentally went off in his face. Hun had made a deal with Atourum: in exchange for not burning for all eternity, he would invent things to help Atourum wage war against good.
He invented a number of things for Atourum. Among them, Quips, which are bullets filled with a liquid substance that attacks an angel’s soul.
The other invention Hun is known for is the Zan. Zans are boxes that keep a soul alive without needing a body. Hun invented the Zan and gave it to Atourum, who then used it to store the darkest of souls before re-releasing them on humanity.
Hun’s most famous invention is called the Peel. It is a black-powdered substance that peels away the face and soul of an angel and impresses them on someone else. Think of it as identify theft for angels. The Peel lasts a few hours and then the soul will be returned to the angel from whom it was taken.
A few cycles ago, a demon used a Peel and took the appearance of a Traveler. The demon got as far as the gates of the council. Soon, Paras came with word from Omnis that there was a darkness in the light. The demon was punished and Atourum was made to destroy Hun.
Many have theorized that Atourum never got rid of Hun. The conspiracy nuts think that he’s still on Earth. They go so far as to say he’s still inventing things for his master. Everyone claims to have seen Hun at some point. Hun sighting are as common among angels as Elvis sightings are among humans.
“What did you sell from the Market?” I ask, fully intending to carry out my threat.
“Okay, but don’t get mad.”
I ram my hand into his chest. He gasps as the pressure I am putting through his chest becomes more than he can handle.
“I sold him a Peel.”
I pick him up from the ground and throw him across the street.
“You sold a Peel to a Runner?” I ask.
“He paid me extra not to say anything. He may or may not be a Runner. And anyway, it was Human Peel. The Runner can only pretend to be another human being, not an angel.”
“Why would an Akon send a Runner to impersonate a human?”
“I don’t know. What can a human get Emmy to do that an Akon or Runner can’t?”
“Trust,” I say as it hits me right then. The Runner is going to Peel into someone Emmy trusts and take her to the Akons.
Once I land on the roof back at the house, Jay comes running up to meet me. His face is dark with rage, which is not a common thing to see on Jay. It alarms me instantly. Ameana comes up behind him.
“Where’s Emmy?” I ask.
“She’s fine,” he spits out.
“What’s up? What’s going on?” Miku asks.
He looks at me like he wants to rip my throat out.
“Jay, what’s up?” I put my hands on his shoulders. He shrugs them off.
“Back off me,” he says.
“Jay what’s up?”
He speaks in a cold and unforgiving voice.
“I want a yes or a no answer to this question. And don’t you lie to me, Marcus. Did the Sage see you Turn and this mission failing?”
“What?” the twins bark at the same time
.
“Answer the question, Marcus.”
“No, Marcus would have told us if the Sage had said that,” Miku says with certainty.
“Marcus?” Rio asks.
They are all looking at me. Jay is frozen in anger and disgust.
“Listen guys—”
“Did the Sage say that to you?” Jay asks accusingly.
“Jay, calm down,” Ameana says.
“Answer me,” he shouts, ignoring everyone else.
“Yes.”
Their reactions ranged from anger to hopelessness.
“How could you not tell us?” Jay asks.
“I was going to when the time was right.”
“And when was that, Marcus? When New York was littered with bodies?”
“I was planning on telling you.”
“How dare you keep that from us,” Miku shouts.
“You knew this whole time? I knew you had a secret but I thought it was… How could you not tell us?” Rio says dumfounded.
“It’s not a big deal. We’ll figure it out.”
“We? Man, bump that. You decide to hold out on us and now you sayin’ ‘we’ like we’re all a team?”
“We are a team.”
“No, we ain’t. If we were, I wouldn’t have to hear this crap from a bunch of Travelers. It’s all over the damn Splash. Had I not overheard it, we never would have known.”
“I was gonna tell you.”
“That’s a damn lie. You weren’t gonna tell us nothing.”
“Just because the Sage thinks it can happen, doesn’t mean it will. You guys know me. I would never Turn; I would never betray my team.”
“The Sage is never wrong; we’re screwed,” Miku says, almost to herself.
“You’ve known about this the whole time?” Rio asks.
“What else did he say?” Miku demands.
“He said that Emmy will somehow bring about the end of me.”
“Perfect. That’s freakin’ perfect!” Jay’s words are full of venom and sarcasm.
“Just because the Sage says it doesn’t make it a fact. Jay, it’s not true.”
Ameana speaks in a calm voice. “Look, I don’t agree with what Marcus did. But he has a right to make that decision. He’s our leader and we have to follow him.”
“Follow this,” Jay says crudely as he takes off into the air.
We all leap into the air after him, except Ameana. We were calling out his name and arguing loudly back and forth. We didn’t even realize Reese had Blinked onto the roof.
“Did you hear what I said?” Reese blares like a mad man. We all turn to face him. He repeats what we didn’t hear the first time. He says two words that change everything:
“Emmy’s gone.”
13
“Emmy, just stop defending him,” Reese said to me. Only an hour ago, Jay had dragged me out of the Marley concert and back to the Guardians’ home.
When we arrived, I convinced Jay to break a Splash so I could read it, just for fun. It was a big mistake.
There in bold print was the Sage’s warning that Marcus would betray his team and that I would somehow be the end of him.
All at once they started to lose it. They felt angry and blindsided, that is, everyone but Ameana. I had a feeling she already knew about it.
When Marcus comes home, he’s going to be greeted by a mob of very pissed-off Angels. I wanted to be there for him, but Reese Blinked me away.
“Reese, calm down. There’s no way Marcus is Turning. And I’m sure the reason he didn’t say anything is because he didn’t want you to worry. It must have been so hard for him to have to hide it from you guys.”
And for the first time since I met him, Reese yelled at me.
“Hard for him? You’re actually worried about him?”
“Reese I—”
“No. I have always been on your side, but this is ridiculous. People are going to die and all you can think about is putting more energy into a guy that doesn’t want you, it’s pathetic.”
I ran. Fast. I heard him call my name, but I didn’t stop.
I went upstairs to my apartment and locked the door.
When I got to my room, he was standing there.
“Go away,” I snapped.
“Just wanted to let you know that it’s just me watching you tonight.”
“Fine.”
“Fine.” He went towards the door.
“You really think I’m pathetic?”
“Emmy, if the Sage is right—which he always is—billions of people will die.”
“Why do you keep saying people will die, over and over like I don’t know?”
“We want you to understand what’s at stake.”
“I know, and I’m doing my best not to freak out, run down the street naked yelling, The end is here!”
“Naked, huh?”
“Reese.”
“Sorry, just had a mental image. I’m an angel, I’m not dead.”
“Yeah, how exactly does that work?”
“End of the world and that’s what you want to know about—angels and sex?”
“Yeah,” I said jokingly. He didn’t return my smile. The current situation weighed heavily on him. He sat down on my bed and lowered his head. I went over to him.
“Why don’t you go back to the house and sort this out?”
“I can’t leave you alone.”
“I’m gonna babysit my neighbor’s son, Ben. Nothing’s gonna happened to me.”
“No, I can’t leave you alone.”
“Marcus won’t care. He’s too busy with Ameana.”
“Now that was a whole 10 seconds.”
“What?”
“You didn’t mention his name for ten seconds. That was kind of nice.”
“What does that mean?”
“That means there are other guys in the world and they deserve a chance with you.”
He moved in close and kissed me, parting my lips with his tongue. His kiss was tender but firm. It was so unexpected I couldn’t even think. A few seconds passed, but it seemed like our kiss was in slow motion.
He pulled away when he was done. My mouth was still open from shock. Reese kissed me. I didn’t really know what to do with that. He was Reese, my friend. But that kiss was nice. It tingled down my spine. What does that mean?
“Em? Are you in there?” Reese asked.
“Yeah,” was all I could manage to say.
“I should have asked before I…. Are you mad?”
“No….”
“I’ve watched you pine for Marcus and it’s kind of been killing me.”
“Oh.”
“I just wanted you to know that there are other angels, angels who have been wanting, waiting, to kiss you.”
“Reese….”
Before I could think of what else to say, he Blinked away.
I sighed. This is getting way too complicated. Luckily for me, I had to babysit Ben tonight, so at least I had something to distract me.
I knocked on the door and his Mom opened up for me. As she rushed out, she thanked me and said Ben was in his room. I locked the door behind her and went looking for him. I saw his sweet face down the hall by his room.
“Hey, where’s my hug?” I ask him.
He ran toward me with a big smile. As we hugged, he took out a Taser and shocked me. I hit the floor hard. The last thing I saw was my favorite four-year-old transforming into a grown man.
14
I wake up on a cold floor. My teeth won’t stop chattering. I open my eyes and everything is blurry. I then shut and try opening them once again. My vision clears up. I’m in a large room with windows high above the floor. Rats scurry across the floor. I’m scared of rats. But I have a feeling they’re the least of my problems.
I sit up and groan. My head feels heavy. I cough repeatedly. The windows are all broken. It’s a loft-type space. I get up and to go to the windows to get a better idea of where I am. After taking a few steps, something pulls me back. I look dow
n. My right leg has been tied to a pole with Samson string.
For the next few minutes I try like hell to untie it. I know all about Samson String and how only the person who tied it can untie it. I don’t care. It’s cold. I’m scared and desperate and will try anything. It’s hopeless. Every time I untie it, the string reties itself, even more knotted than before.
I look in my coat pocket. My cell phone, keys and money are gone. I zip up my coat and blow into my hands to stay warm. Looking around it’s hard to see what else is in the room because the lighting is so poor. If I call out whoever took me will know that I’m up and they will come in. But I don’t know what else to do. The cold is unbearable.
“Help me! Somebody please, help me,” I shout at the top of my lungs. I get nothing. I walk as far as I can toward the windows and call out again. Nothing. I sit back down, close my eyes and try to calm myself. There has to be a way out of here. I just need to remain calm.
There’s a door behind me. I can only go halfway to it before the string stops me. Even if I could reach the door, it looks locked. I call out for help again, but there is still nothing. My toes and the tips of my fingers are numb.
I’m trying to think logically and not panic. And judging by the size of the rat that just ran in front of me, panicking would be fairly easy to do. I make a sound to scare it away but it looks at me as if to say, “Who are you kidding?” They know I’m scared. Be calm, Emmy. They’ll find you.
I try to think back and understand what happened. I saw Ben turn into a Runner before I blacked out. I don’t know how the Runner was able to do that. I know Ben could be not evil. But did the Runner kill Ben in order to become him? What happened to the rest of Ben’s family?
I refuse to consider that they’re dead. I won’t think like that until I know for sure. I think about his little face asking to stay up and watch one more cartoon. I remember the cute, shocked look on his face when I sneak up on him during hide and go seek. His mouth makes a perfect “O” shape and his eyes are as wide as oceans. I push back the dread inside me. I can’t fall apart now. Ben is fine, he has to be.