My father just hurled a Powerball at the center of my chest. That’s exactly what it feels like. His words tear through my skin and embed themselves into my flesh like shrapnel. Pieces of the “bomb” gather together and aim straight for my core—my heart.

My parents are breaking my heart... Why? Why would they hurt me?

My parents are talking to me. I can’t make out what they are saying because the grenade they just threw in the middle of my life has made me all but deaf. Their mouths are moving, but they are on mute. I look into their faces and realize I don’t know them at all. 

Yes, my mom and dad got on my nerves sometimes but all in all we were happy. I knew they loved Sam and me. I knew that we could trust them. And no matter what happened, they would never hurt us.

But I am; I am hurt. There’s pain coming from a place so deep, I didn’t know it ever existed. I have been wrong this whole time. My parents aren’t protecting me from pain; they are the cause of it.

Suddenly, I look at the two strangers standing before me and I want nothing more than to get away from them. The thought of being in the same space with them for another second is more than I can take. I need to go. I need to go now.

I bolt down the street without saying a word. My parents weren’t expecting that. They thought if anything I would take to the air, but I need to find what they took away from me—solid ground.

I hear them calling out after me desperately but I don’t stop. I run so fast the city landscapes are no more than a blur of colors. I have no idea where I’m going and I don’t care. I just need to keep running until I make it back to the life I had ten minutes ago. If I just keep running it will stop hurting.

You can outrun this pain, Pry. Just keep running.

But I can’t keep running because the strangers took to the air and now they are blocking my path.

“Reesie, please let us explain,” my father begs.

“Stay away from me,” I shout.

“Pryor, sweetheart, we love you. We just wanted to save you from—”

“Mom, please get out of my way.”

“Pryor, just give us a chance to explain,” my dad begs as he walks towards me.

“NO! Please, Dad, let me go; please.”

He’s about to argue but then he looks into my eyes. He signals that I can go. I take off into the sky.

“How could you let her go, Marcus? She’s devastated,” my mom shouts at him as she takes off into the sky after me.

He follows her and gently holds her back. 

“Emmy, let her go. It’s what she needs right now,” he tells her.

He holds her tightly and they watch as I fly away...

“The new evil is my brother! I don’t even know how to...I mean how do they...ARGH!” I roar as I stomp on the ground.

Randy watches as the pavement cracks beneath my feet. He’s still taken aback by how strong I am.

“Pry, I know we hate this school, but let’s leave it intact, okay?”

It’s been half an hour since I woke Randy and told him what was happening. Thankfully, he had slept through the humans falling from the rooftops. He headed to the football field at school. It’s after midnight and no one else is around.

“How could they do this to me? How could they lie to me for fourteen years!”

“Well it’s not exactly an easy thing to bring up,” he reasons.

“Are you taking their side?”

“No, I’m just saying it’s not exactly dinner conversation.”

“The whole time they’ve been preaching about how important it is to be moral and honorable angels; it’s all been a lie. Who knows what kind of mess they got into? I mean, what else are they keeping from me?” I ask.

“You had no idea at all?”

“No. I bet they didn’t even write it in the Muse.”

“What’s that?”

“A Muse is a journal that chronicles past missions.”

“ And not once did they mention it there?” Randy pushes.

“I’ve never read all of it. I started to but I couldn’t get past page eighty-seven.”

“What’s on page—”

“Never mind that. Randy, what am I going to do? Everything is different now. How am I supposed to hate my own brother? Then again, he killed dozens of humans tonight. How can I overlook that?”

“Do angels go to therapy?” he jokes.

“Randy!”

“I’m sorry; curious human here,” he says, putting his arm around me.

“I don’t know anything anymore. Is Malakaro my mom’s kid or my father’s? Which one of them cheated? Are there any more Norus I don’t know about?”

“Normally ‘sibling I didn’t know about’ should be at the top of my list of concerns. But I have to say, it’s not,” Randy confesses.

“I’m sorry. I know you’re worried that we won’t find Oden, but we will. You’re not going to die,” I promise him.

“Pryor, that’s not what I’m talking about. This new evil sounds...well, really freaking evil. And from what you’ve told me this psychopath has it in for you.”

“Yeah, my day just keeps getting better,” I quip.

“You have to go home and talk to your parents.”

“I can’t even look at them right now.”

“Then wear a blindfold because you need answers and they are the only ones who have them.”

Randy insists on coming with me, so after a quick stop at his apartment to change, we head back to my house. The closer we get, the more dread I feel.

“How come everyone on the street is acting normal now?” Randy asks.

“I’m sure the Council had their minds wiped. East and others like him who can take away memories, must have been working all night,” I reply.

“There are no ambulances or anything.”

“Angels are great with cleanup.”

“That’s so cool,” he replies.

“We’re here,” I say, mostly to myself.

My house looms ahead of me. I’ve always loved coming home. I’ve always felt safe and secure there. Now, I would do anything not to have to enter the house. Randy, sensing my hesitation, takes my hand and we head inside.

When we walk in, I find my parents pacing the floor, waiting anxiously for my return. I try to fight the urge to flee. Randy is right; I have questions that only my parents can answer.

“So which one of you cheated?” I ask.

“That’s it, Pry, start with something easy,” Randy says sarcastically.

“Honey, no one cheated,” my mom says as she takes a step towards me.

I take a step back.

“Randy, could you give us a minute?” my mom asks.

“Sure, I’ll go say hi to Sam,” he replies.

I’m about to protest but Randy signals to me that I should let him go. I watch reluctantly as he disappears upstairs.

“Honey, have a seat,” my dad says.

“I don’t want to sit. I want answers,” I reply.

“Pryor, sit down,” my mother says in a tone that tells me they are no longer asking.

I sit on the edge of the sofa, interlock my fingers together and place them nervously on my lap. They sit on either side of me. 

“The story of how I ended up with another woman is a long one. And we just don’t have time for it. For now, let’s just say that on our last mission, I had to do things I didn’t want to do in order to stop the Angel world from collapsing,” my dad says carefully.

“Meaning you cheated on Mom?”

“No, honey. Your father united with another woman because it was the only way to save all of us. It was hard on me; on us. But it was necessary. And when your father was finally able to get out of the union, we thought that was it,” my mother informs me.

“Later we learned that the woman had a child; my child,” Dad adds as emotion fills his voice.

“So because he had a different mother, you disregarded him?” I accuse.

“No. I wanted him. He was my son. I was going to go after him and have him come stay with us,” Dad replies.

“Why didn’t you?”

“He had already killed and was making his way in the Demon world. He could not have been saved.”

“Dad, you don’t know that. He could have turned out like Uncle Rage. He started out evil but then he changed,” I plead.

“Your uncle is a rare case. Demons don’t normally change. Rage fell in love with Aaden’s mom. That love was able to change him,” Dad explains.

“Maybe if Malakaro had your love he would be different now,” I argue.

“It’s not that simple, Pryor. His mother was vicious and wrathful. She made it her mission to cause chaos. It’s no surprise that her son turned out the same,” my mom says.

“He’s evil because you abandoned him, it’s that simple,” I tell my dad.

“No, it’s not that simple. And if you think it is then you definitely are not ready to lead,” he counters.

“So being a leader means that I have to walk away from my own flesh and blood?” I ask.

“Sometimes, yes. I wanted Malakaro. But it was too late to save him. I had to look out for my family: you, Sam, and your mom,” Dad insists.

“So you lied to us for all these years?” I push.

“I did what I thought was best. You don’t get it now, but maybe someday you will,” he says.

“I doubt it,” I snap. 

“Honey, there are going to be moments when you will have to make tough decisions. And in those moments nothing is black or white. In the end you try and do the best you can. That’s exactly what your father and I did: we did our best,” Mom says, placing her hand on my shoulder.

“Your best was lying to me and abandoning a kid?” I ask.

“Pryor, do not mistake Malakaro for a lost little boy. He is the new evil for a reason. If you and the others didn’t drink Cole, and your location wasn’t hidden, he would find you and kill you. Just like he killed all those humans today,” Dad cautions.

“That’s why the Council is meeting: we need to decide if we will be moving you and the others,” Mom says.

“Moving us?”

“You may have to stay in the light,” my dad replies.

“What? No, I have to help Randy,” I counter.

“Pryor, we are not going into this again with you,” Mom says impatiently.

“But I can’t just—”

“Pry, they’re right. You need to be safe,” Randy says from the top of the stairs.

“Before you argue with us, Reesie, nothing is official yet. The Guardians, the Council, the Paras, and most of the angels will be meeting in the light. What happens to you and the others affects everyone. We can’t let Malakaro take out our best defenses against evil,” Dad says.

“Mr. and Mrs. Cane, if Pry and the others are so powerful, why do they need protecting?” Randy asks, coming down to join us.

“They are powerful now but not nearly as powerful as they will be when they are adults. The new evil will try and stop that from happening,” my mom explains.

“How are they going to be protected then?” Randy asks, concerned.

“We have placed an Opt around this house; it’s a force field. We also have angels posted all around this area. We called the others and they are coming here just as soon as they find Swoop. We want to make sure you are all together and safe,” Mom adds.

“What about Aaden? Is he coming here too?” I ask, trying to stay casual.

“Rage will look after Aaden,” Dad informs me.

“He should be here with us,” I remind them.

“We told him that but he doesn’t want to come,” Mom says carefully.

“He’s safest among other Norus right now. Why wouldn’t he want to come?” I ask.

My mom comes closer to me and pulls a strand of hair away from my face. When she speaks her voice is soft and filled with regret.

“Honey he...he doesn’t want to see you.”

You ever have one of those days where it seems everything that could go wrong does? And then you think to yourself “If one more thing goes wrong, I’m gonna lose it?” Well here we are and that “one more thing” is Aaden refusing to see me. I bolt up from the sofa. My parents are about to speak but I cut them off by holding out my hand.

“I need to do something and I really need to do it alone. You want to send an army after me then fine. But I’m going out. Randy, stay here and wait for the group,” I order.

“Where are you going?” my dad asks.

“I’m going to see a demon about an ass kicking” I reply as I storm out.

I take off into the sky and by the time I get to Rage’s house, I am seething. My fists are balled up and I’m biting on my lower lip to keep it from quivering in anger. I bang on Uncle Rage’s door repeatedly.

“OPEN THE DOOR!!!” I scream.

I don’t hear anything so I pound even harder.

“OPEN THIS DOOR!!!” I order.

Uncle Rage comes out with a stern, dark look on his face and a sizzling, roaring fireball in the palm of his hand.

“Damn it, Pryor, I could have killed you,” he says as the fire diminishes in his hand.

“WHY THE HELL IS YOUR SON BEING SUCH A DICK?” I demand.

“Your dad told you Aaden won’t come to the house?” he replies.

“Yes; I’ve heard Aaden doesn’t want to see me. Well, he needs to grow some damn balls and tell me to my face why he’s acting like an asshole.”

“Okay, chick, take it down a few.”

“I know that he’s mad at me because I bailed on the Atu. And he’s not the only one who’s pissed at me. Bex can hardly look at me without taking shots. But Aaden is different. I mean we...he...I..ARGH! WHERE IS HE?”

“Wow, you are just like your mother when she was your age—impulsive and rash.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. I need to stay calm,” I mock.

“No, I like a little fire in a girl,” he says shaking his head, amused.

“Tell me where he is. If he’s so angry that he can’t stand to look at me, he should tell me face-to-face. I know it was wrong to abandon the team but that still doesn’t mean he has the right to treat me like crap.”

“That’s not what he’s doing, Pry.”

“That’s bull. The safest place for him is my house right now, but he won’t come because he’s mad at me.”

“Don’t worry about Aaden’s safety. I took care of it. He has more than enough security.”

“Why won’t he see me? How much longer is he going to punish me?”

“Kid, this isn’t about you. Aaden is staying away for reasons that have nothing to do with you.”

“Then help me, please Uncle Rage. Tell me: Why is Aaden staying away?”

“This past year has been really hard for my son. He’s trying to deal with...events that are hard to take in.”

“So let me guess: Aaden found one girl in the universe who isn’t attracted to him and now his heart’s broken?” I reply.

“No, that’s not it.”

“Okay so...he got some girl pregnant. Great. That makes seven Norus,” I snap.

“Pryor, you have to understand—”

“Well I don’t; I don’t understand any of this. Uncle Rage, everything in my life has changed in the past few hours. I have no idea what to feel about anything.”

“Yeah, the rest of us thought you should have been told about your brother. It was a crap deal you got.”

“It’s not just that. I have a best friend to save and no idea how to get to the being that’s supposed to save him. And now I’m supposed to hate a brother I don’t even know; a brother that’s hell-bent on killing me.”

“Are you old enough to drink yet?” he asks.

“I don’t want a drink. All I want for the love of Omnis is someone to be straight with me. Please for once can someone just tell me the truth?”

He looks into my eyes and sees the frustration and anger that fills them. He puts his hands in his pockets and lowers his head.

“Uncle Rage, tell me what’s going on with Aaden. Please.”

“Last year Aaden was taken to Bliss.”

“Bliss is a prison for angels; why would Aaden go there?”

“He killed five unarmed humans.”