Mrs. Greenblatt studies our shocked faces. She waits for us to recover from her question, but I guess we are taking too long for her because she launches into her next question.

“Come now, Pryor, you didn’t think your parents would allow you to go to school without being watched over did you?”

“I thought...no, I guess not,” I reply, still somewhat confused.

“I have been on the job since you came to this school. A job that you have not made easy by the way.”

“Why didn’t you tell her who you were?” Bex asks.

“Oh, and on that note, who are you?” East pushes.

“I don’t have any wings so I’m obviously Quo, like you,” she tells him.

“You didn’t say anything this whole time?” Key asks.

“I’m just supposed to watch over you and make sure evil isn’t after you. And also keep you and the entire student body on the right educational path,” she says in a matter-of-fact tone.

“So you sent Pryor the text?” Swoop says.

“Yes. Your mother gave me the code and said should anything happen, I was to wait until all the Norus gathered. Then I was to ensure your safety until the situation was resolved.”

“Why didn’t you reach out to us sooner, when the Pathway first exploded?” Bex asks.

“We wanted all the Norus before we gathered,” she explains.

“Well you have us; now what?” Aaden asks.

“Well, now Pryor will tell me her plan to get rid of Malakaro,” she replies simply.

“I don’t really have one—yet,” I admit.

“I thought you did given that you have been gallivanting around, chasing demons, setting fires, and putting your friends at risk,” she accuses.

“It’s my fault. They are trying to find a demon that can help me. They shouldn’t get in trouble. They were just trying to help,” Randy says desperately.

“That may be but their parents sacrificed a lot to ensure their safety. The Norus will be the greatest weapon against evil someday. That is why the entire Angel world has been working tirelessly to protect them,” she replies.

“How exactly are they doing that?” Bex demands.

“There is a board that consists of the most powerful remaining angels on earth. Their mission is to discover what Malakaro is up to and how to stop him. If not, he will destroy all of you before you come to your full powers,” The Face informs us.

“So what do we do?” I ask.

“Nothing,” she tells us.

“What? No! We can’t just sit here and wait for Malakaro to find out where we are,” Key says.

“He’s already found you; all of you,” she says.

We look back at her in hyperalert mode.

“The way you were all using your powers and hopping from country to country, did you think he wouldn’t know? The mixture to hide you has lost all its affect. You have all placed a red ‘X’ on your backs,” The Face says with regret.

“So he’s coming for us, right now?” I ask.

“Yes and no..” she says.

“Um...okay,” East says.

“What you have to understand is this: Malakaro was never meant to be the new evil. He took over by brute force. He killed, tortured, and disemboweled demons for years until the top ranking demons noticed him. He studied under them and when the time was right, killed many of them.”

“Sounds like a great guy,” East says with an uneasy tone.

“Pryor, the board believes that Malakaro wants two things: to destroy the family that rejected him,” she explains.

“It wasn’t my dad’s fault. He didn’t know he even had a son—”

“Pryor, it does not matter what took place before. All that matters is that Malakaro will not stop. And unlike the evils before him, he’s driven by something far more dangerous than a dark nature—revenge. He will pull your life apart until there is nothing left.”

A chill runs down my spine and makes me feel cold all over. I pull my sweater closed and look away. Key places her hand on my shoulder. Sensing that I needed a moment, Swoop addresses The Face.

“You said there were two things he wanted, what’s the second thing?” the younger twin asks.

“What all evil wants: the end of all things.”

“He’s not strong enough to make that happen, right?” East says.

“Not yet, but he’s seeking power. He has been for years. And it’s only a matter of time before he finds it. If that happens the only beings who could even stand a chance against him are in this room,” she tells us.

“How can that be? Why don’t these powerful board members of yours stop him?” Randy asks.

“We can’t find him. But when we do, it’s the intention of the board to take him out before he can acquire the powers he seeks.”

“And if you can’t find him, what then?” I ask.

“The board is confident we will find and stop Malakaro. However if we don’t...let’s just hope we do,” The Face says.

“So he won’t come after us right now because he’s too busy looking for power?” Swoop asks the Face.

“Yes and no, like I said before. He is focusing on finding more power. We don’t yet know how he plans to do that. However we do know that he put together a team and their only objective is to hunt and kill as many of you as they can.”

“He’s assembled a team of demons?” Bex asks.

“They aren’t just demons I’m afraid. Malakaro has altered them with a potent mixture that makes it nearly impossible to kill them. They’re called Kasters. There’s only six of them, but if everything we have heard about them is true, six is quite enough,” The Face informs us.

“Of course! The major badass assembles a team to fight against the team of heroes. That makes perfect sense. This kind of thing is done all the time in comic books.”

“Hey fanboy, wanna dial it back?” Aaden snaps.

“I just meant that—sorry,” Randy replies.

“It’s okay. It does seem like some crazy fantasy gone wrong,” I admit.

“Well, it’s not; it’s real. And the Kasters are out looking for you right now,” The Face tells us.

“I should go home and go get Sam,” I reply as I stand up and head for the door.

“Pryor, you don’t have to do that,” she says.

I don’t pay her any attention. I go to open the door but it locks on its own and the chair I was sitting in moves over to me. Mrs. Greenblatt can move things with her mind.

“Sam is with Tony. He checks in with me every half hour. The best thing you and your team can do is step back and let us take care of Malakaro,” she insists.

I reluctantly sit back down. Aaden studies me; he has been doing that this whole time. Something tells me that had I taken off, he would have followed me. I don’t understand since all he’s done since he’s been back is yell at me.

“Fine, can you at least tell us about these Kasters?” I ask.

“As I said before, there are six of them. Wrath can create a vortex that swallows any and all things near him”

“Wow! That’s so—bad. Very bad,” Randy says as he clears his throat. 

“Who else?” Key asks.

“Twisted or “Twist” as he’s known by his friends. He’s a Kaster who can inflict pain by sending waves to your brain that cause excruciating pain. Few can survive an assault by Twist for more than a minute or two.”

“He’d have to catch me to inflict pain, and no one can catch me,” Swoop says with a smile.

“What about the three others?” Aaden asks.

“Manic is a Partial,” The Face says.

“I didn’t think there were any of them left,” I admit.

“What’s a Partial?” Randy wonders out loud.

“A being that is half animal,” I reply. 

“What kind of animal?” East asks The Face.

“Manic can transform into a winged beast with poisonous fangs. If he rips into you, it’s highly unlikely you will survive.” 

“You’re just full of good news, lady,” Aaden says, shaking his head.

“Who are the last two Kasters?” Randy asks, trying to hide his excitement.

“They have a female on the team,” The Face replies.

“Well at least your brother isn’t sexist,” East quips.

I glare at him and he raises his hands up as if to say “I surrenders.”

“Who’s the Kaster chic?” Swoop asks.

“Her name is Ruin,” The Face says.

“Are you sure?” Aaden asks, suddenly alarmed.

“We’re certain. Why, do you know her?” The Face inquires.

“Ah...no. I mean, I’ve heard of her,” Aaden says, slightly shifting in his chair.

The group and I exchange curious glances around the room but no one says anything.

“The final Kaster is the leader. His name is Kill.”

“We met him a few days ago. He’s the one who set the house on fire with the baby in it. I would love to get my hands on him,” Key says.

“Same here,” I reply.

“Since you met him, he’s changed. Malakaro enhanced him, so however violent he was before, expect him to be worse.”

“Good to know,” Bex replies.

“I am saying all of this because I need you to know just how much danger you are in. That way when you get the urge to wander around after demons, you’ll rethink it. This school and your home are the two places that are the most protected. And those are the places you should be—nowhere else.”

“We got it; we’ll be good little boys and girls,” I reply sardonically.

Mrs. Greenblatt turns away from me and addresses the others.

“I need to know that all of you understand my instructions,” The Face pushes.

I quickly signal to Randy. He looks over at the object that’s caught my eye on Mrs. Greenblatt’s desk. He nods slightly.

“Yeah, we got it,” Bex says reluctantly.

“Mrs. Greenblatt, only my mom knew the code so when you texted me, I thought...”

“I’m sorry about that. But there’s a Para named Nelson Blake. He was an apprentice; he studied under the Para who created the Pathway. He is our best chance at putting the Pathway back together. It shouldn’t take more than a few weeks,” she assures me.

I know she’s trying to help, but a few weeks sounds like a lifetime. And judging from the expression on everyone’s faces, they are thinking the same thing.

“Okay, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, on to the next. Please put your names on here,” she says, smiling brightly as she places a clipboard in front of us. 

“What’s this?” I ask.

“Sign up sheet; all of you have detention.”

“Seriously?” Swoop asks.

“Your education is important. Malakaro will not interrupt it. Not as long as I’m around. All of you will report to school like everyone else,” The Face says.

“You know we had to try and help Randy,” Key insists.

“Helping your friend isn’t an ‘official’ mission, therefore you were cutting class,” she replies.

“Fine, but will you at least ask the board if they can help us find Oden? He has Stirr and we need it,” I implore.

“I will indeed broach the subject,” she tells us.

“Thank you,” I reply, trying hard to conceal irritation.

“Aaden-Grey, I have taken the liberty of enrolling you in this school, like the others. You are expected to attend,” she informs him.

“You can expect whatever the hell you want,” he says as he heads for the door.

“From what I gather, your friends didn’t come to you. You came to them. I believe you did so because they, or at the very least someone on the team, needed you. I assure you, that has not changed. The danger is far from over.”

Aaden shakes his head in a mix of anger and frustration. He shoves his hands inside his jean’s pockets and looks up at the ceiling. As upset as he is, he makes no further attempt to leave. 

“Good; now about that detention...” 

Once word gets out that the group is in detention, it suddenly becomes the new school hot spot. There are a number of students trying to get a peek inside the classroom. The ones in the room with us try to communicate with the group without getting caught by the teacher.

With the exception of Bex and Aaden, who remain stoic, the group is very polite to the humans. Especially East and Swoop. They’re having the time of their life, judging by the look on their faces.

When detention is finally over, the “prisoners” flood out into the hallways. I signal for the group to follow me before they are bombarded with the student body.

“You got it?” I ask Randy when we are far enough away.

He smiles confidently and tosses a cell phone over to me.

“Is that Face’s cell?” Key asks.

“Yup, I had Randy swipe it,” I reply.

“Why do you need her cell?” East asks.

“Face is in school all the time. There’s no way she could be using a Port every time she has to see the board. That means they probably stay in contact through the phone. So I had Randy take it so he could use his superpower on it,” I say.

“You have a power?” Key asks him.

“Um...yeah, kind of,” he says bashfully.

“He hacked Face’s cell. Whatever activity takes place on her phone will also show up on mine,” I tell them.

“You know how to hack a phone?” Bex says suspiciously.

“It’s the right of all nerds,” he says proudly.

“How did you do it?” Swoop asks with admiration.

“With a few purchases from ebay, you can do just about anything,” Randy says.

“Never mind that right now, go put it back on her desk before she notices,” I order.

Randy takes off down the hall with The Face’s phone.

“So I take it you don’t plan to lay low?” Aaden asks.

“I’m not gonna go charging into a den of demons or anything but my dad told me it’s never a good idea to rely on one being for information. Especially if that information may lead your team into an attack,” I tell him.

“So you’re ready to call us a team but you’re not ready to tell us about page eighty-seven?” Bex asks.

“What’s page eighty-seven?” Key asks.

“It’s nothing,” I reply.

“Come on, Pryor. Now is not the time to be keeping secrets. Your Dad hurt you when he kept things from you; so why are you doing the same to us?” Bex pushes.

“Maybe she’s not ready to talk about it, Bex,” Aaden says.

“Pryor, you need to tell us what’s going on, if you want to be a team. You need to start sharing what you know,” Bex says, ignoring Aaden.

“Bullshit. This isn’t about her sharing information. This is about you challenging her at every turn because you’re pissed she won’t name you Second in Command,” Aaden replies.

“Back off, Silver, I’m warning you,” Bex says tightly.

“And what are you gonna do if I don’t?” Aaden challenges.

“You guys need to stop this; it’s stupid and childish,” Key reasons.

“As long as we’re on the subject, you might want to start giving up some details too. How do you know Ruin?” Bex pushes.

“Who said I know her?” Aaden replies coldly.

“You nearly shit your pants when The Face mentioned her. Who is she to you?” Bex says, getting in Aaden’s face.

“You take one more step, Bex, and I will drop you.”

“Guys, enough. Let’s just cool it for now,” East says.

“Silver started this. All I want is information from Pryor,” Bex insists.

“You sure that’s all you want from her?” Aaden replies hotly.

Huh???

What the hell are they talking about? I look over at Key and she doesn’t look as stunned as I do. She looks worried and hurt. Before any of us can reply, Randy comes towards us.

“Hey, I put it back. The Face will never know we—” Randy stops midsentence.

He studies the face of the group and realizes he’s interrupted a very intense moment.

“Um...everything okay?” he asks awkwardly.

“Everything’s fine. The boys wanted to measure their wingspans, so that we would know whose is bigger. But we left the tape measure at home,” Swoop says disapprovingly.

Bex and Aaden continue to glare at each other with utter disdain. The air crackles with tension and ego.

“Do you guys really need me to say ‘that’s enough’?” I ask.

Finally the two step back from each other. I shake my head, seriously wanting to throttle them both.

“You guys used to be friends. What happened?” I ask.

Neither of them replies.

“Fine, don’t tell me. But if this keeps going on, I won’t ask for an explanation. I will demand one. Now get it together; we have more important things to focus on,” I scold.

“Guys, we’re on the same team here,” East reminds them.

“That’s right, we are a team. That’s why I’m going to tell you about page eighty-seven and why I didn’t show up to the Atu: I was reading my dad’s Muse,” I begin.

“Muse, that’s the journal that chronicles your parents’ past missions, right?” Randy asks.

“Yes. I got to page eighty-seven and I couldn’t get past it because that’s when my dad lost the first member of his team,” I admit.

“Oh, I read that part; it was kind of sad,” East says.

“No, it’s more than that. I’ve heard about the Guardian missions and how my parents were heroes. But I never thought about the cost of those victories.”

“The Guardians were amazing. They saved a lot of lives,” Bex says.

“Yeah, they had a lot of victories but there were also a lot of funerals. And the thought that I could be responsible for one of your deaths...you guys are my family. I don’t know how I could live with...” 

“Awwww, come here, Carrot,” Swoop teases as she pulls me close to her.

“I’m serious, Swoop. I don’t want anything to happen to you guys.”

“The fact is Malakaro isn’t giving us a choice. If we don’t pull together, he will take us out one by one. We have to start acting like a team because that’s what we are.” 

“Swoop is right and as a team we tell each other things; that is if these things are relevant to danger we’re facing. So, Aaden, do you know this demon girl, Ruin?” I ask.

As the First Noru, I’m concerned that a Kaster could have inside info about us. She could share whatever she knows with the others and bring us all down. But then again, I don’t see Aaden sharing his secrets with her. I don’t see the two of them nestled in bed discussing their inner thoughts.

Maybe you don’t see it because you don’t want to...

I look Aaden in the eye and keep my expression “official.” I hide my nervousness behind an overly confident stance.

Is Ruin just one of the many girls he was seeing before she became a Kaster? His mom ended up falling for a demon; will Aaden follow that same path? Where does she fall on the “Sluts of Silver” tour? Is she just an opening act or the main attraction?

OMO! Does he love her? Dear Omnis, he loves this Ruin girl. He’s kissed her. They’ve probably gone all the way. It probably happened as recently as a few days ago...

DAMN IT, PRYOR, FOCUS!

“Aaden, how do you know Ruin?” I ask again, determined to stay calm. 

Aaden doesn’t answer me. Instead he zeroes in on Bex. While the rest of us have moved on from the tension, the two of them are still deep in it. Aaden addresses Bex in a chilling, matter-of-fact tone.

“You ever come at me like that again, Para, and it will be the very last thing you do...”