It’s the screaming that wakes my ass up. All around us humans can be heard crying out for help in high-pitched tones. The first thing I see when I open my eyes are the body parts of the former Seller, Tony-Tone. Also on the floor is the lifeless corpse of one of the few angels who I actually give a damn about—Sam. The blast sent him flying across the room. A mix of regret, sorrow, and rage invade my body as I look over at him.

Suddenly, I hear someone groan next to me. I turn to see Key and the rest of the team on the floor. Whatever it is that had knocked me down, did the same thing to the team. They gather themselves and look at the damage in the house. The entire outside wall has been ripped off. The house is gutted and nearly everything is in shambles.

“Is everyone okay?” Key asks.

“Yeah, I think so,” Swoop tells her sister.

“What the hell just happened?” I demand as I inspect the bloody gash behind my head and pick myself off the floor.

“I don’t know, but we have to get the humans because whatever it is, it’s terrifying them,” East says as he helps Swoop to her feet.

“The explosion could have been caused by Kasters,” Bex suggests.

“I don’t think they have Powerballs that strong,” Swoop says as she wipes blood from her chin.

I look out of the gaping window that was once the side of the house. There’s a massive orb of dark light demolishing the streets of New York City. 

“Oh no,” I whisper as I take a good look at the moving sphere of destruction.

“What is it?” Swoop asks.

“The blast wasn’t caused by a Kaster,” I reply.

“Then who caused it?” Bex asks.

“Pryor,” I inform them.

Without thinking, we all take to the air and go after the dark void. When we get close enough, we are awed by the sheer energy coming from the First Noru. Pryor is emitting so much power she is hovering several feet in the air without using her wings.

Her eyes are submerged in darkness. Her skin is infused with black spider-like veins that run all along her body. Her ability to Pull has expanded from the palm of her hand to her entire being. Her powers radiate off her body and affect everything around it. Trees are falling, homes are crumbling, and the humans are scattering in fear for their lives. Pryor Reese Cane is now death itself.

“Pryor, your powers are out of control, you have to stop!” I shout.

She keeps moving throughout the city with no concern whatsoever about the destruction she is causing. The team tries to pull the humans out of the way of falling debris, but the stronger Pryor gets, the harder it is to keep the humans safe.

The twins try to reason with her by begging her to calm down and focus on controlling her powers. It doesn’t work. Pryor is driven by wrath and grief, two forces that never relent once they get a hold of you.

“We have to stop her,” East shouts as he saves an elderly man from one of many falling homes.

Pryor’s powers continue to expand, causing cars to flip over, fire hydrants to explode, and the very ground to shake.

“If we can’t reason with her, we have to contain her,” Key says.

Swoop hurls her necklace at Pryor’s feet. A Holder quickly forms around her. The bubble-like prison surrounds Pryor and holds her powers. She looks at her new prison and closes her eyes. When she opens them again a beam of darkness shoots from her pupils and causes small fractures to appear along the Holder.

“The Holder is giving out!” Bex says.

“What the...?” East says, dumbfounded.

“Pryor, stop, please! You’re going to hurt someone,” the twins shout at the same time.

I try to get close but there’s just too much power swirling around her.

“Pry, I know it hurts but Sam is gone and this will not bring him back,” I plead with her.

“If we don’t stop her now, she’s gonna hurt the humans,” Key yells out to us.

“Too late,” East says.

Pryor has broken free of the Holder and now she hovers even higher in the air. Her powers have increased yet again. And now it’s not just buildings falling to the ground, it’s the humans.

Key runs to examine them. She glides her hands in the air, just above their bodies.

“They’re still alive but not for long,” she informs us desperately.

“Pryor, please, please, stop,” I beg her once again.

It doesn’t work. The others have their hands full. I am the only one who is actually close enough to her to try and stop her.

“Silver, you have to stop her!” East says, coming to the same conclusion I have.

Damn it, Pryor, don’t make me do this!

I beg Pryor yet again but just like before, she is nonresponsive. Meanwhile all around us the humans are falling.

Things go from crap to complete bullshit when I look up and see the Omari: a team of Para Angels whose job it is to track down angels who have broken the law. They wear long white robes and move with speeds that are impressive even for angels. The Omari are hateful rat bastards who kill without remorse or pause.

“Call them off!” I yell at Bex.

“I can’t. I’m not their Kon yet,” he replies.

“I don’t give a damn if you’re not their king yet. You’re next in line; they will listen to you. Call them off,” I order.

“The humans are gonna die if we don’t stop her right now,” Key says as she studies the human body in her arms.

“Do not let the Omari touch her,” I bark at Bex.

“Pryor, try to control it, please,” Swoop begs.

The Omari surround Pryor and get ready to attack.

“Stay away from her; we can take care of this,” Bex warns them.

“The Noru is killing the humans. We were ordered to stop her,” the Omari say in unison.

“Fuck your orders; you touch her and I will kill you,” I promise.

“Silver, stay out of the way,” one of them cautions.

“She doesn’t know what she’s doing; she just lost her brother,” Key pleads.

“That may be but we can’t allow her to continue,” one of the Omari replies.

“Enos, you can’t do this. She’s the First Noru,” Bex reminds him.

“Bex, we have orders,” he says stubbornly.

“Guys...this woman’s gonna die,” Key says as she frantically tries to revive her.

“Key, heal her,” Swoop shouts.

“Pryor’s power is too strong; she’s hurting them quicker than I can heal,” Key says.

Enos, the bald Omari member with serious eyes, signals for his team to attack. The twins, East, and Bex all beg for them not to hurt their leader. But me, I’m done begging for today.

When the Omari link hands, an orb of light begins to form among them. The more power they apply, the more it grows. They are about to hurl the expanding Powerball at Pryor. While it may not be their intention to kill her, there is no guarantee she’ll survive their collective attack.

Thinking quickly, I send a Powerball to four nearby skyscrapers. The blast shatters hundreds of windows and causes a hail of glass to rain down on the Omari, temporarily breaking their connection. 

Pryor stands a better chance of surviving an attack from me than she does the Omari. Having no choice, I hurl a Powerball at Pryor and hope it’s enough to stop her without hurting her. The silver Powerball hits her in her shoulder and throws her off balance.

“East, hug Pryor, now,” I yell.

East sends his force field into the air; it wraps itself around Pryor and begins to weaken her. But she is able to rip the force field apart before it can drain her power completely. Fearing she’ll regain her power, the Omari take aim once again.

I consider using my secondary power: my ability to Call; with it I can summon anything I see in my mind’s eye. I don’t use that power a lot. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. It’s been unreliable ever since I’ve come back from the Center...

Screw it, gotta try...

I Call for a Port just as the Omari aim their orb towards Pryor. I’m damn near weak with relief when the Port appears beneath my feet. My relief doesn’t last long because the Omari assholes throw the orb at Pryor.

Fuck!

I race over to her, grab her hand, and pull her onto the Port just before the orb lands.

While I am able to stop the direct hit, the impact of the orb hitting the ground causes a secondary blast that shreds into our wings, knocks Pryor unconscious, and throws us off the Port. Pryor and I go hurtling through the air uncontrollably. With damaged wings, we are unable to stop our impending deaths.

The rest of the team takes to the sky to help but the Omari block them. Furious, Bex attacks, as does the rest of the team. I keep calling for the Port but it won’t reappear. My luck has run out; my secondary power is failing me.

Omnis, you loathsome son of a bitch, you better not let her die. You owe me!

Once again I Call on the Port. This time it appears right where I need it to: underneath Pryor, breaking her fall. As I go tumbling past her, I latch on to the rim of the Port and pull myself up. I hold Pryor protectively against me and we disappear among the haze of Powerballs and debris. 

When Pryor and I reappear, we are surrounded by lush green rolling hills, open skies, and the sound of waves crashing against the rocks from the water below. We’re in the small town of Kenmare, Northern Ireland. I had programmed this Port to take me back here should I ever need to make a quick escape. I lift Pryor off the Port and carry her over to my stone cabin nestled between two emerald banks. 

Once inside the two-room cabin, I’m greeted by my second favorite sound—silence. The cabin is sparsely decorated. I never liked having too much furniture. Simple always worked best for me.

I have a brown leather armchair that faces towards the window that gives me an immaculate view of the mountain range. It is here that I have seen the best of Omnis’ work. I’ve seen remarkable sunrises, awe-inspiring birds, and magnificent full moons. 

In addition to the armchair, I have stacks and stacks of books that go nearly as high as the ceiling. Books that I’ve read hundreds of times but find comfort in having around. On the opposite side of the chair I have a small yet comfortable bed. That’s where I lay her down.

There are so many thoughts running through my mind, it feels like I’m going to lose it at any moment. What if she never wakes up? What if the Omari are coming after her? What if the humans back there die before help can be given to them? Can Pryor handle that kind of guilt? What will her punishment be?

Aaden, stop overthinking and do what needs to be done: send out the text. It’s the only way you can make sure that you and Pryor aren’t found, at least not until we get confirmation that all the humans are alive. If Pryor ended up killing any one of them, even by accident, they could send her to The Center...

I take out my cell and text the Specialist. A Specialist is a Healer with a concentration in a certain area. In this case, the Specialist is an Opti. An Opti is an expert in the craft of eluding the powers that be. They have mixtures that change your appearance, powerful fusions that make people forget they’ve seen you ,or if need be, they can make you altogether invisible.

The Opti is the reason I was able to hide from the prying eyes of the Angel world. I was spotted only when I wanted to be. For a while I was under guard by the Paras but thanks to the Opti, I was able to get away. Their mixtures are far more powerful than the one the team took to hide from Malakaro. You can use your powers and still not be found out. But the Council outlaws Opti mixtures, so the team was not allowed to use it.

I wait a while but I don’t get a response to my text. I pace nervously around the room and text yet again. I know the chance of getting a reply is slim to none, but I don’t care. I need to keep us hidden. I can only do that with the help of an Opti so I send out a third text.

Certain I will go completely nuts if I don’t find something to do, I call the twins. They tell me the whole team is gathered together, along with Randy. Key puts me on speaker and I assure them that we are fine. They insist on coming to check on their leader themselves, especially Bex.

“Look, I know you guys want to be here but from now on chances are you’ll be followed. And we can’t lead them to Pryor, not until we know if any of the humans died from today’s event. Now what happened after we left?” I ask.

“There’s a massive cleanup job the Paras have had to do. East and a few others have been called to Mind wipe the entire city. The board is pissed that we attacked the Omari,” Key says.

“Screw that, they were about to hurt Pryor,” I reply.

“We know, but an angel attacking another angel is against the rules. You know that,” East adds.

“Yeah whatever, they can blow me. Key, can’t you heal the humans now that Pry’s powers aren’t in the way?” I ask.

“Silver, I’ve healed as many as I could but there’s a lot more and I need help.” 

“Why don’t you get help from the Paras?” I push.

“A lot of the healers are stuck in the light. The Paras are gathering the ones that remain but it could take a while,” East says.

“Are the Omari after us?” I ask.

“They are waiting to see what happens with the humans. If any one of the three hundred and fourteen humans who were injured today die...” Bex’s voice trails off.

He doesn’t finish his sentence; he doesn’t have to. I know all too well what the future could hold for Pryor, First Noru or not. The team thinks if Pryor is responsible for the death of a human she could go to prison or even be killed. They are wrong. It could be even worse...

I promise them that I will look after Pryor while they try and smooth things over with the Paras, The Face, and well, basically everyone. In light of the death of the youngest Noru, they are hoping everyone will be more understanding.

However, if a human should sustain fatal injuries...

There’s a knock on the door. I peek out the window, ready to attack if I need to. The being on the other side of the door is the Opti. I rush over nervously and let the Opti inside. She has long raven hair with heart-shaped crimson lips and deep brown eyes. I greet her with a slightly unsteady voice.

“Hello, Diana.”

“Silver,” she replies, amused by my choice of words.

“I didn’t think you’d ever come,” I confess.

“I didn’t think you’d ever ask.”

“This could be a grave mistake,” I reply.

“It could be,” she confirms.

“I need your help.”

“Yes, you do,” she replies simply.

“Will you come inside?” I ask.

“Not until you say it,” she insists.

“Say what?” I reply.

She leans her head to the side slightly and raises her eyebrow.

“Say it,” she orders.

“Will you come inside...Ruin.”