It’s Saturday morning and I know staying in the house with Aaden will drive me nuts. So I try to get dressed as quickly as I can to avoid seeing him. Yet when I walk into the kitchen, I can’t help but peek around the corner towards the direction of his room to try and catch a glimpse of him.
Oh my Omnis, I’m so pathetic, someone please shoot me already.
“He’s gone,” East says.
“What? Who?” I ask innocently as I walk back to the table and sip one of Sam’s flavored mixture drinks.
“Silver,” East replies.
“Oh, I wasn’t looking for...I mean—where did he go?” I ask.
“I don’t know. He told me to tell you that if it has to do with team business, contact him and he’d come, but other than that...he’d be off doing his own thing.”
“Well as long as he’s here for the team, it’s whatever,” I reply, feeling anger surge within me.
I rush out of the house only to have Key race after me and hand me a small package. She says it came from The Face and that it was delivered while I was still Recharging. I thank her and take off. I’m too pissed at Aaden to stay in the house. I head straight for Randy’s apartment.
“Can you believe him?” I shout.
“Pryor, you’re going to make a hole in the floor and that makes it kind of hard to get our security deposit back,” Randy says.
“Argh, how dare he. So what, I’m not allowed to talk to him unless it’s about Noru business? Argh, that smug son of a bitch!”
“Maybe he just doesn’t want it to be awkward for you two,” Randy suggests.
“No, he’s rubbing it in my face. Who does he think he is? Better yet, who does he think I am? Does he think I would stalk him like some common fangirl groupie? Argh! The nerve of him!” I roar.
That’s when I hear a snap-like sound. I look down and realize I had taken Randy’s bat when I was ranting. And now it’s in two pieces in my hand.
“Sorry,” I reply as I place the wooden bat on the floor.
“It’s okay, but maybe you should take a seat and meditate or something,” Randy suggests.
I fall back onto his bed with a great big sigh. Then something falls out of my pocket. Randy picks it up.
“What’s this?” he asks.
“I don’t know. The Face sent it to me this morning,” I reply as I open the ring-sized box.
I pull out a sealed, small vial filled with dark blue liquid.
“What is it?” Randy asks.
“It’s called a Kurrent. It’s a mixture that creates a 3-D image of the being that purchased it and replays a message from them.”
“Wow, angel voicemail. Cool.”
“It is also programmed to know who it’s speaking to.”
“Who is the message from?”
“According to this note from The Face, my mom.”
“So, open the vial,” he pushes.
“Seeing my mom and knowing it’s not really her...”
“Pry, it’s a message your mom wanted you to hear. I’ll stay with you if it helps,” he offers.
“I guess I’d have to sooner or later, right?” I say as I pour the mixture onto the floor.
Instantly a 3D version of my mom starts to form. I’d forgotten how pretty she looks. Her warm purple, eyes stare back at me. She walks up to me, takes my hand, and looks into my eyes.
“Hello, Carrot. I’m making this Kurrent in case something happens to us. I was supposed to make the recording with your father but he couldn’t bring himself to imagine a world where he wouldn’t be there to protect you and Sam. You know us girls are much stronger than the guys. So it’s up to us to deal with what cruelties life may bring.
“There’s so much I want to tell you, but it would take an entire lifetime to say it all. I don’t know what will happen to cause you to have to play this recording, but whatever happened to us I want you to know that your father and I love you. And we love Sam. And while you may grieve for our absence, you are not allowed to give up. You are our child and you will make it through whatever lies ahead.
“I know you know how to fight and how to defend yourself. But what your training hasn’t prepared you for is this: if you win all the battles that lie ahead yet allow the evil you witness to change you, to make you hard and cynical, you have in fact lost.
“Sweetheart, no matter what happens, it is imperative to hold on to your kindness, compassion and yes, your humanity. That is what you fight for. That is what you die for. Do not let anyone take away your willingness to love and be loved. That’s an order. I’m your mom so you have to listen to me.
“Do you hear that? That’s Sam and your dad shouting for me to hurry up. We’re taking Sam to his first official day of flight training. Your dad could hardly Recharge last night, he was so excited. I better go.
“Just remember three things: You are loved. Protect your humanity. And your team is your family so protect them like you would Sam. Oh and one last thing: Aaden’s fighting a lot of demons right now. The kind you and I can’t see. He’s very much like your dad was when I first met him: he will require... patience.
“Okay, I’m coming! I have to go, but remember: You. Are. Loved.”
The mixture reverts back to its original liquid form and leaps back into the vial. I turn away from Randy and look out the window.
“I’m sorry, Pry. Maybe it was a bad idea to listen to the recording after all,” Randy says.
“No, it wasn’t. I just didn’t think I’d hear Sam’s voice in the background. It threw me.”
He comes over and gently rubs my back. I try to smile back but don’t quite make it.
“I wish you could have heard your dad too.”
“Actually I do hear my dad,” I reply.
“What do you mean?”
“I hear him in my head saying, “Pryor, even angels need reminding.”
“I don’t get it.”
“Whenever they were on missions, my dad made sure that if at all possible the team got a chance to have fun and blow off some steam. He’d say even angels need to be reminded of the grace of Omnis. And you know what? I know just how to do that. Let’s go!”
Before Randy and I take off, I text the team and tell them the plan. Everyone responds and agrees to come along. Well, everyone but Aaden. Our plans aren’t “team business” so I guess he won’t be coming.
We arrive in Paradise Plitvice Lake, near Southeast Europe. Here, Omnis placed the most beautiful waterfall in the human world. Over a dozen rivers converge and cascade down throughout the picturesque terrain. The clear turquoise waters, lush planet life, and vast mountain range always leave me in awe.
“This is incredible,” Randy says as he looks around.
“Yeah, Sam and I used to vacation here with my parents,” I reply.
“Death takes vacations?”
“So do Time and Fate. Just never at the same time. My mom gets the summer months because it coincides with our school vacations.”
Bex, East, and Swoop fly past us and head for the highest peak they can find. They quickly strip down to their swimwear and get ready.
“What are they doing?” Randy asks.
“Another reason to come here is because the mountains are just high enough for the team to Soul Dive.”
“What’s that? I wanna do it too,” he says.
“No Randy, you don’t,” Key warns.
“How do you know, Key? I might have an adventurous side. A dangerous side,” he says, trying way too hard to impress her.
“Randy, Soul Diving is a game where two angels leap off the tallest mountaintop at the same time without using their wings. Whoever opens up their wings first, loses. It’s what the humans would call a game of chicken,” I explain.
“Oh, that doesn’t sound too bad,” he lies.
“Really?” Key asks.
“Well, what happens if one of them doesn’t pull up in time?” he says.
“There are Ports at the base of all the mountains. They take you straight to Difi,” I reply.
“What’s Difi?” he asks.
“Hell.”
“Oh...” he says quietly.
Key and I exchange a look of bemusement. Key comes over to him in her bathing suit and takes his arm in hers.
“I know if you had wings, you’d Soul Dive and not even think twice about it. But since you don’t, I thought we’d hit the waterfall in the lower terrain while Bex and the others are diving. What do you say?” Key asks kindly.
I think Randy lost his power of speech in that moment. All he could do was nod and give her a goofy grin. He then rushes and takes his shirt off, leaving only his Star Wars shorts. The two of them jump into the water and cry out excitedly as they splash around and swim. A few mountains over, I watch as the rest of the team Soul Dive and carry on like happy maniacs.
I strip my clothes off and reveal the bathing suit underneath, but I don’t go in the water. I sit on top of one of the cliffs and look out at my team. Well, most of my team. Aaden isn’t here.
Aaden isn’t here...
I allow myself to go back to the night we kissed for what I hope will be the last time. I can feel his hand on the side of my face as if it’s happening right now. His soft lips felt like summer breezing through my wings. And when I parted his lips with mine, it sent a rush of pleasure to parts of my soul I didn’t know existed until that very moment.
It’s not just the kiss I miss; it’s him. I know it makes me a complete loser for missing a guy who doesn’t give a damn about me, but I do. I miss the way his eyes glaze over when The Face is talking. I miss the intensity in his voice and the confidence of his walk.
Most of all, I miss the way he says my name. It always sends a tingle whirling through me and makes me feel like I’ve had a double shot of Coy. And no matter how many times I’ve witnessed it, it still amazes me how he can be so aggressive in battle and yet so gentle in his touch.
“Moping is not allowed today!” Randy says behind me.
I look just in time to see him and Key coming for me. They pick me up and scold me for staying out of the water.
“I don’t want to swim, I’m fine here,” I promise.
“Well, too bad,” Randy says.
He signals to Key and the two of them conspire and hurl me off the cliff. I scream in delight all the way down. When I hit the water, I gasp at how cold it is and they all laugh at me. Soon East and the others join us in the water. It’s the most fun I’ve had in awhile.
Things go from entertaining to outright hilarious when the force of the waterfall knocks Randy’s shorts off. He’s horrified but still laughing as he tries to find his shorts in the water. Swoop and Key make inappropriate and silly comments. The guys join in and I’m laughing so hard my sides hurt.
Finally Randy emerges from the water with his shorts in hand. He says it’s not funny as he puts his shorts back on, but we catch him laughing at himself yet again. We point out the stray flower petals, leaves, and seaweed that have latched on to his body.
“Did I get it all?” he asks as he turns his back to us.
“Yeah, man, you’re fine,” Bex says.
“You still have one behind your thigh,” I call out from a few yards away.
“Pryor is just messing with you,” Swoop laughs.
“Oh really?” Randy says as he playfully leaps towards me and sends me flying backwards into the water.
We have a “splash” war for a few moments then head out of the water. I then swear to Randy I wasn’t messing with him. He doesn’t believe me so I make him turn around so I can take it off for him. I bend down and swipe the small stray debris from the back of Randy’s thigh.
“Damn, it’s stuck,” I tell him.
“Oh no, is it some kind of jellyfish? Is it sucking my blood or something?” Randy says, starting to panic.
I get all the way down to the ground so I can take a closer look.
“Pryor, c’mon, tell me! Is it a jellyfish?”
“No,” I reply.
“Then what the hell is it, Pry?”
“It’s a rose; a blue rose.”
~FIN~
Book Name, Series Name Book 2, is available at your favorite retailer.
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The Noru 2: The Last Akon is available now at your favorite retailer.
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