I sigh and lean against the wall for support.
“Maybe there’s a way to cast out--”
“Rio, let’s not do this again. We have looked for ways to get around it; there is none. Marcus has to take my life. He has to do it before midnight of the New Year.”
“So how do you think we will get Marcus to agree to kill you?”
“I think first we have to get him to stop looking for an answer.”
“He’ll never stop.”
“Then we just have to get him to understand that there is no saving me.”
“I have read Marcus’s Wave, Em. He would rather die than give up on saving you. In fact, his drive is the only thing keeping him going. It’s like he doesn’t see the world anymore. He only sees you.”
“We can’t let the world end because of me.”
“The decision isn’t ours. It’s all Marcus.”
“Where is he?” I ask.
“Same place he’s been for the past month…”
*********************
I walk into the Guardian’s home and find him sitting exactly where I knew he would be—on the living room floor reading. Every inch of the room is covered with books. They range from the history of the Council to angel fairytales.
He has read and reread every one of them. Every book says the same thing: A Dy can’t be cast out without killing the being it was hidden in. No matter what, in order to get the Triplex, Marcus has to take my life. There is no question about it: my Angel is in hell.
“Hey,” I call out softly from the doorway.
He doesn’t answer. I don’t think he even knows I’m here. I walk up to him and tap him on the shoulder. Startled, he looks up at me. There’s sadness in his eyes. But the sadness can’t take away his inexplicable beauty. He’s hot no matter what’s going on.
It’s just my luck, I fall for a gorgeous Angel and what do you know? He has to kill me…
“What? What is it? What’s wrong?” Marcus asks on high alert. His biggest fear aside from having to take my life is that the Akons will find out about the Dy and come after me, or worse, Lucy will.
I’m actually okay with Lucy coming after me. I have wanted to kill her since she murdered my mom. I know I’m no match for her but I don’t care. I would like to strike her just one time. I don’t tell Marcus because the thought of me going up against the source of all evil doesn’t sit well with him.
“I thought you were going to pick me up and we were going to the parade?”
“Yeah, on Halloween right? That’s days away.”
“It’s tonight.”
“Oh. Sorry,” He says, never taking his eyes away from the pages that lay out before him.
“Marcus, you need to recharge.”
“I will in a minute.”
“No, you need to rest now.”
“What I need is a way to help you.”
“Please go recharge.”
“Not yet.”
“Marcus—”
“No!” he barks loudly. The other Angels appear from various rooms of the house.
Marcus sighs heavily, runs his hand through his hair, and kicks a stack of books across the room. The force of his kick causes the books to embed into the wall.
“We’re okay,” I call out to the others. Miku, Ameana, and Jay all look to Rio to see if he agrees. Rio reads Marcus’s Wave and signals that he has calmed down. Thankfully, they leave us alone. I sit down on the floor beside my boyfriend.
“Why don’t we get some air?” I offer.
“No, I have to read this.”
“Marcus, you’ve read that book already. You’ve read all of these already.”
“Yeah and I will read them again until I find a way to get the Triplex without…”
“What if there is no way?”
“There is a way. And I will find it.”
“I just want you to stop torturing yourself.”
“So what am I supposed to do?”
“You have to get the Triplex out of me before midnight of the New Year, that gives us only two months.”
“Two months to do what?”
“Be with each other.”
“So what, I just give up and take your life like it’s nothing?”
“I’m just being realistic.”
“I don’t need you to be realistic. I need you to be supportive. I need my team but they all just left.”
“They’ve been supportive. They have scoured the world trying to find some kind of way to get the Triplex without hurting me. For the past month all your team has done is support you. Support us.”
“We can’t stop now. I’m close to something. I know I am.”
“The Sage—“