“I thought about that. When we were being chased by the Fire Swans, many would fly ahead of us in an attempt to surround us. But as soon as they get here, they’d turn back.”
“There’s some kind of force field or something?”
“That’s my guess.”
“Well, there has to be another way around it.”
“We’ve watched the Swans, none of them have ever flown past this point. We’ll have to turn around and find a side entrance.”
“But Isabelle said there wasn’t one,” I protest.
“There may be one she doesn’t know about.”
“That’s gonna take some time.”
“A day or two at least,” he says, filled with despair.
“Hey, I was thinking about it and maybe if I die, it wouldn’t be that bad. I mean I would get to go to the bridge and choose the Light,” I offer.
“It doesn’t work like that. If you die as a direct result of the mission, you won’t go into the Light. You won’t go to the bridge, you’ll go straight to limbo. Do you get that? Anything having to do with the mission goes into limbo if it’s killed during that time.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that.”
I look down onto the raging liquid death trap below. Marcus and I stay silent for a few minutes. Then I break it because I know it’s time.
“Marcus—” I begin.
“Please don’t, Emmy.”
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t tell me some crap about how I have to consider letting you go. For the last time, that’s not gonna happen,” he snaps.
I don’t say anything. If I open my mouth, we’ll just get into some stupid argument and that’s the last thing I want to do right now.
However, I think my boyfriend was expecting me to reply. The fact that I choose to remain silent throws him off.
“Sorry,” he says, once he realizes the effect his tone had on me.
“It’s alright but we need to talk,” I plead with him.
“Fine, but not about your death.”
“It’s okay because I don’t want to talk to my boyfriend about my death either. I want to talk to the First Guardian.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means I need you to think like the courageous leader you are and not the guy I’ve come to love. Can you do that?”
I take his silence as a sign that I should forge ahead with the conversation.
“Marcus, after Sara died and I retreated from the world, you brought me back. You told me that I couldn’t try and save the world. It was too big a notion to wrap my head around. You said I should focus on the people I know and love. Do you remember?”
“Yeah, I do,” he says quietly.
“That’s what I need you to do. I need you to focus on this,” I pull out a Spiderman action figure the size of my finger.
“What is that?” he asks.
“I was having nightmares once I went back to my apartment. Ben’s Mom said she could feel how sad and alone I felt. She said Ben could feel it, too. One night when I was babysitting him, he gave this to me. He has a ton of Spiderman stuff but this is his favorite. I asked why he would give it away and he said because I needed a hero.
“He was right. I do need one. I need a hero to make sure a kid like Ben gets to have a future. I need someone to focus on his perfect little face and protect him from evil. I know you love me. That’s been my saving grace. But Ben is my heart. Be my hero; save him…”
He sighs heavily and nods, but he can’t bring himself to look at me.
“I need to hear you say it. I need to hear you say that if we run out of time, you’ll take my life and save the world.”
“Okay.”
“Promise me.”
“Okay.”
“MARCUS, SAY THE WORDS!”
“I promise. I will take your life…”
At first I think he’s just saying what I want to hear. I think about getting Rio so I can tell if he’s really telling the truth, but then he turns to me and I see it right there in his eyes: Marcus Cane is now making decisions as a leader.
He is no longer my guy protecting the girl he loves. He is now the First Guardian. I believe if the time comes, Marcus Cane will kill me.
*************************
Marcus pulls Isabelle towards the back of the cave so the two can try and figure out another way to get into the castle. I swear that girl has read every book ever written in the history of Angel-kind. She references books written by other Angels and tries to figure a possible entrance they may have missed. I watch as the two of them collaborate. It turns out I’m not the only one watching them.
“Hi, Jay.”
“Hey, baby girl.”