“A friend? Wow, you really know how to hurt an Angel, don’t you?”
“That’s not what I’m trying to do. The whole time you were gone, I’ve thought about what I would say to you if I ever saw you again. And now you’re here and I’m screwing this up.”
“Relax Em, you’re doing just fine. I know you love Marcus. I get that. I still can’t seem to get over you though.”
“How can I help? What can I do?”
“Well, in the morning we’ll all be back to team stuff but I was hoping you would give me one night.”
“One night to what?”
“Convince you that you belong with me.”
“If Marcus and I weren’t…I’m sure I would fall for you. Hard.”
“But you’re in love with Marcus and there is no changing that,” Reese concludes.
“I’m sorry. I keep looking back to find the moment when I led you on.”
“You didn’t lead me on. You’re the sweetest girl I’ve ever met. You have a soul most Angels can only dream of.”
“It’s just like you to compliment me when I’m standing here telling you I love someone else.”
“Well, Marcus has had you for almost a year now. I think it’s only fair that I get one night with you; as friends.”
“What do you mean?”
“Hang out with me for a few hours. I’ve come a long way to be with you,” he pleads.
“What about the team?”
“We’ll surprise them in the morning. But for now, I really would love to just spend some time with you.”
He takes my hand and Blinks me to the edge of a small fishing pond. There are trees and bushes all around us. Unlike Pyron, these trees are serene and tranquil.
“This is the place you and your family used to go fishing in, back when you were human.”
“I’m flattered you remember.”
“Of course I do. You used to drink river water and disappear into this memory.”
“As often as I could. Now I get to share it with you.”
He takes his sneakers off and starts walking into the lake.
“It feels so good; Emmy, you gotta get in here.”
I shake my head and start to head back towards the shore.
“Reese, we have to go back. We’re on a mission. We have to—”
“Don’t do this to me, please. This is the only moment I get with you. Then it’ll be morning and you’ll be his again…”
The desperation in his voice breaks my heart. I remember him in my room telling me he’s been wanting to kiss me for a long time. I recall him telling me, how when he was human, he stood in his room earnestly learning lines from a poem for girl who was never going to return his love.
My Reese is back…
“Just five minutes. That’s all I want. Will you give me that?” he asks.
I’m so relived that Reese is back in our lives, how can I deny him a few minutes? He looks so happy standing in the water.
I can put the mission aside for a few minutes, right?
I run full speed ahead towards Reese. As soon as I reach him he tells me to let go.
“What?”
“Emmy, let go,” he repeats.
Confused, I look up. Reese is gone. The pond is gone. And so is the ground beneath me.
I am now dangling several feet in the air, alongside the cliff. The red lake roars at me from below as if to say, “The Vsk eagerly awaits you.”
The only thing that stands between me and a mangled death is a tree branch that’s getting weaker by the moment. I open my mouth to scream but the sound gets caught in my throat fearing it will somehow cause the branch to break.
Marcus begins his climb down the cliff to rescue me. From above, I see the team looking down at me, horrified. They order me to hold on and not look down. I want to do as they say but my fingers are sweaty making it hard to maintain a good grip on the branch.
The wind laughs in my ear and whistles a tune dedicated to my demise. I silently beg the branch to ignore the wind and hold steady.
“I’m almost there. Don’t let go,
” he begs me.
I look up and he’s climbing down to me as fast as he can, but it’s not fast enough. The branch snaps and I plummet to my death…
BOOK II
MARCUS CANE
“She walks in Beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes…”
----
Lord Byron
CHAPTER TWELVE: THE GAME
Rio approaches me a few minutes after Emmy leaves me standing on the edge of the cliff. I know he’s reading my Wave and sometimes I wish I could turn him off.
“What?” I snap.