Guardians: The Triplex (The Guardians Series, Book 4)

  GUARDIANS: BOOK IV

  THE TRIPLEX

  By-Lola StVil

  This book is dedicated to Gaurav Sharma:

  You are the definition of courage and strength.

  And it’s not fair that you are a brilliant artist

  And I have trouble with stick figures.

  You inspire me.

  This book is also dedicated to

  Anyone who dares to travel down roads not taken

  Keep going…

  © 2013 Lola StVil

  Contents

  CHAPTER ONE: ISIS & DEMETRI

  CHAPTER TWO: FIREWORKS

  CHAPTER THREE: HELL IS EMPTY

  CHAPTER FOUR: PHIN

  CHAPTER FIVE: HOUSE OF THREE

  CHAPTER SIX: ADAM CITY

  CHAPTER SEVEN: IT’S TIME…

  CHAPTER EIGHT: IF I DON’T RETURN

  CHAPTER NINE: GOOD FOR THE SOUL

  CHAPTER TEN: INTO THE WOODS

  CHAPTER ELEVEN: TIME WITH YOU

  CHAPTER TWELVE: THE GAME

  CHAPTER THRITEEN: THIS MUCH I KNOW

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN: STRENGTH IN WEAKNESS

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN: MOST BEAUTIFUL

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN: REPLAY

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: THE QUESTION

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: THE ANOMALY

  CHAPTER NINETEEN: GOING HOME

  BOOK I

  EMERSON BAXTER

  “Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,

  That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,

  And then is heard no more…”

  ----W. Shakespeare

  CHAPTER ONE: ISIS & DEMETRI

  “I’m dead!” I gasp as I slowly fall to the ground. He stands before me and proclaims victory.

  “Yes! I win again!” he shouts with the most adorable evil laugh. I sneak a peek and he scolds me.

  “You’re dead, Green Goblin. You can’t open your eyes,” the five-year-old warns me.

  “Okay, but if I’m dead, I’m taking all my candy with me.” My neighbor, Ben, thought long and hard over his dilemma.

  “Okay, Emmy. You’re not dead, but you have to give Spiderman all of your candy”

  I get up from the floor and fake a mean look. He stares me down and sticks out his wrist as if to release his “web.” It’s hard to keep a straight face when confronted with the cutest Spiderman in Manhattan.

  “Okay, okay. I give up.”

  “Yes!” He exclaims as he runs past me and heads over to the coffee table. He takes the bags of candy (the result of an exhaustive night of trick or treating) and dumps it out onto the table. Ben then begins to divide them. He gives me all the boring stuff (candy corn, raisins, trail mix) and takes the good stuff for himself.

  Just as he is about to devour the candy, his mom enters.

  “Hold it!” she warns.

  He turns to look at her with wide, hopeful eyes.

  “What?” he asks, knowing very well why his mom stopped him.

  “One piece. The rest is for later.”

  “But Mom—”

  “--I mean it. Now say good night to Emmy and thank her for taking you trick or treating”

  “Thanks, Emmy,” he says, giving me a hug.

  I hug him back. And try hard not to pinch his cheeks. I know he hates that but he really has the most pinch-worthy checks I have ever seen.

  “Rio is waiting out in the hallway for you, Em,” Ben’s mom informs me.

  “Okay, thanks.” As I am walking out the door, Ben’s mom stops to look at me. She’s looking for something to say to make it all better. It’s been a month since my mom was murdered. She wants desperately to say something that will take away the grief. I get that look of sadness and helplessness a lot from people who knew my mom.

  “Emmy…” she starts. I give her my most reassuring smile and tell her what a great time I had. Thankfully that is enough to satisfy her. I head out the door and find Rio patiently waiting. Ben runs out to the hallway, says hello to Rio. Before Rio even has a chance to reply, Ben launches into the events of the evening.

  “There were a million Spidermen, but I was the best, right, Em?”

  “Absolutely,” I confirm.

  “I’m sorry I missed it,” Rio says smiling.

  “You can come with us next year. Emmy and me are going to dress up next year too, right?”

  Rio and I exchange a look.

  Next year…

  I inhale deeply and address Ben.

  “It’s a date, Spiderman.”

  He beams and runs back into his apartment.

  Once Ben’s door is closed, I address Rio.

  “I thought Marcus was picking me up.”

  “He was busy.”

  “I figured.”

  Rio studies me.

  “Emmy?”

  “Yeah?”

  I know he’s reading my Wave. I know there are a lot of colors. I’m certain he knows the truth that I have been hiding from everyone: I’m afraid to die.

  “If you want to talk…” Rio begins.

  “Let’s just focus on Marcus. He is not dealing with this well.”

  “And you are?”

  “No, but all I have to do is die. He’s the one who has to take the life of someone he loves.”

  “I know you’re concerned about Marcus, but his concern at the moment is you. Don’t you think you should admit to him that you’re terrified?”

  “Will that change anything?”

  “Maybe not but you two need to talk about it.”

  “That’s all we’ve done is talk. But no amount of talking will change the fact that a Dy cannot be cast out without killing the person it’s in. It’s never been done.”

  “I know but…”

  “The Sage was right. The minute Marcus found out the Triplex was in my eyes, and he didn’t kill me to get it, Marcus betrayed his mission.”

  “So, what now?”

  “Now we help him get back on track.”

  “You mean we help him kill you?”

  “He’s the only Guardian who can take a human life.”

  “Just because he can, doesn’t mean he will.”

  “I could do it myself.”

  “You heard the Sage. If you die by your own hands, the map will go into limbo. We would have to start looking for it all over again. And since we are only allowed a year for this mission, there just isn’t enough time”

  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—“

  “Screw the Sage.”

  “Marcus.”

  “Emmy, all he wants to hear is that he was right: That I abandoned my mission because of you.”

  “It’s his job to tell us what he knows.”

  “He doesn’t know crap. He should have told us where the Triplex was. We could have been finding a way to save you since we got here. Instead, he let us go on some wild goose chase, knowing damn well the Triplex was in you.”

  “He didn’t know. He just knew that our love would get in the way of the mission. And it has.”

  “I don’t care about the mission.”

  “You do. I know you do. This isn’t just a mission. It’s about saving humans and you have always tried to do that.”

  “Emmy, I can’t lose you. I won’t.”

  I look into his eyes and I see the human he used to be. The teenage boy that fought with everything he had to stop his mom from taking drugs; the boy who was unable to keep his family together.

  “Okay, let’s keep looking,” I say, taking his hand in mine.

  Relieved, he kisses me quickly and goes back to the reading. It’s funny that a kiss so quick can linger on my lips and make me weak. I don’t know if it’s because Marcus and I weren’t able to kiss till a few weeks ago, but I crave his touch every time like it was the first time.

  As I flip through the book nearest me, I think back to a month ago when Marcus and I first told the team where the Triplex was. I have been to hell. That experience came very close.

  ************************

  After Marcus told them the news, the room went completely silent. It was the kind of silence that rings so loud, it could make your ears bleed.

  “Someone say something,” I said to them. Then I realized what stunned them wasn’t the news but the actual sight of a micro-map inserted in my eyes. They all stood up and studied me. I understood the fascination. I looked at myself in the mirror for hours when I first found out. I still do, as if looking at it will make it go away.

  Ameana was the first to speak.

  “The Sage was right. You are betraying your mission.”

  “Really, Ameana? That is the first thing you can say?”

  “Well, it’s true. You know where the Triplex is but you won’t on get it. So, he was right. You have betrayed the mission.”

  “We don’t know he’s going to betray anything,” Miku says.

  “Pretty, we all know Marcus isn’t going to kill the human,” Ameana answers.

  “This is jacked up…” Jay says, filled with frustration.

  “So, what now, Marcus? You’re going to let the whole world go to hell so you can save one girl?” Ameana asks.

  “You can’t put your hatred of Emmy aside for one second to try and figure a way to help?”

  “I already put my feelings about Emmy aside. Why do you think the two of you can go up to the mountains and screw each other every night?!”

  “What, we don’t—we haven’t—Ameana what is your problem? How long are you going to keep hating me?”

  “This isn’t about you. It’s not about Marcus. It’s about the world. It’s about saving billions of lives,” she barks.

  “Emmy, you know you my girl but Ameana’s right. We can’t let Lucy destroy humanity,” Jay says sincerely.

  “I know,” I assure him quietly.

  “We need to talk about options,” Marcus begs.

  “It’s a Dy, Marcus. There are no options,” Rio says pensively.

  “Well, we thought you were dead and there were no options. But you’re standing here now, aren’t you?” Marcus snaps.

  “This is different,” Miku protests.

  “How can you be so okay with killing her, Miku? Emmy has done everything to try and help you. Now you want her to die?” Marcus accuses.

  “She’s not saying that Marcus,” I defend.

  “Whatever. We are not killing you,” he assures me with absolute certainty.

  “Let’s talk to the Sage. He might be able to help,” Miku offers.

  That’s when Marcus and I exchanged a quick glance.

  “We already talked to him,” I confessed.

  “What did he say?” Miku asked, her red-tipped wings flapping against the air.

  “He said I should use this time to say goodbye to family and friends,” I replied softly.

  The Twins exchange a look of deep concern and Jay lowers his head. The despair and anxiety make it hard to breathe. Marcus holds my hand tightly.

  “Look guys, I�
��m not saying it will be easy but we have three months. We might be able to find a way to get out the Triplex out of her. I really believe that,” Marcus says, softening his tone.

  “Yeah, maybe it’s possible,” Jay says softly. I’m not sure he really did believe but it helped to hear it. The Twins consulted each other silently then they signaled that they would help. We all turned to Ameana.

  “I think this is a waste of time. You cannot cast out a Dy. It’s a death sentence for the person it’s inside of. But fine, I will help.”

  I could actually feel the relief flowing through Marcus’s body.

  Rio then quietly asks the question that Marcus has been torturing himself with.

  “We’re willing to help Emmy but if all our efforts fail, are you willing to do what needs to be done?”

  ***************

  So here we are in the living room a month later and we are no closer to finding a way to save me. I keep helping Marcus search because he needed me to do it. In truth, I’d rather be off somewhere else.

  Marcus interrupts my thoughts by asking if I think there is any truth to the story of “Blue Rain.” I tell him no but he insists on repeating the Para fable for the millionth time. It’s a story about Isis, a Para Angel, and Demetri, a demon. The two of them fell in love. The Council forbid them to unite, fearing it would throw off the balance of good and evil.

  “One evening, Isis and Demetri fled their homes and met here on earth. The Council sent the Omari after them. They were sought-after fugitives. They ran to the ends of the earth but still the Omari tracked them down.

  That’s when they learned a shocking secret. Isis had given birth to triplets, three girls who were half demon, half Para. The news of the three sisters traveled throughout the Angel world. Furious with the potential danger to the balance of the world, the Council devised a plan: They made an Amulet containing unrivaled power and they told Demetri he could have the Amulet if he found the key.

  They then broke the key in three pieces. Each of the babies had a Dy cast on them containing a piece of the key. The only way for Demetri to open the Amulet and gain infinite power was to kill all three of his children.

  Weeks afterward, the Council checked to see if Demetri had given into his natural instinct and destroyed the babies. But so far Demetri had not given into temptation. The Council grew weary and once again Isis and Demetri were being hunted down.