“I’m sorry, but that’s just not possible. You cannot leave without your mark. And, you will not earn your mark until you learn to control your anger.”
“You know what? This whole ‘here to learn control and blend’ thing is such a load of crap. I sure as hell do not feel like anyone is teaching me anything. All I see being taught is how to successfully hunt humans without getting caught. That’s not control, and that’s not blending. Take another look at your high and mighty Academy and see it for what it is. A training ground for the next generation of predators. You want peaceful coexistence? Start treating the humans like they have just as much right to exist as we do. And stop hiding the truth from everyone.”
“What would you have us do?” Mrs. Quill asked.
“Start by giving me answers. Then, get rid of the humans’ assigned duties. The duties degrade the humans in the Uttira residence’s eyes. We need to stop thinking less of them, or you’ll have another incident like Trammer on your hands.”
“Without an opportunity to practice, how will our youth learn to control their urges?” Adira asked, completely ignoring my plea for information.
“Not my problem.”
I turned to Oanen’s mom. “Tell Oanen I’ll call him later.”
I took a step toward the door.
“You honestly feel you’ve learned no control since coming here?” Adira said.
“Yes. If I were in a crowded city, I’d be just as likely to punch someone in the face as I was before.”
“Perhaps we should test that.”
Eight
Good luck tonight. Call me when you’re back.
I stared at Oanen’s message for a second longer before turning off my phone and slipping on my jacket. Guilt continued to torment me. I needed to understand what was happening. The key to that was my mom. The key to reaching my mom was controlling my temper during an excursion with Adira. No problem. Right. I was so screwed.
Precisely on time, the shimmer of Adira’s portal appeared off the back porch. I went outside just before she stepped through.
“Are you ready?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Let’s see how well you can control your temper, then. Shall we?”
With the portal’s shimmer still flickering behind her, she held out her hand. As soon as our fingers touched, my stomach twisted. The magic of the portal wrapped around us as she tugged me forward. One second, we stood in my backyard; the next, we stood on a city street.
I knew I was in trouble before I took my first breath. Waves of agitation crawled over my skin. Even though Adira and I stood alone, I could feel the people around us. Just the wicked ones. And these only felt mildly wicked.
“How do you feel, Megan?” Adira asked, watching me closely.
“Annoyed. What the hell happened to all the decent people in this world?”
Adira smiled slightly. “We happened. Many of the creatures made by the gods were created to corrupt the perfection of humanity.”
“Bullshit. I’m not buying that. Why are the humans born all pure, but we aren’t? Because that’s what you’re implying, right? That we are born to fulfill whatever purpose the gods set before us, but the humans get to frolic around like herds of goats, without any responsibility for their actions? No, Ashlyn has proven that humans have a choice. They can choose to ignore our corruptive influences.”
“That would imply that we, too, can then choose to ignore our purpose and instincts.”
Oh, she was good.
“I led myself right into that. Fine. I’ll try to ignore mine.”
“We shall see. Let’s find the first candidate.”
She started down the street at a brisk pace, and I hustled to keep up. She hadn’t picked the nicest street. Dumpsters sat near the loading docks and back doors of businesses. The stink of rot overwhelmed the hint of fresh food being cooked somewhere else.
Movement by one of the dumpsters made me jump. Not Adira, though. She walked right up to the huddled form in the shadows.
“Eugene, I’d like you to meet Megan. She’s from my hometown.” Adira stayed several feet back from the boy.
“Hi, Megan.” The voice was young but weak. Almost listless.
I stepped past Adira, trying to get a closer look. The shape seemed small, balled up in a fetal position.
“Are you all right?” I asked.
“I’m trying to sleep on the ground near a dumpster leaking fluid that no sane person would want to be near. I’m great.”
Something got under my skin, but it was light and easily ignored compared to the signals coming from the other people hidden further down the alley.
“You don’t belong here,” I said.
“If not here, where?” he answered.
“Where are your parents? Family?”
“Dunno. I left when they were high. When I went back the next morning, there was an eviction notice on the door, and my upstanding parents were gone.”
“I’d like to offer you a real home, Eugene,” Adira said from behind me. “A real bed. Three meals a day. A chance to attend school again.”
The boy uncurled himself enough to look up at me and then Adira, his dark brown eyes now alive with interest. Underfed and dirty, but with a light dusting of dark hair on his chin, he looked about my age.
I hated this. What kind of choice was Adira really giving him?
“What’s the catch?” Eugene asked.
“You lose the life you know, and you’re trapped forever in a world you’ll wish you never knew existed,” I said before Adira could try to gloss over the reality of what would happen.
“So, you’re telling me to pick between the red pill and the blue one?” He snorted and stood up. “The truth seemed to work out okay for Neo.”
“Um, he died at the end of the third movie, didn’t he?” I said, thinking he was missing the point.
Eugene shrugged.
“If I stay here, I won’t have a long life anyway. Give me the reality pill, lady.”
“Any objections?” Adira asked as she glanced my way.
I sighed. “There’s nothing majorly wicked about him. At worst, he probably stole something to eat at some point.”
“Two bucks from another alley rat’s pocket,” the boy said, unashamed. “He would have just traded up for booze anyway.”
“Then it’s settled,” Adira said. “Come with us. You’ll be showered and in a clean, warm bed within an hour.”
Anger slammed into me like a baseball bat to the back of the head. I grunted and took a step forward from the force of it. Head hanging, I struggled to control the urge to fight. To punish whoever carried so much wickedness.
“Megan?” Adira said softly. “Are you in control?”
A scuff of movement from behind us announced the source of my affliction. I lifted my head, fighting a losing battle.
Eugene took a step back when my gaze met his.
“Holy shit,” he breathed.
“This is the truth,” I said, my voice echoing oddly. “Watch. Then decide if a warm bed is worth the price of your ignorance.”
“Eugene,” a new voice said. “When did you start hanging with these high-class pieces of ass?”
The nails of my fingers bit into the skin of my palms as I clenched my fists tighter at the sound of the voice. I turned toward the newcomers. Three of them all dressed in dark clothing. Tattoos decorated the knuckles of one and the cheek of another. Their jewelry flashed in the distant dock light.
“Nice eyes,” the first one said. “They contacts?”
“No.” I walked toward them, my words coming from some hidden part of me. “Tell me your crimes. What sins will you confess?”
One of the guys burst out laughing. I hit him square in the mouth, the impact snapping his head back and sending blood flying onto one of his companions. He grunted and staggered. The friend with blood on his face pulled a gun from his pocket and aimed it at me.
“On your knees,” I said, my voice scarier and more commanding than I’d ever heard it. Even as some part of me acknowledged something bad was happening, I couldn’t stop it.
All three men fell to their knees.