“Mommy, why do I still have to sit in the baby seat while Olive gets to sit in the front?” complained a tanned young girl with jet-black hair and hazel-green eyes. Her older sister, with a similar appearance was working at trying to unlatch her from the safety seat while her mother took care of her baby brother.
“Because Nyssa, I’m older and you're just a baby like Oren!”
“I am not a baby! I’m not! I can chop you up with a Soul Slicer. Just one chop and split!” The little girl made hand motions to illustrate her words. “Off goes your head.”
“It’s a Soul Sever, and you can’t even rip tissue paper in half with that weak attack.”
“You two, stop fighting!” complained Layla as she lifted her small son out of the pink SUV and into her arms. “I told you two girls to stay with daddy while mommy goes to see her friends, but you just had to come along! If you don't try to be nice to each other we’re all getting right back into the car and going home, do you understand?”
“Yes, mommy.”
Layla glared at the girls before turning and walking up the steps to Amara’s front door. She shifted Oren in her arms and pressed the doorbell. The girls followed her quietly, and stood around her legs, making faces at each other which they believed escaped Layla’s notice. Sighing, Layla continued to press the doorbell, and when that failed she begun to knock loudly on the door.
“Maybe they’re not home?” suggested Olive.
“Oh, they’re home,” said Layla impatiently. She flipped out her cell phone and dialed Amara’s number. When there was no answer she became very frustrated.
Layla looked down at the kids again. “Who wants to play a game with mommy?”
“I do, I do!” called out Olive and Nyssa together.
“Alright, girls—mommy’s going to count to three, and when she reaches three, you both have to scream as loud as you can and raise your prana as high as possible!”
“Ooh! I like that game,” said Olive smugly. “I can always make my energy bigger than Nyssa can.”
“Can not!” said Nyssa, sticking her tongue out at her older sister.
“No fighting, girls! We’re playing together, got it?” When the kids nodded, Layla smiled. “Alright, ready? One… two... three... Go!”
“Ahhhh!” The two little girls opened their mouths, bellowing at the top of their lungs. Little white auras surrounded them. Layla smiled proudly at her daughters, and hugged Oren closer to her as he cooed in excitement and wiggled in her arms. He could sense that something was up with his sisters, but he couldn’t quite make sense of it.
In a split second after the girls had begun screaming, the front door was opened by a sleepy deva in Ruby Form.
“Auntie Pax! Auntie Pax!” screamed the kids, launching themselves at her.
Pax was surprised for a second, but then when the two little energetic tykes tackled her with full force she couldn't help but giggle at the cuteness. She released the fiery energy that had defensively flared around her, allowing the girls to pull her hair and clothing excitedly while talking at the same time.
“Look at you two! Olive, Nyssa, you’ve grown so much. And you’ve gotten so strong!” said Pax happily as she hugged them both.
“Daddy trains us every day!” said Olive proudly. “Every single morning and every single night!”
“Wow! No wonder you’re so tough, Olive,” said Pax with a grin as she tousled the young girl’s hair. The girls’ father, Gordin, was the Earth Deva who was quite formidable for his reclusive ways.
“Mommy shoots us with a gun!” shouted Nyssa, not wanting to be left out. “We have to dodge the bullets and they’re really fast. Wanna see my ouchie from where I got shot?”
“You shoot them with a gun?” Pax asked in surprise.
“I remembered seeing you play that game with your uncle when you were little,” Layla said with a smile. “Check out her ‘ouchie.’”
The young girl stuck out her finger and dramatically peeled a Band-Aid off her knuckle. “See, Auntie Pax! See! I didn’t even cry.”
Pax observed what was little more than a paper cut. A grin came to her lips, and she glanced up at Layla who was shaking her head in wonder. It must be reassuring to a mother to know her five-year-old was bulletproof. “You’re a brave girl, Nyssa. You’re going to be stronger than me when you grow up!”
“Really, Auntie Pax?”
“Definitely,” Pax said happily. “Maybe you should come by sometime with your dad and we can practice together. Maybe I can show you a few neat tricks.”
“Can you show me now, Auntie?”
“Not in the house, dear,” scolded Layla firmly.
Pax was somewhat stunned by the sight of Layla Solyst with her kids—it was still shocking to see someone she had known so well completely changed into a new person with a vibrant, growing family. It made her think about her own future—it made her think about Thornton’s recent proposal, and Vincent’s dying wish. Would it be so bad if it her life turned out similar to Layla’s? Pax could sense the energy signals of each of Layla’s children, and they were impressive—strangely enough, the baby boy in Layla’s arms possessed just as much prana as his sisters. When little Oren grew up he would be a force to be reckoned with.
“Auntie Pax!” yelled Nyssa, affectionately tightening her arms around Pax’s neck. “Mommy came to tell you about a big, scary monster!”
Pax froze then, and her smile disappeared. “Monster?” Images of Asura demons ran through her mind. She already knew she would kill anything that got near these girls.
“Yeah!” said Olive with excitement. “Mommy said the monster was a really bad guy and that she needed you to take care of him!”
Pax looked at Layla questioningly. Her mind drifted back to the powerful prana that she had sensed immediately upon exiting the vector zone; was he a threat after all? Just focusing on that life force had brought her to her knees. How could they deal with an enemy of that magnitude and the comet at the same time? Amara finally began trudging down the stairs, having been awoken by the commotion and the unusual energy signals in the house.
“Good morning, girls,” said Amara with a yawn. She sleepily descended the staircase with her eyes still closed. She clutched the railing tightly for support—Pax could tell that it was the after-effects of the etorphine dose that was causing this excessive drowsiness in her friend.
“Aunt Mara!” squealed the girls as they rushed to hug the blonde woman. They weren’t as violently affectionate with her as they had been with Pax, for they knew that Amara was delicate, and more likely to take them shopping than to practice any physical activity with them. The classification was only slightly outdated.
Amara smiled and hugged each of the girls, telling them how beautiful they were and making light small talk before approaching her friends at the bottom of the stairs. She could see that Pax had a serious look on her face, and she knew that something was up.
“So, Lay. What brings you way out here before the cocks have crowed?”
“Mommy, what’s a cock?” said Olive inquisitively.
“A rooster,” Layla answered quickly, glaring at Amara. “A male chicken who sings in the morning.”
“Oh,” said Olive, before turning to the sleepy blue-eyed deva. “Aunt Mara, are you going to fight the bad monster too?”
Amara snapped fully awake, studying Layla’s face for signs of danger. “Monster? What monster?”
“Girls, can you go and play out by the seaside for a little while?” asked Layla. “Mommy needs to talk with her friends.”
“Okay!” said the girls in unison as they compliantly raced out of the house.
“Let’s sit down,” said Pax, gesturing to Amara’s living room. The girls entered and took their seats on the sofas around the room.
“Oh, wow! Oren’s getting so big,” commented Amara, a bit jealous and in awe of the adorable baby in Layla’s arms. Oren had a fairer complexion than his sisters, but the same hazel-green eyes and charcoal hair.
“He can almost walk a few steps without falling,” said Layla proudly. She placed her little boy on the carpet and he immediately began to crawl around curiously. Everyone smiled as they watched him explore.
“He looks so much like his dad,” Pax remarked. “How is Gordin doing?”
“He’s practicing a lot,” Layla admitted. “It’s been worrying me, but it’s who he is. Devas will be devas—I learned to accept your strange ways a long time ago.”
“Oh, look at the little guy!” Amara exclaimed as she stared at the baby. “What a champion! Good Sakra, Lay! The power coming off that toddler is crazy.”
“Now you sound like Gord,” said Layla with a laugh. “My husband is obsessed with teaching the kids to fight, and he’s sure that Oren will be the strongest of all. He never talks about colleges or education, just deva training.”
Oren tried to walk a few steps before he promptly fell flat on his face, earning affectionate laughter from all three women. “Did you hurt the floor, Oren?” Pax asked with a chuckle as the baby sat up and rubbed his incredibly small nose in confusion.
“Oh, Lay… I want one of those,” said Amara softly, “so, so badly. Look at this big empty house! I have room for a kid. But it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen.”
“You’re not human, sweetie. You don’t have the same time constraints that I do on your health—you’re probably going to look like you’re in the prime of your life at seventy, like your dad.”
Amara shook her head. “It doesn’t feel like I have so much time. Especially after wasting the last five years of my life on someone who didn’t care enough to stay with me.”
“And that brings me to the point of my visit,” said Layla. Her smile disappeared and her expression became serious. She pulled her pink alligator-skin purse off her shoulder and immediately withdrew a tabloid from it. “I think I should cut to the chase. I have some things I want to share with you both.”
“What are you doing with a trashy tabloid? Those things are all aliens and conspiracy theories,” Pax remarked, taking the newspaper from Layla. She tried to keep her face expressionless as she saw the image and headlines. She quickly skimmed over the article, and shook her head in disbelief. She stood up and tossed the newspaper to Amara.
“I’m going to make some tea,” said Pax, leaving the room.
When Amara looked down at the paper she was not as successful and smiled immediately upon seeing the photograph. How could she resist? It was too priceless.
SYCAMORE PARK SWAMP MONSTER ATTACKS ELDERLY WOMAN
For decades there have been rumors of a swamp monster rising out of the mud on foggy nights in Sycamore Park, but for the first time a group of young students were able to capture a photograph of the creature. He looks to be an extremely muscular humanoid beast covered completely in scales. Everyone in the surrounding area has been alerted to keep their children indoors.
The monster is reported to be able to fly and to send text messages. An elderly woman who spoke to the monster indicated that he is actively seeking young naked girls...
Amara couldn’t help it. She began to laugh. If it wasn’t enough that a naked Asher, covered in mud, was on the front page of the newspaper, the article was doubly hilarious. Little Oren heard Amara’s laughter and crawled towards her. Smiling curiously, the baby tried to grasp her knees to help him stand.
Placing the newspaper aside with a satisfied smile, Amara reached out and slipped her hands under the baby’s arms, lifting him onto her lap to cuddle him. “Your Uncle Ash is crazy, isn’t he Oren? So crazy!”
Oren cooed happily as if in agreement.
“So what did you two do to him?” asked Layla bluntly, with her eyes narrowed at Amara.
“Us?” remarked Amara innocently as she gently tickled a giggling Oren. “We didn’t do anything! Honestly, Lay. He’s just gone off the deep end lately, obviously.”
“Amara Kalgren,” said Layla firmly, in warning, “do not play dumb with me.”
Pax entered the room with three cups of tea and a teapot on a serving platter, and she quickly poured tea for Layla. “So what’s the deal with showing us that silly article, Lay?”
“I know you two are responsible.”
“Us?” said Pax just as innocently as Amara had. “We just got out of the vector zone yesterday and we were exhausted. We couldn’t have found the energy to cook, much less execute a complicated prank.” She fought to keep her lips from twitching.
“Like I honestly believe that? This has ‘Pax and Mara’ written all over it,” scolded Layla. “Don’t forget that I used to help Thorn babysit you two when we were in high school. You used to torture me with brutal pranks when you were kids—even after my accident!”
Amara and Pax laughed lightly at the memories which came to them. “This just isn’t our style, Layla,” Pax tried to lie. “We’re much more subtle, and much more devastating.”
“Oh, remember that time we spiked your orange juice and made you pass out?” asked Amara.
“And then we dragged you to a musty basement in the Kalgren Compound, tied you up with rope and emptied three bottles of ketchup all over the place!” added Pax, also snickering.
“You think it’s so funny,” muttered Layla. “When I woke up I thought I’d been gang-raped.”
“You screamed for about ten minutes!” Amara and Pax erupted in laughter at the memory, and Layla tried to look angry, but she couldn't help joining in.
Pax had spilled some of her tea onto her pajamas and she patted it away. “Oh, oh, what about the time we stole all your underwear and...”
“No!” shouted Layla. “You can’t talk about that one in front of Oren. He hears everything, you know.”
“That’s right,” said Amara, hugging the baby. “Oren is a smart little toddler, isn't he!”
Amara engaged herself in baby-talking with Layla’s son while the investigator fished into her pink alligator-skin purse again.
“There’s one more thing, ladies,” said Layla, removing a large color photograph and holding it up for the girls to see.
It was a photograph of Para; an extremely recent photo. It had been taken the night before, while Para had been kissing Asher at the scenic point in the park. Pax and Amara looked at it in shock.
Sakra, Pax. Do you think she knows?
How did she get that photograph? I would have sensed her nearby. A bunch of humans walked by, but not Layla...
This is bad. This is very bad, thought Amara as she set Oren down on the floor.
“I’m sorry,” said Layla, resting the photograph down on Amara’s coffee table. “I know that this may be too recent to dig up your wounds, but Mrs. Kalgren hired me to investigate the woman that Thornton was seeing.”
“I thought that you... you weren’t working anymore, Layla,” said Pax slowly and carefully.
“Oh, well, of course it’s hard to work with three young children... but it’s Mrs. Kalgren! I owe my life to that woman, so if she tells me to dive I ask ‘how deep?’” Layla looked down at the photograph of Para and she sipped her tea. “When I found out that Thorn and Ash were both seeing this girl, it became personal. I couldn’t stand by and let this girl get away with stealing your men.”
Amara and Pax looked at each other, remaining awkwardly silent. A blush had crept into Amara’s pale cheeks, and the liquid in the porcelain teacup resting in Pax’s hand began to boil.
"I began thinking," said Layla as she rose to her feet and began to pace in the living room, "Since when in known history have Thorn and Ash liked the same woman?”
“Since you,” Amara offered.
“That was high school. We were kids and they were just… that’s not important. Look, something’s not right here,” declared Layla. “Thorn isn’t a cheater. Thorn is a good guy who comes from a great family with high values. Ash, too—I mean, in his own way, Ash is the most honorable and caring guy I know. Sure, if you put them together and they’re a nightmare of testosterone and god-complexes, but something strikes me as strange here. And this woman is the key!” Layla pointed at the picture of Para viciously. “This ‘Medea’ woman, if that’s really her name—she must be responsible for corrupting the boys! I don’t have evidence yet, but I will—I know it’s her fault, and I’m going to get to the bottom of this.”
“Layla,” Pax said softly.
The investigator suddenly slammed her teacup down and leaned forward. “Look, girls. After years of working on the force I know one thing for sure. No one is spotless. Everyone has done something criminal, something despicable. There’s no way you can live your whole life without making a few major screw ups. There’s no way anyone, including this beautiful 'Medea' can live a whole lifetime without accumulating a few deep dark secrets.”
Unless she hasn’t lived a whole lifetime, Amara communicated to Pax. If Layla starts digging she will find out about Para’s lack of past. She’ll find us out, Pax. If it were anyone else I wouldn’t be too worried, but Layla is relentless. Plus, she knows us so well, and she knows about devas—I hid our tracks as best as I could, but Layla won’t stop until she knows everything.
Should we tell her the truth? Pax suggested. She is our friend.
No way! We can’t trust anyone.
“I will find out what she’s done and I will get that little bit...” Layla paused and glanced at her baby, and deciding to instead spell out the word. “I will get that B-I-T-C-H for you girls. I will take whatever dirt there is on her, and I will ruin her. I will make sure she gets a prison sentence so long she gets real comfortable, and has to shave off all that gorgeous hair of hers. I will...”
“Lay!” interjected Pax more firmly. “Thorn didn’t leave me for that girl. He only just started seeing her a few days ago. He cheated on me over a month ago with Karina Allbright, someone from a rival company who was blackmailing him. I saw them together, and we’ve been broken up ever since. He tried to fix things, and he recently proposed to me, but I… declined. So that’s the scoop.”
“Karina Allbright,” Layla repeated. “Now there’s a name I know—that woman has a huge criminal record and she recently went missing. Mara asked me to search for… Oh. Oh, no, Paxie! What did you do to her?”
“I didn’t mean…” Pax clamped her lips shut and looked at Amara who was cringing. It was never easy to tell your friend who worked in law enforcement that you had murdered someone. The silence in the living room became excruciating.
Layla sighed. “Let me rephrase that question: Is Karina Allbright still alive?”
Pax shook her head to indicate the negative response.
“How?” Layla demanded.
“Disintegrated,” Pax answered, “instantly.”
“Oh,” Layla said. She took a sip from her teacup. “Well. What about Ash… what happened with him?”
Amara waved her hand as though it wasn’t important; as though it wasn’t an obsession which occupied her every spare thought. “Ash just… had a bunch of insecurities, I guess.”
Layla sipped from her teacup, staring ahead with a strange look on her face. “Since I had my girls, I haven’t been keeping in touch with you both nearly enough. We should go out for drinks sometime and just relax. I mean, I can’t drink because I’m still breastfeeding Oren...”
“We’re fine, Lay,” said Pax with a smile. “Amara and I are completely over it! For us, it’s been years and years since all of that happened. The Pseudosphere was really intense, and it made us forget all about the guys. We’ve meditated and reflected… we’ve moved on.”
“Uh huh,” said Layla, raising her eyebrows to indicate that she wasn’t convinced. Oren had crawled over to her ankles and was holding his arms up, and Layla dutifully picked him up and held him against her. “Lie to me all you want, girls. Something fishy is going on here, and it has something to do with her.” Layla glared at the photograph on the table. “I had a detective friend of mine spying on Ash and Medea last night, and I have placed the boys and her house under surveillance. I am taking this job seriously because Mrs. Kalgren believes she’s a threat. By the end of the week I’ll know everything there is to know about that woman. I guarantee that.”
“Don’t waste your time,” said Amara, in what she hoped was a casual manner. “I honestly don’t care what Ash does with his free time anymore. Please Lay... don’t take the job.”
“I’m not buying that, Amara,” said Layla as she rocked Oren gently. “I know how much you loved Ash. I know you’re not going to let this all go without a fight, or without some sort of drama and explosions... and Pax. Don’t even let me get started on you, Pax. If I know you, you’re probably thinking up some intricate plan to exact revenge on both Thorn and Ash. I understand that! You don’t have to lie to me. All I’m asking is that you two let me help. Right now, it seems that the only way I can help is by digging up dirt on their new girlfriend and locking her up.”
“No, Layla,” said Pax, slightly surprised by her friend's stellar judgment. She almost felt guilty as she forced the lies out of her mouth. “We don’t want to get revenge. Don’t dig up anything on that girl, because I really don’t want to know anything about her. Just let them be. Let them all be. Boys will be boys.”
Layla stared at Pax in shock. “Okay, who are you? What happened to the Pax I knew? When I dated Thorn, you were just a tiny kid, but you were insanely jealous and possessive. I still have the burn marks! I find it hard to believe that you can kill one woman because Thorn slept with her and completely ignore the next one. It must be your guilt. Well, don’t worry... just leave this to me, and I’ll take care of it.”
“I’ll give you money,” Amara blurted out. “Whatever my mom is offering you to investigate this woman, I’ll pay you double to spend time with your kids instead.”
Layla was only mildly surprised by this offer. “That’s kind of you, sweetie, but this isn’t about the money. It’s a personal vendetta of mine, and you can’t buy me out. I feel it’s better to know what’s going on than to be in the dark.”
Pax and Amara looked at each other helplessly.
“That’s always been my personal motto; it’s better to know.” Layla stood up with Oren in her arms, and rose to her feet. “I’m so sorry for you girls. I sure am lucky I ended up with Gord! I can’t imagine what life would be like if I’d ended up with Thorn or Ash. I mean, they were way closer to my age, and we went to school together so it seemed like a good match to everyone. But I always felt that despite their physical invulnerability, they were really weak on the inside.”
“Why don’t you stay for lunch?” Amara asked. “I can order in something catered for you and the girls.”
“That would be nice,” Layla answered. “I’ll go check on them.”
It’s sad when a human being has better intuition than us supposed goddesses, Amara said mentally to Pax.
Lay’s not just any human, Pax responded. She’s sharp. We need to be careful or she could ruin everything. Also, she would probably think we were awful people.
Amara had begun running her fingers nervously through her hair, scrutinizing the photograph on the table. Maybe she won’t find out. She might find out Para has no history, but she won’t be able to connect her to us. I’m pretty sure we’re safe.
“What should we order for lunch?” Pax asked, changing the subject.
“I’m craving dragon or chimera.”
“I’ll check the local listings, but you may have to settle for chicken.”