AMANI: Reveal (22 page)

all the time
. Those are your genes, Father. This is
your
doing.”
              “I have never laid a hand on you,” he snapped, raising his voice. “Why would you say that? Miss O’Neil, I beg you not to listen to—”
              “Don’t speak to her anymore,” I said firmly. “I know you slept at her apartment. It’s all right, sweetheart,” I added when Amanda gasped. “I understand you were afraid, and angry at me, but don’t go thinking he wanted to help you.” I stared at my father and drew strength from the mix of horror and apprehension on his face. “It’s what he does… all the time. He manipulates people into thinking I am good for nothing. He twists my words, and soon enough, if I let him stay here, he’ll make you believe everything he wants. Just to hurt me. Just to prove he’s always been more powerful than me.”
              “How
dare
you!” Melek yelled. “All I ever wanted was for you to become a man! For you to reflect on your actions and understand the consequences!”
              “Beating me up doesn’t work, though, now does it?”
              “I NEVER—”
              He never got to finish his sentence, because Max and Dick came rushing into my office, gripped both his arms, and, not paying attention to my father’s struggles and complaints, dragged him out of the room… And out of Headquarters.
             

Amya Priam

“And there I thought I was having a good day,” Vivian snarled, hiding her glistening golden hands under the table.
              “Hi, Amya!” Mary exclaimed, beaming, followed by greetings from the rest of the group.
              “We were experiencing Viv’s talent—” Patrick began before Vivian herself, clearing her throat, interrupted him.
              “We can move onto someone else now,” she said. “That’ll be all for today.”
              “Of course not!” Patrick insisted. “The main goal of this club is to accept ourselves and our ability. For that, you need to know just how powerful you are and the consequences of your particular talent. We are amongst ourselves; you don’t need to fear—”
              Vivian snorted. “I don’t fear her,” she said, her lips curled. “I don’t trust her, that’s all.”
              “Just because she’s more powerful than any of us doesn’t mean she can’t be trusted,” Mary blurted out before she realized what she’d just said. She blushed scarlet and cowered.
              “No, if you really want to know, it is because she is part Rascal.” As all fourteen eyes shifted to me, she added, “Yeah, Patrick told us.”
              “Don’t worry,” Kristin said. “Pat’s the queen of gossips, but we don’t mind that your father was a Rascal. It’s actually pretty cool.”
              “Oh!” Vivian uttered, mimicking Kristin’s voice. “It’s so
cool
that your father’s a
monster
!” She shot a murderous look at the twin and added in a severe tone, “Spare me. Do you have any idea what a Rascal is? H told me some of them can kill by merely touching you. Is that your definition of cool?”
              “I’ve known about Rascals almost my entire life, so don’t lecture me on what they can and can’t do. Yes, some of them are dangerous, but I believe that, like humans, they’re not all evil. Surely Amya would have noticed if her father was a serial killer.”
              “My father feeds on dreams,” I added quietly. “And what does it have to do with me anyway? What have I ever done to you? You hated me before I
even knew about my dad.”
              Vivian wrinkled her nose as though she’d just smelled something rotten. “You act like you’re better than any of us.
I’ve seen the Dimensions
,” she said in a high-pitched voice. “
My friend is a Rascal and I’m more powerful than anyone here
.”
              “I never said that!” Suddenly my ears were droning. The anger and fear that I had stored during these last few days all came bursting in a mix of a headache and babbling. “Do you think it’s a load of fun having to flee your country to protect yourself and your friends? To leave your family for God know how long… Do you honestly believe I enjoyed learning that my father had lied to me all these years? That I was glad to know I was half Seraph, half something I have yet to understand…
              “And how can you be
so ignorant
as to think I come to these meetings for any other reason than to get to know people who are like me—at last—and to experiment with my own ability in order to discover how it works and how to control it? Because if you really believe all of those things, then you need to get your head out of your own butt, because it’s squeezing your brain to madness! There are monsters out there you wouldn’t even want to dream about,” I said, thinking about the bemoths and the bird-woman. “My friend is a Rascal but he’s the kindest, most caring person I know. Yes, he does need to feed on humans once in a while, but he’d never touch anyone without their consent. Rascal or not—you shouldn’t judge a person based on their title but on their actions.”
              “She’s telling the truth,” Adam spoke, squinting at my invisible aura. “Everything she said is the truth.”
              “So what? Maybe she’s naïve. Maybe she believes what her Rascal friend and father told her because she’s too stupid to think for herself.”
                Sine spoke for the first time since I’d arrived. “Vivian, from what I understand, you’re the only person here who believes such idiocy.”
              “Fine! If all of you prefer to shut your eyes to the obvious and choose
her
side, then I don’t see why I should stay.”
              “This is absurd,” Patrick said. “You and Amya have equal rights to be here. You don’t have to leave.” But Vivian was already putting on her green winter coat. “You’re being ridiculous…”
              “THIS WHOLE THING IS RIDICULOUS,” Vivian exploded. “It was enough when H told me some Rascals were good, but to actually be around one? H is a little insane. I understand why she would try to convince me. But you guys? Seriously. What with all that happened last year in Europe? H told me at the beginning of September that she suspected it was the work of Rascals. She never knew how they were slowly starting a third world war, but she was certain it had something to do with them.”
              “It did,” I said before I could stop myself. All eyes darted to me again. “I didn’t think it was relevant, but yeah, Rascals killed people’s Yellow and Blue selves, using Protectors to Travel between the Dimensions. Those people whose selves had been killed went mad because they were unaccustomed to being influenced by only one Dimension. But it was only a diversion, and we stopped them.”
              “Oh, come on! Now she saved the world?” Vivian snapped. Her hands had started to glitter, their color changing. She looked around the room for a similar reaction, but no one gave her the satisfaction. “You guys are such idiots!”
              “Vivian, calm down.”
              As Sine said those words, Vivian’s hands grew bigger, their yellow hue changing into a dark, glittering gold. Unable to contain her anger, her fist came down hard on the table, which split in two.
              “Oh dear…” Patrick said quietly, pulling his royal-blue scarf in front of his eyes.
              Vivian’s deed hadn’t fully reached my brain when the door of the seminar room burst open and Karl, Samera, and Xander barged in, looking as though they were ready to take down any foe.
              “Who are those people?” Vivian snapped.
              “Calm down, now, Viv,” Patrick said.
              “What made that noise?” Sam inquired, inspecting the room until her eyes fell on the table and Vivian’s hands. “Oy! What in the—?” She backed away.
              “Amya, are you all right?” Xander whispered close to my ear, as I felt his warm hand between my shoulder blades.
              I nodded. “It’s just a silly fight…”
              At once, several voices started arguing at the same time, everyone pointing their fingers at the table and at Vivian’s hands. The sound grew louder and louder, and I thought a librarian would come to oust us, when Karl’s voice echoed in the closed room.
              “QUIET!” he shouted. Stunned faces turned toward him. Vivian opened her mouth to retort, but Karl didn’t let her. “Be. Quiet. And. SIT DOWN.” He kept staring at her golden hands, his own hand on the gun he’d hidden in his coat.
              “Finally.” Patrick sighed, sitting down like the rest of the group.
              Vivian crossed her arms over her chest, her hands almost back to their normal size but still yellow-gold.
              “It was okay, Mr. Jensen,” I began. “Just a little misunderstanding.”
              His eyes moved to Vivian, to the table, and back to me in a swift motion. “I see. And is this
misunderstanding
settled, or will there be any more casualties?”
              “Vivian cannot control her ability, sir,” Kristin blurted out. “She’s the one who broke it.” Vivian shot a murderous look in her direction but Kristin merely shrugged. “It’s true. Just like you broke into the library during the initiation.”
              “I knew it was you!” Patrick uttered. “You’ll be in trouble if anyone finds out.”
              Vivian snorted at him. “How was I supposed to get a stupid book for your stupid initiation?”
              “I don’t know. Try to open one of the windows? Unlock the door?
Not
break
a window!”
              Kristin sigh. “I should have stopped her, but I wanted to win so badly…”
              Patrick, Kristin, and Vivian kept their argument going, but I wasn’t listening anymore. Xander’s hand fell off my back, his eyes fixed on Vivian.
              “Wait a second,” he said quietly, moving between Mr. Jensen and me. I noticed that the mark on his elbow had faded to a pale scar. “Can you do that again?”
              The room fell silent and the look on Vivian’s face let me know she was scared of him. After all I had told her he was a Rascal the night of our initiation.
              “What are you talking about?” she replied stubbornly.
              “Your hands. Can you turn them to gold again?”
              “Only when I’m angry… can’t control… why?” She looked as though she was about to get up and keep as much distance between herself and Xander as possible.
              Xander glanced at Sam and me, though neither of us knew what he was up to.
              “I’d like to try something,” he declared. “The burn on my skin appeared the moment we left Hibiscus’s office earlier. It might’ve had something to do with her. She brushed my elbow before she locked her door. She pushed me aside with her left hand.”
              “But she touched you before,” Sam said. “During those tests with her daggers, she must have touched your skin—”
              “Yes, but she wasn’t engaged then.” Samera frowned. “Her ring’s made of gold, just like her hands!” He pointed at Vivian, who flinched instantly. Then he stared at me. “According to what Gareth told you, Seraphs were created in order to balance good and evil in Amani, after Rascals were admitted to our Dimension. Amya, you said that not all Seraphs have the same ability, so maybe one of these abilities is to destroy Rascals. Maybe Seraphs weren’t just created to balance the universe, but also to wipe Rascals off Amani altogether.”
              “Hmm…” Patrick mused. “It would explain why we haven’t found any use for Viv’s golden hands yet. We haven’t tried them against a Rascal.”
              Putting aside our argument, I spoke directly to Vivian. “What about your parents? The ability is genetically transmitted. Didn’t they—”
              “My parents are dead,” she snapped. “Died before I turned one. I should have been killed with them and the rest of my family, but I somehow survived. So unless you wish to question a pile of ash…”
              “Sorry…”
              “I don’t need your pity!”
              Sine got up so fast, it made everyone in the room jump. Karl reached for his gun. “Look, you stubborn little brat,” she told Vivian. “These people are trying to help your tiny, ungrateful ass figure out what you’re worth. So unless you have a better idea, stop arguing and do exactly what they tell you. Now get yourself worked up—it shouldn’t be hard as it’s all you do lately—and touch this hell of a handsome Rascal.” She winked at Xander, who barely noticed. “Or I will.”
              All eyes on her, Vivian grunted. “All right, but if he attacks me, you can all feel responsible for—”
              “Just do it!” Kristin urged, overexcited.
              Vivian focused on Xander, her fists clenched. She kept looking back and forth between the two of us and muttering words—probably insults—I couldn’t comprehend. Slowly, her fingers turned a sort of white gold, the color spreading wider over her palms and wrists, and her hands grew larger and thicker.
              When she was ready, when she knew her golden hands had reached their full potential, she carefully and reluctantly advanced toward Xander.
              “Stretch out your hand,” she said. “I don’t want to come near you.”
              Xander complied, rolling his eyes at her. The tension in the room was palpable as he raised his left arm. Samera had her hand over her mouth; Mr. Jensen had released his hold of his gun and was now staring at the scene, his dark brown eyes wide open; Patrick was clutching at the corner of what was left of the table; Sine, Kristin, and Emily seemed frozen in place, their eyes fixed on Xander; and Mary and Adam were holding each other’s hands under the fragmented table.
              Vivian was shaking. Two inches from Xander’s fingers, she took a deep breath and made the final step.
              “OUCH!” Xander yelled, which scared Vivian away. “Dammit, that hurts!”
              Karl was the first one to react. He quickly positioned himself in front of Xander and grabbed his hand.
                “So?” Sam said through her own shaking fingers.
              Karl turned around, a mild smile printed on his face. “Looks like we’re going home.”