“Ava’s smart enough to know all of this is meaningless. Our pain is for nothing,” Kallie insisted. “Why allow life to continue if it’s just going to lead to agony?”
“Kallie, why would you support this? Why not stop her?” Marcus asked. He didn’t sound judgmental, angry, or upset— merely shocked.
“Because the world is fucked up, Marcus. I love you so godsdamn much. More than anything in existence, that ever was or will be,” Kallie pleaded. “But how can you ask me to keep living after what I’ve been through? How can you ask all the people of the world who’ve suffered so badly to keep suffering, when we can just end it all, and spare living beings the pain? Isn’t this the more merciful way?”
“I know better than anyone what it’s like to wish you could disappear,” Marcus replied gently. “But this is an extreme answer to a problem that’s been around for centuries, and it’s not like we can take it back.”
“This is the choice Ava’s prophecy was talking about, and she’s made it,” Kallie said flatly. “None of us can do anything about it now.”
“Fuck that. I ain’t dying because Ava is going through some existential bullcrap,” Ivy spat. “She don’t get to make that choice for me.Iget to put meaning on what I’ve been through, and decide if it’s worth it or not. She wants to cry and carry on about the meaning of life, fine, but that's not my problem. Sorry she’s having an inner crisis of faith, but I ain’t going down for that. I’m not gonna let her take herself out, and the rest of us with her.”
“Ives, that’s not what this is about,” Chancey argued.
“I don’t give a shit. Me looking out for myself is what’s kept me alive this far,” Ivy shot back. “I adore Ava, but I won’t take the fall for this one. I don’t wanna live under a dictator on either side, but living is still living.”
“No it’s not,” Chancey insisted. “I grew up in the Celestial Church, and I’ve seen what happens when only one guy has all the power. I don’t want to live in a world like that, even if that guyismy best friend.”
“You know what? I’m with Charlie. Whynotuse our powers to take over the world?” Alistair suggested.
“Alistair, how could you?” Eddie asked, sincerely sounding crushed. “Magic is to be used for good, not evil.”
Alistair sneered, “Screw that. We’ll all be in power if Charlie runs the world. I’m tired of getting kicked around all my life. It’s time to rub everyone’s face in the dirt like they did me. They showed me no mercy, so I won’t give them any.”
“You’re delusional if you think Charlie’s going to share anything,” Kallie spat. “He wants it all for himself.”
“That’s not fair, Kallie.” I couldn’t believe she saw me in such a way. Even if I was on top, I couldn’t do it all.
“Fuck you, Charlie. I know you,” Kallie replied. “Any power you’d give up would be a farce, because you’d want your hands in everything.”
“He can’t run the entire world by himself, that’s not possible. He’ll have to delegate power, and it’ll be to us,” Alistair argued. “We could have all the power. If we control everything, we can get back at all those fuckheads who hurt us, every last one. In my opinion, it’s a pretty damn good gig to be friends with the king of the world. Nobody would mess with us, and we’d get to make all the rules. You guys wanna pass that opportunity up, be my guest, but I’m not losing my shot at greatness.”
“Your shot at power, you mean,” Eddie replied. He sounded truly disappointed in his partner.
“Bullshit. This is the end of the line. It’s Ava versus Charlie, and if you’re not with us, you’re against us. Who’s side are you on?” Alistair demanded.
Ava versus Charlie.What kind of hellish world were we living in now?
“I’m not on Charlie’s side. Far from it. But we can’t let Ava do this, either. They’re both in the wrong,” Marcus stated.
“If you try to stop Ava then youareon his side, and you want him to take over,” Kallie accused. “You can’t have it both ways because only one person gets to win here.”
“We can come up with another solution,” Marcus demanded. “Everyone needs to take a breath so we can talk it out. Charlie needs to stop what he’s doing, and so does Ava.”
“Neither of them are going to,” Kallie said. “So what’s it going to be?”
“Marcus is right. We need to find Ava, then bring her back here so we can talk about this as a group,” Danny argued.
“You aren’t touching her. If we bring her back here, that monster will just lock her up again,” Kallie raged. Iknewshe was pointing at me.
“I agree. Ava should be able to do whatever she decides,” Opal said. “The prophecy says this is her choice to make, and we shouldn’t interfere.”
“Opal, you can’t agree with this,” Ez said, and the rest of them fell silent. Opal had a straight head on her shoulders and was more level-headed than the rest of us. She’d have a rational opinion, so everyone wanted to hear what she would say.
But it turned out her opinion was far from rational. Opal was quiet for a moment, before she said, “I don’t know if I’ll ever heal from what my father did to me. We all saw the terrible things that happened at the camps. Isn’t it our duty to make sure something like that doesn’t happen again?”
Ez stumbled back a few steps. “But what about Marina? Don’t you want her to grow up, and live a full life?”
“Iamthinking about my daughter, because I want her to stay innocent and safe,” Opal replied. “This world isn’t either of those things, and I can’t always be around to protect her. It’s not a question of if she’ll get hurt, butwhen, and how badly. It’s morbid, and sick, but what if this is the only way to protect my child?”
