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Another Knight
EMIL
I really hope I’m living this life right.
I got to trust Brighton and let him prove himself, but I’m not an idiot; I know his ego can bring out the worst in him. Arrogance alone is one thing. Arrogance paired with superpowers is another. I’m responsible for Brighton now more than ever.
He’s all over the news this morning. Clips from last night’s live event are on every station and only a couple outlets are reporting it fairly. The others are excluding how we prevented the Blood Casters from achieving something that would’ve been catastrophic. All they see now is another target to fear at a time when there have been an increasing number of allegations against celestials. This isn’t helping Sunstar and Shine as the election approaches or the community as a whole.
The reports are heartbreaking: there’s an invisible high school coach spying on students in the locker rooms; the boss who threatened to burn his assistant from the inside out if she kept refusing dates with him; the mother who blinded the children who bullied her son at school; and so many more stories that paint gleam as weapons. Hope continues shrinking. I don’t think I’ll ever see this country as strong as I trick myself into thinking it can be.
I turn off the TV as Prudencia comes out of the shower fully dressed with a towel around her head. It was a lot harder to get sleep alone last night since Prudencia stayed in the room with Brighton, but I get it. They’re finally giving themselves a shot and there’s no better time than now. Life is short, especially when locked into a war, and having extra lives hasn’t exactly done me any favors.
“How’s Bright handling his fame?” I ask.
Prudencia lets out a deep sigh as she sits on the couch that used to be her bed. “I woke up to him literally drooling on his phone.”
“Eighteen years of sharing a room with him and that’s a first,” I say.
“It would’ve been a little more charming if it didn’t have me wondering how late he was up reading comments about himself.” Prudencia’s eyes glow as she telekinetically opens the window and lets some fresh air in. “I promise I don’t intend on using my power for everyday things.”
“You’re making up for lost time.”
“For a war I never wanted to fight in,” Prudencia says. “But with Atlas dead, Maribelle gone, and your powers down, we’re going to need extra help.”
I’m about to tell her how I don’t want her picking up my slack when a blurry wind sweeps toward us, and Brighton appears with his phone. “Whoa,” he says as he balances himself. “I don’t recommend doing that right when you wake up.” He sits beside Prudencia. “Maribelle DM’d me last night. It must’ve been right after I fell asleep.”
“What does she want?” Prudencia asks.
Brighton reads out the message: “The stars took care of you after all, Brighton. Your second shot at life couldn’t have come at a better time. I’m working with a Halo Knight to take down the Blood Casters. But Tala wants answers on the deaths of her parents. Bring Emil to the eighteenth floor of the First Nebula Lofthouse. We can all work together and maybe even save Eva and your mother. No Spell Walkers.”
“Wait, why does the Halo Knight want to meet with me?” I ask. “Does she think I killed her parents?”
Anxiety strangles me.
“I doubt it, bro. Maribelle is the first person to make a case on how you won’t kill anyone. Tala probably wants to know what happened to her parents.”
“Then she’ll probably kill us for having phoenix blood.”
Brighton pops up. “Maribelle does too, so unless her ghost slid into my DMs we should be fine.”
“Quick history lesson, Bright: the Halo Knights killed Keon. What do you think is going to go down if she knows about my past lives?”
“We’re going to keep you safe. Look, Iris has been searching for leads every day and returning back with nothing. This Halo Knight may have her own connections that can lead us to saving Ma. You’ll never be able to live with yourself if something happens to her that we could’ve prevented. I’m getting ready.”
He dashes down the hallway.
He’s so eager to get out of here that he isn’t considering the obvious differences between us and Maribelle. Maribelle was born with her powers and I was reborn with mine. I’m not innocent because of everything my past lives have done, but Brighton is a traditional specter who stole his powers in this life. I’m not sure how that’s going to end well for him.
“Don’t let him pressure you into this,” Prudencia says. “I’m going to let him know how unfair he’s being.”
“No, he’s right. If there’s a chance to save Ma, I have to take it.”
Prudencia nods. “Maribelle said no Spell Walkers, but she didn’t say anything about me. I’m going with you.”
We get ready fast. It’s so screwed up to sneak away after all the hospitality Ruth and Wesley have shown us, but I’ve pissed off Maribelle enough for one lifetime and I tell myself that we’ll be back by day’s end if not sooner. It’s extra wrong when Prudencia takes Wesley’s keys and we drive away with his car.
“Maribelle knows we’re on the way,” Brighton says, putting down his phone.
