Chapter 7

Max

My head was pounding, my vision swimming. Memories kept flashing behind my eyes like some sort of twisted kaleidoscope, mixing the few good moments in with all the blood and gore and absolute horror that was my life. My previous life. I couldn't even think straight. All I knew was this rage burning deep inside of me, rising to the surface with rapid force.

"You shouldn't have brought my memories back." I hissed, unable to be civil.

"I know, but it was the only way to get you to do the job I need you to do." the woman replied calmly.

"Is your job worth my sanity?" I spat back.

"I understand that you are hurt..."

"Hurt? I am beyond hurt! I am furious! I feel betrayed and lost and so angry! I feel like destroying everyone and everything I ever knew! My whole life just feels like one big lie. It's like I am being punished for something and I don't know what!"

"I can relate to that Max but what you need to know is-"

"What I know is that I want revenge and I will have it. Angel will pay for what she did to me and so will anyone involved, even if that means I have to kill a million white coats to do it! That bitch will die burning!"

I felt so angry, so enraged as if this fire was my entire being. I felt so upset and I didn't know how to control it. I had just cut her off twice in my rampage, but when I looked over to the lady, I was surprised to see her smiling. This really annoyed me.

"Good." was all she said.

"What's good!" I demanded.

"It is good that I chose the right person for this job. I feel that you will complete it quite nicely."

"Stop speaking in damn riddles! What's this job you keep talking about, and why is it so important that you would find a reason in giving me back these God-awful memories?" I seethed through pursed lips.

"That, my dear, would require a very long explanation."

Her tone was patronizing, reminding me of the way the white coats used to speak before they did away with the niceties and just jabbed needles into my skin. I locked my eyes on hers, unwavering and determined until she slowly smiled again.

"As you may have already surmised, this palace and its surrounding islands are quite unique."

"That's one way to put 'floating in midair," I replied, remembering just how high up I was from the ground when I opened those double doors.

"This is because they do not truly exist in your world, the Realm of Mortals. We are currently residing in the Realm of the Gods."

"Gods? As in the ones from Greek mythology? Yeah, right!" I rolled my eyes. This lady was nuts.

"Think, Maximum. How can a palace float in midair? How can a woman manipulate the stars? How can a dead child be alive once again?"

The more I thought about it, the more the pieces fell into place. As much as I wanted her to be crazy, everything fit into her explanation, which made me wonder who she really was. I knew she wasn't human; neither was her daughter, and I knew those guards weren't human as well, but I really in all honesty thought I was hallucinating when I saw them. More than anything, I was thinking about myself. Where did all of this leave me? Was I human or was I something else? I needed answers.

"Who are you?"

"I am Luminara, Queen of the Stars and Foreseer of Undecided Paths, the Titan of Peace. I have other titles, but we have not the time for semantics."

"Sorry but I've never heard of you."

"I wouldn't expect you to know me Maximum. My more prominent title is the Lost or Forgotten Titan."

"Why?"

"I abstained myself from both the godly and mortal worlds after the Titan War. My presence in the history of creation has faded since my departure. However, I still have my heralds that keep me informed - a legion of powerful protectors that ensure the ideals of peace and safety," she explained patiently, gesturing to the entrance of the hall. "You have seen my heralds before: the guards outside my doors."

"Those are your heralds?" I asked, shocked. "How on Earth do they fit in with humans? They're like twenty feet tall!"

"I have many different heralds. Those kind do not live on Earth. They are my armed guard: immortal, golden, and indestructible warriors whose primary purpose is to secure and defend this land and its inhabitants from any attack. My other heralds are born human and are gifted their powers as they begin developing. They are not killed easily, though human weapons can damage them."

"This is interesting and all, but how does it relate to the job I am supposed to do?" I asked impatiently. For someone so pressed on time, this lady sure liked to talk.

"Your job is one that will be extremely difficult and will break every code and moral you ever held. However, I am sure you can do it, especially now that I have seen that you have the will power to do so."

"Tell me what I have to do."

She turned her back to me and walked towards where a collection of the orbs were clustered. I followed her, ready for some real answers instead of all this mystical mumbo jumbo. However, things really didn't clear up as she stopped me in front of a giant flaming mass. This thing was huge, and it seemed to be sucking up all the other tinier orbs around it. She reached out to stroke the orb gently, but I could tell if I tried to do it, I would lose my hand.

"I have foreseen a terrible path unfold in the distance, one that is taking center stage among all others. If you do not stop this path and cut off its source, it will consume all others and the world will be destroyed."

As she was speaking, more tiny orbs were dissolved into the giant mass. I felt a chill run down my spine. It looked like whatever job I had to do would be harder than it looked.

"Why me though? What do I have that is so special?" I asked, suddenly feeling very under qualified. I had always been told I was going to save the world, but this was so much more than I bargained for.

"Besides great power? You are familiar with the people who have created this path and only you have the knowledge to stop them."

"Who?" I asked, a sinking feeling in my stomach.

"The one person you hate most, she and her School of followers."

"Angel!" I snarled, bringing back all the hate from before.

"Yes," Luminara confirmed, her face long and drawn. "I will give you the power to stop her. I will leave it up to you how to deal with her but in the end ITEX must be destroyed and Angel must die. It is the only way to ensure peace."

The weight of what I had to do sunk onto my shoulders, making me feel heavy with responsibility. I never liked killing, but perhaps I could make an exception for the person who killed me. It would be sweet to confront Angel, to watch the shock and terror on her face when I returned with a vengeance. Yes, that would be sweet, and the rest of ITEX would just be a cherry on top. After all this time on the run, fighting for my life and the lives of my flock, we could finally be free of the school. It was that thought that made up my mind, made my conscience settle and the determination set in. The Voice had yet to tell me it was a bad idea - in fact, I hadn't heard anything from it at all since waking up. Maybe death wouldn't be so bad after all.

"Don't worry," I said, a grin twitching on my lips. "I know exactly, what I'm doing."

"Good," she smiled. "Then this is where we part, for now."

She motioned for me to move into the center of the room until I stood over top of a giant symbol carved into the marble. I looked up questioningly to Luminary only to see her pull a star from her hair, the one closest to her ear. She closed her eyes, murmured a few words in a language I could not decipher, and let the star go. It floated to the floor and let itself be absorbed into the symbol, filling in the cracks with bright white light. The light surrounded me, making me feel powerful yet somehow intangible...like I wasn't really there.

"When the light fades, you will be back on Earth," I heard her voice come through the thick light. "When the time comes, you will know what to do."

There was something else, but I couldn't make it out. The last thing I heard was a faint good luck.

Then, the light turned blinding. The floor came out from under me and I swear I was falling - air whipping through my hair, pushing my skin back as I hurtled towards the unknown. The next thing I knew I was crashing, hitting the ground at full force, and darkness was the only thing that surrounded me.

Fang

The hours that followed my fight with Maya might just have been the quietest few hours of my life. Maya was refusing to talk to me but honestly, I wasn't complaining. I would pick her silence over her talking any day. I did feel badly though. I must've really hurt her for her to be this quiet. But, hey, she looks like Max and in a fight, she had to know that was gonna come up sometime.

I sighed and leaned back into the chair, stealing glances at Maya who I assumed was stealing glances at me in return. She was lying on the bed, flipping through the crappy cable channels and trying to look angry. She was failing miserably, her obvious need to see my reaction both amusing and a little bit sad. If she was trying this hard to get some attention, I should really have let her out more. I guess she just reminded me so much of Max that I want to protect her like I wanted to do to Max. But, she wasn't Max, as she was constantly telling me every time I "looked at her wrong", and even then, Max never needed anyone's protection. She was a one-woman, kick-ass show. And that was why I loved her. Why I still love her.

I knew needed to go and see her. I was a jackass the last time I saw her and now I missed her and wanted to know if she was okay. More than that, I needed to know if Dylan was still around. God, I hated that kid. I wish he would fly away and never come back. I mean, what guy comes into your life pretending to want to help you out and then tries to steal your girlfriend? All that crap about the two of them being made for each other never sat right with me, but Dylan took it as gospel despite the fact that Max and I were perfectly in love without him. Were being the key word. Dylan got his way; he got Max and I hate his guts for it. Even thinking about him near Max gives me the creeps.

I shook Max out of my head and tried to watch some of the crappy TV, but it was too painful to watch on the blurry, ancient box. All I saw was Max's face in the screen. I let out a loud sigh and Maya laid back on the pillows, making the entire bed screech. After a few more minutes of doing nothing, a revelation hit me like a lightning bolt and I stood up and turned off the TV, tired of its constant thrumming sounds. Maya glared at me before telling me off again, but I wasn't really paying attention to her yelling. I knew what I had to do. I had to go find Max.

I ran around the motel room like a possessed man while Maya was on my heels, her protests growing increasingly louder but I still couldn't hear her. I was purposely tuning her out, a new and very useful skill I had developed over the year.

I grabbed my only other shirt, my spare jeans, a pair of socks, and some underwear in my pack along with my toothbrush and the photo of the flock that I always carried with me. It was a going away present from Angel last year, who creepily knew I was leaving the flock before I did. But, she's telepathic and all that freaky crap so I let it go. Anyway, I never went anywhere without it and, somehow, it made me feel connected to them in a way.

I pushed the photo carefully into my front pocket along with a large wad of cash from the emergency fund Ms. Martinez had given me last year. I had nearly cleared it out, save a hundred or so bucks, but I needed it to keep Maya safe. I should know more than anyone that when the School wants you back, they don't stop hunting you until they have you again. It had nearly taken everything I had to avoid them this go round and I wasn't about to take any chances, but now, there was something more important I had to do. Maya could live on her own for a while. I was sure she was capable of that.

When I was done packing, I finally tuned Maya back in to find myself right in the middle of a lecture. She saw my face scrunch up when the full force of her voice hit my ears which were sensitive since I had been tuning her out. Her face got really red and I was regretting telling her about my newly developed skill.

"WERE YOU TUNING ME OUT THE ENTIRE TIME?" She shrieked. "HAVE YOU BEEN LISTENING TO A WORD I'VE BEEN SAYING?"

"Yes, and no." I answered honestly.

"UUUGGGHHHHH!" she huffed, and I swore her face was purple. "I HATE YOU SO MUCH!"

"The feeling's mutual!" I actually surprised myself by yelling back.

"Well, good!" She screamed in my face before storming back to the bed and flopping on. "You know, I thought you were different, but I guess I was wrong. You are just like every other douchebag guy who pretends to like a girl for who she is when all you really care about is how she looks, and when you have sex with her, you imagine someone else, or in my case, all you see is a copy of the girl you really want!"

"Oh, come on!" I sighed. Not this again.

"It's true! All you care about is Max! I hear you talk in your sleep. All you say is crap like 'Max this' and 'Max that'!" she was mocking me. "Just admit it! Just tell me you're still in love with her!"

"Maya..."

"Tell me! Tell me, and I'll promise to leave you alone."

I ran my fingers through my hair, exasperated. Finally, I got my mind straight enough to at least tell her the truth for once. "Yes, Maya. I still love Max. I never stopped. Are you happy now?"

I looked at her, her face stricken with despair. She slumped onto the bed and looked down at the floor.

"Yes," she said monotonously and avoiding eye contact. "Now go."

"What?"

"Go. Go to Max. It's obvious you don't want to be here," she took in a deep, ragged breath. "And I can't keep you here. Not anymore."

"Maya...what...?"

"You need to see her Fang. It's not fair for me to keep you here away from her. Go." she looked up and was almost smiling.

I took a long sigh of relief and smiled down at Maya, sincerely grateful for what she was doing. "Thank you Maya."

She shrugged her shoulders and motioned me to get my stuff. I did and she walked with me to the door. I turned around and kissed her forehead, obviously surprising her.

"I really am grateful Maya and I am sorry if I ever made you feel like you were second best." I apologized. "I never saw you that way."

"I know, and it's okay. Besides, it wasn't your fault. I was just clinging onto something I knew I could never really have." she shook her head. "I'm the one who's sorry."

"Don't be." I smiled and she did too. I opened the door and let the afternoon sun hit my skin; the feeling was glorious.

I turned back to Maya before I left. I needed to make sure she was okay without me.

"I'll be fine Fang." Maya said, sensing my worry. "You know me, tough as nails and strong as steel, willing to die fighting and never one to back down from a challenge."

"I know. And I will come back for you. That's a promise."

She shook her head and smirked. "Get out of here. You're keeping Max waiting."

I laughed and flew off at full speed, ready to go home. I figured Max was still near the mountains seeing as though they make for good hideouts. That and she'd always loved the freedom they represented. I'd start there and if she was gone, then I would search through every single square inch of the country until I wound up on her doorstep. There was no length I would not go to for Max.

One thing was for certain: I would find her. Failure was not an option this time.