Chapter 7

Chapter 27



"What do you want Jondy?" Zack asked, careful not to wake Caitlin as he turned to face the emerging figure. Jondy's sapphire eyes glinted dangerously. Zack recognized the look and quickly led Jondy to secluded room adjoining Caitlin's.

"How could you do that to her? You hypocritical son of bitch!" Jondy hissed angrily as soon as the door was shut. Zack merely regarded his sister coolly. Jondy roughly shoved her brother against the wall, slowly squeezing down on his sensitive jugular.

"Max has just and I quote "Terminated her ties of weakness." Hmmm I wonder where she got that from?" She snapped rhetorically. Zack's face remained impassive.

"You made her dump him!" Jondy accused.

Zack snorted disdainfully "You seriously overestimate my influence on her, she almost as rouge as you are." he denied, pulling himself from her vice-like grip.

"Running back to your princess?" She tormented, unwilling to let Zack back out of this confrontation.

As expected Zack spun around, eyes blazing. "What's wrong Cupid? Ticked off that your fairly tale matchmaking is crumbling around you?" he sneered.

"No, I'm ticked because before you came along Max was dealing with her emotions. Now you're screwed it all up!" she snapped.

"For the last time, I have very limited control over her, especially when it comes to Miracle Boy. If she decided to come back to reality I had very little to do with it!" he whispered in exasperation.

Jondy rolled her eyes mockingly, "Oh that's rich, considering you're in love with Caitlin." She them dove in for the kill, "You can't have your cake and eat it too. Start practicing what you preach brother."

"I can't." he admitted softly.

"I know you can't," she drawled, "So stop expecting Max to."

Zack gazed at his sister, his face hard and unyielding. "Tell me Jondy, do unicorns fly where you live?"

"Huh?"

"Manticore, Jondy they have already proven what they will do!"

"Loving somebody enough to let them go?" she asked softly.

"Whatever." Zack shrugged.

Jondy softened, her brother was just trying to protect his sister and the woman he loved. His was doing it the only way he knew how.

"I can't fell this way and yet I do! I should be able to walk away and yet I can't."

"You love her." Jondy supplied.

"I know." he whispered.

"I'm gonna talk to Maxie," Jondy said frowning at the task ahead of her, Maxie was willful, determined and stubborn. She wouldn't back down easily. She believed she was doing the right thing for Logan, which would fuel her motivation. Leaving Zack to return to his vigil, Jondy headed to the place she knew she would find Maxie



"The High Place."

Gravel reluctantly gave way to the tires of her bike as she rode through the church courtyard. Jondy quickly made her way to the simple wooden doorway and rapped lightly. After a few minutes the door opened with a resounding boom.

A plump middle-aged minister gazed at her curiously from behind wire-rimed glasses

"Can I help you at this late hour child?" he asked.

Jondy smiled kindly "Have you seen a dark-haired girl around my age?"

"Ah you must be Jondy."

Jondy raised a quizzical eyebrow.

"I'm under strict instructions to tell you to "Shove your lectures and leave her to wallow in self pity." "

Jondy rolled her eyes, "Where is she?"

He motioned behind him, "First bench on the left." he said before bidding her goodnight.

"Thanks," Jondy called before she entered the silent church. Her sulking target was curled up in a tight ball, gazing mutely at the tilted design on the opposite wall.

Max did not acknowledge Jondy's presence as she slid silently behind her, "If I asked you to mind your own business you won't right?"

"Nope."

"Just checking."

"Why'd ya do it Sis? I thought we had been through all this crap."

"Call it a reality check." Max muttered.

"Did this reality cheek come in the form of our beloved brother?"

Max shrugged.

"Maxie, I can't believe you listened to him! You realize that all these lectures are mind-blowing in their hypercritical nature right?" Jondy asked placing a hand on Max's shoulder and forcing her to turn around. "Caitlin... blood... I love her... please stop me went we get something vaguely familiar." Jondy trailed off.

"It's because of Zack falling in love that I'm doing this." Max retorted.

"At least try and make sense Maxie."

"Whenever I began to get all these feelings I could always count on Zack to yell at me, call me weak and be an pain in my ass," She explained, "Zack would have given into them, you realize that don't you?"

"Okay Maxie let me get this straight because Zack made a few decisions based on his feelings for Caitlin, you've come the conclusion that emotions- in particular love- make you weak and incapable of making rational decisions?" Jondy asked gazing into her sister's troubled eyes.

Max cocked her head mimicking a questioning sparrow, "That's pretty much it." she confirmed.

"Oh Maxie! Love is the strongest and most powerful of emotions, but it doesn't strip you of your judgement. It should be natured and sheltered not shunned." Jondy explained to her increasingly volatile sister.

"It must real nice where you live... so far away from reality." Max hissed.

Jondy tensed, that was the second time in less than 30 minutes that her grip with the real world had been questioned. "What's the point in being free if we still live by the rules that imprisoned us?" she asked softly, "I know we have to be careful but we can't let fear of the "what if" rule our lives."

"Idealistic dreamer." Max muttered.

Jondy snapped. Maxie was acting like a sulking child who'd lost her favorite toy. Grabbing a protesting Max by the collar Jondy proceeded to drag her from her stubbornly held position. With an apologetic smile to the startled minister, the X5 forcefully shoved Max out the door and into the dark night.

"Do you love him?"

"What the hell?"

"It's a simple question Maxie." Jondy said crossing her arms and gazing at her sister expectantly.

"What's love got to do with it?" Max asked refusing to meet Jondy's annoyingly piecing gaze.

"Nothing much. I just thought I'd mention it," Jondy drawled sarcastically. With a speed that rivaled the fastest hair Jondy pulled Max onto her bike, tossing Max the sphere helmet as she got on.

"Where are we going?" Max asked, brushing stray whips of hair as she put on the helmet.

"I want to show you something."

"Well that explains... nothing." Max quipped.

"Deal with it." was the crisp reply.

"Touché."