Book 3: Chapter 21 - Angels and Devils

Don’t worry!
We only let kids fight the apocalypse monsters when we really need to.
Or really want to.
Or if one of the adult lancers is on vacation.

But hey, several of these kids volunteered, so it’s fine.

I don’t know why everyone makes such a big deal about all of this.
—Nicholas Starr, Prism City Satire

It had already happened when Violet woke up. She could feel it without even checking. As surely as she could feel the train moving on the tracks. The world was sharper. Every scent was more pungent. It was a familiar feeling by then. But she hadn't experienced it as frequently as she'd wanted. She'd finally made it to a new degree.

She couldn't check her growth at the moment. Not on the crowded car where everyone was sleeping. But she wouldn't have to wait long. She could already guess where she'd landed, at least. She didn't have that innate understanding of a new talent, so she probably hadn't reached yellow five. Or it was a passive talent.

Either way, one thing had been confirmed. Her plan had worked. She wouldn't have advanced if she wasn't in control. And if she was in control...

Bouvier was having a really shitty day.

That thought was enough to make her smile, despite the brevity of her rest. The train had left early in the morning. On Kiera hours, as Violet thought of them. At about 3 a.m. Which wasn't so much morning as it was the middle of the night as far as Violet was concerned. 

This was likely because Bouvier didn't want the mission to be noticed before they'd left. He had legal permission for it, but he was already being criticized by the public. So he made Violet wake up at 2 a.m. just to get ready.

She hadn't even had the chance to greet the other team yet. Not a real one, anyway. Just about everyone had gone to bed the moment the train left the station. Except for Kiera, but her sleep schedule was an outlier and should not have been counted. At least the sounds from above indicated the fox had eventually drifted off.

Violet sat up and stretched as soon as she had the freedom to do so. The beds on the train were less than comfortable, and the lack of windows made her feel a bit like she was trapped in a gently humming can of chips. She had to admit the movement of the trains was relaxing.

“Morning, sunshine,” a masculine voice greeted. Violet sniffed, then looked toward the noise. The sleeper car was a bit narrow, so it was easy to spot the angelic figure sitting up a few bunks down. “You look like an unfinished load of laundry.”

“Hey there, sugar,” Violet retorted. She glanced up at the mysteriously floating halo above his head and smirked. “You look like an unfinished game of horseshoe.”

Angelo grinned at the joke, waving off any hostility his greeting may have inspired. “Apologies, I didn’t mean any offense,” he assured her.

“Right. You meant one of those smart and pretty piles of laundry, I’m sure,” Violet dismissed.

“Can you two flirt in another car?” Aubrey groaned. Violet didn’t see the banshee, but she heard the fox rolling over in irritation.

“Sorry, girl, didn’t mean to wake you!” Violet called. 

“Shut uuuup,” Aubrey whined. The noise scribbled a wide smile across both Violet and Angelo’s faces, but the message was clear. Violet stretched again, then stood. She had to dodge out of the way of the orange tail hanging from the bunk above her, but she managed to avoid waking Kiera up. 

Kiera actually sounded a bit like a fox as she slept, and Violet even noticed her friend’s nose twitching. It was kind of cute, like having a cat. But Aubrey was right. It was rude to wake everyone else up just because she was ready to start the day. They wouldn’t reach the first waystation for a while, so she figured everyone could rest a bit longer. It’d be safer defending the pylon that way, in any case.

Also, she was really hoping to take a long shower, and everyone would yell at her for wasting water if she woke them up. Which would be completely unfair. Yes, the train could only store so much of it, but she had a lot of fucking hair, and that took time to clean. Kiera hadn’t even tried more than three times to wake Violet up early enough to shower before leaving. It was the kitsune’s fault, if anything. They’d refill the tank regularly enough that it wouldn’t be a major issue.

Violet went digging through the bag hanging from her bed and found some comfortable clothes. She had combat fatigues packed, but she’d change into those when they reached a station. For the time being, she planned to be as comfortable as possible. Once she had her things, she made her way to the exit where Angelo waited. She paused for him to slide the door to the side for her, then made her way to the next car.

She planned to go straight to the back of the car where a cramped but relaxing shower awaited, but Angelo called after her the moment the door closed.

“You mind waiting a minute? I’d like to sort some things out,” he said. She looked over her shoulder to find him sitting on a short bench to the side of the car. She sighed but didn’t argue.

“Yeah, let me put my stuff in a locker real quick,” she agreed. Doing so took very little time, and she found herself sitting on the bench across from him less than a minute later.

“So,” he said after a quiet moment. “I wanted to meet up with you before the trip, but you were somehow never at your dorm.”

“Astute,” Violet noted. “I was training my team. I wanted everyone to be at least orange for this trip.”

“And when your team was home and you weren’t?” Angelo interrogated.

Violet crossed her arms and leaned backward. “Yeah?” she asked.

“You were constantly busy then as well, where you not?” he pushed.

“I’ve been visiting the orange district to feed a stray cat. Why does it matter?” she answered.

Angelo shrugged. “It’s dangerous in the main city. You weren’t worried about Cruel Ivy?” he questioned.

“I was worried about the cat,” she dismissed.

“And is someone taking care of it now?” he continued to press.

Violet was getting irritated. “I have it handled. What is this all about?” she asked.

Angelo took a moment to respond. “I’m just trying to discern why you, as the lead of your team, didn’t want to organize any sort of meet up with mine?” he said.

Violet didn’t roll her eyes, but she wanted to. Instead, she offered a sweet smile and lowered her hands to her sides, leaning forward as she did. “Sorry about that! My team really didn’t have time for group training, but this is a week long trip! I’m sure we’ll be able to discuss any plans we want to make on the way!” she reassured him.

She didn’t know Angelo well, but he always seemed like an amiable person. She genuinely hadn’t expected him to throw a fit as soon as they spoke, especially on the first day of the trip. 

“We are the only lancers on this train, Violet,” Angelo explained. “We only have ourselves to protect the pylons every time it recharges. It’s dangerous out there, and I don’t want my team getting hurt. I was really hoping to have a plan sorted out before any of us had to actually fight any hedron.”

And then Violet understood. She always forgot how terrified other people could be of everything. Angelo didn’t seem like Guy. She figured the seraphim wouldn’t freeze when the time to fight came, at least. But she hadn’t realized he’d been afraid of the mission at all. 

She should have. She knew she had a unique privilege when it came to lancer work, and she kept it in mind with her own team. But she was the only person who could feel reasonably certain she wouldn’t be attacked by hedron. Not in a yellow nest. Unless there was another queen, but that was unlikely. Everyone else had to fear for their lives in every fight. This entire trip must have made Angelo feel powerless. She could empathize with that. No one liked feeling like they didn’t have control of a situation.

“Oh,” she replied. “Oh, I’m sorry! I honestly didn’t think of that. My team is kind of... used to that. We’ve never had a proper lancer escort, to be honest. And two of my team members only just got their newest talents, so I wanted to let them get used to them. But I promise. I won't let anyone get hurt out there, alright?”

Angelo was quiet for a long while, offering Violet an intense examination instead of a response. It was an uncomfortable moment, but he allowed himself to relax after the silence grew too heavy.

“Sorry,” he murmured. “I've just been on edge ever since we got this assignment. I'm not ready for this sort of thing. I probably never will be, if I'm being honest. Even if I were, though, I'd want to be as prepared as possible. And I'm frustrated that I don't feel like I am.”

Thinking back, Violet realized that made sense. Angelo wasn't at the top of the class. That was Kassie, somehow. But he did have considerably better grades than Violet. As Violet considered why, she realized he was always taking notes during class and studying until the very last moment on quiz days. He never forgot his umbrella, and he brought antacids when the cafeteria served spicy food.

“I get that,” Violet replied. “It's a good way to take control of your life. I respect it, even. But listen, man. Interrogating me as soon as I wake up? In the showers, of all places? When I'm maybe five feet from the nearest toilet? That's not amazing team building.”

Angelo sighed. “Yeah. Yeah, alright, that's on me,” he agreed.

“Don't worry. I promise we'll have a meeting before the first station, and we'll make sure we are more than ready,” Violet assured him. “In the meantime, let's count our blessings, yeah?”

Angelo snorted. “Blessings?” he asked. “We're basically on a suicide mission right now. Not one of us is yellow, yet we're expected to raid a yellow nest. It's not even near a station, so we're going to have to travel partway on foot. For multiple days. Which means camping in the fucking mist. I'm struggling to find the blessings here.”

“Well that's not very angelic of you,” Violet chided. “First of all, there is no need for language like that. Clean language leads to a clean conscience, Angelo.”

“I'll try to keep that in mind,” he intoned.

Violet gave him an appreciative nod, then continued to her next point. “Second, isn't blessing people your whole deal?”

“I'm an atheist,” Angelo dismissed.

Violet bit back a snort at that, curling her lips in to avoid an amused grin. “This must be a frustrating calling for you, then. I wonder how you got it,” she mused. “But I'll keep it in mind. It's beside the point, anyway.”

“The point. Which is?” Angelo pushed.

“There are lots of silver linings to this trip. We'll probably get ahead of everyone else in class, for one. As far as degree, I mean. But also in grades. This has got to be worth some crazy extra credit. We also get to travel, and see the world. I hear people used to love doing that. And, uh...” she trailed off. “We're no longer trapped in a city with an active serial killer.”

“Out of upsides already, huh?” he asked. “I guess that last one is actually pretty relieving, at least.”

“Oh! We're also all very pretty,” she finished with a confident nod.

“Were we... not before?” Angelo asked. “How is that related to the mission?”

“Pretty people only die if they have sex. Haven't you ever seen a horror movie?” Violet asked.

Finally, Angelo grinned, the tension he'd clearly been building up slowly evaporating. “Well, thank God for that, then.”

“I do. Every day,” Violet said.

“As you should,” Angelo agreed. He paused after that, then sighed again. “Thanks. I was definitely spiraling a bit. I appreciate it.”

Violet smiled. “Glad I could help. Don't get all snarky and nosy with me next time, ‘kay?”

“Scout's honor," Angelo promised with a salute.

“My honor was never in question,” Violet teased with a smirk. “Although it will be if you don't get out of here. I desperately need a shower, and you aren't invited.”

Angelo blushed, then awkwardly stood up too quickly. “Oh, right! I forgot. Sorry about that,” he apologized. “I'll just, uh... bye.” 

Finally, Violet was left alone. That had been annoying, but she'd handled it well enough. It was dealt with, and she could finally fulfill her destiny and waste the limited water supply on her hair. That, and check her new degree. Something she'd wanted to do since she’d woken up. Not that it mattered much. She could feel the effects already.

She'd gotten stronger. And whatever was happening in Prism... it was still feeding her.

It was going to be a good trip.