It makes no sense to put everything on the line for one girl. He was a Guardian. All he had to do was keep his mouth shut. You ask me, any guy who would put his life on the line for a girl he didn't know is an idiot. Sure, I could see helping her out while she was on Earth-but on the bridge? Didn't the rules mean anything to him? Argh.

This walking thing wasn't going to help. I took flight and headed north. I wanted to get out of New York. Yeah, like that's your problem, I scoffed at myself. But I couldn't think of anything else. So I just kept going until I reached New England. I hovered above the Green Mountains. Usually the silence and the breathtaking views helped me, but not this time.

Finally, I came down at the edge of a small town. According to the sign, it was called Barre. And according to the sign, it had a population of 9,291 people, none of whom I had ever met, but somehow I was supposed to save. That is, if I could get past the Akons, the Runners, the p.a.w.ns, oh, and the Sage.

Alright, the real reason I was sulking on the cliff had nothing to do with any of them. I knew we could handle the Akons, we could even figure a way around Lucy. We might not beat her, but I think we could figure a way to get the Triplex before her. The problem is the Sage.

It's not the Sage you're mad at, fool. It's her, I said out loud to no one. And it was true. Yeah, the Sage had p.i.s.sed me off, but my girl saying she thinks I'm capable of Turning? That doesn't just p.i.s.s me off, it really stings.

I mean what does a guy have to do to get his girl to have some faith in him? She didn't even question the Sage. She just started acting like I was the enemy.

I broke off a piece of the mountain and threw it down.

"Um, first we save the planet, then we destroy it. Didn't you get the email?" I turned around and Jay was standing over me.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Rio called and said you were...you might need to talk," Jay said tactfully.

"No, I'm fine."

"What did Ameana do?" Jay asked.

"Every problem I have doesn't have to do with her."

"Okay."

We were quiet for a second.

"What did Ameana do?" Jay asked again.

"Is it wrong to expect some kind of trust and faith in the person you're with?"

"No," Jay said, sensing that I would probably throw something at him if he didn't agree with me.

"I'm serious. What is going on with that girl?" I asked.

"Okay, you want to catch me up?" Jay asked.

I couldn't tell him what the Sage said. It wasn't going to happen, so why should I? Anyway this isn't about him. I took a deep breath to calm down. It didn't help.

"I told her that someone a long time ago had said something about me that was completely untrue. I wanted her to agree with me, but could she do that? No. She just took the other guy's word over mine. What the heck is that?"

"What did this person say?" Jay wondered.

"It doesn't matter. She should have been on my side. I have always taken hers."

"Ameana's greatest attribute is her ability to understand. Try and tap into that."

"She understands cruelty. But the other things-kindness, appreciation, faith-she has a problem with."

"What do you mean?"

"Look, I'm not saying I'm Omnis. I know I'm flawed. But I have been nothing but trustworthy and faithful. When do I get that back?"

"Are you sure she has it in her to give back?"

I didn't answer. I didn't think Ameana would so readily accept the Sage's prediction. It made me uneasy, to say the least.

Jay went home ahead of me. I sat there for another hour or so. By the time I got back to the house, I was somewhat calmer. I wasn't resolved, but at least I wasn't throwing things. I told Jay to have everyone meet back at the house so we could have a meeting. The Akons wouldn't attack any of the Emersons until they were certain which one had the Triplex. To do that they have to get a Trimeter and measure which of the three Emersons had been tagged.

Whoever read the highest on the meter was the one that the council had chosen. The Akons wouldn't get a reading before sunrise. Most Sellers hide from them. So it would take time for them to hunt one down. Sellers were more apt to sell to Angels because we're less likely to kill them. Even though Sellers always come back, they hate having to start all over again. It means a new scam, new clients and going through adolescence all over again. So, for tonight, this Emerson person is safe.

As for me and Meana, I'd have to figure something out. We needed to talk, but I didn't want to do it tonight. If I had walked into the house, I knew I would be having round two with Ameana. So to avoid that, I flew and landed on the roof. That way, we could get straight to the meeting. I found Rio waiting there.

"Hey, thanks for sending Jay."

"Did it work?"

"I haven't destroyed anything in an hour so, yeah."

"Glad I could help."

He went downstairs and called everyone to come up and join us. Once everyone had gathered, Reese and Jay gave us the run down. They said the house that Julian had lived in was empty but, by the looks of it, he had been there recently.

The twins found the three Emersons. One lived in Brooklyn, one in the Bronx and one right here in Manhattan. "I think the Manhattan guy is the one we're looking for," Rio said.

"Why?" I asked.

"He radiates the normal waves for his age: insecurity, uncertainty, and innocence. But he also has a color that I rarely find in humans his age: olive."

"What does that mean?" Reese asked.

"It means a hidden courage. If this guy were under attack, I think he could handle it. I don't think the council would leave a clue to someone who didn't have at least a show of inner strength."

"Good point. You and Miku cover him. Jay, Reese, you guys cover the other two Emersons just in case. Ameana and I will go find a Seller. We need to find one that has a history of working with Akons."

"There's a guy in the Muse, Tony-Tone. I think he's supplied them. According to past Guardians, he's the go-to-guy for anything," Ameana informed us.

"We'll head out in a sec. The rest of you get going." Before I had even finished talking, they were airborne. Ameana and I remained on the roof.

"You're not going to tell them what the Sage said, are you?" she asked.

"Why should I? It's not true. Why would I even worry them about it?"

"They need to know."

"There's nothing to know."

"You can't leave them in the dark like this."

"They wouldn't believe what he had to say. They have faith in me and aren't so easily convinced of my betrayal."

"You're making this personal, and it's not."

"Is it ever personal with you?"

"This is not about us. I'm the second-incommand, and I think your holding out information from the team is in poor judgment."

"I'm sorry you don't like the way I'm handling things. But it's my decision, and I am not saying anything until I feel it is absolutely necessary."

"So, you're gonna wait to Turn and then tell them?"

"I AM NOT TURNING!" My wings spread across the night sky and moved wildly.

"Don't you flare your wings at me! I am not here to agree with you. I'm here to get a job done and you're getting in the way."

"You aren't the only one who has to make this mission happen. We all have to play our parts."

"Good. Why don't you try playing the role of a First Guardian and take care of his team?"

"I am done having this conversation."

"You have to tell them."

"Because you think it's true?"

"Because it's your duty."

"I will. But only when I feel they need to know, and not one second before."

"You're just afraid that they will lose faith in you."

"Well, if they're anything like my girlfriend, they never had any faith in me to begin with."

"Marcus-"

"Enough."

Without another word, Ameana took off into the night sky. I followed her. She was taking me to see a Seller that she thought the Akons might have gone to. She took us to a p.a.w.n shop on the Lower East Side. It was still dark out and had we not had the strength of angels, it would have been a bad idea for us to be out.

The dark alleys and suspect-looking humans make for a scene in some kind of street-crime drama. We landed in an empty alleyway. The wind whipped and battered the garbage on the street. It smelled. The rats had long taken ownership of the area.

We entered the p.a.w.n shop and found random items on display. They had everything from guitars to baby monitors. They were held in place by Samson string. Samson is the guy who had had all his hair cut off by a woman he loved and trusted, Delilah.

But what they don't tell you is that Delilah then sold his hair to a Seller after finding out that it was as strong as that of an angel's. Samson string could hold a car in place on the wall. But the most impressive thing about Samson string is that it could not be untied by any hands other than the ones that had tied it. You also never needed more than a few inches, so it was something Sellers often kept it in stock and made good money off of.

The guy behind the counter was heavyset, with a hairy chest, a half-open b.u.t.ton-down Acapulco shirt and a gold chain. The chain is a holder, just like the one Jay wears. Except Jay's is platinum. I'm guessing the p.a.w.n shop gets robbed so often, he keeps the Holder around as protection. A Holder is a bubble-like prison. Once it is thrown onto the floor, it traps the person it's been thrown at by encasing them in a film that can not be pulled apart.

I'm sure many robbers have been held in place at this shop until the cops came. Then, when the cops show up, the Holder is removed and it seems as if the robber just stayed behind to get caught. The truth is they were held prisoner by the holder chain around the Seller's neck. No robber ever got the best of a Seller. These are men and women who have lived not one but many lives. And each time Sellers come back to Earth, they get better at stealing and cheating.

Many argue that Sellers should be sent to the darkness, but every once in a blue moon, a Seller sees the error of his or her ways and gets entrance into the light. Also, the act that the Seller committed on Earth to be granted eternal life is always an act of courage. I guess it's hard to send a guy to burn to ashes after he has saved a baby's life or done something equally heroic. The Seller looked at us and gave us his best car-salesman smile.

"Well, I'll be a Runner's last meal. The Guardian couple right here in my little old shop! Can you shed some light on some of the rumors that have been circulating? Is it true that you had something going with another Guardian before Marcus? I hear you and the mood ring guy had a thing way back when."

She walked up to him slowly. She whispered something in his ear. I don't know what she said, but Tony-Tone's face went bright red.

"You will never ask me anything like that again. Do you understand?"

"Yes, yes, I'm sorry. I was just curious."

"We didn't come here to be questioned. We came to question you. And if you tell us what we want to know maybe we won't have to end your cycle right here," I say.

"I thought you guys would be nicer."

"Tony, I'm low on patience. So if I were you, I'd play it real carefully," I warned him.

"Look, I can't tell you anything. I'm a Seller and we Sellers have a code."

"To rip off as many people as you can?" Ameana asked.

"Well, yeah. But more than that, we have to keep our clients happy. That means whatever they purchase is kept confidential."

"You will tell us what we need to know," I threatened.

"Okay, but you should know that I hold my profession in higher regard. It hurts me to break my code."

"We'll pay you."

"What do you need to know?"

"Did the Akons come to see you?" I asked "Yeah, half hour ago."

"What did the Akons get when they came here?" Ameana said.

"They brought two things; a vile of weeping oil and-"

"Weeping oil? What's that?" Ameana asked.

"It holds memories like a collector, but only of the times in your life you've cried. You put it into someone's drink, and after they drink it, you take the cup and fill it up with water. The remains of the oil will reveal the last tearful memory of the person who drank it. On us it wouldn't do anything, but on a human, it's like ingesting bleach. The body rejects it. Three or four rounds of weeping oil can kill a human," I informed her.

"It would only take three rounds. I sold them the good stuff. It comes from the best hospice in North America. I only provide the best. I am not just a Seller-I'm a Seller who cares."

"You care so much, you sneak into rooms of terminally ill people, wait for them to cry themselves to sleep and gather all their tears," I point out.

"Hey, I didn't give them an illness. You can take that up with the council. All I do is gather up a few of their tears. And, by the way, the process doesn't stop there. I have to pay a guy to mix it, pay a guy to strip the salt from it-a lot of work is done to make it what it ends up being."