The whirlwind is more like a hurricane. It's louder and more vicious than the one back at the village. It is pulling me in. I grab hold of the cave wall as the wind lifts me off my feet. I am now completely sideways. It's like I'm holding on to the wings of an airplane. It's sucking the air from my lungs. Breathing becomes almost impossible.

I have to get close enough to press the release without getting sucked in. I hear Marcus' voice but with the rush of the wind whirling around me, it sounds like a whisper. I think he is coming into the Cave after me. I can't tell. I am too focused on getting to the center of the Chaser to look behind me. Even if I could, the pressure would snap my neck in half.

The only way this will work is if I let go of the side of the cave. Then I can try and reach the release before it sucks me in completely. I let go, but for some reason I don't get sucked into the center of the Chaser. Something is holding me back. I feel Marcus' hand around my foot.

"Let me go. I can reach it," I shout.

"No, it'll kill you."

"We only have one minute," the twins shout to us. "We can get out of here or save Julian, but we can't do both."

"I can get to him," I shout to Marcus.

Marcus refuses to let go of me. I kick him as hard as I can and I feel his hand slip away. Normally I wouldn't be able to get free of Marcus' hold but the Chaser has weakened him greatly.

"Thirty seconds," the twins shout behind me.

I see a blurry figure beyond the Soul Chaser. He lies motionless on the floor.

As soon as I get close enough, the wind claims me and drags me to the center. My body is being sucked in.

My limbs feel like they are being ripped from their sockets.

"Twenty seconds," the twins call out.

I force myself to stay focused on the center of the Chaser and pay no attention to the agony traveling down my body.

"Ten seconds."

I try in vain to steady my fingers. The wind is too strong. I can't get a strong enough grip to press the b.u.t.ton at the center of the Chaser.

"Five seconds."

"Emmy, no!" Marcus roars in pain.

I grab on to the side of the ball and press down as hard as I can.

It is too late. The wind of the Soul Chaser is replaced by a blast of blinding white heat. I can feel my body cut through the air. The blast grips me and tosses me like a weightless paper bag.

The white heat travels everywhere making every part of me burn; from the inside of my eyelids to my toenails.

Finally, I land somewhere, hard. Rocks and debris land on top of me, entombing me. I'm not sure what did it-the blast itself, the rocks that land on top of me, or the fire dancing across my body-but darkness soon follows.

Someone is calling out my name. I can't tell who is speaking, but I know it's more than one voice. I try to open my eyes but the light hurts, so I keep them shut.

"C'mon, read her wave."

"I did. She's alive."

"Then why isn't she moving?"

"Because a bomb just exploded in her face. Back off, man."

"Read her wave again, Rio. Are you sure she's alive?"

"Yes. But just because she's alive doesn't mean she's okay."

My head feels like it's made of stone. The burning sensation has lessened but not gone away.

Given the strength I put into moving my body, you would think that I could get up. But no, it seems I have barely budged.

"Emmy, can you hear me?"

Come on, open your eyes, even if it hurts. They are so worried about you.

"Emmy, can you hear me? Emmy?"

Finally I convince my eyes to brave the harsh light. The first thing I see is a pair of deeply concerned eyes.

"Are you okay?" Miku asks near panic.

"Yeah," I manage to say.

She hugs me tightly.

"I'm so glad you're alive! If you were dead, I was going to kill you," Miku says, filled with relief.

We actually made it out okay! Everyone lets out a sigh of relief-well, almost everyone.

"What the h.e.l.l is your problem?" Marcus fires at me.

"Stop yelling."

"You could have been killed, do you understand that? We can't let anything happen to you."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. The mission wouldn't survive," I say flippantly.

"No, not the mission-me. I won't survive if something happens to you. Why the h.e.l.l are you torturing me?" He spits out with unrelenting rage.

From the corner of my eyes, I see Ameana's body stiffen. But Marcus is too upset to care at the moment.

"If Rio didn't get to you in time to shield you, do you know what would have happened?"

"Julian is our only lead. We couldn't let him die. Wait, is he okay?" I ask as the twins help me into a sitting position.

"He's fine," Ameana says, motioning toward the man on the ground a few feet away.

Marcus has yet to take his wrath-filled eyes off of me.

"I told you not to go in that Cave. You will do as I say or so help me Omnis, you will stay inside a Holder for the rest of your life!"

Marcus and I are now staring at each other like gun slingers in a showdown. Rio wisely intervenes by questioning Julian.

"Look, we have just gone through a great deal of trouble to find you. So tell us, what do you know about the Triplex?"

Julian looks at Rio calmly.

"I know this: so long as the human girl is involved, you will not get one single clue from me."

CHAPTER NINETEEN: FAR FROM THE TREE.

Marcus moves with inhuman speed, picks Julian up off the floor, and smashes him into a tree. He holds Julian by the throat and looks at him with what I can only describe as wrath.

"Do not test me."

Julian looks back at Marcus, unfazed.

"Tell me what you know," Marcus rages again.

When Julian speaks his voice is strained and barely audible because Marcus is pressing on his windpipe.

"Can't talk," he says.

Marcus reluctantly loosens his grip. Julian gets away and straightens himself up.

"Let's do this at the house. We shouldn't be out on the road like this," Miku suggests.

The flight back home is tense, to say the least. For one thing, Marcus makes Julian fly with him. And it seems that at any moment, Julian will be dropped to his death.

Once we get back to New York, the team flies straight to their home on the Upper West Side.

Once we land, Marcus throws Julian onto the floor of the roof and barks at him to talk.

"I am grateful that you got me out of that cave. But I will not help so long as Emerson is a part of this," Julian says.

"What is your problem? I risked my life for you!" I remind him.

"Yeah, and something that should have been done by a Guardian. What's the matter, Marcus, too scared to face a Chaser so you send in a fifteen-year-old human?"

"I'm sixteen."

"It is wrong to involve her. You will get her killed," he says, ignoring me.

"Her name was the only clue given to find the location of the Triplex. We didn't involve her, the council did," Rio informs him.

"Yeah, that sounds like something those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds would do."

"I don't like it either but we have no choice," Marcus adds.

"Like h.e.l.l you don't. Put her in a Holder and keep her away from all this."

"Why are you so interested in what happens to me?"

"Emmy, you could be seriously hurt."

"I've already been seriously hurt."

He barks his order at Marcus. "You were out of line to involve her. Emmy, go home."

"No."

"Go home, right now."

"Just because you're the original First Guardian, doesn't mean you can tell me what to do."

"I can tell you what to do because you're my daughter."

I don't know what happened. I heard the words and by the time they had make sense, I already have my hands wrapped around his neck. The attack was so sudden that even the angels couldn't stop me from getting to Julian.

They stand there for a moment in shock that I had attacked him. By the time they came back to their senses, I have already launched my fourth or fifth blow on him. He doesn't fight back. He just tries to block me. The angels pull me off of him, kicking and screaming. I yell at him so loud I'm sure all of New York City heard me. I don't care. He raped my mom. The original First Guardian raped my mother.

"Let me go," I shout at the twins.

"You have to promise you won't attack him again," Rio says.

"I won't, I'll just kill him."

"Emerson, calm down," Jay says, looking into my eyes. He is about to convince me to remain calm.

"No," Marcus says to him.

"Why?" he asks his leader.

"She's ent.i.tled to her rage. We can't take that from her."

"So, just let her beat him up?" Rio asks.