He shakes his head. “It’s complicated.”
“And none of your business,” I say to Sunstar and Shine. “You don’t get to sneak your way in here and call for a meeting as if we’re in this together. Just because you haven’t condemned us doesn’t mean you support us. Now, my patience is running very thin, so make good use of this next minute and explain why you’re gracing us with your presence. Otherwise I’m leaving to hunt down every last Blood Caster myself.”
Sunstar folds her hands. “That ties beautifully with why we’re here. We’re very sorry for not publicly supporting you, but if we aren’t careful with this campaign, then everything will become worse for every celestial—and every innocent specter.” She eyes Emil, who blushes. “We don’t understand the cause of the Blackout, but we know something happened behind the curtains. I promise we support you and will make right on that soon by saying so publicly. I don’t want to mislead the American people. If we can secure the White House, we’ll be able to set a precedent for how gleamcrafters deserve to be treated globally.”
I’m tired of having to defend my humanity. My life shouldn’t be a debating point.
“How do you intend on doing that?” Iris asks.
“We want to abolish the Enforcer Program,” Sunstar says. “Every time an innocent celestial is brutalized and killed because of corrupt enforcers, the narrative increases that we’re all dangerous. That we must be stopped by the wands containing power sourced from our own blood. We need honest protectors who would devote themselves to detaining the Blood Casters and other rogues.”
“And who would that be?” I ask.
“You all,” Sunstar says.
“And the other vigilante factions born out of great intentions,” Shine adds.
Sunstar is beaming. “We’re calling it the Luminary Union, named so because this division will be a global guiding light in heroism, illuminating security practices that should’ve always been in place. Every Luminary will be vetted by a council of celestials who don’t operate with hate in their hearts. Every faction trying to do the right thing won’t have to be classified as vigilantes. Your work will be authorized and supported by the government.”
“Every faction that folds into the Luminary Union will be paid, of course,” Shine says. “We’ve discreetly donated to your campaigns for funds this past year. Our discretion will become unnecessary if we can build this division.”
This was always part of the dream for my parents—Iris’s too. They wanted their work more than trusted, but a welcomed service to make the world a better place. This world didn’t deserve them.
“First off, go easy on the light metaphors. We get it,” I say. “Secondly, why would we submit ourselves to the government? So you can control the way we save the world?”
Iris turns to me. “I seem to remember you quitting the group. You don’t get to be part of this decision.”
I can’t take her in hand-to-hand combat, but I want to throttle her anyway.
“You mean the group that my biological parents founded? I’m the true heir to the Spell Walkers. I’m the one who should be leading.”
“Then maybe you should act like it,” Iris says. Sunstar is trying to ask questions about my family, but Iris speaks over her. “We are protectors who need protecting too. My parents? Dead. Your parents? Dead. Atlas? Dead. Eva? Probably dead. And these are only the major deaths between the two of us. Our way clearly isn’t working, and I’m crumbling from all of these losses! I’m open to a change. You should be too.”
If that were true, she would patrol these streets with me and do everything it takes to end the source of our pain. “Eva’s fate is unclear, Iris. But Atlas’s isn’t. You get to be open to all the changes you want because there’s still a glimmer of hope that you’ll get to reap the benefits. I have no one, and I’m going to end every last person responsible for that.”
Sunstar rises and approaches me. I straighten up and her eyes clock my fists. “Maribelle, please. Whether or not you’re an active Spell Walker is irrelevant to the public. If the country is going to believe our vision, we need everyone’s cooperation.”
“Your vision. I’m not lying low so you can win your election. Why don’t you keep this big idea in your pocket for another few weeks?”
“Backdoor plans aren’t formulas for building trust. The Luminary Union will need years to build, and to accomplish this, I’ll need to be voted in for a second term as well. But this entire agenda is futile if you go rogue. Honor your parents by helping shape the country for the better.”
I could burn Sunstar right here, right now. She hasn’t offered a single condolence and yet she’s trying to use the memory of my parents against me. I shoulder-bump her out of my way, and Shine pops out of her seat as if she’s ready for another fight.
“Try me,” I warn her. “I’ve never seen an invisible woman on fire.”
Prudencia rushes between us with glowing eyes and her hand outstretched. The door swings open. “We are not each other’s enemies. But I know we can’t stop you, Maribelle. Take care.”
I cast one last look at the two women who are trying to claim the White House, the boy who isn’t cut out for this war, his best friend who has my respect, and the girl who used to be a sister to me. Then I leave, the one-woman army who won’t die fighting. I’ll live by doing what surely won’t be accepted in any Luminary Union guidelines—killing.
Thirteen
The Heroic Crime
EMIL
Everyone would’ve been better off if I’d never been reborn.
Dad would’ve never found me on the street and brought me into the family. Brighton wouldn’t have been so deep in this war that he thought getting poisoned by the Reaper’s Blood was the only way to win. Ma would be home, maybe missing Brighton if he’d still gone off to Los Angeles for school. Ness could’ve tricked the Spell Walkers into taking him hostage, and moved to another country, shifting so frequently that no one can track him. Eva would be safe with Iris, able to do good work with her powers, not forced to heal a terrifying alchemist. Dr. Bowes would be home with her son and husband.