“How did you guys afford this?” V asked, picking at the morsel of steak lodged in his teeth.

His father had sentenced Connor and Summer to tour duty. They were all in the kitchen, and V was admiring the quality of their appliances.

“Remember Jake and April?” Summer said.

“Of course,” V said, tossing his toothpick into the trash.

“April became a commercial real estate broker,” Summer said, leaning on the black marble countertop. “We were looking for a neutral space for all of us to meet, and after weeks of nothing, she eventually told us about this place.”

V felt a wave of shame as he remembered how childish he had acted around April after rescuing her from the sanatorium. “I’m happy to hear that she’s doing well, but that doesn’t really answer my question.”

“That’s where Jake comes in,” Connor said, his arm wrapped around Summer’s waist. “A few years after the Sunbury incident, he quit his job and moved to Hollywood. We later found out that he had always wanted to compose scores for movies and TV shows.”

“And he did it!” Summer screamed.

Connor gave her a confused glance, then he smiled. “He’s one of the most popular composers in Hollywood. I’m surprised you haven’t heard of him.”

“I haven’t really had a lot of free time throughout the years,” V said.

“Fair,” Connor said. “He’s been funding this whole thing. You could call him our angel investor.” Connor, for some reason, found that hilarious.

V was elated over how well Jake and April adjusted to their trauma, refusing to use it as a crutch. They not only kept in contact with everyone, they fought back in their own unique ways. “Incredible,” V said. “How do they feel about the demons going underground?”

“Their reaction was about the same as yours,” Summer said.

V was initially in disbelief. How was La’el able to get every demon to work in lockstep? But as he recalled Lance’s description of him, it all began making sense. La’el was evil incarnate, whose strength could only be rivaled by a fellow Ensolian. “La’el is the real deal,” V said. “Though you may have had a couple of setbacks, I know that if we work together, we’ll find him. But I need one favor: when we finally have confirmation of his whereabouts, I need you guys to steer clear. This is my fight. Once I kill his human form, my mother and uncle should take care of the rest.”

Connor’s face sunk. “For a moment, I truly believed that you had changed.”

“Listen,” V said. “I understand how much work you guys—“

“No,” Summer said flatly. “You don’t understand. We couldn’t even grieve properly because we knew stopping La’el was more important than everything, even the loss of someone we held dear.”

Connor glared at him, a look of ire so potent that V almost got into a defensive stance. “All those years of meditation and introspection, and for what? You still think this is about you, and you alone. That it’s your responsibility to swoop in and save the day. We’ve worked our asses off, and I’ll be damned if I just sit back and let anyone push me to the side.”

V let his words seep in. Their anger was understandable, but foolish. “A few days ago, I didn’t even know if I was going to see you all again. You now expect me to watch you die? For what? Pride? Sunk cost? You guys can’t beat him!”

“How the fuck do you know?” Connor said.

“Guys,” Summer said, exasperated. “This is supposed to be a happy day. We can argue later.”

Connor promptly walked away without uttering another word.

Summer followed him with her eyes. “It’s been hard for all of us,” she said, facing the archway Connor had walked through. “But it’s been especially difficult for him. Not only did he fail in his mission.” She aimed her gaze at V. “He couldn’t even protect his best friend.”

V felt as though she had thrust a sword into his chest. But he had to barrel through. “You guys can’t beat him. Lance told—”

“And you think coming here and declaring that we can’t is going to make us give up? I’m not one to question Pops, but he may have been wrong. You don’t seem that wise to me.”

And with that, Summer pulled the sword out, exacerbating his wound. She made a good point. He had no right to invalidate their hard work. “I’m sorry.”

The direct approach ended in failure. He was in need of a more covert method.

Summer smiled. “It’s okay.” She used one of her toned arms to grab V’s hand, and they started toward the archway. “Let’s go outside.”

They barged through the colossal patio doors. V paused just as he stepped outside, casting his eyes upon the sprawling stretch of land before him.

It wasn’t the scope that captured his attention—though their backyard extended for miles with no end in sight. What truly baffled V were the patches of charred earth juxtaposing against bits of rich green grass, like small glimmers of hope amidst desolate ruins.

Trevor was sparring with a training dummy, losing himself in the ferocious exchange of punches and kicks.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

V was familiar with this particular dummy’s design. Lance had purchased an older model several years ago. They came pre-set with several schools of martial arts, but based on Trevor and the dummy’s movements, V assessed that it was set to combatives, the system used by the Army.

“What happened here?” V said, eyeing the dummy’s fluid movements. Just as he posed the question, he noticed his dad sitting on a patio chair, bobbing his head. Connor was next to him, intently watching Trevor.

Summer took a seat at the circular patio table. “This is where we train. As you can see, grass doesn’t stand a chance against fire.”

Mr. Au double tapped his temple as V took his seat. “How is our Hoang getting along?”

“I was doing well until you said that name,” V said.

“It suits you.”

“I guess. Jamiroquai?”

“Of course.”

“At least tell me you’ve discovered their other albums by now.”

“Why would I do such a thing? Their first album set the bar too high.”

V gave Summer a mocking smile. “I’m sorry. I know he must have driven you guys crazy.”

“Quite the opposite.” Summer got up and hopped on Connor’s lap. She gave him a kiss on the cheek before whispering something in his ear.

Connor immediately shot up while holding Summer in his arms. She shrieked and giggled as he went in for a kiss, setting her down right after.

That show of affection warmed V to his core. He couldn’t help but grin.

“I’m going to get your room ready,” Connor said, looking in V’s general direction.

“Thank you,” V said. “There is one problem, though. I left my change of clothes in Lance’s car.”

“No worries,” Summer said. “You’re about Trevor’s size, right?”

V watched as Trevor narrowly avoided a leg sweep. “I’d say so. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” Connor said, stone-faced. He slammed the patio doors shut on his way inside.

Summer waved a dismissive hand. “Just give him a few minutes.”

A loud flash came from Trevor’s direction. They all turned in unison as Trevor stood above the dummy, cursing while shooting a stream of fire at the fallen humanoid robot.

“I didn’t know those were fire resistant,” V said.

“They normally aren’t,” Summer said. “But we got a modified version.”

“Jake wasn’t ecstatic about that particular bill,” Mr. Au said.

“How do you guys even go about summoning your powers?” V asked. “Does Trevor just think about fire and it appears?”

“Anger triggers our powers. But we have to be really mad for us to produce anything strong enough to cause harm. I don’t know what fuels Trevor, but for me,” she directed her attention to the setting horizon, the same shade of orange as Trevor’s flames. “I think back to the day Pops told us about your death.”

V was used to seeing Summer smile through adversity. Growing up, she would always end whatever sad story or passionate tirade with a hearty laugh.

He focused on her face, waiting for her signature smile to appear.

It never came.

It dawned on V how much of a curse it was to see the affect of his death on his loved ones. Gazing upon her sorrow filled eyes was too much to handle. He had to turn away.

Trevor was still screaming, replacing his stream of fire with a series of ferocious kicks. “Cut it out!” Summer yelled as she raced toward him.

“Trevor is still coping,” Mr. Au said.

“Understandable,” V said. He watched in astonishment as Summer quelled Trevor’s rage with only a touch to his shoulder.

Summer and Connor clung to the theory that the person Trevor killed was the human ally Aayan told Part-timer about. If that was the case, then he deserved to die. Anyone who chooses to align themselves with evil should face the consequences.

Trevor believed, or rather wanted to believe, that he killed La’el. His delusion was so ingrained that even as V was informing him that La’el was still alive, it was apparent that a part of him refused to accept it.

“I came close to giving up,” Mr. Au said. V snapped back to the present and peered into his father’s eyes. “When I lost sight of the car they took you away in, I almost gave up altogether. Was it truly worth living a life devoid of family?” He rose from his chair. With his arms folded, he watched as Summer tinkered with the dummy’s settings. “I picked my head back up and drove for hours, praying to find you. But just as I was beginning to feel like all was lost, something incredible happened.”

V sat at the edge of his seat. In that moment, his father’s back was as broad as he had remembered.

“I got a text from Connor asking if you were okay. Can you believe it? I was so grief-stricken that I actually thought I had no family left. Then out of the blue, I was reminded of my responsibility to those who loved my son like a sibling. I worked hard to instill the importance of perseverance in you, yet the minute things got tough, I was ready to throw in the towel.” He dropped his head and put his hands in his pockets. “Moving forward, my new purpose was to make sure that none of my remaining family gave in to despair. And I knew it started with me. If I allowed myself to show any pain, it’d trickle down to my kids, and I couldn’t live with myself if anyone I loved turned into one of them. So I played that album you hate so much every damn day, reminiscing about you and your mother during its entire runtime. A taste of Heaven while living in Hell.”

Such vulnerability was rare from his father. To V, he was the epitome of stoicism. He’d get the occasional deployment story every once in a while, but this was something different—a peek into the psyche of the man who raised him.

He thought back to his childhood. Every time V divulged anything personal, his father would always reciprocate with an experience of his own. “Dad, I uh...”

“Sorry.” His father sat back down. “You’ve been through enough. I’m sure my musings are the last thing you want to hear.”

“I used to drink,” V said.

His father turned his head slightly, but his focus was still on Summer, instructing Trevor on proper footwork.

“I hid bottles of alcohol around town. I didn’t do it a lot, but whenever I was feeling especially down, I’d sneak away and take a couple of sips.” A weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Deception was the ultimate sin in their household. “Connor used to find my hiding spots and throw the liquor away.”

“Of course he did.” His father turned to him. “You’re grounded,” he said flatly.

V cracked a smile.

“Do you think you have a problem?”

“I haven’t touched the stuff since I reentered this plane.”

“What’s the statute of limitations on hiding things from your father again? Please remind me.”

“If I’m remembering correctly, it’s exactly seventeen years.”

Mr. Au burst into laughter. “Luck is on your side. But seriously, I appreciate your honesty. As long as you haven’t slipped into addiction, it’s all water under the bridge.”

There was a time when his father would have given him an extensive lecture over this. Their dynamic had changed, yet V wasn’t there to experience the shift organically. It was a bittersweet feeling.

“Hey, watch this,” his father said.

V turned his attention to Summer, who was in a picture perfect fighting stance. Trevor was nearby, sitting on a tiny section of grass surrounded by splotches of blackened earth.

The dummy started with a series of alternating punches. Summer gracefully dodged each attempt. Her demeanor was poised, her movements precise.

Her opponent lunged forward. She responded with a deft sidestep. Her hands were a blur as she landed a three hit combo to the dummy’s face.

“Woah,” V said.

“Yep.”

“So she’s retired her water gun?”

“Nope. As a matter of fact, we all carry one now. We keep a few target practice plates in the shed.”

The patio doors flew open. “Your room is ready,” Connor said. Trevor shot up and started toward the patio, Summer following soon after.

“Well then,” his father said. “How about we take this inside.”

Just as V was about to enter the house, Trevor grabbed his shoulder. “I haven’t seen Summer this happy in a long time. Thank you,” he said in a low voice.

Trevor hurried inside before V could respond.

***

Their spacious guest room was a tasteful blend of neutral tones. Though the walls bore no decorations, and the furniture consisted of a bed, a wardrobe, and an armchair nestled in the corner, the room managed to evoke a sense of comfort.

V was lying on a plush queen-sized bed adorned with soft linens and plump pillows.

There was a knock at the door.

“Come in.”

It was Connor and Summer, each carrying a pile of folded clothes.

“These should last you for a bit,” Summer said. “If they don’t fit properly, we can always go to the store later.”

“I’ll try them out. Thanks,” V said.

Connor took a few steps forward. “Hey, uh, about earlier—”

“I know.”

“We need to get V a water gun,” Summer said.

Connor grabbed the pile of clothes she was carrying and placed them in the wardrobe. “I agree, but I’m sure V is exhausted. We can talk more about that stuff tomorrow.”

Summer nodded. She shared a glance of amusement with Connor before walking up to the bed.

“We got something for you,” Connor said. He reached into his right pocket and pulled out an amethyst necklace.

V sat up to get a better look. “No way. Is that—”

“We’ve been keeping it safe,” Summer said. “Using it as a good luck charm.”

Connor handed the necklace to V, who proceeded to marvel at the gleaming violet stone. Summer reached into her pocket and pulled out her necklace, prompting Connor to do the same.

“We no longer wear it around our necks,” Connor said, presenting his amethyst. “But we always carry them with us.”

Summer laughed. “I still remember the looks on your faces when you saw them for the first time.”

V put the necklace on. He held back tears. “I’ve missed you guys, dearly.”

“Please,” Summer said with a hand up. “I’ve cried enough for today.” She went in for a hug, squeezing V tightly. “Sleep well.”

Connor gave him a fist bump. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

After trying each article of clothing, shocked at how well everything fit him, he lay on his bed and admired his necklace. He then shifted his focus to his backpack, leaning against the wardrobe.

I wonder if Connor still likes Pop-Tarts.