I shift uncomfortably then take a cookie, trying to digest what Mel is saying.
“Let me guess, they sent some poor human on some impossible quest?” I ask.
“It wasn’t impossible. You humans just suck at most things,” Jinx replies.
“Hey!” I scold.
“What? It’s true. You guys don’t do anything well,” he replies.
“Don’t listen to Jinx,” Mel says, “In fact, here, look at this shiny object and be quiet.”
Mel hands him her keys. At first Jinx rolls his eyes but then he catches a glimpse of himself in the surface of the silver keys. Like a cat, he is enamored with his own image and I shake my head in disgust and disbelief. I think I like him being cocky about Tinder on his phone more than staring at his reflection as if it’s a juicy rib eye.
“Now, as I was saying,” Mel begins again, “the gods gave humanity a test to see if they could be redeemed. They picked a human by the name of Thomas Dell. He was accomplished and had been hailed by his community as a respectable leader. They told him about the Avo world and they invited him to enter the city of Mensa.
“The original Seven Gods, known as the Sacred Seven, the most powerful of all, threw him a feast in their home. Every inch of the mansion had priceless treasures. They told him that he could stay the night so long as he didn’t take anything with him. The gods were attempting to test Thomas and see if he could resist temptation. But what the gods didn’t know was that Imelda has consulted with a powerful Avo who had the gift of foresight. So, she knew the gods were going to invite Thomas to their lair, the place that housed all their powers. So, she went to him and made a deal. She said if he helped her, she’d give him immortality. With her guidance he was then able to open a portal to Mensa and allow Imelda to enter.
“Once in the city of gods, Imelda entered the great dining hall and cast a dark curse that turned the seven gods into gemstones. She went back to her lair and there, she embedded the stones into what would become the ‘crown of the sacred seven.’ With the crown, she was able to harness the power of the seven gods. She began working on a curse to bring about the end of mankind.
“The Avo world, along with the remaining gods, waged a war against her. It was a bloody war and many lives were lost but, in the end, they killed Imelda. Unfortunately, the war destroyed the city and the few gods that remained had to come live on Earth. What’s worse, they could not undo the curse she’d created for humanity. Imelda had a twisted sense of irony. She created the curse so that the one group that couldn’t possibly stop the curse was the only group that could try—humans.
“For the longest time it was believed that humanity was doomed and there was nothing that could be done. But then Roma Buckland, a powerful Avo with foresight, spoke of a prophecy. Only one human stands a chance of stopping the apocalypse.
“A human who is both.
“Innocent yet guilty.
“Courageous yet fearful.
“Strong yet broken.
“The Avo world referred to that human as the Paradox. There was a lot of talk about finding the Paradox and helping them defeat the impeding curse. The curse is tied to the fate of the city of gods. So long as the curse is alive and humanity is in danger, the city will remain in rubble. And the longer the gods are away from the city, the less power they will harness.
“So, the last remaining gods, called the circle, banded together and gave much of their power to the seven of us because we were the strongest. They sent us here, to where the curse began, Imelda’s hometown, Whisper, Idaho. We were sent here to wait for one that could face the curse. You, Sailor. The fact is we figure you are the one because, well, we’ve been here before and no candidate has ever passed the seed test, until you.”
Mel’s big eyes engulf me, but it isn’t only hers that are on me. I avert my eyes but anger swells in my chest.
“First, you guys need to stop looking at me like that, okay? I’m not the freaking Paradox.”
“Are you sure about that?” Jinx asks, signaling toward my new tattoo.
“Yeah, I’m sure. My name is Sailor Monroe. I can’t be the savior of all mankind because I’m taking advanced calculus this year and I don’t know if you know this but it’s not an easy class. It’s not like I’ll have time to go off fighting gods or whatever,” I assure them, because obviously my GPA is more important than all of humanity.
“Seriously, I can’t even get to the next level in Call of Duty. Last year, I took the stupid online quiz to find out which Harry Potter character I was, and you know what my results were? Dobby the house elf.”
“I love him! He was so sweet and brave. He was actually their saving grace,” Mel says.
Rye returns, looking as if he ran a marathon. His hair is pulled back and sweat drips from his brow.
“What are you guys talking about?” he asks.
“Oh, your favorite. Harry Potter,” I tell him, and he gives me that very same far-off look.
“He has no idea what we are talking about, ignore him,” Ya-Ya clues me in and turns back to Mel to say, “I know, when Dobby died, I cried. Or I would have cried but I wasn’t wearing waterproof mascara that day. Still…sad.”
“Hello! Trust me, nobody loves Harry Potter more than me, but can we get back to this Paradox human thing?” I demand.
“Oh, sorry. You were about to protest what you already know is true. You know, just like Harry Potter did.
