Shadows of New York (18 page)

“Yeah,” Josh felt a bit more defiance in his voice than he’d intended. “I know he’s your friend and all—at least, he
was
your friend—but Larry Fancypants is a total creepazoid in my book.”

At that moment, the kitchen door burst open and Rosemary yelled, “He is NOT a creepazoid!”

“Rosemary, calm down,” Aiden soothed.

“Not until Josh takes it back!”

“I’m not taking it back,” Josh said, almost yelling back at his sister. “He’s a jerk.”

“He is not!” Rosemary cried, her face going red.

“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” Josh said, not even trying to keep the scorn out of his voice.

“Aiden,” Rosemary whined, turning on the waterworks. “Make him take it back!”

“Uh, Rosemary, he kind of has a point,” Aiden said. “I can’t tell you the whole story, but we think that Larry might be involved with some bad stuff that’s been going on.”

“I don’t care!” Rosemary yelled. “I don’t care what anybody thinks! He could never do anything bad! Larry Fancypants is a good guy!” She ran out of the kitchen and down the hall, Aiden following at a brisk walk. Josh wandered out into the hall to watch the show.

By the time Aiden got to Rosemary’s bedroom door, she’d already locked it. “Rosemary, open up please,” Aiden said.

“No!” She yelled back. “Go away!”

“If you’ll just listen—”

“I said go away!”

Aiden took a deep breath. Josh guessed that he was counting to ten. “Okay. I’ll check on you in a little while.”

The two of them went back to the kitchen to find Mrs. F-G still sitting there, wide-eyed, and Jackson still in his high chair, his face smeared orange with pizza sauce.

* * * *

An hour later, Aiden knocked on Rosemary’s door yet again. He had tried every few minutes, each time rebuffed with ridiculous yelled insults such as “You big-brained-nose-picking alpaca” and what sounded like a stuffed animal thrown against the door.

Following the knock, Aiden said, “Rosemary, we’re just about finished making the ice cream if you want the first scoop. We found some more of your edible glitter and everything.” Homemade ice cream was Rosemary’s favorite treat, and it had been Mrs. F-G’s idea to entice her out with it. Aiden listened, curious to find out what he’d be called this time, but nothing came. She didn’t even bother to throw anything.

Aiden went back to the kitchen and reported, “I think she wore herself out with that tantrum. Sounds like she’s asleep. I’m just going to let myself in and make sure she’s settled in bed and not on the floor.”

Mrs. F-G reached into a nearby drawer and took out a large ring of keys, tossing it to Aiden. “They’re all labeled. Her room is number four, I believe.” She then went back to stirring tiny bits of bacon into their freshly churned vanilla ice cream.

Aiden nodded. “Thanks.”

When he opened Rosemary’s door, he expected to find her on the bed, buried beneath a heaping pile of blankets. He wasn’t prepared for what he did see: nothing. Well, not exactly nothing. The bed was in its usual place, blankets intact. The dresser was there. The shelves still held all the usual toys and books. What was missing was Rosemary. Aiden did a quick check of potential hiding places. Under the bed, in the closet, even the little nook between the wall and her dresser. She wasn’t in the room.

Like both Aiden and Josh, Rosemary had an en suite bathroom. Like the bedroom, it was empty. Aiden walked back out to the bedroom, spotting the one thing that was out of place, the sight of which made his stomach drop. The balcony door, always kept shut and locked from the inside, was ajar.

Aiden rushed onto the balcony. Looking left and right, he saw that she wasn’t hiding out there. There was only one place left to look. He walked to the railing and looked straight down. The streetlamps far below cast enough light to show that the sidewalk was clear and empty.

Hurrying back inside with panic rising in his chest, Aiden stepped on a piece of paper. Somehow he hadn’t noticed it his first time through the room. Picking it up, he saw a scribbled note in familiar handwriting.

Took Rosemary rainbow riding.

XXOO,

LFP

The Big Boss Battle

“What does that mean, ‘rainbow riding’?” asked Mrs. F-G, fast approaching hysterics.

“It’s something Steve and Larry and I used to do. We’d find someplace up high, Steve would make a rainbow, and we’d slide down it,” said Aiden as he paced through the kitchen.

“Well, how’d he get in her room? Why did he take her? And where did he take her?” Mrs. F-G shot the questions off in rapid-fire succession, not giving Aiden a chance to answer one before the next came flying his way. He held up a hand to stop her.

“Let’s deal with one question at a time,” he said, “starting with your last one. Where are they now?”

“Someplace high. The roof,” said Josh, running out of the kitchen and heading for the door.

Aiden glanced at Mrs. F-G, who said, “Go.”

“You’ll get Jack into bed?”

“Of course. And I’ll call the Twenty-First Precinct to let Detective Bernie know what happened.”

Aiden nodded. “That’s a good idea, but ask for Parker. Or Nichols.”

“All right,” Mrs. F-G replied, not bothering to ask who Parker and Nichols were. A single tear slipped from her eye and down one cheek, unchecked. “Oh, Aiden, do find her,” she choked out.

“I will.” Aiden went to his room, threw the Sunblade and the stake into a bag, and hurried after Josh, who was already out the door and waiting for the elevator, a pair of binoculars in hand.

* * * *

“I gotta hand it to you, Josh,” Aiden said as he scanned the horizon, looking for any sort of a clue as to Rosemary’s whereabouts. “This was a darn good idea.”

“Well, if they’re rainbow riding, they’re someplace high.” Josh could hear worry in his own voice. “And you can see almost the whole city from here.”

Standing atop their apartment building, the city spread out below them like an elaborate toy train layout. Josh raised the binoculars to his eyes and looked for the tallest buildings. The Empire State Building, the Bank of America Tower, the Chrysler Building, all of them had their normal lights on. There was no sign that there was anything rainbow-ish going on.

“Here, let me see those,” said Aiden.

Josh made no motion to hand them over. He continued to walk along, sweeping the binoculars over the skyline. “No. I grew up in this city. I’m more likely to see something out of the ordinary.” A low growling noise told Josh that Aiden wasn’t happy with this, but he didn’t insist on taking them.

As Josh walked along, his steps became quicker. Glancing down every so often to make sure he wouldn’t trip over anything or get too close to the edge, he felt panic starting to rise. Each step meant another second his sister was out there somewhere with a crazy vampire. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Aiden walking in the opposite direction, also looking off into the distance.

Then, without warning, something caught his eye. It was a splash of color lasting a fraction of a second in a part of the sky that should be dark.

He focused the binoculars. Observable by the bright lights running along its steel girders and up its supporting cables was the skeletal structure of the George Washington Bridge. Atop the tower on the New York side, periodically visible behind the bright aviation beacon there, was something else. There was a small, multi-colored streak. A rainbow, visible only if you were looking in the right place.

“Aiden, come here!” shouted Josh. In less than a second, Aiden was at his side. Josh handed over the binoculars and pointed. “There. On top of the GW.”

“Yeah,” Aiden said. “Yeah, that’s it. Okay, you go down and wait with Mrs. F-G. I’ll go get your sister.”

“No.”

“What?”

Josh planted his feet solidly. “I’m coming with you.”

Gritting his teeth, Aiden said, “No, Josh, you’re not. You’re going downstairs and waiting for us to get back.”

“No.” Josh stood his ground.

Aiden pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes and grunted, “I don’t have time for this, Josh.”

“I know you don’t. But I’m ready to stand here arguing with you all night. Do you want to keep wasting time?”

“Go downstairs and wait for us.” Aiden’s voice was slow and low, losing patience.

Josh began walking back to the door. He didn’t want to keep wasting time either. The discussion could continue on their way. “You told me that sometimes you have to stand up for the people we love.
No matter what
, you said. In my case, ‘no matter what’ means no matter that I’m just a kid, and they’re freaky monsters.”

“It’s not a game, Josh.” Aiden’s voice was getting frantic.

Josh stopped walking and turned to face Aiden. “I know that. And it’s my sister out there. I know where they are. I’m going, Aiden,
no matter what
. You can take me along or let me go on my own. Either way, I’m going.”

Aiden’s mouth opened, but he had no counterargument.

“Are you two going or what?” Josh and Aiden both looked to the door, where Mrs. F-G stood holding Jackson. “I know that look on his face, Aiden. There’s nothing you or I can do to stop him. Nor his parents, if they were home. Just keep an eye on him.”

“I might have to fight a wraith
and
a vampire for crying out loud,” shouted Aiden. “I can’t play babysitter.”

“You won’t have to,” said Josh. “If things go like that, I’ll find someplace safe and out of the way.” A new thought struck him. “You and Steve can deal with Larry and Mr. Midnight, and I’ll get Rosemary away.”

Words failed Aiden again. He looked from Josh to Mrs. F-G, his eyes imploring her to back him up. When she said nothing, Aiden sighed and said, “Fine. Let’s go. Ann, did you get through to Parker?”

“No, I left a message.”

“Call again. Tell someone, anyone, where we’re going.”

Josh ran to the door.

* * * *

The fence was tall—too tall to jump over—with barbed wire running along its top, making it impossible to climb. Behind the fence was the massive concrete block that anchored the George Washington Bridge’s equally massive suspension cables. Josh looked from the concrete block to the bridge. “Why are we stopping here? I thought we’d walk out and just take an elevator up or something.”

Aiden shook his head. “No. There’s too much security around the elevators and we don’t have time to wait for someone to make arrangements to get us through.”

“So…” began Josh, not quite sure what the plan was.

Aiden stepped in front of Josh and turned around, presenting his back. “So hang on as hard as you can. Don’t worry about hurting me. If you feel your grip slipping, let me know.” Not liking the sound of this, Josh didn’t move. Looking back over his shoulder, Aiden said, “Hey, you wanted to come. Either do what I say when I say it, or go back home.”

“Okay.” Josh nodded and started to reach up.

“Oh, hey, wait just a second,” Aiden said, turning back to face him. He dug the Sunguard gauntlets from the brown canvas bag slung over his shoulder and handed them to Josh.

“But…won’t you need these?”

“Maybe. But if you’re going up there with me, you might need them more.” Though he felt weird about taking them, Josh stowed the gauntlets in his own pocket while Aiden turned back around and said, “Okay, climb on.”

Josh’s arms felt like they were moving in slow motion as they reached up and wrapped themselves around Aiden’s neck. He hoisted himself up and secured his legs around Aiden’s waist. Aiden staggered for a second, steadying himself.

Then it began. It started, Josh thought, with a distinct wet dog smell. He had never been this close to Aiden, pressed right up against him, when Aiden transformed. He felt Aiden’s back hunch and his arms flex. Through his arms and legs, Josh could feel the muscles enlarging and tightening. The hair on the back of Aiden’s neck began tickling the tip of his nose.

With a mighty grunt, Aiden bent low. He reached his arms back to secure Josh and leapt high into the air. Josh closed his eyes and fought the sickening feeling in his stomach. Only when the sudden jostling told him that they had landed again did he open his eyes. They were on the other side of the fence.

The feeling of triumph lasted only for a moment. Aiden set off at a dead run, sprinting on all fours straight for the anchorage block. Josh closed his eyes again when Aiden kicked off his shoes and began scaling the block’s side. A forward lurch told him they had reached the top, but he didn’t open his eyes to verify. Seconds later, they were moving once again at full speed, this time up the suspension cable. It started out nearly horizontal, but as they moved along, Josh felt it angle upward. With each stride, Aiden’s bag would knock into him.

In his mind, Josh was on a pony gone wild, like the time his parents took them on a “cool” (so they claimed) vacation to a ranch out in Arizona. He was a few feet off the ground. Soft, grassy ground. A fall meant maybe a bruise, nothing more. It wouldn’t be a fall of hundreds of feet onto pavement, or maybe down into the Hudson River.

They slowed. Aiden’s breathing quieted, as if trying to sneak up on whoever or whatever awaited them at the top. For a brief second, Josh braved a peek. He made sure to look straight ahead, not down at the bridge and river far below. They had reached the top of the cable where it ran through the tower.

There was no opening where they could enter the tower itself. That left only one option. Aiden’s paws gripped the tower’s exposed girders and began climbing. A few seconds later, Josh felt an unsettling out-of-control sensation. He opened his eyes to find Aiden pulling them up and over the railing that ran around the top of the tower.

They landed on a catwalk, which led back to a wider standing surface. Once he felt safe, Josh let go and felt relief flooding through his arms and legs. He hoped he wouldn’t have to do anything strenuous too soon. His muscles ached from holding onto Aiden so tight.

“Josh! What are you doing here? Who’s that with you?”