Shadows (Ultrahumans Book 2) (11 page)

‘That sounded really pretentious. I’ll say stars. Cygnus actually knows what they’re called. She was into astronomy when she was a kid.’

‘Hence the name, I assume. Cygnus is a constellation. “The Swan,” I believe.’

‘Yeah, and you might get to find out why sometime.’

‘Not just the white costume… If you can call that a costume.’

‘Her friend designed it for her so you can’t entirely blame her for looking like a stripper. She does look incredible in it.’

‘Perhaps, but it seems like she’s trying to grab attention.’

Andrea shook her head. ‘No. Be memorable maybe, but she’s no glory hound. I
make
her handle the press because I don’t like doing it.’

‘You prefer being in the shadows.’

‘Uh-huh.’

There was a second or two of silence as both women stared up into the sky. Then Audrey said, ‘There was a tale my grandmother used to tell about a place in Italy, a castle above Lago di Molveno in the Alps. They say it’s been there for centuries, the oldest parts overbuilt with newer stone. Sometimes someone stupid enough to be trying to prove his bravery would go up there. Some never returned, some came back and never spoke of what they saw, and a few told tales of shadows coming to life, terrible things never quite seen in the darkness, strange cultists. Scare story stuff. One man said he was shown a room under the castle where the darkness itself was alive. It spoke to him, but he never revealed what it said.’

‘Creepy Italian folk tales, Mom? How did my great-grandmother know about this anyway? I didn’t think your side of the family came from the Alps.’

‘Not after Frederico Neroni came back from the castle, no. They moved to Rome, and then America. He always said he wanted his family as far away from Schatten Schloss as possible, but they would never be able to go far enough.’

‘Your maiden name is Neroni,’ Andrea said, suddenly feeling cold.

‘Frederico would have been your great-great-great-grandfather. You’re shivering. Let’s go down.’

Andrea nodded and turned away from the darkness.

31
^st
March.

‘Don’t forget to call when you get back,’ Audrey reminded her daughter as they walked toward the gate. ‘And you could send a few more emails, maybe call a little more often?’

‘I’ll try, Mom,’ Andrea replied, grinning. In truth, she knew she had been avoiding too much communication since it reduced the lies, and now she could tell the truth. ‘I really will.’

‘Glad to hear it,’ Marcus said. ‘I’ll watch out for you on ACPN.’

‘They want to do an interview with me and Cygnus. I’m not sure–’

‘Do it. It’s about time you got more of the credit.’ He held up a hand. ‘I know you say you prefer to leave the press to Cygnus, but I bet
she
wants you to be seen more.’

‘Uh… yeah. The interviewers asked for her and she wants me on it too.’

Marcus nodded. ‘You do it, and you don’t be modest. I hate to say this, girl, but you’re going to be going public now and you’re going to need good press.’

‘Okay, you’re right, I’ll do it. They’re boarding, I’d better go.’ She gave each of them a quick kiss on the cheek and then turned, rushing to join the end of the queue.

‘She will be okay, won’t she?’ Audrey said, watching her leave.

‘She’ll be fine,’ Marcus replied. ‘She takes after her mother.’

‘It’s my side of the family I’m worried about.’

New Millennium City, MD, 1
^st
April.

The woman in the long, red coat stepped out of the back of a black limousine and the doorman of the Queen’s Hotel in Uptown rushed forward to help her. It was mostly down to the long legs, which showed as she stretched them out of the car, but the smile she gave him helped a lot.

Then the two men appeared from the other side, one very large with a solid jaw and a crew cut, the other smaller and slimmer, but somehow carrying more of an air of menace. The doorman backed off as the woman’s companions flanked her on the way into the hotel.

‘Miss Diamante has a reservation,’ the larger of the two men stated to the receptionist.

The young woman smiled and tapped at some keys. ‘Oh, yes, the Royal Suite. Length of stay?’

‘I’m not sure,’ the woman in red replied, smiling. ‘It could be extended. I believe I’m going to like New Millennium City.’

~~~

Andrea looked at herself in the mirror and sighed. It was the first time she had worn her catsuit since the ‘accident’ and now that she was dressed and ready to go out, she was not sure she could do it. Her stomach was knotting at the thought of facing a fight, and she was even unsure about teleporting.

‘You
aren’t
dressed,’ Twilight said.

‘I am, I… Oh…’ Turning, she went to the bed and picked up her cowl. Then she closed her eyes, pulled it on over her head, tucked it into the neck of her suit, and…

‘It’s good to be back,’ Twilight said aloud before closing the last couple of inches of the suit’s zip. ‘Y’know, we overdress.’

‘It’s bullet-resistant and stealthy,’ Andrea pointed out from the back of their mind.

‘Well, we don’t really need it now, but it’s what we’ve got… Let’s go out and see what’s happening.’ The shadows around the room swirled toward her and she stepped into them.

~~~

Cygnus stood on the top of the Americas Trade Tower waiting for Twilight to arrive. It was a dark night, and the wind blowing from the north was a cold one, but she waited patiently because it was her partner’s first night out since she had, apparently, died. Cygnus could imagine that an experience like that might result in a little reluctance to don the suit again.

Something about the darkness beside her changed; a shape grew out of the shadows, rising like a pitch-black ghost until it materialised into Twilight, grinning brightly. The last time Cygnus had seen that mask, the eyes behind it had been normal and brown instead of the black reflections of the night sky she saw now, but it was quite clear that Twilight was back, and happy about it.

‘Hey, partner,’ Twilight said, ‘good to see you again. You see, she can pull off showing more skin, so I don’t see why we can’t.’

Cygnus blinked. ‘Uh… Who…?’

‘I was just telling Andrea that we don’t need the protection anymore and we should get something a bit more… appealing. And now she’s telling me off because she doesn’t want you thinking we’re nuts.’ The black-clad heroine giggled. ‘I’m a bit giddy. Sorry.’

‘She said something about Twilight speaking to her,’ Cygnus said, frowning.

‘Uh-huh, and now she’s in here speaking to me. Don’t worry. We’re not crazy; we’re just… I guess it’s a split personality thing.’

‘Trauma can do that, I think.’

‘Dying is pretty traumatic. Andrea internalised the worry over that, but I’m here to handle the wilder stuff.’

‘But she can get out again, right?’

‘I’m a mask she puts on, remember?’ Reaching up, Twilight pulled her cowl off and Andrea said, ‘Oh shit,’ before moving away from the edge.

Cygnus moved around to put herself between her friend and the multi-storey drop. ‘Are you okay?’

‘I’m fine with you standing there.’ She gave a weak smile. ‘And I’m okay generally. It’s a little weird, not being able to control my body. It’s like… like I’m watching some sort of full-sensory video.’

‘I think this counts as the weirdest conversation I’ve had in a couple of months,’ Cygnus noted. ‘I’m going to call Hugh and get you checked out as soon as possible, okay?’

Andrea nodded. ‘Twilight says that would be a good idea. She doesn’t want you worried about me… us… whatever.’

‘Sounds like a good sign. Any plans for tonight?’

‘Check on Tonaldo’s building, and go up to Churchton and see what’s cooking there. I think Twilight wants a bit of action. She’s been cooped up in my head for a while.’

‘Okay. I’ll check over the park and meet up with you on the north side of Deale Harbour in… two hours?’

Andrea grinned, raising an eyebrow. ‘Checking up on me?’

‘It’s your first night out since… I should probably stick with you, but I figure you’ll be better getting used to things on your own. I still want to make sure you don’t have any problems.’

Lifting the cowl, Andrea pulled it back on. The grin broadened. ‘We’ll be fine, but it’s kind of cute that you’re concerned,’ Twilight said. ‘Later.’ Then she turned and shrank into the darkness.

~~~

‘All I’m saying,’ Twilight said silently, ‘is that she’s gorgeous and I wouldn’t mind if we did.’

‘She’s our partner,’ Andrea replied, not really wanting this conversation, but also not having much choice, ‘and she’s a girl.’

‘You were perfectly happy banging the girl over there.’

‘No I wasn’t. Lena was just…’

‘I’m you, remember?’

‘Yes, but I don’t remember it as being “perfectly happy.”’

‘Maybe I don’t have your illusions about our memories. Anyway, it’s not like I’m going to make a pass at Cygnus; I was just saying that it’d probably be good if we did. A pleasant experience, I mean.’

‘Yeah, well, we’ve got Jacob,’ Andrea pointed out.

Twilight grinned. ‘This is true, and I am not complaining about that. You know, there’s nothing happening here. Since Jonny was put away there’s hardly ever anything to see. Let’s go find a mugger to scare.’

‘You’re the boss,’ Andrea replied.

~~~

Marty Koslowski was having a fairly good evening. Good for Marty meant that he had scared a hundred and seventeen dollars out of two people without having to actually use his Colt Python as anything more than a prop. It was good for that; the Python looked like a scary gun, and with a .357 Magnum load it was actually pretty nasty. Unfortunately, firing it tended to bring the cops running, so threatening was by far the better option.

The night was continuing to be a good one for Marty. The couple he had seen heading into an alley on the edge of the harbour district were probably a hooker and her John, but that meant both were likely carrying cash. So her pimp would beat her up for not paying up at the end of the night, but that was her problem, not Marty’s.

He was considering whether to let the guy get his rocks off first, since the free show might be entertaining, when the girl’s street senses proved better than Marty’s ability to stay hidden.

‘Who’s there?’ she called out. ‘I know someone’s there. Come out.’

Pulling his pistol from the pocket of his leather jacket, Marty stepped into the dim light filtering down from somewhere overhead. ‘Give me your cash, both of you, and I won’t need to use this.’ He had found that being straight with people was best. Getting creative with threats never seemed to work for him.

‘Oh shit!’ the man said. ‘Don’t shoot. Oh shit!’

He was probably out of Friendship: the clothes were too cheap for Uptown and he certainly was not a local. He was already fumbling for his wallet. The girl was looking angry. Marty turned the pistol slightly toward her.

‘Bastard,’ she hissed.

‘Everyone’s gotta make a living,’ Marty told her, his grin broadening.

‘You need to find a new line of work.’ The voice came from behind him and he turned, seeing nothing but darkness. ‘Put the gun down, or I’ll make you.’ There was nothing there, but he raised his hand cannon, pointing it toward where the sound had come from. ‘Suit yourself,’ the voice said, far too calmly, and the darkness surged forward, wrapping around him like a cloud.

Marty had never been particularly afraid of things he could not see and feel. Guns, when they were pointing at him, and knives, they were scary. There were not too many people big enough to give him pause. As the shadows wrapped around him, there was nothing real to cause the sudden, horrible surge of panic which rushed through him, but it was there nevertheless.
Something
was there with him. Something he could not see or hear, or even feel, but it was cold, ancient, and utterly without pity, and it wanted him. He knew it was there, coming closer, and closer…

The shadows coalesced into human form and Twilight reached out, twisting the gun out of Marty’s hand with little resistance. He just stood there, looking at her and shivering, his eyes on hers and a look of horror on his face.

She glanced at the would-be victims. ‘You two, go get a room or something. Seriously, you’re just about asking to be robbed doing that here.’ They practically fell over themselves in their haste to leave and Twilight turned her attention back to Marty. ‘I should run you in, but that’s too much trouble and you’re not worth the paperwork. So I’m going to let you go… this time. If I catch you at this again, they won’t find the body. You tell your friends, if you have any. You tell them that Twilight isn’t going to take nicely to petty little assholes like you on her streets. Got it?’

Marty nodded dumbly and the shadows rose up around them again, swallowing her up and whisking her away.

~~~

‘That’s a neat trick,’ Cygnus commented.

‘I thought I saw you looking down,’ Twilight replied. ‘It works pretty well on scum like him. If word gets around maybe it’ll cut down on the thugs down here.’

‘Maybe. He looked petrified.’

‘Andrea used it in Boston. Someone tried to rob our mother.’ Twilight grinned. ‘One of them fainted on the spot.’

Cygnus grinned back. ‘So you’re both able to do the same things? It’s not like me.’

‘I’m… more willing. I can
feel
what we can do and she doesn’t entirely want to know. If it came to it, though, she’d listen to me and use the power. We’re one person with two sets of thoughts instead of two bodies with one mind.’ Her face straightened suddenly. ‘Maybe you’ll get to see what else we can do sooner than I thought.’

‘Oh yeah,’ Cygnus replied. Each of them had seen a figure, dressed in black, approaching from opposite sides of the roof. Both of the ninja types seemed to realise they had been spotted at the same time and drew swords from their backs. ‘Never mind the maybe,’ Cygnus added.

They both turned around, facing off against the ninjas behind them. Twilight scanned the figure moving toward her, a woman, slim, lithe, probably relied on speed rather than muscle. She slid her own sword from its scabbard on her back.