Sky Ghosts: All for One (Young Adult Urban Fantasy Adventure) (Sky Ghosts Series Book 1) (28 page)

An exultant laugh from above startled her suddenly, and then someone snatched Dave by the collar, pulling him upward. She shot up like a bullet, grabbing the Beast’s feet and bringing him down with enough brutal force to break his spine. She felt someone catch her by the foot then, and swung her sword, cutting off the Beast’s hand. A scream pierced the air as she scrambled to her feet and leaped, landing beside Dave and bringing her sword down again and again until the Beasts backed off a little, and she could finally glance at her sister again.

She was still where Pain had last seen her, swishing her swords fiercely so that the Beasts couldn’t even approach Chad behind her back. She glanced at Pain and stepped in her direction, intending to close the distance between them, too. Just as she did so, another Beast attacked from above, catching Jane’s collar and dragging her across the roof with a howl. Pain lashed out at someone without looking as the Beast dropped Jane down so that other two could pin her to the ground. Jane rolled onto her back and blocked the first Beast’s knife with her sword, but there was another one, and Pain could glimpse the shining of his blade.

She was barely fighting now, just trying not to miss a sword in her direction with Dave shoved behind her back and pressed into the wall. It was difficult to see anything through the crowd of Beasts, but still, she saw when the Beast lifted his sword behind Jane, ready to strike.

“Jane!!!” she shrieked at the top of her voice, drawing her foot up and kicking the next opponent in the chest, hard.

His eyes flew wide open as her boot connected with his rib cage, and he slammed into the others behind his back, sending some tumbling to the ground.

She didn’t see any of this. She was almost mesmerized, watching in horrified amazement how her sister blocked another attack of her first opponent while the other was still standing behind her with his sword drawn up. She saw Chad whip his head up at the sound of her voice and look across the roof at Jane. He dropped the knife and shoved the Beasts out of his way, dashing to her, but she already knew he wouldn’t make it, not with his human speed. And even if he could get there in time, all he could do was stop that sword with his own body. She saw Jane struggle to get up, the first Beast bringing her down again; and suddenly, she saw Chad leap into the air right in front of Jane…

…and knock the second Beast off the roof, disappearing below the edge along with him.

She sucked in a hoarse breath, but there seemed to be not enough oxygen in the whole city to make her go on. The picture before her eyes got blurry as she blocked another blow with a grace like that of a robot, staring wide-eyed at the crowd in front of her, as if she saw them for the first time. On the other side of the roof, Jane finally shoved her swords into the Beast’s chest, taking advantage of his distraction. In a heartbeat she materialized beside Pain, kicking one of the Beasts in the head and out of the way, so that his neck would break, just like Pain had taught her. As he crashed down, she already grabbed Pain’s shoulder, shouting something in her ear. Pain couldn’t make out the words, lost deep in her dazed astonishment. But then someone’s blade reached her arm, sending a stab of searing pain that cleared her mind just enough to return her some of the focus.

“Go! Go after him, NOW!!” Jane yelled and pushed her out of the crowd, swinging both of her swords in a sophisticated manner that made the Beasts take a step back.

Pain snapped out of the battle, of that mechanical swinging of her sword, vaguely realizing that she was close to losing her focus and therefore to losing the battle in general. Somewhere in the back of her mind a bizarre thought flashed – was she no good, was it so obvious, that Jane had sent her away, choosing to stay with Dave?

Suddenly, time lost its liquid quality, though just a moment ago it seemed to be stretched out to the point of stillness. She knew that only a few seconds had passed after Chad had left the roof, and there was still a chance to catch up with him in the air. As the world around her became bright and sharp again, she prepared to jump. But when she shot her eyes upward, she saw that some of the Beasts were hovering in the air, lurking here and there, looking for a good spot to attack. It was too much risk, so she took off running instead, her katana already behind her back, her shield unfolding around as her feet carried her forward as if on their own. She didn’t need to focus for this – years of training paid off when her body remembered how to gain full speed without a single moment wasted. Nearly flat out, her movements merging together until they became a blur, she darted across the roof, followed by the Beasts’ incredulous gazes. Her feet barely touched the ground as step by step she approached the edge, where she would be able to fly freely. Though only a couple of seconds had passed, she had thought about a hundred of things already. She had tried to calculate at what height the Beast would orient and stop the fall; how quickly he would knock Chad out to bring him to Eugene or drop him off if he didn’t understand who he was. And what would she do if Chad already lay on the asphalt at the building’s foot.

The low wall was in a few feet now, and she tensed for a jump just when something flashed from below the edge and shot upward like a comet, radiating a silvery-white light, blinding and startling her. With a gasp, she fell on her side, slowing down her velocity before she slammed into the wall with her feet. The shining object hovered in the air over her now, and with an expression of utter shock and confusion she stared at it, eyes not blinking, her breath stuck in her throat. Its white rays faded as she watched, and still, she couldn’t see clearly through this light that seemed dazzling against the inky sky above. But she thought there was a human figure inside it, and it was still, as if caught by surprise, too. And the silhouette of its shoulders was slightly familiar, and a tousle of hair was blowing in the wind, long, curly, and pure silver now…

Chad’s hair.

No…

She scrambled back on the roof surface, as if he were attacking her, her head shaking in a vigorous denial of what she had just seen. He seemed to have come to life, too, because he dashed to her, diving down and scooping her off the ground. The heat of his arms was perceptible even through her gear, making her back warm and her head even dizzier.

She heard his voice – he was saying something over and over into her ear, but she could only stare at him with shock, not even trying to comprehend what were the words. The shining around him was almost gone, but she could still feel the warmth as he held her tightly in his arms. It clouded her, making her forget about all the wounds and bruises that she had got during the battle. Eventually, she came around, starting to hear what he was saying. She was surprised that she was speaking, too, repeating only four words again and again: “What have you done? What have you done??”

“What are you muttering?? Are you alright, Pain?” He shook her shoulders, bending his head down to look into her eyes. “Are you hurt??”

Her first impulse was to grab his collar and kiss him, so close he was to her, so alive, his breath hot on her face, the smell of his cologne – painfully familiar now – making her surprisingly calm and relieved. There was a stressful frown on his face as he stared down at her, his catlike eyes strained with frustration. And all she wanted was to stroke his face, calm him down, say that there was nothing to worry about now that he was alright. That there was nothing they weren’t able to survive, and he just had to stay with her, that’s all. But then she remembered about the bunch of Beasts still raging somewhere behind her and seeming to have miraculously forgotten about them for a minute, so she just opened her mouth and croaked:

“No, I’m alright.” She glanced over her shoulder anxiously. “Jane and Dave, we should go!” And she took his hand, springing high and making him shoot up together with her so they would reach her sister in one swift leap.

She landed between two Beasts – beheaded already – and Chad came to an uneven crouched halt behind her back. He had a sword in his hand, but there was no need for it because she instantly shoved him to the superstructure’s wall, backing off from the wild crowd in front of her. There were only a half-dozen left, and they attacked the sisters frantically, not sure of their success anymore. Pain knew perfectly what she was doing killing Chuck first in front of them all. He was their leader, determined to win, and he was able to command them wisely. But without him, they were just a bunch of cutthroats, not a team. And of course, once they saw what she had done to Chuck, they had forgotten their task and focused on killing her and Jane instead.

“Don’t miss any of them, not after what they’ve seen! You hear me??” Pain shouted to her sister, struggling with some bulky guy, who happened to get close enough to grasp her arm.

A blade swished from behind then and sank in his neck. Chad pulled the sword back, and Pain kicked the man out of her way before he would collapse on top of them both.

Jane was too busy with her two swords and two Beasts in front of her, but she had heard her sister’s words. Pain was right, there was a chance that Eugene didn’t know if Chad had been Initiated yet, and it better stayed a secret.

Finally, there was only one left. When the two Beasts before him fell dead, he shot them only one wild look before darting into the air in hope to escape. Pain put a hand on her sister’s shoulder.

“I’ll get ‘im.”

She took off swiftly, charging after him and then higher, merging with the black sky as she rose.

Chad stared after her sightlessly. Even if it was over, he didn’t feel like it. Jolts of energy were pulsing inside him, demanding him to move, to fight, to do something, just not to stand still. And at the same time, he felt almost paralyzed, strangely detached from everything and everyone around. It was weird, this feeling, so he just stood still, trying to untangle everything that was mixed in his head and heart. There was an unfamiliar singing in his veins, some new strength that seemed inexhaustible at the moment. Only he didn’t do anything, really, and the girls had been going for hours, fighting in full force and flying through the whole Long Island. With them tagging along. He couldn’t even imagine carrying someone at the moment.

Still, the feeling was strong and sparkling, leaving him a little lightheaded. He thought he could hear a buzzing sound in his head, steady and persistent, reminding him of the huge bumblebees from his father’s farm. He was hot, too, as if he had a fever, as if he were glowing from the inside. He looked down, half-expecting to see the light again, to feel its seething, but there was nothing now. The skin of his forearm was dark with the summer tan and warm when he brought his other hand to touch it unsurely, as if he were touching some alien. It didn’t glow anymore, and he pulled his sleeve down somewhat disappointedly.

Then there was another feeling, dark and bitter and heavy, pulling him down and stifling his breathing, a tight knot of wrongness in his chest. What the hell happened? How was it possible? Why was he the last to know something so huge about his own self? Was his father lying to him all his life? Did he know about it at all? Why had he never felt this before? And why was it so damn hot?! It was night, for God’s sake!

He raised his hand, reaching for the back of his sweatshirt and taking it off angrily, since it was all shredded and dirty anyway. His sweater under it at least wasn’t all blotched with blood, though it did have a long slash from the top of his left shoulder to his chest. There was a shallow cut on the skin under it, too, but he didn’t even feel the pain. He tossed the sweatshirt to the ground, belatedly noticing that there was a body of some Beast, and it landed right on his wide-eyed face. Chad grimaced and averted his gaze, feeling the sickness inside him increase. It became overwhelming now, and he took a deep breath, fighting back the nausea. It wasn’t only the stress working on him, it was all of it: the bone-deep feeling of betrayal, the bodies around him, their faces distorted from pain that was long gone, but the expressions remained. It was the blood, covering half of the roof, gathered in pools here and there and looking like some eerie ink in the moonlight. And most of all, it was the dawning realization that he was now what, a part of this? No, it was just sick, it was wrong and twisted, and there was no way he would ever feel okay about
this
.

Just as he thought so, another body fell on the roof with a sickening
thump
, and not far from it fell its head, apparently. A slim silhouette landed in a crouch, balancing on the roof’s edge, and without his command, his muscles tensed again and his pulse quickened.
What?? Now what’s that? Just something physical?
It was Pain, for God’s sake. He would follow her wherever she chooses with his eyes closed, no, poked out.

Dave and Jane were arguing about something fervently behind his back – he didn’t want to listen. He couldn’t look at them, either, because he knew what he would see, and it all was too much at the moment. Their haunted faces and bloody clothes would just make it worse. So he gazed ahead, at Pain’s black figure, waiting for her to come back. He needed her so badly, he realized with a surprise. There was so much he wanted to ask, and yes, Jane would probably help him better, but somehow it wasn’t her he wanted to talk to. He had to talk to Pain, but she was just walking wearily across the roof, fishing for something in her pockets.

She finally found her flashlight and dug in for a dagger now. It was in a small sheath on her belt, slender and sharp as a needle, perfectly suitable for her intentions. Chad was standing a little away from Jane and Dave. Well, not quite
standing
, but he wasn’t moving, at least. She had expected him to freak out, actually. His sweatshirt was gone, but she could distinguish his beige sweater against the dark wall and headed for this pale spot.