Kael stumbled into the room, his skin as white as the heat-fogged sky outside. Thin gray veins crawled up his arms, strangely visible through his habitually tanned skin. His normal posture, the one I had gotten used to, the one of control and sharp surveillance was gone, cracking and falling apart before my eyes as he barely held himself up against the mirrored wall, his hands leaving sweaty smears tinged in red.
Only then did I see the blood dripping from his nostrils, brimming his eyes, leaking from beneath his nails. It oozed from his skin like it was alive, like it was desperately trying to flee its host, escape something. Then he muttered the words we most feared, even if we'd never spoken of them aloud since our arrival in our new city, since the dissolution of our Clan.
"They're coming."
The stupor from my day of over-watering evaporated as my Shift jumped from beneath my skin like my brother's blood was doing. Immediately I felt the panic rising, even with my Shift surging through me. This was it, it was finally going to happen. I should have died when my parents had. I should have died when my sister had. I should have died when I went after their killers. I had wanted it then, deep down, it had been my plan. But instead, James and Kael had saved me. I'd cheated death three times and now it had finally found me. I should have died long ago. I had been ready then, I had been willing. But now I wasn't. If for no other reason than Kael; he would not die today. He saved my life when I didn't even want it, and now I would do the same for him.
I knew he wanted to die, that he no longer saw a purpose to his life, that he was lost without his Clan, his family, his brother, the one who had pulled him back from the edge, just like he had done for me. I knew he hated being the leader, that he was terrified of losing his mind, that he knew it was only a matter of time before he did.
He wasn't meant to lead, despite his sign and Gifts. He would prefer to die like this, to be hunted by those we had been hunting for weeks, rather than lose himself to insanity, but I couldn't let him die, not like this. I would gladly hold the knife for him myself before I let him die to the soulless Human shit that was coming for us. I would willingly take his life before his mind could if he ever asked it of me, but this was not how he would go, so, I couldn't yet either.
"How many, how strong, and how long do we have?"
The questions came from me without a thought as I turned and rummaged through our messy suite, looking for my whips, knives, and Kael's staff.
"Where are the weapons?"
I growled, working hard to keep my voice controlled as I realized they weren't in any corner of the room, or anywhere easily accessible that my eyes could find. I heard a choked laugh come from behind me. Spinning, I saw Kael's red smile, his gums bleeding around his pointed teeth, his eyes black like mine. His stance looked stronger, but just barely.
What was making him so weak? Why did he look like a pathetic, dying Human even with his Shift over him? I couldn't see any wounds, any indication that he had even been attacked, except for the blood trying to leave him from every crevice and weak point it found. His eyes flickered back to their deep brown like tree bark and he sagged against the wall once more.
"Why are you fucking laughing? What are you doing?"
My voice rang out now, no longer any pretense of calm control. Kael's face sobered and he stood a little taller as he answered, almost looking repentant.
"Nevvy," he began quietly, "there are eight of them, a hunting party, with powers you can't imagine, things we've never trained for. I can't fight like this, I can't run, I can barely keep myself on two feet and you can't take them all. They have guns, bullets laced with some electrum poison, blessed or cursed. I've never seen anything like it before, one shot and you're just an animal waiting to be butchered by their stolen Gifts. One shot and I couldn't do anything. I can feel it in me still, and I can feel my power leaving, even my fucking Shift won't stay with me. It's over. I'm- I'm sorry I couldn't protect us. I'm no leader."
He hung his head as I fought back the thick feeling in my throat. Instead of letting the tears spill out, I glared at him until he raised his eyes to mine, then I rolled them, knowing he would recognize the gesture even with them black and directionless.
"Where are the weapons?" I spat the question at him.
He slumped deeper against the wall but nodded to a coat closet. Within a moment I had mine strapped at their homes and threw Kael his staff, which he caught, but with a sickeningly slow reaction.
"Where are you hit?"
I demanded my next question and for a second he looked like he wanted to argue with me, but then he pulled the neck of his dark shirt down, revealing a bloody hole just beneath where his collarbone met his shoulder, a dull gleam of the familiar metal caught the light for a moment before the shine of blood covered it once more.
"Heals, start using them, for endurance and pain, too. This'll hurt," I muttered as I approached.
I unceremoniously shoved two fingers into his wound, eliciting a hissed colorful obscenity from Kael as his body tensed, and pulled the bullet out. It stung my fingers, sizzling, almost vibrating against my skin, and I threw it across the room. Kael was right, this wasn't a weapon we had ever seen before, this wasn't an enemy we had ever faced before either.
"Heals! Use them! Now!" I yelled in his face.
He stared back at me for a beat before his lips began to move and I could hear him chanting words I knew well. I joined in for a few before stepping back and surveying our room. The whole scene had only taken a minute, maybe one and a half, but I could hear feet pounding the hallway, doors opening and slamming, shouts echoing. Kael's eyes went wide as he looked at the door, though he looked more alert now, a slight spark of fight left in his soft brown eyes. My attention snagged on something then, the window, and I dragged Kael toward it.
"Shit, no. You've got to be fucking joking," he said as he realized my plan.
"Wish I was."
I quickly regretted our choice in temporary living as we climbed out onto the ledge at the very top of the skyscraping building. I kept my Shift up and one fist knotted in Kael's shirt to steady him, his steps uneven, his balance still coming and going. I tied my whip to the ornately carved sill, draping it out the window to make our exit seem to be to the floor beneath us, but instead, I slid my feet sideways, along the thin ledge.
"What are their powers?"
I whispered, just above the wind whipping past us, trying to fling us from the building's side where we clung like oversized spiders. I glanced over to Kael when he was silent, and followed his gaze down to the ground. I could see on his face exactly what was running through his mind.
"Don't you even think about it, brother. You're not dying, not today. Don't leave me."
I saw the shock on his face at the softness in my voice when he raised his eyes, and a part of me felt hurt. Surely he knew how much I cared for him, even if I didn't show it. Surely this wasn't actually a surprise to him.
Then his jaw tightened. I saw the resolve to live brace in his eyes and I knew he was back with me. A part of me found it amusing, that I was only fighting for his life, and he only fighting as to not leave mine, that neither of us actually wanted our lives, but wouldn't give them up because of the other. Even if I had lost my Clan, lost my family for the third time, I still had Kael, I still had someone, and I would fight for him until my last breath, like I wished I had done for my true family. I was sick of being the survivor, the one left, from now on, either everyone made it out, or I was going down too.
The corner of the building had stone statues overhanging the edge, probably supposed to resemble gothic gargoyles. I hoped they weren't crumbling originals but up-to-code, sturdily-bolted-down fakes, since they were my only option...that, or down. I stifled my shiver. I normally wasn't nervous around heights, but everyone has a limit, and seventy stories up was apparently my limit, even from within my Shift I could feel fear rising.
"One can make the ground beneath you roll like water, let's hope he doesn't look out the window before we disappear. One can send dark strings, shadows, from his fingers, grab you, even from yards away. One can move through things, anything, as if it wasn't there. One can bend things, turn them in mid-air, she's the one that shot me, twisted the bullet at the last second. I dodged right into it. One freezes you, makes you so cold your body, your mind, hardly listen to what you tell them. One disappears, though you can still hear her breathing, see where her feet move the ground and hear it crunch beneath her. Their leader, I think, is strong, as strong as a Darkling, though maybe not like me. He's quicker than I am, but not very clever, not long-trained. And the last one, I don't know her power, she stayed back, watching, maybe directing the others somehow, I'm not sure."
Kael muttered his information as he slid his feet along the edge, staring straight out, one arm clutching where I had dug the bullet from. He looked to be regaining a bit of color, though he was still ashen. The blood was drying on his face and fingers too, no longer slick and fresh. I just hoped the electrum hadn't poisoned him permanently or done any lasting damage. I had never heard of it being used like that, inside of a Darkling, making their Shift falter, their blood flee. I had never felt it burn before either, only stifling powers, never actually doing any physical harm. But my fingertips still felt tender and raw from the bullet, like a burned tongue, even with my Shift over me, even just touching it for a moment. This was a different kind of curse, a different magic. One created specifically for us, Darklings or Fallen.
"My plan is for them to not find us at all then," I whispered.
I heard our door burst open just as I swung myself up onto the roof, hoisting Kael up after me, with only a little help from him. And then we ran, straight for the opposite edge of the roof, our hands clasped as I ran slightly ahead of him. I glanced to Kael right before the drop, hoping he would be able to pull his Shift, even if just for a few seconds, knowing I wouldn't make the jump if I had his weight pulling me back.
I was met by jet black eyes and bared teeth, and then there was nothing beneath us but air.
So, another short one, and I might combine chapters as I get Book 3's logistics underway, but for now I'm just posting as fast as I can get it out - and Hubby is ski racing as I sit in the lodge waiting for him to finish, so I only have limited time.
In fact, I should be working right now...
But, here are dear Kael & Neveah - will James & Jordan get there in time? We'll see, won't we? Vote, share, comment - I'm ever watching & listening.
T