Shadows (Ultrahumans Book 2) (31 page)

‘Well,’ Penny said, ‘it was a good thing she did. She seemed to know exactly what to do about the… demon?’

‘Shadow demon,’ Andrea agreed. ‘If we’re calling the small ones imps, it was a demon.’

‘It cut right through my wonderful, tough skin. Armour-piercing bullets? Easy. That thing dropped me like a rock.’

‘And Diamond and her two lieutenants got away. The big guy managed to slip away while we were taking on the demon.’

Penny shrugged. ‘Their operation is history. The police are raiding their distribution point and going through the house. Her men, most of them, are in prison.’

‘Doesn’t that leave the local organised crime a bit… disorganised?’ June asked.

‘Which could be good or bad,’ Andrea said. ‘The structure will be more broken, harder to keep tabs on, but also less effective. The real problem is that we may get violence as some of the people Tonaldo and then Diamond kept in their place try to grab more territory.’

‘We’re sure Diamond won’t try to regain control?’

‘That woman’s a planner. I think she’ll cut her losses and leave with whatever she’s got. I’m willing to bet she had an escape plan ready for just this kind of situation.’

~~~

‘Well, I have to admit that I did not plan to be saved by… whatever that was,’ Diamond said, her pale skin still a little paler than usual, ‘but I cannot but thank Lady Luck for the good fortune.’

‘I don’t think luck, incarnate or otherwise, had anything to do with it,’ Jack commented, his voice quiet, though that was from habit rather than a need for it.

‘What do you think it was?’ Rex asked. ‘I couldn’t see a thing out there, but there had to be
something
.’

‘It was an Oni,’ Jack replied. ‘A demon sent by–’

‘Sent by Mister Durant,’ Diamond interrupted. ‘Something out of the shadows. It needed the darkness, just like Twilight needs it. It didn’t show up until they cut the power, and it went for Cygnus, not Twilight. No, that was Durant’s doing, and I don’t think he did it to protect us.’

‘He used us as bait to get to Cygnus,’ Jack stated.

‘We should find him,’ Rex growled, ‘and–’

‘No, we cash our chips and go,’ Diamond said. ‘Maybe later we can come back and see if we can’t do something unpleasant to Twilight and Cygnus, but for now… Sometimes, when you can just
see
the sharks are circling, the only thing you can do is fold and hope you can get away with all your limbs attached.’

~~~

Durant opened his eyes and nodded. The imp which had been reporting to him faded into nothing at his side. ‘Diamond has a wiser head on her shoulders than I would have given her credit for,’ he commented to the men in the room with him, both of them Shades, the middle ranks of the Court. ‘What have we ascertained about the fate of the demon?’

‘Very little, Grand Master,’ one of the Shades replied. ‘Our observers suggest that Morgan was able to control it temporarily. Cygnus destroyed it with light.’

‘Controlled it? Unusual.’

‘We have been unable to determine how, sir. There has been no indication of any such capability. It was
not
the same as her ability to draw simple darkness about herself.’

‘Obviously…’ Durant frowned. ‘The next new moon is on the twenty-seventh. We will make arrangements to have Morgan at the castle on that night. Maintain a watch on her, but do not engage. I will be returning to Italy. There is business to conduct in Rome.’

10
^th
June.

‘You realise it’s
too
quiet, right?’ Andrea said as she buttered a slice of toast which she was planning to have for breakfast, even if Penny had grumbled things about ‘a proper breakfast being important.’

‘We’ve only had two nights of nothing major happening,’ Penny countered. ‘That’s not long enough to go around expecting a disaster.’

‘I’m still going to tempt fate and spend tonight with Jacob.’

‘I’ll put the Union of Ultrahumans on alert for potential apocalypse,’ Penny said dryly. ‘I think we can manage
one
night where you can do disgusting things with your boyfriend without worrying about nuclear bombs.’

‘We can, but you just totally jinxed it.’

‘No, because I
knew
I was tempting fate, and you were already doing so. Fate is now so overstretched that it snaps back and there’s no jinx. So there.’

Andrea munched on her toast for a second, considering this. ‘Okay, but if something happens, I’m blaming you.’

~~~

Jacob smiled as Twilight slipped into the lounge on arched feet, slinking toward him with obvious intent. It was, perhaps, made most obvious by the fact that she was wearing nothing but her mask.

‘Not quite perfect timing,’ the agent said as he pulled her into his lap. ‘I’ve got a headache. I’ve taken some pills for it and when they kick in I think you’ll help kill off any lingering pain, but right now–’

‘I will just sit here and look pretty for you,’ Twilight said, smiling. ‘I can do that. We don’t have to leap into the physical stuff immediately. It’s just… been a while.’

‘Not that long.’

‘Well… no, but I miss you when… Hold on.’ Reaching up, she lifted her mask free.

‘Evening, Andrea.’

‘Hi, Jacob. We really need to work out some way of… dating. I mean, this is great. I think all three of us enjoy the sex, but we should do something else. As well. Not instead. Because I like this.’

‘I got that you like this.’

‘Good. Just being clear about it. Give it some thought, okay? There has to be some way we can meet up and… go out for dinner, or see a movie.’

‘I’ll think about it. Just not right now. My head still hurts a little, and the parts that don’t have lost a lot of their blood supply.’

Andrea giggled and shuffled her butt a little. ‘My seat does seem a bit lumpy. Are you getting these headaches a lot?’

‘More than I’d like. Don’t think I haven’t considered the drug having some odd side effect, because I have. I’ve got a check-up scheduled for every Friday with the local UID doctor.’

Andrea nodded. ‘As long as you’re taking it seriously, I will not bug you about it.’ She pressed her mask back into place and Twilight grinned. ‘I have much better things to bug you about. Like, if you’re
that
hard, there is no way your head is hurting that much.’ She wriggled and Jacob groaned. ‘Though that did sound a bit painful. Let Twilight kiss it better…’

11
^th
June.

Cygnus lowered herself to the ground outside her front door with a sigh. It was still early, really, not that long after midnight anyway, so not as late as she often returned after patrolling. She was not entirely sure whether June was going to be awake, so she entered the house quietly, walking into the lounge to discover that she might as well have stomped in.

‘You’re still up,’ Cygnus said as she walked through to the kitchen area and the coffee pot.

‘No reason to be in bed this early,’ June replied, looking up from a magazine. ‘Do you think it’s safe enough to go jogging in the morning? I could use the air and the exercise.’

‘It’s quiet out there.’ Cygnus crossed back into the lounge and sat down beside her friend, crossing long legs and relaxing back against the sofa. ‘I might join you.’

‘That’d be nice.’ There was a pause and then June added, ‘I did a
really
good job on that costume.’

‘You should start designing them professionally.’

‘Maybe. I had thought about it, but I was more thinking… that you’re really sexy.’

‘June…’

‘It’s okay. I just wanted to make the comment. And to point out that I’m letting myself think of you that way. Because you
are
sexy, even when you’re Penny-shaped. You just happen to be sexier when you’re wearing that costume, which I designed for you.’

‘Right.’

June nodded and went back to her magazine. ‘Yes. Right.’

Cygnus sipped her coffee and relaxed, letting the mild tension she always felt on patrol settle out of her. ‘How long do
you think is an appropriate gap to avoid the rebound thing?’

‘Couple of weeks, maybe a month.’

The tall blonde sighed. ‘I’m going to go change shape. Penny’s got a less active libido.’

‘Okay,’ June replied. ‘Just so long as you realise that’ll do nothing to cool mine down.’

20
^th
June.

‘Oh God, please just stop it!’ Andrea glared at Cygnus from the comfort of the Trade Tower’s radio masts, but she was glaring.

‘Stop what?’ Cygnus replied.

‘Pussyfooting around June. Just… Just fuck her for God’s sake!’

‘It’s not that easy.’

‘Yeah, it really is. Remember when I wasn’t sure about Jacob? I was making it complicated and it’s not. It’s even
less
complicated with June because she already knows all about you. You like each other. You’ve done it before. Get on with it.’

Cygnus frowned. ‘When I’m shaped like this, I agree. Other me isn’t as keen on the idea… No, that’s wrong, but other me will worry over it afterwards. And June won’t be happy unless she can have both. I’m not sure what I’m going to think of myself if I give in. Ever since the last time, we’ve been avoiding talking about it.’

‘Yeah, because she was seeing Red and if she had the option of you instead she’d take it. Look, what’s Penny’s opinion of June?’

‘Best friend… I mean…
really
best.’

‘Has she ever entertained thoughts of–’

‘Of course! Sometimes when June was dropping hints… If Penny wasn’t so insecure… Actually, she’s not so insecure now… It’s still complicated.’

‘No. It’s not. And if the sexual tension in that house gets any worse, I’m going to have to hide in Jacob’s closet.
Do something!
’

Rome, Italy, 21
^st
June.

Lena turned over in bed and smiled. It had taken some time and effort, and she had not wanted to even try at first. Finding a nice girl in Rome who was actually into other girls was not as easy as she had thought it would be. But here she was, in bed with just the raven-haired, olive-skinned beauty that Andrea had said she should find.

It was early days still. They had met the week before, on the Friday night. Nothing had happened then, but they had exchanged names and numbers, and said that they would hook up again. Cal knew a better club, she had said. Her name was Calindra Bassani, but everyone called her Cal, and she thought Lena’s accent was cute. She was slim and very fit, with small, pert breasts and this mass of black hair, and a mischievous glint in her eye all the time. They had met at the club Cal knew, and before Lena could work up the nerve to ask whether her new friend was interested, Cal had broached the subject. Perfect!

‘Are you awake?’ Cal asked. She spoke Italian with a slight burr, kind of sultry.

‘Yes. Just admiring the view.’

There was a chuckle. ‘I’ll make us some coffee. Then we can have a shower… A long shower, I think. And then… You said you had not seen the Coliseum yet? That cannot be allowed.’

Lena giggled in return. ‘Okay. Coffee, shower sex, tourism. I can do that.’

Cal rolled out of her bed. They had returned to her small apartment rather than going to Lena’s; it had been closer and they had been in a hurry. ‘You will not dress before we shower,’ Cal said, lips curling. ‘I like to admire the view as well.’

~~~

‘Didn’t that sign say “no admittance?”’ Lena asked as Cal led her into what appeared to be a little used corridor in part of the huge edifice which was the Coliseum.

Cal looked back and grinned at her. ‘I know how to get to somewhere the tourists don’t usually see. I was a guide here once.’

‘Okay. If you say so.’

The corridor narrowed, the walls turning rough. Lena suspected that this was no longer shuttering put up by the local government, or whoever ran the place, but the natural stone of the building. How long had this place been standing? A couple of thousand years? Ancient stone. The site of so many deaths. A shudder ran up Lena’s spine.

‘Don’t worry,’ Cal said, ‘it’s not much further.’

‘Good. It’s getting kind of dark.’

‘Not afraid of the dark, are you?’

‘N-no.’

Cal stopped and turned around. ‘Good, because it’s about to get a lot darker.’

‘What–’ Lena stopped as the lights in the little corridor went out and they were plunged into darkness. ‘Cal?’ There was no answer and she reached out for her friend, finding nothing. She was alone… No. Not alone. There was something there with her. Something old, so
very
old…

Turning, Lena began to run for what she hoped was the way out, but her shoulder bounced off a wall and she twisted and tripped, sprawling onto the rough ground.

‘There’s no point in running.’ The voice was a whisper, right in her ear. ‘You cannot get away.’

‘Cal! Please!’

‘She will not help you. She brought you here for me. And now
you
will bring the Morgan girl to me.’

‘What? I don’t–’

‘You will understand in time, girl. Now, sleep.’ And the darkness enveloped her.

New Millennium City, MD, 23
^rd
June.

There was definitely
something
going on which had Andrea a little worried. Twilight, dodging between shadows on the rooftops of Deale Harbour, was less worried, but she got the same general feeling. Someone was planning something, preparing to move.

‘Not enough dealers,’ Andrea said from the back of Twilight’s mind. ‘That’s what it is. There are normally more of them around and they’re off the streets.’

‘Doesn’t help much,’ Twilight replied. ‘Where are they? Why aren’t they here?’

‘No, good point. Let’s head into Churchton. Maybe we can spot something there that–’ She stopped as something caught her attention; something had moved in the shadows on the rooftop opposite.

Twilight had noticed it too and she was stepping across to the other side of the street before Andrea could say anything. ‘There was something here. Something humanoid…’