Sky Ghosts: All for One (Young Adult Urban Fantasy Adventure) (Sky Ghosts Series Book 1) (36 page)

She came to the corner slowly and tilted her head, peeking around it. Two Beasts were guarding the door like two stone idols – tall, silent, and absolutely still. She returned to Jane, who was watching the entrance.

“There are two guards at the door, big, and our only advantage is that they don’t know we’re here,” she whispered barely audible.

Jane looked at her with her eyebrows raised, “Knives?”

“Knives,” she nodded. “Let’s do it from here, the farther we’re from them, the better. The left one is mine.”

“Okay. One, two…”

At the count of three, they jumped forward, swinging their arms synchronously and throwing two flashing knives. The Beasts startled, turning to them in amazement, but then one of them moved swiftly, ducking away from the knife that Pain had thrown. She grunted and threw another one, but he ducked away from it, too. And then Jane swung her arm, sending the fourth knife flying. It hit its target, sinking in the Beast’s throat right before a shield blazed to life before him. He collapsed to the floor, his head banging hard against it, and the sisters hurried to hide behind the corner. They waited for a minute, but nobody came out of the office.

“I’m sure there are some Beasts inside with Eugene,” Pain said.

“Yeah… I don’t know, I think we don’t have any choice. Let’s just go in and see what happens,” Jane responded with a frown.

“But we still can rid Eugene of some of them if we break the door with just enough force,” Pain said with a sly smile. “Dave was standing far from it when I checked, and Chad must be with him. I say we kick the door down. For Ryan,” she added with a shrug.

Jane smirked, “Good idea.”

They rounded the corner and stopped in front of the heavy wooden door.

“This is the stupidest operation ever,” Pain muttered. Jane only smiled, counting.

“One, two, three!”

And then they jumped up, gaining force, and flew into the door with both feet, knocking it out. It blew inward, slamming into a group of Beasts that stood across the room. Shouts exploded all around them, fighters jumping away from the entrance. The girls stopped short once they got inside the office, and hovered in the air, looking for Eugene.

He was in the center, and behind his back were battered Dave and Chad. He was questioning them, apparently, but now he whirled at the sisters, his face a surprised grimace. All around them stood the Beasts, and in the next moment they rushed to Pain and Jane, grabbing their legs and pinning them to the floor. The girls jerked and kicked in their arms, but then a calm voice sounded, making the hustle stop.

“Don’t,” it was Eugene, his voice indifferent and lifeless, as always. He didn’t even have to raise it – the Beasts stopped abruptly, hearing him talk. “Let them go. They won’t run anywhere.” He regarded the sisters with something between interest and disgust.

“But, boss, we should at least disarm them,” one of the Beasts objected with incredulity rising in his deep voice.

“Yeah? Why, because they can’t use one of those knives at your belt?” The fighter’s hand flew to his waist sheath involuntarily, but he didn’t say anything. “Don’t be silly, let them go,” Eugene repeated, confirming his words with a dismissive flick of his fingers.

The Beasts stepped back, their motions unsure and unwilling, and the girls got to their feet, shaking off the dust and glaring at the fighters around them with hatred. They turned to Eugene, who stood across the room, smiling the most serene smile imaginable.

“Finally! Everyone I wanted to see is here!” he exclaimed, folding his arms on his chest, and Pain wasn’t even sure if he was joking or serious.

Skull burst through the ground floor door, stopping in front of the gathering that was still milling there.

“The sisters have gone to the Beasts’ headquarters! We should gather everybody and go after them!” he announced loudly to the others.

Slowly, looks turned to him. The men stared at him stupidly, doubt clear in their eyes. They were slouching in their chairs, their gear torn and dirty, most of their weapons lost in the battle, and a half of them were wounded and bloody. The place was still lit by the emergency lights that made them look even gloomier. After a long minute of dull silence, one of them finally broke it with a question.

“Why would they do that? It’s suicide.” His name was Miles, and he had short blond hair and an albino appearance.

The giant grunted.

“Because they’re trying to save Dave and Chad, and the Beasts have already destroyed everything here. Are you going to let them get away with this?”

Miles snorted, smiling ruefully.

“What do I care about Dave and Chad… I just lost my partner in this attack, thanks to them. I’m sorry about the sisters, but they’re crazy if they think they have a shot at this,” he responded.

More Ghosts were pulling together slowly, fanning out into a half circle before Skull, their faces frowned in concern. There were about fifty of them now, and the rest were dead or in the infirmary.

“Yeah, we don’t even know these guys! Who knows what they did to Eugene to make him so crazy,” another fighter added, throwing up his hand.

Skull turned his look to him slowly as disbelief colored his face.

“Oh, yeah? But you know Pain, right, Brian?” his voice rose, his accent getting heavier as always when he got agitated. “Black hair, this tall, O-Katana. She carried you all the way from Manhattan with her arm broken when you broke both of your legs, remember? That girl that killed a dozen Beasts for you?

“And you, Miles, do you recall that day when you went patrolling with Jane, and she brought you here, your blood all over her, and you were already dead, but she called for Doc anyway and revived you? Or have you forgotten that??”

His voice ceased, and the silence got so heavy in the room, it seemed to be pressing on their shoulders. Miles was staring at his feet, ashamed. As the truth of Skull’s words sank in, some of the fighters nodded to each other in agreement, their faces troubled now. Murmurs and whispers started among them, and Skull just waited for them to finally realize how wrong they were, staying here in this questionable safety.

At that moment the infirmary door slid open, and Patrick came out of it, regarding the gathering with interest. His right arm was bandaged to his chest, and he looked a little pale, but otherwise, he didn’t have a scratch on him. He came to stand behind Skull, listening to what they were arguing about. In the meantime, Skull got tired of waiting for their response.

“So maybe you don’t know these guys, but you know the girls, and they went to our enemies’ lair to fight for them, though they’ve only known them a couple of weeks. And you’ve known Pain and Jane for years! And you’re sitting here, all miserable and scared? I know you’re tired, but this is what we do, for God’s sake! Eugene can’t just take whatever he wants, especially, from us! Letting him kill Chad would betray everything we’re fighting for! Aren’t you at least a little bit angry at him for doing what he did tonight? What will stop his men from coming to your houses, your families, if you have any, and destroying everything there? We’ll always be weaker than them if we only care about ourselves, and I don’t want to be like that, don’t want to fight among such people! You know what?? I’d be worried if I had any of you covering my back. But I will gladly go wherever I have to with those two girls along,” he finished. His booming words echoed loudly through the wide room. Everybody was staring at him now, their faces equally indignant. “What’s wrong with you people?” he spat with disappointment, shaking his head, but suddenly a quiet voice sounded from behind.

“I will go with you.”

Skull turned, seeing Patrick standing awkwardly by the wall. He was the youngest fighter among the gathering, and he didn’t look very formidable, but he adored the sisters and was good in fight.

The giant frowned.

“Good,” he grunted finally. “But your arm is wounded, are you sure?”

“I’m left-handed.” Patrick gave him a sly smile, and he nodded.

“Okay then. Let’s go.”

He turned and stalked to the door with Patrick catching up with his long strides. He was already at the threshold when another voice sounded from the gathering.

“Wait!”

Unwillingly, he paused and turned.

“I have an idea.” A man came forward, shouldering the crowd. He was middle-aged, shorter than average height, and sturdy. “I can call a friend of mine. He has a good squad downtown, and we’ll all go after the sisters.”

Skull speculated for a moment.

“Okay, Luke. Call him, tell him to head right there,” he said.

“I can call my friends, too,” Miles put in, getting to his feet. He looked at Skull hesitantly before adding. “Maybe with the help of others we actually have a shot,” he said, glancing at the fighters around him. More murmuring voices, and they nodded. “After all, they’d all be happy to get rid of the Beasts.”

“Yeah, I’ll call my men, too.”

“Yes, we should go,” voices sounded all around them now, everybody getting to their feet.

Skull looked over them with surprise, his chest growing warmer almost against his will. It took him a moment to find his voice again.

“Okay, people! We have twenty minutes and then we take off!” he commanded, sounding a little warmer this time. As the others nodded, he came out to the staircase, calling Patrick after him.

“Let’s go look around the building. I saw someone on the living floors.”

“Okay, I’ll take the first floor,” Patrick replied, and they hurried up, thinking about the same thing: the girls could already be dead along with Chad and Dave. But would it have stopped them?

*

Pain stared at Eugene with all the contempt she had. She also had to make a huge effort to keep back the words she wanted to say to him, because she didn’t want to freak him out. It was too dangerous for the guys, and with all those Beasts surrounding them, she would never get there in time.

She looked at Chad and Dave behind Eugene’s back. They stood side by side, surprise and exhaustion warring in their looks. Actually, Dave looked a little greenish, like he was about to throw up, and he seemed unsteady on his feet. One of his temples was brown with dried blood. Chad, on the contrary, was glowering at Eugene, his eyes black with hatred, his fists clenched. There was a thin trickle of blood coming from his split eyebrow. Otherwise, they weren’t harmed yet.

The light there was blinding after the semidarkness of the hallway. Everything looked golden, though only the heavy curtains covering the floor-to-ceiling window actually were of that color. The beige walls only reflected their glow, as did the light parquet and the shiny Persian rug in the room’s center. Eugene gazed at them, evidently pleased with their arrival. He wore a black polo shirt and pants, not even caring about something appropriate for a fight.

Jane saw him so close for the first time. It was difficult to look him in the eyes. There was something so dark and threatening and unpleasant about them. They seemed to cling to her, to depress her. Though his face didn’t express anything at that precise moment, she felt as if his stare were haunting her even as she looked away. She didn’t realize at first what was so depressing about his look, but then she found an explanation. He was looking at them as if they were no more than talking cockroaches, and he really made her feel like it, despite his absolutely ordinary appearance. She didn’t think he was just arrogant, no. Somehow he made her feel he was superior, and it made her doubt her ability to defeat him.

She shook her head slightly, as if clearing it from a bad dream. It was just an illusion, she told herself. They just needed to catch their chance.

“So, before you so savagely broke my door, I was just going to tell one good story to your friends. You know, since they refuse to tell me anything themselves.”

“I don’t know anything, I’ve already told you,” Chad interrupted him angrily, spitting the words like they were poisonous.

Eugene turned to him, raising his eyebrows. For a moment he just looked at him, as if he saw him for the first time and was surprised with the unexpected guest. And then he slapped him with the back of his hand – Jane’s eyes widened, and she heard Pain draw a sharp breath – slapped hard, making Chad’s head whip to the side. His hands jerked toward Eugene reflexively and fell back down, balling into fists again. Eugene only watched him with an expression of something close to a disappointed father’s. Slowly, Chad turned his head back, focusing his eyes on him with a gaze so piercing, Jane wondered if they could burn right through Eugene’s skull.

“It’s obvious your father didn’t raise you himself, because you lack all of his good manners,” Eugene noted. “So, as I was saying, he never mentioned you in all those years I’ve known him. Can you imagine that? By the way, you really do look like him in your age, except for the hair. You must have inherited this awful tousle from your mother. It’s a pity we’ll never find out who she is, isn’t it?” he said, looking at Chad with fake sympathy. Chad’s face remained set. “How old are you exactly?”

Chad didn’t feel like answering. He felt like grabbing Eugene’s collar and beating him senseless with his bare hands until he would be barely breathing and bloody and limp like a rag. He felt a deep, sickening urge to wipe that carefree, overconfident expression off his face, to end this ridiculous show even if it meant he would never find out about his past. Frankly, he didn’t want it, he never asked for any of this. He was tired, too tired from worrying, guessing, depending on someone. He barely felt like himself with Eugene working on his nerves. It was disturbing, because usually his flashes of anger were short, and now he felt like dissolving in it, and even he didn’t know what to expect from himself further.

He realized that Eugene was still waiting for his answer, and that there was no point in resisting him, really.

“Twenty-three,” he said finally, hearing his voice come out deep and hoarse.

“Twenty-three…” Eugene repeated thoughtfully. “So, I was right, you were born before I left. Michael kept you a secret from me for three years! And that’s with all the spies I paid for…” He shook his head disappointedly.

Michael??
Jane and Pain stared at Chad, both dubious.
His father was Michael??
Pain’s head seemed to spin, and then everything cleared. She felt like she was looking at Chad with different eyes now. Suddenly, she could see Michael’s feline eyes and the hard line of his jaw; his cheekbones, square and prominent in Chad’s face; even the sloping line of his broad shoulders reminded her of their former leader. A scene flashed before her eyes: the night they met, when she and Jane brought the guys to Peter for the first time, how his look lingered on them both. He knew Dave because of his famous father, it turned out. But Chad, he reminded him of Michael, only he didn’t realize it because of the time that had passed since Michael looked like this. And the hair, it was confusing. Michael had sand-colored hair, straight and short. If only they hadn’t been so blind back then, she thought. If only Peter had paid more attention to his senses, then they could have figured it out long ago and prepared Chad for everything that was coming.

She realized she was staring at Chad without blinking, her eyes already stinging from the dryness, and he was looking back at her from across the room, bewildered. She blinked in confusion and sighed. Situations where she couldn’t affect anything made her edgy.

“So, I take it he gave you to some friends of his, civilians. Otherwise they would have trained you, made a real man out of you.” Eugene was pacing back and forth now before Chad and Dave. “I’m really interested in the way he hid your Mark, but I guess there are a lot of ways to do that these days. You know, I’ve always considered Michael a bright, clever man. Now I really doubt it, and I just see another reason why I should own the Headquarters, not that narrow-minded martyr, and not Peter, of course. What was he thinking giving you away to a mundane family? How did he see you avenging him without proper training?

“The night he died he was acting really odd. Almost as if he was sensing that he would die, you know? So when I finally got to him and knocked him out, I threw him down from a five-story building. All of his bones were broken, but he came around when I got down to him. He looked so fragile, and yet he told me, ‘My son will finish my job with you, Eugene’ with so much menace that I actually began to respect him,” he even mimicked Michael’s voice, trying to sound serious and menacing – clearly, he was enjoying his little show. “But when I found out about his ‘big plan’ for you – actually, no plan at all – I lost it, I lost all respect for him. He wanted you to defeat me when you wouldn’t even stand a minute against any of the men in this room!” Eugene laughed, and the Beasts around him smirked, mirroring their boss’s expression. “You don’t even know how to use your power! What could you possibly do against
me
??” He paused in front of Chad, looking at him mockingly.