Sky Ghosts: All for One (Young Adult Urban Fantasy Adventure) (Sky Ghosts Series Book 1) (5 page)

“Fine, but don’t even think of interrupting me, deal?” She gave them a stern look, and they nodded.

“Deal.”

“We call ourselves Sky Ghosts,” Jane began the story. “There were other names, but most of them were connected with the sky somehow. This nickname has stuck to us more than others. There weren’t many mentions of Sky Ghosts in the history of mankind, because we’ve always been hiding our differences with humans. Ghosts understood that extra abilities brought extra attention and…” Jane grimaced, “extra jealousy, too. However, people would see a silhouette shoot across the sky sometimes if some of the folk weren’t careful enough. That’s where the nickname came from.

“There’s a legend, too, about the first Ghost – Alan the Archer. Alan was a hunter and proficient at archery, but time passed, and his skill reached its limit. He could do anything, but he couldn’t know where his prey was. He could only track it and hope that it hadn’t gone very far. Sometimes hunters had to wander for days, following misleading trails. Alan became jealous of wild hawks that could hunt from above, seeing far, far away. He dreamed of flying in the skies, hunting all over the fields and woods. Thus he could bring wealth and fortune to his family and village.

“As a result of those thoughts, Alan got tired and desperate. He couldn’t get rid of them and decided to ask advice from the village elder. He came to his hut and told him about how strong his need to fly high like a hawk was. The elder answered in a few words: “There’s no height that the power of will can’t conquer.” Alan took his words literally, and since that day, he dedicated his every evening to the development of his willpower, convinced that one day he’d be able to fly.

“That year turned out unfortunate, and the herds passed around the hunting territory. The village was almost starving, and the prey they brought home was scarce. Despite the troubles, Alan didn’t give up his plan and continued his training. And once, starved and tired from unsuccessful efforts to get some food for his family, he wandered far into the woods. He had been walking for several hours, but hadn’t seen any animals. Soon he could walk no more, and he stopped in the middle of unfamiliar woods. He was desperate, but most of all, he felt resentment. Alan couldn’t understand why the gods sent this punishment to his village and family. And then he felt a new power within himself: his training had brought its fruits, and now his body was no longer controlled by his physical strength only, but with willpower. At the next moment Alan knew that this power was a thousand times as strong, because he could do whatever he wanted if he just believed in it strongly enough. Then he shot off the ground and flew high, where he soared among birds, searching for his prey. The keen eye and sharp arrows did their work: Alan brought home a lot of prey that day, but didn’t tell anyone about his new abilities, afraid that he’d be considered a practitioner of dark magic.

“The same day, his wife saw a strange mark that appeared near his seventh vertebra. It looked like a small birthmark in a shape of a wing, and at first Alan got scared that it meant he was cursed. But time passed, and the hunter used and improved his new skills with no negative sides of this gift. Eventually, Alan got to believing that the mark on his neck was a symbol of gods’ blessing, not a curse. He grew long hair and told his wife to keep what she saw secret.

“Since then, the knowledge about the great might of willpower has been passed through generations, and all of the descendants of Alan the Archer were marked with wings on their necks and bore long hair to disguise their Marks from humans.” To make her story more realistic, Jane bent her head down, drawing back the collar of her T-shirt to open the part of her neck where the Mark was. Chad and Dave stared at it wide-eyed, seeing a tangible confirmation of her fairy tale story. “Eventually, this gift spread around the world, and sometimes Sky Ghosts even separated from humans, living in small groups and villages. To keep their abilities in secret was the unspoken rule, which was followed by Ghosts all over the world.

“However, another rule – to use their gift in the name of good – wasn’t followed so commonly. There were always those who used their power for robbery and profit. Eugene Zhorr is one of them.

“He didn’t just divide from the others about twenty years ago, declaring openly his intention to get enriched by means of his abilities, but gathered a group of henchmen that soon turned into a full-fledged organization, impersonating as an ordinary security agency.” Jane fell silent because two workmen entered the room with a bunk and tools. They attached it to special slots in the wall above her bed in a minute. Then they came out to bring the second bed and did the same over Pain’s bunk. The men smiled to Jane, said goodbye, and left.

“Is this Eugene somehow special or just an initiative bastard? Why can’t you get rid of him?” Chad asked after they were gone.

“Special? I guess you can say so,” Jane answered, shrugging. “He developed a rare ability to protect himself with a mental shield during the fight. Such a shield is impregnable, though one needs a really potent willpower and focus for creating and retaining it. Some fighters can create it for a short time, like us and Peter. Almost all can avert the blow, forming a part of the shield in the place where the opponent’s weapon is aimed. But the shield that Eugene uses…” Jane shook her head. “It’s like a cocoon. It’s impossible to get to him in moments of danger.”

“But there has to be a way to stop him, right?” Chad objected.

“Yes, but I have no idea how. We’ll have to break through the shield to do that. Poisoning and such is against the Code,” she shrugged.

“And what exactly does Eugene do? Robs unfortunate citizens at night?”

“Not just that, although the least skilled of his men are engaged in usual robbery. But he, just like we do, works for those who can pay: governments, businessmen, oligarchs. The difference is we provide the protection, and he – the attack. Eugene and his agents are killers of the highest level,” Jane answered.

“But- ” Chad began.

“Let her finish,” Dave broke him off irritably.

“Okay, okay,” he waved his hand.

“So, when Eugene divided from the others, a lot of other enthusiasts joined him soon, and it grew quickly. His former comrades became his enemies in the streets, and Eugene with his men got a nickname, too – Sky Beasts. This name is usually used for those who chose the bad side, because we need to distinguish our men from them. That’s why we call them Beasts. But they, of course, don’t use this nickname.” She smirked and fell silent for a couple of seconds, thoughtful or maybe immersed in some memories, and then continued. “A few years ago, we had a different leader here at the Headquarters, who confronted Eugene very successfully. It was his former best friend, Michael. He and Eugene, they used to rule the organization together. It was the way they were chosen after the former leader died. Everyone knew they were good together, too good to choose just one of them. We fight in pairs, we live in pairs, we complete each other in battle and cover backs. Those two, they were so good they didn’t need a partner, but still, they were the best pair anyone ever knew. The ideas they came up with, their plans, schemes – they were genius together. It was like their brains worked on the same wave, you know? That’s why when Eugene separated, Michael was the only one able to ruin his diversions against us. Now we think he was the only one of whom Eugene was afraid. Well, maybe not afraid, but at least Michael could make him worry…

“Three years ago, he got killed in one of Eugene’s ambushes, and since then, we can only defend from him. His organization has grown too big. Nobody knows Eugene well enough so we could fight against him for real. All we can do is patrol and intervene when Beasts attack people so the city streets wouldn’t turn into hell.”

“So, you said that Alan the Archer got his abilities from the long training. How do people become Sky Ghosts these days?” Dave asked.

“Alan the Archer is a legend, Dave. Nobody knows if he really existed, or how Ghosts actually arose. Ghosts are born bearing their abilities, but a crisis is needed to wake up the power. At one time, Ghosts used intoxicants and drugs to cause horrible hallucinations, and in some places on our planet they’re still in use. However, in civilized cities hypnosis is used more often because through it you can make a child believe anything. It can affect him enough so he would release his power. Usually the children of Ghosts are put through the Initiation at eight years old. Afterward, they go through education and training so they can control their abilities.”

“And what then? When the child is grown up?” Chad asked.

“Mostly Ghosts just live among ordinary people. These days there aren’t so many possibilities to find a good use for such abilities. Earlier there were knights squads or other enthusiasts, conquering foreign lands and all. Now the army is under tight control, and to show our abilities there is a suicide. A lot of Ghosts were killed during the witch hunts. We can’t open to people, and there are only a few of them who know about us. We don’t disclose to our clients. They see the good work, they don’t need to know how it’s done. Those of us who don’t want to live an ordinary life become fighters and come here or to some other organizations like ours in different cities. We are mercenaries here, but this place is our home. Some of us have their homes in the city and come here only for work. Probably, you’ve noticed that we don’t use last names. It’s connected with another rule, not to reveal where you can find a fighter’s family, because it’s his only weakness. However, most of us came here from other cities, and if someone has any relatives in other parts of the country, they aren’t close with them. As many others, we live here, and all of our friends are here, on these two living floors. Of course, we have some acquaintances outside in the city, but mostly they are humans. We’d never let them be a part of our life, because it’s too dangerous for both sides. Beasts can get vindictive sometimes.”

“But what about us?” Dave asked, a nervous edge to his voice.

Jane shrugged.

“What about you? Your case is quite unique, we had to disclose to you to bring you here. And what can you possibly do, go tell people that there are flying freaks among them?”

“No, but if someone got really hostile- ”

“We have our ways of dealing,” she interrupted, giving a sure shake of her head to him and holding back a smile.

Dave’s eyebrows rose.

“Do I wanna know what they are?”

“No,” she answered instantly. “Definitely, no.”

He only nodded with his lips pursed.

“So, how long do you think it’ll take?” Chad broke the silence.

“No idea.” Jane shrugged her shoulders. “It depends on Eugene and his next move. Of course, Peter has his own connections, and he’ll try to find out Eugene’s intentions with you, or one of you, to be correct. He’s inclined to believe it’s you, Dave. Your father is a rather important person.” Jane speculated for a minute. Everybody in the city knew Forrester Sr. He was one of the richest businessmen in New York. “You have nothing to worry about, though. With Pain you’re safe no matter what happens.”

Dave’s eyebrows reached the sky at that moment.

“Yeah?” Distrust flooded his face as he replied. “I don’t know… She makes me more nervous than this freak Eugene.”

“No, no,” she objected. “Don’t even worry about it.” She saw both of them stare at her with identically dubious expressions and decided to change the topic. “So, as you can see, these rooms were designed for four occupants. But these days we don’t have enough fighters to fill all the rooms. Some of them even live alone. Eugene has definitely knocked down our ranks. But I wouldn’t say that our fighters aren’t worth a dozen armies like his one,” she added with a crooked smile. “He uses his men as cannon fodder. They aren’t good enough, aren’t trained well. Most of our fighters are much more experienced and smarter.”

“How long have you been living here?” Chad asked, and then added, “I mean you and your sister.”

“We moved here nine years ago. Pain was twelve, and I was nine. Our parents died in a battle with Beasts, and Peter brought us here. Back then he was Michael’s second-in-command. Our father was his partner, so Peter took the responsibility of raising us. Since then, we lived here, and the last four years in this room.” She looked around her thoughtfully. “But it’s not as bad as you might think. It’s not like military barracks or something. We have a great canteen on the second floor, and there’s a cinema hall and some other entertainments, too. We don’t even need to go outside for anything. There’s a gym and a pool and two training halls- ”

“Wow, it’s almost like eternal college!” Dave suddenly exclaimed, and Chad scoffed.

“Man, you hated college.”

Dave’s voice dropped to incoherent muttering at that,

“I hated the kids, not the college…” he said, and Jane smiled at his reaction.
So much plain honesty for a spoiled multi-millionaire’s kid.
She had to admit, she liked these two from the first sight.

“Well, maybe it is like a college dorm, I don’t really know. But we never get bored here,” she said and gave them another smile. At that moment the bathroom door squeaked, and her sister showed up from it. “And I just thought you drowned in there,” Jane dropped over her shoulder.

Pain smirked and went to her bed with Dave’s glassy look trailing after her like a dog after a bone. He had to get a good kick in the leg from Chad to snap his jaw shut, but not to stop staring. Without gear, in just white shorts and a strapless top, she looked almost breathtaking. Her slim and fit body had just the right amount of muscle and certainly got her a lot of attention from the male fighters. Even her countless scars didn’t spoil it.