With These Wings

by Wendy Knight

  “I’m the mistake Selenia can’t control.”

  They both gasped as their wings shot out, but there was nowhere to fly. The ceilings were too low. They hit the windows like frantic moths.

  Nyx closed her eyes. The mistake, before, was panicking and using whatever she had to fight with. She’d learned from those mistakes.

  She pulled all of it to her hands, everything in her. She flung her hands out, arching her fingers, as the blood flew, growing, taking on a life of its own. It hit the Py nearest her, one on each side, and then shot through her, like an arrow, and arced to the other Py behind her. They screamed, trying to escape, but they had forgotten to fight back. Instead of using their blood against her, they tried to flee.

  So she took it from them.

  Just when she thought the screaming might get inside her head, to her human half that still didn’t like killing things, it stopped. She opened her eyes, stared down at their lifeless, charred bodies. She felt their blood, their spark — a chemical reaction caused by ozone and the oxygen in their blood, which she’d so cleverly named spark — felt it mixing with her own. Strengthening her. She took their energy and their life force, and it made her more powerful than before.

  She wondered if she was taller now. The last time she’d grown an inch. In the last two months since she’d been gone, she’d grown three whole inches. She hadn’t had a growth spurt like that since she was a toddler.

  “Nyx!”

  She could hear Enika screaming from somewhere in the hospital. Panicked, desperate screams. Fearing a Garce attack, she snapped her wings out and soared down the corridor.

  And nearly collided with the blood-stained edge of Enika’s ax. Keven’s knife and Cole’s were right behind it.

  “I heard screaming! I saw—I saw the fire—”

  Nyx pulled Enika into a tight hug, trying to sooth the shaking. “I’m okay. It’s safe.” Looking over Enika’s head to Keven, she said, “Get your supplies. The sun is rising.”

  Keven nodded briskly, like what she’d just done wasn’t completely unusual, and disappeared with the rest of the team. Cole remained, staring at her with an expression so unreadable, she didn’t know what to do with it.

  “Come on, Enika. We need to get this done and get her back to the compound.”

  THE NEXT TWO HOURS were uneventful as they made their way back. They were attacked three times, but Nyx took care of it before anything got close enough to hurt them.

  Or even look at them wrong.

  Cole barely recognized her. While she was the Nyx he’d gotten used to — not his Phoenyx at all anymore — she was also completely different all at once. She practically glowed now, and she was…

  Terrifying.

  Beautiful.

  Like a force of nature.

  They passed the shell of the Costco. The two Pys that had killed half their team were strewn across the parking lot. Several Garce lay dead around them — the Pys’ lethal blood still sparking around their mouths. Clearly, the Garce had gotten here not long after they’d left. “Nothing beautiful about you now, is there?” Keven asked, kicking their rotting carcasses out of his way. High above them, Nyx stared down at the devastation.

  She looked pleased.

  They’d made it to the mall when Keven spoke again. “We’ve got incoming.”

  Cole squinted through the twilight. He could just make out the shadowy forms of the Garce a block away, but there were no red glowing eyes, and they weren’t moving at all. They were also oddly misshapen, but when they bent to the shadows, they weren’t always distinguishable as dog-like.

  “Go around.” Nyx landed hard on the ground in front of them and spread her wings, blocking their view. She motioned with her head. “Go through that parking lot.”

  “That’s an extra quarter of a mile, Nyx. We’re almost home.”

  Nyx didn’t move. “You don’t want to go this way,” she said quietly.

  “I want to go whatever way’s going to get me home fastest. Are you afraid of that?” Keven nodded toward the shadows behind her.

  She shook her head, eyes wide.

  “What’s up, Nyx?” Enika asked, trying to read Nyx’s face. But Nyx’s face was unreadable now. Cole had less luck than Enika did.

  “Please, Nyx? We’re exhausted.” Haylen nearly sobbed. “I can’t walk any extra.”

  Nyx bit her lip and nodded. Silently, she spread her wings and returned to the sky.

  Exchanging wary glances, they moved forward, keeping Nyx in their line of sight. Wondering why she didn’t attack — until they reached what they had thought was Garce.

  It wasn’t Garce.

  It was the three who had tried to return to the compound. Or at least, what was left of them. They hadn’t made it very far before the Garce had gotten them.

  Enika retched, falling to her knees. Cole took her pack and threw it over his own shoulder, and knelt next to her until she stopped. “You okay?” he asked. She nodded, tears slowly snaking down her dirty cheeks.

  “We’re close to the compound,” Keven said, his jaw tight. “If anyone was outside, the Garce will have gotten them too. We’ve gotta move, people!” He started jogging.

  Horror took up residence in their souls. A pack of Garce could clear the compound in a matter of hours. “Why don’t you have Nyx fly over there and tell them—” Justin started, but Keven cut him off.

  “The Garce would have come through hours ago. And there could still be packs nearby. If Nyx left, it would leave us open to the same fate as them.” He pointed backward, toward the bodies.

  Enika took her pack back, slipping it over her shoulder before Cole could object. Together, they started running.

  They had three blocks to go when Enika finally stirred. “The sun’s coming up.” Her pack was heavy, and she’d long since abandoned trying to hold her head up. They were all exhausted, except Nyx, who seemed to get stronger after every attack.

  Cole looked up, realizing that he’d been too tired to do anything but stare at the ground for the last mile or so, also. The sun’s bright rays were fighting their way over the mountains. He looked around for Nyx, but she was nowhere to be seen. Did she care about the sun anymore? She used to be terrified of the Pys, and now she obviously wasn’t. Maybe the sun wasn’t a real threat, either.

  Until she toppled to the ground in front of them.

  It was like watching Achilles fall, downed by a mere arrow to the heel.

  Enika screamed and dropped her pack, rushing to Nyx’s side, but Cole was there faster. “What happened?” he asked, rolling her over. Her face was an ashy sheen of white, the blue in her eyes dulled and red. Like she’d been burned. Cole didn’t have to be a genius to realize the sun had hit her. He looked up at Keven. “We’ve gotta get her in shelter.”

  Keven nodded, scanning the area.

  “Keep going,” Nyx groaned. “You’re almost home.”

  “And leave you in the sun? Are you an idiot?” Keven snapped. Nyx’s lips quirked in the tiniest of smiles.

  Enika leaped to her feet and sprinted toward one of the nearby shops. Nyx called after her weakly to stay away from the buildings, but Enika either didn’t hear her, or chose to ignore her. Cole scooped Nyx up, wings and all, and carried her after Enika, to the shadows. She was surprisingly light for how tall she was. He would have guessed that her wings alone weighed a hundred pounds. But when she was in his arms, she felt about as heavy as a bird.

  Safely in the shade, he adjusted his pack and tucked her wings around her. She opened one eye to peer up at him. “You need to get to the compound. The Garce could be—”

  “Help me!” Enika cried. Justin and Trigger both raced over to where Enika was trying to rip down a tattered awning that flapped in the breeze. Apparently, it was much more difficult than the movies made it seem. Still in the road, Keven slowly raised his gun.

  “They’re coming. Run,” Nyx whispered. “Run, Cole.” She slid out of his arms and landed on her feet, swayed a few times, and
then raised herself to her full height. She held out her hands, weak sparks leaping from fingertip to fingertip.

  Cole pulled his gun out and put it to his shoulder, waiting.

  “Got it!” Enika, completely unaware of the Garce sneaking their way through the buildings on the opposite side of the street, threw the awning over Nyx’s head.

  Nyx collapsed, and the Garce pounced. Swearing, Cole started shooting as Enika dug for the ax hanging at her side, still covered in Nyx’s blood.

  “Run!” Keven bellowed at Julian and Haylen. They took off toward 25th street, clutching their packs and running for all they were worth.

  But the Garce were there, waiting. Two more burst through the windows of one of the shops — a shop with an entrance to the tunnels. Haylen screamed and dropped her pack, clawing at her gun. Julian went down under the attack. Cole yelled and swung his gun toward them, but his bullets did nothing. They were going to die. They were just children, and they were going to die.

  An arrow shot out of the second floor of the old Greek restaurant.

  It hit one Garce in the neck and the Garce howled, choking on its own blood. It fell sideways off of Julian, pawing at the ground as it tried feebly to climb to its feet. Another arrow, and then another, sank deep into the shadowy skin of the second Garce. Haylen pulled Julian up, nearly dragging him down the street and around the corner, out of sight.

  “Move it! We’ll cover you!” Blair bellowed, his voice ricocheting across the store fronts surrounding them.

  Cole scooped Nyx and her protective awning into his arms and started to run, Enika right behind him. Arrows flew past his face, embedding in the doors and window frames, and the Garce behind him.

  And through it all, the sun rose above them.

  Nyx started to scream. Steam rose from the awning, and he could feel her literally burning alive in his arms. To stop and seek the shadows would be death at the jaws of the Garce, but to keep running would kill the one thing that gave him a reason to keep fighting. He jerked sideways, crashing through the door of one of the old shops. He didn’t stop, even when he felt it tear his shoulder. He dove for the back room, and darkness.

  Enika, of course, followed him. “Enika! Get to the compound!” he yelled as he crashed through boxes and into the kitchen area. There was an island in the middle, waist-high, and he couldn’t see a damn thing.

  Enika followed him in, knocking him forward, and slammed the kitchen door behind her, and then raised her ax, waiting for the attack that would inevitably come.

  Except the attack came from behind the island. The Garce hissed, leaping onto the stainless steel counter tops, its claws clicking as it slid. Enika whirled, ax high, and swung.

  The door behind her splintered and shattered as another Garce fought its way in.

  Nyx writhed in pain under the awning. Cole was loath to put her down, but he had to fight off the Garce. As she slid from his arms, she threw up a hand, sparks falling from her blackened fingertips. They didn’t make it to either Garce, the energy inside her burned and weak.

  So she flung herself at it, instead. Its jaws clamped around her arm. She screamed, her legs giving out as it ripped her across the island toward it, shaking its head like a dog with a toy. Cole lunged for her, grabbing her around the waist. “I will not lose you again!”

  And then it shrieked, Nyx’s blood foaming at its lips and down its throat. Cole watched in fascinated horror as her blood ate it away from the inside out.

  “Enika!” Nyx cried.

  Enika whirled, as if sharing one mind with Nyx, and slid the blunt edge of her ax along Nyx’s bloody arm. She spun away in one smooth motion and shoved the ax head into the Garce’s gaping jaws. It clamped down, the blade slicing through one jaw as Nyx’s blood soaked into its torn flesh. The Garce fell backward, clawing at its own face as it crashed around the kitchen and through the splintered door. It didn’t make it outside before it was dead.

  “You’d think they’d stop trying to eat the Pys when it’s so bad for their health,” Nyx gasped, curled up on the floor against the island.

  The outer door burst open. Enika screamed, instinctively swinging her ax up as Cole leveled his gun.

  “Cole? Enika? Nyx?”

  “Blair!” Enika cried, dropping her ax. She raced through the door and threw herself into his arms. Cole thought half-heartedly of doing the same, but that would just be awkward.

  “Our knight in shining armor has arrived.” Cole grinned exhaustedly at Nyx as he knelt next to her, gathering her again to his chest.

  “My knight in shining armor was already here,” she said, “You didn’t—” She licked her charred lips and tried again, “you didn’t leave me.” Her head fell against his shoulder and she moaned once, and then was silent.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  “WE CAN’T EXPECT HER TO BE able to save us every time. We need help.”

  “She went looking for The Nine. She came back alone.”

  “Yeah, but she came back with some new tricks. That tells me she found them.”

  “Who says they aren’t learning from her? She’s pretty bad ass.”

  Nyx thought about opening her eyes, but there were voices, talking about her, and she was of the opinion if she opened her eyes, those conversations would stop. Now to just get her brain to figure out who was talking.

  “It doesn’t matter who was teaching what. She nearly roasted alive in my arms when she tried to save us. We can’t let that happen again.”

  Cole. That one was definitely Cole.

  Her heart sped up a little.

  Okay, a lot.

  “I agree.”

  And Enika. Of course.

  “You say that like help is just around the corner and all we need to do is ask. That’s just stupid. Enika, what are you doing?” Keven asked, sounding utterly baffled.

  “Maybe it is just around the corner. Where is their nearest ship?”

  “I’m sewing.”

  “I can see that. Why are you sewing?”

  “No one knows where their nearest ship is.”

  “I bet she does.”

  Nyx finally gave up. There were too many voices, all talking at once, and she couldn’t keep them straight. Slowly, she forced her eyes open, grateful that the room was dark and cool. Her skin still felt like it was on fire. A small fire though. Not like she’d been thrown into the center of the sun.

  Like before.

  No one noticed her eyes open, so she sneakily, sneakily, turned her head to the side so she could see what was going on. It took several blinks before she could focus her gaze on anything but shadows. Keven, Enika, and Cole she had recognized. RayAnna she hadn’t, and suddenly wished she’d kept her stupid eyes shut. It was giving her flashbacks to the last time she’d woken to their voices.

  Apparently, by the way RayAnna laid her head against Cole’s shoulder, they were together again. They were still talking, although she’d missed half the conversation now by trying to see things.

  Shoulda kept my eyes closed.

  “I’m making a super hero suit.”

  Nyx’s eyes snapped open again to peer at Enika. Keven and RayAnna were doing the same. Cole was leaning his head against the cement wall and stared, exhausted and still covered in blood and dirt, at the ceiling.

  “You’re what?” Keven, who was usually completely unflappable, could only stare at Enika in confusion.

  “She’s not a superhero.” RayAnna raised her head to say. “She’s an alien.”

  “She’s a guardian,” Enika and Keven said at the same time. “And guardians need super hero suits,” Enika continued. Her light curls fell over her face as she bent over the dark fabric. She’d wanted to be a fashion designer once. She’d even made all her own clothes. Apparently, she’d missed that little hobby.

  And is now making me superhero clothes. I wonder if I get a cape.

  A cape probably wouldn’t work with the wings.

  “She almost died last week. That is not going to happen ag
ain,” Enika muttered.

  Last week?

  Groaning, she shoved herself into a sitting position, her wings helping because her arms were so weak. Cole was at her side so fast, RayAnna toppled over onto the cement, swearing.

  “Hey.”

  “Hi.” She experimented with a smile, grateful when her lips didn’t split or fall off.

  “You’ve been out for a while.”

  She nodded.

  “How are you feeling?” His dark eyes practically devoured her, searching her face, looking for weakness or injury or whatever the heck he thought he’d find.

  “I’m alive. Did we win?”

  Finally, the intensity in his gaze broke and he smiled, slow and sexy, causing her heart to jump in her chest and her pulse to pop against her skin. “We won.”

  “Where’d you go, Nyx?” Keven asked, leaving Enika to her sewing. Nyx waited for the lecture — she’d left them here to die, unprotected, with limited resources. But Keven said nothing, just waiting.

  “I went looking for The Nine.” And myself.

  Keven nodded — he’d suspected as much. “Did you find them?”

  “Yes.”

  His eyes widened.

  “And you came back alone?” RayAnna asked.

  Nyx’s jaw clenched so hard she thought her teeth might crack. “Do you have a reason to be in here?” she snapped.

  RayAnna’s mouth opened and closed like a fish as her eyes darted from Cole to Enika. Enika didn’t look up and Cole offered nothing in the way of help.

  “Fine.” RayAnna jerked to her feet and raised her hands. “Fine. I don’t need this. I actually have other friends here.”

  They watched her storm out, slamming the door above them. “That was awkward,” Enika muttered, still sewing.

  “They need to know what happened, Nyx. They risked their lives to save you.” Keven sat back, crossing his arms over his chest. Nyx had told him what had happened one time, when she’d first shown up at the compound. She hadn’t mentioned it again.

  “Technically, we were saving her life because she risked hers to save ours.” Enika raised her head momentarily, grinned, and ducked again.