With These Wings

by Wendy Knight

  Again.

  Nyx, at least he thought it was Nyx, raced by, barely making a sound and completely black. She grabbed Enika and she grabbed Cole and she dragged them back, toward the tunnel entrance. “Come on! The sun’s up!”

  Yes. It was Nyx.

  She wasn’t nearly as terrifying now. In fact, she looked like a weirdly mishapened shadow, her wings tucked into the costume as they were. But she burst, without hesitation, right into the rays of the rising sun. Enika cried out, tried to stop her, yelling something about testing it carefully first, and all Cole could do was watch Nyx slip through his fingers.

  As always.

  But Nyx burst into the sunshine and threw her arms wide, letting the sun hit her full in the face. Swearing, Enika grabbed a tablecloth — tattered and dusty — and raced out after her slightly insane friend.

  Nyx didn’t burst into flames. She didn’t smoke. She didn’t cry out.

  She danced.

  He’d forgotten that Nyx had taken dance — to be with Enika. Well, not forgotten, but it hadn’t come up in the chaos that was always his mind. She’d been a ballet dancer, a track star, a soccer player. She loved movement. And it hit him, just then, something she’d always, always said.

  I wish I had wings.

  He felt like he’d been… what? He wasn’t even sure. Punched in the gut? Covered in goosebumps as chills raced up and down his arms? He remembered one of his first conversations with her, when he said maybe they could find a cure, to make her human again.

  But Nyx had never been a normal human. She’d been a Guardian, just waiting for her wings.

  Now she had them.

  “Hey!” she yelled, twirling over to him. She grabbed his hand and dragged him outside. “Come play with us!”

  Laughing, he followed her out. With their Guardian in the streets, many of the rest of the compound joined them. Someone found a guitar — he was guessing it was Justin — and someone else started singing and before he knew it, there was a party all around him.

  In the sun.

  And not one person was afraid.

  “I FEEL LIKE I’VE had these chains holding me down for so long, and you just broke them and set me free, Enika. I would truly be lost without you.” Nyx leaned her head on Enika’s shoulder as they sat in the middle of the street and watched the sun set. In the distance, the Garce howled, and Nyx’s blood hummed like there were other Pys nearby, but right now, none of that mattered.

  Enika shrugged, causing Nyx’s head to jostle and nearly slide off her friend’s shoulder. “I got tired of hanging out by myself all day.”

  Nyx smiled.

  “Hey. I hung out with you.”

  Cole. As if she could forget he was there. Her entire body screamed to touch him, like he was a force of gravity all his own and was pulling her ever closer. As it was, her hand rested in the dirt just an inch, maybe less, away from his fingers. If she moved just a little…

  But she still wasn’t sure what was up with him and RayAnna. And if they were going to do this — this relationship thing — then he had to understand that she was who she was, and she had no intention of trying to find a cure.

  She was a Guardian now. Not a monster.

  Anyway, finding out those kinds of things meant serious conversations, and usually were best done alone. Neither of which they ever seemed to find time to do.

  Enika twisted to look at him, but said nothing. Nyx had been awake for… she couldn’t even count, her brain was so tired. Thirty-six hours? Something like that. She’d been given the daytime, but as the moon rose, she felt it calling her and her body awoke, the electric energy swirling through her blood.

  She’d been given the daytime, but she still owned the night.

  “I’m going hunting.”

  Enika sat up so fast Nyx didn’t have time to raise her head, and nearly crashed sideways into the road. “What? Why?”

  Nyx pointed around them. “You hear them too, right?”

  Enika scowled. “No.”

  Sighing, Nyx stood up and peeled her new superhero suit off. It had worked fabulously — but not perfectly. Nothing could keep the sun out completely. It wouldn’t work for a Py, who burst into flames the second the sun hit them, but it worked for her. It gave her hours instead of seconds, and her skin was pink like she had a sunburn, but a sunburn that was healing right before her eyes.

  Thank you, moon.

  “Enika, I know you do. I felt you shiver at the first howl.”

  Cole stood up too, pulling his sister to his feet. “Fine. We’ll go with you.”

  Nyx threw her hands up in the air. “Why is this? I’m an alien killer! It’s what I do and why I’m here! You guys have all sorts of other uses!”

  Enika crossed her arms and Cole raised an eyebrow. “Such as?”

  Stretching her wings that were oh-so-happy to be free of the cloth, she said, “Like keeping Keven sane. Or helping Blair stock our armory with my blood. Or calming the masses. Or, if nothing else, providing adequate distraction with your dashing good looks.”

  “She’s talking about me.” Enika nudged Cole and grinned.

  He rolled his eyes. “I don’t think so.” To Nyx, he said, “Now that you’re here, we’ve been able to re-stock our gasoline stores. Which means we can drive. It’s been a while since Enika and I have taken a road trip.”

  “This is not a vacation,” Nyx exclaimed.

  “Oh, but it could be. I’ll get my ax.” Enika whirled and ran for the store.

  Cole chuckled softly, the sound swirling through the twilight, rousing the butterflies sleeping in Nyx’s stomach. “I’m surprised she let it get this far away from her.”

  Nyx could only watch helplessly.

  Cole stepped closer, brushing the hair away from her cheekbone. “You don’t seem to realize how lost we were without you, Nyx.”

  She blinked, trying to breathe normally. “But I’ve cleared the Garce. And my blood is re-stocked—”

  “Not the compound. Us. Enika. Me.” His dark eyes searched her face, her soul.

  She swallowed hard, swaying toward him, realizing what she was doing and not having the will to stop. “You needed me?” she whispered.

  His hands slid around her waist, holding her to him. “Every. Single. Second.”

  Nyx rested her hands on his chest. She’d run from him. Run from Cole, run from his memory, and yet the whole time she’d been away, killing things with a ferociousness that scared her, finally finding herself with the only people on the planet who were like her — he’d been there. In her head. In her heart. When she’d closed her eyes, it was his face she saw. His eyes. It was his body she ached for. She’d gone to the ends of the earth to get away from him and had failed.

  This was where she belonged.

  The Nine were family, and if they needed her, she would always be there, but Cole and Enika, they were her heart and soul.

  “Let’s move it. Daylight’s only eight hours away, people.” Enika emerged from the store, skipping and swinging her ax. It was the most morbidly adorable thing Nyx had ever seen. Enika stooped to pick up Nyx’s superhero suit and tucked it under her arm. “Just in case.”

  Nyx smiled.

  Reluctantly, Cole let her go. “I’ll go get the jeep.” His eyes didn’t leave her face until he finally had to turn away, and he disappeared into the darkness. Nyx could just see the white of his t-shirt, even with her sharp night vision. There was no moon, and the stars were obliterated by clouds.

  Nyx finally tore her eyes away from him and turned to Enika, who stood grinning at her, still holding the ax.

  “You are far too comfortable with that thing.” Nyx sent a pointed look to the still-blood stained weapon, shivering for effect.

  Enika’s grin widened. “You have your wings. I have my ax.”

  Nyx’s laugh was drowned out by the roar of the jeep. In the distance, the Garce fell into a hungry silence and Nyx’s blood tingled as she felt the Pys’ presence again.

  They were h
unting tonight.

  “Keven!” Nyx turned on her heel and jogged to the storefront where Keven was cleaning his crossbow. “Keep everyone inside and the latches locked.”

  Keven didn’t look up. “If there are Pys nearby, latches won’t stop them.”

  Sighing, Nyx nodded. “I’ll find them.”

  “Good girl.”

  Snorting, she left him to his work and met Cole and Enika at the jeep. “Wanna ride, or you flying tonight?” Cole asked, swinging himself up into the driver’s seat while Enika clambered in the other side.

  Nyx raised an eyebrow. “Do you really need to ask? But there are Pys out there. If they kill me, you’ll be left unprotected.”

  “They won’t.” Cole shifted into drive, his faith so complete in her that he didn’t even take time to think it over.

  She looked imploringly to Enika, but Enika situated her ax between her feet and tugged her seatbelt into place. “Safety first!” she said cheerfully.

  Cole winked at her, sending her blood spiking through her heart. Grumbling, she watched them pull down the street before she leaped, spreading her wings.

  Immediately, she was at peace. The wind slid around her, tugging at her hair, lifting her higher. She caught up with them, swinging up and down through the air while Enika’s hand waved in rhythm. It felt so good to be in the sky where she belonged. The fact that she knew she belonged had stopped concerning her about the time she’d found The Nine and realized what she truly was.

  She wasn’t a half-breed alien. She was a Guardian.

  “Pys first since they’re the most dangerous. ‘Kay?” she called to Cole, slowing her wings so she flew right next to him. He nodded, but she couldn’t miss the current of fear that flashed across his eyes. He hadn’t spoken of what had happened the day she came back — in that warehouse. None of them had. But it must have been truly awful. Enika still had nightmares and cried out in her sleep, either screaming Cole’s name… or calling for Nyx.

  She shook her head, trying to shake those thoughts loose. She couldn’t be distracted now. It could get them all killed. Time to get those Pys out of here and send a message to any others who might be around.

  This was her territory. And she was stronger than any of them.

  Her heart hitched once in her chest as her confidence wavered. Stronger than any of them… except Selenia. Selenia was the only thing Nyx still feared.

  But she would know if it was Selenia. Wouldn’t she? Wouldn’t she feel the call of the DNA they shared? She hadn’t with Akit… but she had known so little then. Now, her wings burst into flame when she needed them to. That was a fun new skill, and something better to focus on than fear.

  She tipped her wings, soaring sideways into the sky, away from the jeep. “I know you’re out here,” she sang softly. “Come out, come out, wherever you are.”

  Nyx narrowed her eyes, scanning the horizon that often faded into the mountains, letting the spark in her blood lead the way. She felt them, off to the left. More than one, but she couldn’t quite tell how many more. Swallowing the anxiety that kept trying to claw its way into her chest, she tucked sideways and hit her wings hard. By the time she had found them, the moon had fought its way through the clouds just enough to cast her shadow down into the meadow where they had caught a Garce. Just two of them, and they were so busy devouring the half-dead creature that they didn’t notice her until the tips of her shadow-wings brushed their cheeks. They both shrieked, wings out and in the air instantly. The Garce bellowed and tried to make it to its feet. Nyx gathered the hot air around her, fueling the blood ball, and threw it hard. It hit the Garce in the chest, putting it instantly out of its misery.

  “You—you’re one of us?” the little Py simpered as she landed in front of them. She tipped her head to the side, her silky blue hair tumbling around her, and opened her eyes as wide as they would go. This was where the fairy myth had come from — the Pys had been here before, and from that visit, the Fae myth had been born. How completely not funny it was that something so loved and feared had come from the thing that eventually tried to wipe out the human race?

  But she was still speaking. “I don’t know you.”

  Nyx shook her head, gritting her teeth, forcing any trace of humanity behind her. “I’m not one of you.”

  They both cried, stumbling back, tripping over the remains of the alien they’d just been eating. The blood of the Garce kept them young, gave them immortality. And this time, it would also be what killed them.

  Even though their wings unfurled, Nyx was faster. She pulled in the light from the moon, and wrapped it around her hands, soaking the blood ball in moonlight. Instead of pelting them with the flaming, sparkling blood ball, she shattered it and splattered the remains over their heads.

  She watched as they screamed and cried and tried to escape, but every time they moved, the shattered pieces seared their skin until they were both consumed in a low-burning fire, like the last coals in the darkness, burning from the inside out.

  Cole and Enika approached from behind on silent feet. Nyx barely heard them, maybe wouldn’t have noticed them at all if it weren’t for the fact that she could feel Cole’s eyes on her no matter where she was. “That’s awful,” Enika whispered.

  Nyx nodded, because even though she had caused it, and a part of her felt deeply satisfied watching them die, her humanity cried. Tears slowly snaked down her cheeks.

  “Any more?” Cole asked quietly, his hand brushing hers. She could feel his warmth as if from a distance, and she clung to it, shaking her head.

  “No. Just Garce now.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  UNFORTUNATELY, THE GARCE HAD ALL BEEN scared off by the Pys Nyx had killed, and although she and Cole and Enika searched for hours, there were no more to be found. Eventually, as the moon sank in the sky, they found themselves at the reservoir on the other side of the canyon from home, lying in the sand and watching the waves lap at the shore.

  “Remember how we were so obsessed with all the old buildings and the tunnels? You wanted to be an urban explorer.” Enika wiggled her toes in the damp sand, socks and shoes tossed aside.

  Nyx nodded. “Now we’re surrounded in it.”

  “It’s not as fun as I’d expected,” Enika said, pouting. Nyx laughed quietly, but she was hyper-aware of the boy sitting next to her. Or was he man now? She had no idea how old she was anymore, and he was two years older. He didn’t make a sound, and he didn’t move, just stared into the dark waves as he leaned up on his elbows.

  Slowly, because she couldn’t stop herself, she reached out and brushed her fingertips across his. He glanced over, a slow smile spreading across his gorgeous face and then sat up and slid closer, twining his fingers through hers and bringing her knuckles to his lips.

  She nearly passed out.

  Struggling to swallow like any normal creature — half alien or not — she cautiously, cautiously laid her head against his shoulder. She could hear his heartbeat — it raced in his chest as fast as hers. Within seconds, they matched, beating together in a rhythm she’d only ever found with him.

  “Do you think those big, scary fish with the sharp teeth are still in there?” Enika wrinkled her nose, inching away from the water. “I mean, the Garce have pretty much gotten everything else, but I’ve never seen them go into the water.”

  Cole stirred. “They aren’t scary. You’re stereotyping them just because they have teeth.”

  Enika sent him an exasperated look. “They have teeth for a reason.”

  “I don’t think the Garce like water. Pys do though. That’s how they killed a lot of their first victims. Singing from under boats, like sirens. It’s actually where the siren legend came from.”

  “They take our fairies and now our sirens too? Is there no justice?” Enika smacked the sand in mock rage. “Stupid Pys.”

  “Vampires too.” Nyx traced Cole’s fingers with her free hand, vowing to herself that she would never move from this spot. “It was the Pys that b
rought life to that myth. Dracula just got a bad rap because he was all blood-thirsty and evil and stuff.”

  “How long ago were they here? Why didn’t they stay?” Cole asked, watching her hand. She could feel his pulse racing beneath her fingers.

  “I think they’ve been here a few times, probably from the very beginning. But the Garce weren’t here then, so there was no reason to stay.”

  “So… we get rid of the Garce and the Pys go away too?” Enika asked, rolling over to plop on her stomach, chin on her fists. She swung her feet through the air, like they were talking about boys and school dances and not ridding the earth of the thing that had nearly eradicated them.

  Nyx nodded.

  “Well, okay then. Let’s go hunting!” Enika said enthusiastically, reaching for her ax.

  Nyx nodded toward the east. “Sun’s coming up soon. And we couldn’t find any, remember?”

  Enika shrugged. “Then we go farther away.”

  “That will take advanced planning. We’ll have to get food and supplies. Make sure we’ve got enough gas in case we can’t find any on our way,” Cole said. “We can’t just up and go.”

  “I can’t up and go at all. What if the Pys come back? They’re here for a reason. The Garce are attracted to the compound and all the people, and the Pys are attracted to the hordes of Garce. I have to stay close.”

  Enika frowned, plopping her chin back onto her fist. Nyx could practically see the gears turning in her head, searching for a solution.

  Because with Enika, there was always a solution.

  “We need one of your friends to come guard the compound.” Enika sat up quickly, eyes light with her bright idea. “Then we can go.”

  “Her friends aren’t as powerful as she is,” Cole said, his voice barely audible over the waves.

  Enika scowled at him. “How do you know?”

  “She’s the only one that went out on her own. She had to be stronger or she never would have survived.”

  “Well, I did have Keven,” Nyx said, but couldn’t help the warmth that shot through her at his praise. Cole thought she was powerful.