I swear when I glance at Sela, she has a sliver of a smile on her face, although it looks out of place on her lips.
“So, obviously there's something going on in the Abyss, and we need to find out what it is as soon as possible,” Jerol says.
“You said before that you thought that they were trying to find a way to bypass the Umbra, and move directly to the human world,” I say, looking at Father.
“That's what we suspect. I think Sela can address that.”
“From the information that we have gathered, I believe that they are planning an invasion of the human world, but in order to be successful they need to be able to avoid the losses that they would suffer in coming through the Umbra,” she says, her voice steady and monotone.
“What information?” I ask.
“I'd prefer not to go into details, but our interviews with captured demons, have yielded some usable intel.”
E ~ Interviews equal torture?
K ~ Probably.
“What intel?” I ask.
“Why they’re taking Shayd’s and human prisoners.”
“And?”
“Experimentation,” Sela says matter-of-factly.
“To create some sort of hybrid that can bypass the Umbra, we think,” Kateri says as goose-bumps crop up on my arms.
“Exactly, but we don't believe they've been successful, which is where you come in,” she says, locking eyes with me.
“Because they need a true Shayd—Human mix,” I say.
Sela nods. “We need you to find out what they're working on, what their plans are, and to destroy any research facilities and materials that you find.”
“Riiight,” I say slowly. “So, you all think I can enter the Abyss.”
“Yes,” Father says. “We don't know much about the Abyss, because none of us has ever been there. We can only guess at a lot of it, including how you can get there. I wish there was some sort of door, or place you could go, but there isn't as far as we know.”
“So, if we can figure out how to get there, what can I expect when I arrive?”
Father looks at Sela, and for the first time, she seems unsure how to answer, so Father steps in.
“We don't actually know,” Father says.
“You don't know,” I repeat, looking over at Kateri. “What about the ‘intel’?” I ask, making finger quotes.
“Their information is unreliable at best,” Sela replies quickly.
“Okay. What kind of resistance can I expect, how many demons?”
“We don't really know, but probably hundreds, maybe thousands.”
I sigh and shake my head. “Where am I supposed to go when I get there?” I ask, already knowing what the answer will be.
“We're not exactly sure.”
“Of course,” I say with a sigh and a small shake of my head. “What happens if the demon 'headquarters', for lack of a better word, is far away, like New York, L.A., or even London or Tokyo?”
“That won't be a problem,” Sela says.
“Why?”
“Because their base of operations is in Pittsburgh.”
For a moment, I just stare at them, unable to respond.
“Pittsburgh,” I say.
“Pittsburgh.”
“Seriously? You're telling me that both you and the forces of the Abyss have your headquarters in Pittsburgh.”
“PPG Place to be exact,” she says.
“That's convenient.”
“Makes things easier,” she says, with a little grin. “Why do you think we're located here?”
“That makes sense, I guess...if any of this makes sense. Always thought that building looked a little medieval anyway. So, you do think that I'll be able to take someone through with me, right?”
“That's what we think,” Father says, his answer less than reassuring.
E ~ Seriously?
K ~ This is getting out of hand.
“What about getting back, are you not sure about that either?”
“Not really,” Father says, lowering his head and breaking eye contact with me.
“So, let me get this straight. You're sending me to the Abyss, but you're not sure how I can get there, if anyone else can go with me, where exactly I'm supposed to go once I arrive, what sort of opposition I might run into, and to top it all off, you're not sure how I can get back. Not to mention the fact that I'm exactly the thing they're probably trying to create, and you're sending me right to them,” I say, looking at Jerol, Sela, and Father one at a time.
As we're sitting there, I can sense the anger welling up inside Kateri. She's purposely forcing herself not to think about it, but it's obvious she's not happy about this whole mission.
“That pretty much sums it up,” Father says.
“This sounds like a suicide mission,” I say and Father sighs quietly.
“This is crazy,” Kateri says, frowning and grumbling under her breath.
“Can you all give Eve and I a moment?” Father asks, looking at the group.
Everyone rises and heads toward the door, except for Kateri who remains in her seat.
“Kateri. Please.”
“I'm staying,” she says, crossing her arms.
“She's staying,” I say, backing her up and taking her hand in mine.
Father just nods, and I swear smiles just a little. He takes a deep breath and holds it for a few moments, before slowly letting it out.
“I know it seems like we don't know what we're doing, and unfortunately part of that is true, but a lot of it has to do with you.”
“With me?”
He nods. “You're unique, Eve. So unique, in fact, that we have to question everything that we thought we knew.”
“It's all new for me too,” I say.
“I know it is, that's why I wanted a moment alone. I'm not going to force you to do this. If you think it's too dangerous—”
“I think it's too dangerous,” Kateri says, interrupting him.
I give her fingers a little squeeze and then pause for a moment before answering.
“I know it's dangerous, that's obvious. Is there another way to get the information we need?”
Father shakes his head. “I don't believe so.”
“And if they are planning an invasion of the human world, we need time to prepare, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then I don't think I have a choice. I have to go.”
Kateri sighs and shakes her head. “This is a mistake,” she says, looking at me.
I nod and offer her a gentle smile. “Probably, but it's my mistake to make.”
“Our mistake to make,” she says.
“So, I need to know everything you know,” I say, looking at Father.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Over the next three weeks, Kateri, Reeva, and I spend nearly every waking moment in the training center. I wake up thinking about swords, knives, and crossbows, and I go to bed tired, sore, and happy, mostly because I get to spend the night with Kateri. Near the end of one particularly tough day of hand-to-hand combat practice, I look over at her and grin. She shakes her head and frowns at me.
“Seriously? Again?”
“Just one more time,” I say, giving her my best puppy dog eyes.
“Come on, now you're just showing off.”
“Please?”
“Fine.” She shakes her head and walks over to our bags and pulls out a deck of cards.
“Configuration seventeen,” I say.
Instantly, the room changes; parts of the floor rise, while others drop. The lighting becomes brighter, throwing shadows across the room. I've become decent at sword fighting, but nowhere as good as Kateri. However, my real forte is the hand-crossbow. Sela was kind enough to provide me with an amazing, custom designed model with bio-recognition built into the grip, so that no one else can fire it. I place four small bolts into the self-loading magazine. The carbon fiber and polymer weapon weighs less than two pounds and can fire four bolts in less than three seconds.<
br />
Standing by the wall, I watch Kateri cross the floor to an archery target on the far side of the room, maybe twenty-five yards away. She takes the three of hearts out of the deck and sticks it to the center of the bull's-eye with a thumb tack.
“Okay, let's see it again,” she says with a sigh, but I know she's impressed every time I do it.
I take a deep breath and throw myself into shadow just to my left. Immediately, I stream across to the other side of the room, and then link three more times off increasingly taller columns, before diving off the top, performing a forward flip and landing on the floor, just inches from where I started. As soon as I hit the ground, I spin and fire three bolts at the card.
“Ta-da,” I say, with a laugh.
Kateri retrieves the card and walks back over to me, shaking her head and rolling her eyes at me.
“Well?” I ask.
“What do you think?” she replies. “Shot through all three hearts.”
She flicks the card at me, which of course, I fumble and drop.
E ~ So much for my Superwoman impression.
K ~ Always thought you were, anyway.
I wink at her before bending down and picking up the card. All three of the little hearts are pierced through.
“I don't think Reeva enjoys that trick as much as I do,” Kateri says.
Reeva is a helluva shot with the crossbow, but even she can't best me. I chuckle as I think about the look on her face when I first showed her. She didn't talk to me for two days after.
“Yeah, I think you're right.”
“Come on, let's go home. I'm beat,” Kateri says, picking up our bags and taking my hand.
I love when she says ‘home’. I lost one but gained another.
We're walking back to our apartment when the boy who Kateri punched a few weeks back stops us just as we reach the elevator.
“What? What do you want?” Kateri asks, stepping up in front of me.
“Kateri,” I say, touching her shoulder gently.
She looks back at me and steps aside with a sigh, although she keeps a wary eye on the young man.
“I wanted to say I'm sorry about the other day,” he says, glancing over at Kateri, like he's worried she might pounce on him without warning; who knows, she just might.
“It's okay. I saw you at my mother's funeral. Thank you for coming.”
“I felt like I needed too, after what I did.”
I shake my head. “Don't worry about it. We're all good. Right, Kateri?” I ask, looking over at her.
She nods, although it's obvious she's still a little ticked off.
“Well, that's all, I just wanted to say that.”
“Okay. Thanks. By the way, what's your name?” I ask.
“Colyn.”
“Colyn. Okay then, I'll see you around.”
“All right. Bye. Bye Kateri,” he says looking at her for a moment.
All she manages is a small nod of her head. After he walks away, I turn and look at her, a sly smile on my face.
“You know, you don't have to be my attack dog.”
“I'm not,” she says quickly.
“Oh right. What was that, stepping in front of me like you were going to take a bullet?” I take her hand in mine.
“Well, maybe I'm a little protective of you.”
“That's okay. A little protective is cool,” I reply, smiling.
We take the elevator up to our floor, walking together to our apartment. The wall outside our door was scrubbed clean by the maintenance crew a few days ago, although you can still see the outline of original graffiti, if you look close enough. I kind of miss the community art board that the wall became over the weeks, but it probably had to go at some point. Walking inside, Kateri flops face-down on the bed. For a moment, I stand there and study her body, loving the way her tight fitting workout shorts hug every curve.
“I’ll be right out. I want to take a shower, but I’m too tired,” I say, heading to the bathroom.
“Okay,” she replies, not even lifting her head.
I run the water in the sink and wash my face. When I look up I study myself in the mirror for a few moments. With the constant physical training, I look trimmer, stronger, and even a little dangerous. My eyes are now just like Kateri's; a swirling pool of colors, although the primary hue in mine is green as opposed to her aqua. I grab the little hand-towel and dry my face before hanging it back on the hook by the door. I walk out into the bedroom and Kateri is already under the covers and her eyes are closed. Her workout clothes are on the floor in a small pile, and it only takes a few seconds before my join them. I slip under the covers and pull them up. A moment later, she moves a little closer to me, laying her arm across my stomach and within seconds, we’re both out.
Sleep is reluctant to release me when morning arrives. I'm lying with my head tucked into Kateri's shoulder and I want nothing more than to stay there the entire day. When I finally force my eyes open, Kateri is smiling at me, like she'd been watching me sleep for some time.
“Morning,” she says, sweetly.
“Morning,” I reply with a smile and a squeeze of her fingers.
She smiles back, and I know that's the thing I want to see every single morning for the rest of my life, but there's something I need to do first, and it weighs heavily on both of us.
“I'm worried about this thing with the Abyss.”
“I know, so am I,” she says, pushing herself up on her elbow.
“We have a meeting with Father this morning,” I say, burying my head in my pillow.
“I remember. You know, you don't have to do this, we could just run away.”
“I know we could,” I say, sitting up, “but that wouldn't solve the problem, would it?”
“No, and I knew you wouldn't go for it anyway. But I figured, I had to try.”
“Well, let's get this over with.”
After stopping in the mess hall for a quick bagel and glass of orange juice, we climb the steps to Father's office, expecting to find everyone there again, but this time it's only Father. He looks up from his desk and I can see the worry behind his eyes. We take our seats in our normal spots.
“Morning,” he says, as cheerfully as he can.
“Morning, Father,” we both reply in unison.
That elicits a true smile from him.
“So, are you ready?”
I look over at Kateri and then back at him before answering. “I am, at least I think I am.”
“Kateri, what do you think?”
She frowns, grinding her teeth for a moment.
“I think she's as ready as she'll ever be. More practice will just be a waste of time, but I don't like this whole plan.”
“I don't either, Kateri, but we have no other choice.”
Father rises from his chair and walks over to our side of the desk, sitting down on the corner directly in front of me.
“I'm going to give you another chance to back out of this, Eve. You don't have to do this. You can just go back to your old life and get on with everything.”
I take Kateri's hand and slip my fingers in between hers. “This is my life now, and I wouldn't give it up for anything, or anybody,” I say, gently squeezing her fingers.
“Okay then, let's get on with it,” Father says, nodding.
“Have you figured how I—”
“We,” Kateri interrupts.
“Have you figured out how we can get to the Abyss?” I ask, glancing at Kateri.
“Perhaps. We've always known that when demons enter the Umbra, they appear out of some sort of rift or gateway. We're hoping that that opening remains active for a short time after they arrive. I think that if you can reach an incursion point immediately after the demon, you may be able to use the rift to slip into the Abyss.”
“And that's how we can get back too, right?” I ask.
“We think so,” Father says.
“I still don't like this,” Kateri complains.
“None of us do, K
ateri,” Father says, looking at her, “but it's the best we've got.”
“Okay, so what do we do now?” I ask.
“We wait.”
“I don't like this whole plan,” Kateri says again as we walk outside into the parking lot.
“I know. I think you've said that a few times,” I say, trying to lighten the mood.
“I'm not kidding around, Eve. They're sending you on a suicide mission.”
“Sending us on a suicide mission,” I say as I climb up into the old truck.
Since Kateri found me out here a few weeks ago, this place has become our refuge from everything going on around us. We cleaned it up a little, of course, but it's still just the back of a rusted-out delivery truck.
“Yeah, that's if I can even get to the Abyss,” she says as we walk into the cargo area.
“We have to trust them, Kateri.”
“Why? Why do we have to trust them?” she asks as we sit down next to each other.
I take her hand and rub my fingers over the tops of hers. “We don't have much choice. I'm the only one who can do this.”
She sighs deeply. “That doesn't mean you have to do it.”
I scoot a little closer to her, resting my head on her shoulder.
“I wish it didn't, but I think it does,” I say while toying gently with her fingers.
She shakes her head and looks away for a moment. “I just found you. I can't lose you now.”
Her voice cracks and she wipes her face with the back of her hand. I know she's crying, but I also know I can't say anything about it, so I pretend I don't notice.
“I know. I feel the same way, but I have to go.”
She nods, her head still turned away from me.
“You're coming with me, right?” I ask.
“Try and stop me,” she says, finally turning back to me, an expression of grim determination and quiet resignation on her face.
Chapter Twenty-Three
When I wake in the morning, Kateri is already dressed, sitting in the living room, her feet up on the couch. She’s holding a mug in her hands, one of her sketch pads propped up on her legs.
All Things in the Shadows Page 20