With These Wings

by Wendy Knight

  Keven shook his head. “No, Nyx.”

  She sighed, standing up, making sure her wings took up as much space as possible, because she knew it made her look far bigger and more formidable than she actually was. She also let the plasma loose, so it lit up her wings and the tattoos covering her body. “If you won’t help me, I’ll do it anyway, you know that, right?”

  Keven sighed, leaning back in his chair. “Fine. Put the light show away. We’ll do a test run. Five bullets. If we can figure out a way to design them so your blood stays in when the gun is fired and doesn’t explode until impact.”

  “I don’t like this idea,” Cole said.

  She glanced over her shoulder at him. “It’s a good thing, then, that it isn’t your blood on the line.”

  “I’d rather it be my blood.” His voice was low and raw and full of pain and it tore at her because she knew that if he felt anything like she felt, and he’d said he did, then this was killing him too. Just being in the same room with him and not being able to touch him felt wrong. Like the moon in the day or the sun at night. But she forced all of that pain out of her voice because he was in love with someone else, which meant he might feel a little of what she felt, but not all of it, and she’d be damned if he would know that.

  “Your blood won’t do anything against the aliens though. Mine will.”

  Cole met her eyes, his gaze tortured, and for a second, she thought maybe he really did feel what she felt.

  “We’ve got an electrician and a mechanical engineer in the compound. If you can talk them into helping you, fine. If not, you’re on your own.” Keven shook his head, like he couldn’t quite figure out how he’d ended up agreeing to this asinine idea.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  “NYX, PLEASE DON’T DO THIS.” WHERE the heck was his persuasive little sister? Nyx never wandered the compound by herself — Enika was always leading the way, somehow thinking she was protecting the beautiful winged creature behind her. But of course, right now when Nyx was about to do something dangerous, and Enika was probably the only one who could talk some sense into her, Enika was nowhere to be found. Typical.

  Nyx sighed, turning slowly. “Why not?” Her arms crossed over her chest and her wings lit up, just a little. She’s doing that on purpose. He would have smiled if he wasn’t dreading how pissed off she was about to be. She’d really learned how to work these alien powers of hers.

  “Because it’s not safe.” He rose to his full height, which was still a good four inches taller than she was. Two can play these games, baby.

  She smirked, just a little. “How is it not safe, Cole?” Her voice was soft, almost seductive. Instinctively, he swayed toward her, his entire body aching for her touch. Her smile. Her kiss.

  And then he realized what she was doing. “Stop it, Nyx.” Stop reminding me of what I’ve lost. “It’s not safe because they’ll be taking your blood.”

  She tipped her head to the side, considering him. The long blue streaks in her hair shimmered around the black waves. “Before I was turned into an alien—”

  “Hybrid alien.”

  Nyx smiled, rolling her eyes. “—hybrid alien, I had to have my blood tested monthly for the Hemachromitosis. Which meant that they stuck a needle in my arm, and withdrew the blood. Same thing we’re going to do here.”

  He’d almost forgotten about the disease that had made her life miserable for the last year and a half that he had known her. They’d had to closely monitor her iron levels, which meant monthly, and sometimes weekly, blood tests. “Yeah…” He met her eyes, and as always, he was shocked to see the bright blue instead of brown, “But those nurses didn’t want you dead. The people here? They do.”

  She winced, her fiery gaze dimming as she stared at the floor. “I’m trying to give them a way to protect themselves,” she whispered.

  And he immediately felt like the world’s biggest jerk. His feet moved without his brain giving them permission, until he stood right in front of her, and his hand reached out, brushing one of the silky blue curls away from her cheek. “I know. I’m just—I’m just scared, Nyx. I don’t know what they’ll do.”

  She sucked in a breath, her chest rising and falling under the loose black dress she always wore, and her eyes widened. His gaze dipped to her mouth, so soft, so kissable. “Nyx…”

  He lowered his head, eyes falling shut, until he was snapped out of the self-induced coma by her hands on his chest, shoving him away. “No, Cole. This can’t happen. You’re in love with someone else, and I know you don’t want to hurt her.”

  RayAnna. He swore, tipping his head up to stare at the concrete ceiling. “No. I don’t want to hurt her. But I’m in love with you too, Nyx.”

  He could feel her watch him, searching his face, because no one in the world could read him better than she could. “You can’t be, Cole. Not anymore. We’re friends. That’s it.” She turned to go, but his hand shot out, catching her too-hot wrist.

  “Then let me do it. I’ll take your blood and someone else can put it into the bullets or whatever your plan is.”

  Again, she searched his face, her breath soft and fast. “Okay.”

  ENIKA SKIDDED HALF-WAY INTO the cafeteria. “Nyx… what’s up, girlfriend?” she asked slowly, glaring at the three men gathered around Cole and Nyx. RayAnna scooted over, patting the bench between her and Mike, the mechanical engineer Cole had talked into coming to their little meeting. Enika slid into place, smiling her thanks at RayAnna before she frowned at Cole.

  Nyx, for her part, watched silently, not answering Enika’s question. She hadn’t moved a muscle since Cole had brought the other men in, and he was guessing she was afraid she’d scare them off. “We’re just waiting for Keven.”

  “Good.” Enika eyed him suspiciously. “What for?”

  “Our little guardian angel thinks she has a plan to help us kill the aliens,” Keven announced as he swung around the corner. “It remains to be seen if it’s even possible.”

  “Guardian angel.” RayAnna smirked, staring at the table, not meeting Enika’s glare or Keven’s.

  “So what’s the plan?” Blair, the electrician Cole had found, seemed the least afraid of the hybrid alien standing stoically next to him.

  Enika met Cole’s gaze. “I’m not going to like this, am I?”

  Cole shook his head, feeling like his brain was loose and rattling around his skull. “I think not.” Nyx stood at to his left, arms crossed over her chest, wings sparking every so often to remind them all how terrifying she was. Mike, RayAnna, and Enika sat across from Cole, Blair, and Justin, Blair’s best friend. Justin’s fingers drummed nervously on the table.

  “Good grief. It’s like you guys have never been near her before. She’s not going to bite you.” Enika threw up her hands, and Nyx finally broke a smile.

  “We haven’t been this close to her before.” Mike slowly propped his hands under his chin and waited for someone to get things started.

  Nyx, surprisingly, took the lead. “Let’s just get this out in the air. I am not going to attack you or bite you or drain your blood. The only thing I have cravings for are root beer floats and potato chips, despite the fact that I don’t eat your food. Understand?” Her eyes were bright, yet so, so dark. Her gaze landed on each person, except RayAnna, until they nodded their agreement.

  “Got it,” Blair said. “So what’s this plan you’ve got?”

  “You guys need a way to defend yourselves when I’m not here. Something Enika said the other day — I forget what — but it got me thinking. I can’t come out in the day, but the Garce can. I can’t be everywhere, but you are all spending more and more time up top, which is dangerous when you’re unprotected. Obviously, we all know that it’s my attacks, my blood, that can kill not only the Garce, but the Pys as well, assuming I was strong enough to take down more than one Py at a time.”

  “What are you saying?” Mike asked.

  “We’re doing an experiment. Keven said we can try five bullets with my blood in
side to see if you can kill the Garce without me.”

  Enika squeaked. Her face paled and her freckles stood out more than usual.

  “How, exactly, are we getting your blood out?” Justin started.

  Blair added a question of his own. “And into the bullets?”

  Nyx smiled. “That’s what you’re here for.”

  “I can take the blood out,” Cole jumped in, before anyone got any crazy ideas.

  “So you want us to figure out how to get the blood into the bullets?” Justin asked. Cole wasn’t sure what he’d done before the invasion, but it didn’t hurt to have more heads in the project.

  “Yes.” Nyx nodded.

  “Okay.” Blair nodded like this was a request he’d gotten several times before. Keven dropped a bullet on the table in front of them, and all four men gathered around him while he explained what the bullet had to be able to do. Cole watched them for several long minutes, his mind whirling over possibilities.

  “We need to make a hospital run.” Nyx said quietly, so she didn’t disturb them. “Needles, syringes, gauze…”

  He nodded without looking at her, because she was so close it was all he could do not to touch her.

  “You don’t even know what her blood will do when you try to draw it.” RayAnna pointed out. “She’s got, like, fire in her. What if that electrocutes you or explodes you or fries you when you stick her with the needle?”

  Nyx frowned. “That’s a good point.”

  “So maybe we shouldn’t do this?” Enika asked hopefully.

  “No. I’ll do it. I can stick the needle in my own arm,” Nyx said firmly.

  Cole sighed. “No, you won’t. I’ll do it. You aren’t going to electrocute me or explode me or fry me. Drawing your own blood is dangerous, Nyx. Especially if you’re not trained.”

  “Cole, you don’t know what could happen.” RayAnna looked like she was on the verge of tears.

  “Well, while they discuss that, I have a surprise for you.” Enika looked ready to bounce off her seat, brown eyes shining excitedly.

  Nyx smiled. “I can’t wait.” She fluttered her wings as she stretched her arms. To Cole, she said, “As soon as the sun goes down, I’ll hit the hospital and see what I can find.”

  “I’m going with you. I’ll borrow Keven’s car.” Enika turned those big, pitiful eyes on Keven, who had looked up at the sound of his name. “Please?”

  Keven pulled the keys out of his pocket, dangling them in front of her fingertips, glaring at her. “It’s not a car. It’s a super-charged 2002 4-Runner with locking rear diff, a tundra/land cruiser lift, and tundra big breaks.”

  “Whatever! I need it!”

  “We need it.” Cole stood, also, helping RayAnna to her feet. “You aren’t going out there without me, Enika. Nyx might be able to blow things to pieces, but you can’t.”

  “Nope, I can’t. But I can whack at their heads with my ax until Nyx gets around to blowing them to pieces.” She stared him down, quirking an eyebrow.

  “Fine. I’m still going.”

  Enika sighed at him before turning and grabbing Nyx’s hands, bouncing on her toes. “Come see what I’ve been doing these past weeks!” k`1`2

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  “I CAN’T REMEMBER THE LAST TIME I had real clothes on.” Nyx turned in circles in front of her mirror, unable to keep the smile off her face. Wait until Cole sees me now. And then she had to reprimand herself because she couldn’t try to impress Cole. He had a girlfriend. He was in love with someone else.

  Traitor.

  “Yeah. You have a rockin’ body under that mumu. Who knew?” Enika stood back proudly as Nyx turned around and around, admiring herself from every angle. She’d been wearing leggings, because her regular jeans hadn’t fit anymore — she’d lost weight to have the “perfect” alien body. These jeans fit though. Very well. And the shirt — the shirt was amazing. Fitted, with slits in the back for her wings, reinforced so that they wouldn’t tear too big. Enika had made a whole new wardrobe for Nyx. It shouldn’t have mattered what she looked like, but it had. She’d been self-conscious enough, and the mumu hadn’t helped.

  “Where did you get these clothes?” she asked, meeting Enika’s eyes in the mirror.

  Enika shrugged. “Easy peasy. There was a boutique in one of the shops above us. It just took finding the right trap door and making sure no one saw me going top side.” She grinned, mischievous like a cherub.

  “You are my favorite.” Nyx hugged her, which felt all at once familiar and foreign. “You know that, right?”

  Enika scoffed. “Of course I do.”

  Cole tapped on the door above them. “One sec!” Enika yelled, and then to Nyx, “One more thing.” She scrambled under the bed, reemerging with sky-high leather boots. “Happy birthday. Or Christmas. I don’t know where we’re at here.”

  Nyx squealed. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d made that noise—it sounded like something from a different life. A noise a teenager might make, not a noise a part-alien-girl-in-a-war-for-her-world would make.

  But.

  But they were boots!

  Her mom had never let her wear heels. Or sky high boots. She said they were immodest. Now, here they were, in her hands, and she petted the leather and may or may not have made cooing noises. “I love them,” she said dreamily.

  “Good. Put them on. We’ve gotta get moving.” Enika took the stairs two at a time and swung open the door.

  “Ready?” As usual, the sound of Cole’s voice sent delicious shivers down her spine, and she had to swallow hard and pray for strength before she shot herself up there and begged him to forget RayAnna ever existed. Because that wasn’t right, and she did what was right. It was the only way no one got hurt.

  But you hurt.

  Yes. And as long as no one knows that, I’ll survive.

  And then she realized she was answering herself in a conversation in her own head. Clearly, she was losing it, even if her self made a good point.

  “Ny—” Cole’s voice died suddenly into a strangled gasp as she came into the light.

  And she smiled.

  COLE HAD NEVER DRIVEN through an abandoned city while trying to watch for alien attacks in the middle of the night to go “shopping” at the hospital. It wasn’t even a sentence he ever thought he’d have to say, and the pathetic part was that the main reason he nearly rammed four stalled, abandoned cars was because of the beautiful hybrid alien flying next to them.

  He’d seen her fly before. But not like this. Usually, she was a rocket shooting toward an attack — a missile coming to save the day. But when they weren’t under attack, it was completely different. She flew like she loved to fly, like she was born for it. Sometimes, like a butterfly, sort of bouncing through the sky. Mostly, though, it was like a bird, maybe a robin. She coasted on air currents, flying straight up, then stretching her wings wide and easing her way back toward earth. She twirled like a streamer, doing barrel rolls through the clouds, and she was glowing while she did it, the fire in her body awake and happy.

  It was one of the most incredible things he’d ever seen.

  “She loves it, doesn’t she?” Enika asked quietly beside him. Without waiting for an answer, she said, “I watch her sometimes, at night. When she’s on patrol. It’s the happiest she ever is. I have to work my tail off to get her to smile, so I can remember my best friend.” Enika’s voice had turned sad, and he reached over to squeeze her hand. “But then she flies, and she’s happy. And I can’t share that with her.”

  Cole hated the pain in his sister’s voice. She had lost so much, but she’d overcome so much and she had survived. “Remember in high school?”

  She smirked at him. “It wasn’t even two years ago, genius. Not all of us are as old as you.” Then she paused, lips twitched as she mentally calculated the timeline. Cole agreed. It was impossible to keep track of the passing months.

  Plus, he wasn’t old.

  Rolling his eyes, he maneuvered around an eigh
t car pileup. Bones still rotted inside. He tried not to look. “I wasn’t finished, little brat. In high school, she loved to run. Remember? You tried and tried to enjoy it with her, but you hated running. So you designed, and she tried and tried to love to design like you did, but she hated it. You both had different things that you loved more than almost anything.” He shrugged. “And you still managed to be best friends. She came to your shows, you went to her track meets.”

  Enika blinked at him silently for several long seconds. Then a slow, sweet smile spread across her pale cheeks. “I love it when you’re brilliant. You should re-think the whole soldier-in-an-alien-war thing and become Dr. Cole.”

  He chuckled, but was saved a response when Nyx swooped out of the sky, dropping next to Enika’s window. “We’re almost there. You guys doing okay?”

  “Peachy. Driving through an abandoned city is so much fun.” Enika waved her hands in the air enthusiastically.

  “I sense that you might be mocking me.” Nyx raised an eyebrow, grinning. “And I recall a time that we used to sneak into the abandoned schools in Brigham to go exploring… which I believe was your idea.”

  “Stop saying ‘I recall’. You’re eighteen. We don’t talk like that.” Enika shot back.

  Nyx laughed, rolling away and soaring into the air. Cole never got to see this side of her now. The happy, sarcastic side. She wasn’t so different, when he saw this side of her, than she had been before. It hurt more than he would like to admit that Enika got to see this Nyx and he didn’t.

  I was going to marry her.

  Now they were “friends”, which meant not really friends at all.

  He followed her bright wings as she flew up to the hospital. He hadn’t been near this place since before he’d taken his dad. Dad had been attacked trying to save Cole’s mother. His dad had gotten to come home. Mom never did.

  “I bet this place is awful, Cole,” Enika whispered, her eyes huge in her face as she stared at the once-white building. Nyx landed next to them, her feet barely touching the ground, and he put the truck in park and swung the door open.