With These Wings

by Wendy Knight

  The broken pieces of Cole’s heart shattered.

  “Nyx, that—the world needs you both. I need you both.”

  A single, sapphire tear traced its way down her pale cheek. “I’ll get her back, Cole. Both of them. All of them.”

  He nodded. “I know.”

  “Time to go, Nyx. We’ve gotta get you in and back out before the sun comes up.” Keven heaved his backpack over his shoulder, gun resting in his free hand.

  “I have my super hero suit on, Keven. I’ll be fine.”

  The look Keven gave her told her clearly what he thought of her suit.”Does that thing protect you from the Garce that are practically parading down Wall Avenue?”

  Grumbling, Nyx snapped her goggles down and stretched her wings. Gathering her courage, she faced the armed crowd — one that only a year ago, had wanted her dead. Now they were willing to risk their lives to help her.

  She had no words.

  Blair winked. “We know.”

  And that was that.

  Keven stormed out the door, more surly than usual. Cole grabbed his bow and his gun and followed him out. “Where are you going?” Nyx shrieked, hands like claws on his arm.

  “I’m going with Keven. It’s a big bomb, Nyx. He can’t do it alone.”

  Her eyes widened in horror. “Then I’ll help him!”

  He half-dragged her through the door to the silent street outside where Keven waited in his 4-Runner. “You can’t do it all, Nyx.”

  “But—But—”

  “I’m not sending you in there alone. It’s not going to happen. And it’s time to go.” He had to shake her off, which hurt more than she would ever know. But they were running out of time. The smell of the Garce was nearly overwhelming. He didn’t have the strength to look at her again, so he climbed in the back of the 4-Runner. Keven roared down the street, away from the Garce. It wasn’t until they were turning the corner out of site that he finally let himself look back at her. She stood in the middle of the street, wings raised, chin raised, dark hair tumbling around her in the twilight.

  And tears soaked her cheeks. They sparkled in the twilight.

  I’m sorry, Nyx. I’m so sorry.

  The Garce rounded the corner behind her, swarming 25th Street like a black wave of horror. Nyx launched herself into the sky. “Move it, Keven!” she yelled as she caught up to them and shot fast, twirling in the air like a bullet. Keven shifted up and floored it. The 4-Runner leaped forward as they rolled around the next corner toward the freeway.

  “They caught the scent from the compound. We’re losing them!” Nyx yelled, doubling back and tumbling through the sky.

  Cole reached back, jerked the closest tub toward him, and ripped off the lid. Blood splattered across his shirt and stained his hands and splashed out the back of the 4-Runner, soaking the weeds overtaking the road.

  As one, the pack swung toward him, red eyes glowing as acidic drool dripped from their gaping jaws.

  “You got their attention,” he heard Nyx murmur.

  So they had. The Garce roared toward them, up and over and around each other like a great mass of darkness. Cole met Keven’s eyes in the rearview mirror. For the first time Cole could remember, Keven looked worried.

  “Faster, Keven!” Nyx shrieked, swooping down past the driver’s side window.

  Without a word, Keven shifted into the next gear and pushed the 4-Runner faster. But the Garce kept coming. Soundlessly, Nyx dove through the darkness toward the pack, snatching one by the back of the neck as she flipped end over end, taking the Garce with her, releasing it on her way back up. The Garce howled as it soared through the air and smashed into the freeway’s dividing wall. Spinning backward, she grabbed another one. Her hand and arm were bloody when she released it — at one point she’d been bitten, but she didn’t seem to notice.

  She’d slowed them though. They were angry, and focused on Nyx, snarling and snapping, climbing each other in an attempt to get to her. Cole tipped the tub and dumped the rest of the blood.

  Roaring, the Garce forgot Nyx and came after them. She gave him an exasperated glare as she soared up into the air, pumping her wings hard. It was then he saw that her wounded wing had somehow been torn again. Blood soaked one side, but it didn’t slow her. She landed on top of the 4-Runner with barely a sound. Cole only knew she was there because of the shadow looming behind them, a giant Guardian protecting the vehicle and those inside it.

  Keven shifted again. “We’re topped out,” he yelled through the roof. “Car won’t go any faster.”

  She crouched low on the 4-Runner, watching behind them, wings tucked tight against her back so she wouldn’t get blown off. The Garce struggled to catch them, sometimes getting too close, so that Nyx would dive off the car and attack, and sometimes they’d be distracted, so Cole would drop more blood. The road behind them was a grizzly horror.

  Suddenly, she was flying next to him. Dirty, bruised, and bloody, but her eyes, sometimes blue, sometimes brown, were steely with determination. “I’m heading up to their ship now. If I can get the door open, I’ll be back to take you and Keven inside and then I’ll lead the Garce in. Don’t throw anymore blood, okay? They’ve caught the scent of the Pys now. They’ll find them on their own.”

  One last worried look, and she snapped her wings open, flying backward and then up and away. Cole watched her disappear with a horrible foreboding deep in his chest. What if she didn’t come back? How would he, just a weak, stupid human boy, save her?

  Her voice seemed to echo in his head. The same way you’ve saved me every other time.

  THE REASON THE PYS had chosen Antelope Island for their base was because it was surrounded by water, with only one thin roadway from the city to the island. Garce hated water, although Nyx had never seen why. Maybe they couldn’t swim, maybe they melted, maybe they exploded. All would be acceptable options.

  The Pys were lethal to the Garce, and still the Garce craved them. She could tell the second they picked up the Pys’ scent, because their howling reached a frenzied pitch, and Keven’s 4-Runner could barely stay ahead of them. She turned away, swirling through the air on currents that carried her faster and faster toward the thing she’d been haunted by for the last year and a half. The ship still stood silently in the darkness, glowing slightly with the same blue light that swirled across her own wings and tattoos. She wanted to cry, or hide. She didn’t feel big and strong. She didn’t feel like a Guardian. She felt like a scared little girl.

  But Enika was in there. And Cole was depending on her. Running away wasn’t an option, no matter how badly she wanted to. She swallowed her fear, stilled her trembling by sheer force of will, and flew faster, landing on the ground several feet away and running lightly, wings tucked close. She vaguely remembered the door, through shattered memory fragments torn by fear. It had blended, of course, with the rest of the ship, but there were glowing scanners eye-height and a palm reader thing. It had been opened by the time she and Nima came crashing through — one of The Nine had figured out how to open it. But Nyx didn’t have a lot of time to fly in stupid circles and sprint around the cylinder-like ship. The Garce were coming, and she had to get Keven and Cole inside, bomb planted, and then back out to safety before the Garce got there.

  The stupid creatures had been faster than she anticipated. Her brilliant plan was all out of whack, and all she could do was try to move faster, think faster, be faster. She didn’t know what else to do. She’d gone around it three times and was nearly panicked beyond comprehension when she finally stumbled right over it. She almost sobbed, jerking the hatch open and slamming her palm against it. It lit up, and the eye scanners lit up, searching her retina for alien DNA.

  The door slid silently open. There was no decompressive gasp of air, no creaking of hinges. Suddenly it just wasn’t there, and Nyx was allowed entry into the ship. “Okay. Okay.”

  She’d been expecting guards, or alarms, or something that would announce her presence. But there was nothing. Peering hasti
ly inside, she could see no one, and there were no sounds at all. The entire ship seemed deserted, but she knew that couldn’t be right. They were probably lying in wait for her inside. She’d be walking right into a trap, but what choice did she have? Spinning away, she dove for the approaching 4-Runner.

  Keven slammed it into park and jumped out as Cole sprinted around from behind, the backpacks thrown over his shoulder. She grabbed a hand of each one and shot into the air as the Garce swarmed below them, some half-heartedly snapping at their heels before focusing again on the ship. Nyx pumped her wings, swaying in the currents. Keven and Cole both probably outweighed her by 100 pounds each, but Nyx was strong. She out-flew the Garce, got ahead of them and as close to the doorway as she could safely get before she dropped them.

  Neither boy hesitated. They hit the ground running, Keven grabbing one of the bags from Cole as they sprinted toward the blue doorway.

  A Py waited there for them. “What are you doing?” she shrieked, glaring at Nyx. “We don’t bring human men home!” Belatedly, she realized Nyx was not one of them. But by then it was too late. Nyx remembered her from the attack. She’d been one in the tunnels. Pulling from the overwhelming rage that washed over her, she sent an explosive blood ball through the air. It slammed into the Py and burst into flames. Nyx cringed away from the heat, snapping her goggles down to protect her eyes. Keven and Cole both dodged around the still-burning Py and dove into the ship. She didn’t even get a chance to scream in pain before she was consumed.

  “Where’s the central command center?” Keven asked.

  Nyx stared at him wide-eyed. “I have no idea. Do I look like I spent much time here?” she gasped. Her plan, her brilliant plan, it was all going to hell.

  “Look—” Cole started running again. “There’s a core that goes all the way up the ship. We take that out—”

  Keven followed and neither finished his sentence, but Nyx didn’t have to be a rocket scientist to know how it ended.

  “There’s a doorway up there, Nyx. Can you get us in?” Keven asked, swinging the pack over his shoulders. Nyx grabbed their hands and leaped into the air, pumping her wings hard enough to carry them up and away.

  Just in time, as the doorway was darkened by a thousand shadows.

  They were like a wave, roiling over the top of each other, blending into one giant darkness before separating again. With no problem at all, they made it up to the first landing, swarming through the corridors.

  That’s when the screaming started.

  It wasn’t the scream of hundreds that Nyx was expecting. Only three or four or maybe five separate voices in all. She’d just launched Keven and Cole through the doorway in the central tube when the blue lights started flashing in the darkness — the Pys were fighting back.

  “We’ll do this. Go find Enika!” Cole yelled, leaping from her hand onto the dock. Keven followed him and Nyx flew backward, watching them disappear around the corner.

  And then Cole was back. “Nyx!”

  She shot forward, her mind racing with ten thousand terrified questions at once. He grabbed her hand, pulled her against him, and kissed her like both their lives depended on it. “I love you.”

  She didn’t have a chance to respond before he had swung away and sprinted after Keven.

  “I love you too,” she whispered before she flew away.

  She’d tried her very hardest to forget what had happened on this ship. She’d blocked as many memories as she could in an effort to keep her sanity, and now she wanted them back. As painful as they were, they were the key to finding Enika and the others. Her frightened mind scanned through them as she flew up higher, trying to out-distance the Garce, who were having no problem making it from level to level.

  That hadn’t been a part of her plan.

  The Garce were supposed to be by the door, to keep the Pys from escaping. Instead, they were taking over the ship, and she had to find Enika before they did.

  And where were all the Pys? Why weren’t they fighting back? It wasn’t like them to hide, big, powerful warriors that they were.

  Something caught her eye, a small sign that she couldn’t read, but it was familiar. Following her gut, or intuition, instinct, or whatever it was, she whipped around and landed on the dock. Her feet pounded against the blue metal, but it wasn’t like anything she’d ever been on outside of the ship. It was soft and silent, like the bouncy stuff they made playgrounds out of, but most definitely metal. She raced through the corridor without making a sound, so pulled into her horrific memories that she couldn’t quite tell what was real, and what was not.

  They’re stronger because they’ve been fighting us. We made them strong.

  Nyx moaned, rubbing at her forehead. She couldn’t even tell if her eyes were open at all.

  Look at her. This one’s mastered her wings.

  Can we keep her, Selenia?

  Nyx shrieked, the sound of her own voice jerking her awake and out of her own head. She’d stopped running, and was huddled on the ground, wings wrapped around her protectively.

  She recognized this place. Forcing herself to her feet, she let her wings carry her down the hall and up to the next level. There, to the right, was the panoramic window overlooking the incubators.

  They were empty.

  There were no women in them. No caretakers wandered hundreds of aisles. The room was dark and silent.

  “There is no one else to further our race. You’ve taken them all from us.”

  Nyx gasped, spinning around. Instinctively, she raised a blood ball, holding it tightly between her palms. “Selenia.”

  Selenia smiled. Nyx remembered her being so tall, so majestic. But she was smaller than Nyx was, now. “You were my greatest creation.” Her voice was full of adoration and her eyes full of pride. “I would have kept you. Raised you as my own. You were too magnificent to be used as a host.” She tipped her head sideways, her sparkling blue hair shimmering over her shoulders. “But you ran before I could tell you. You took our hosts and you ran, and you’ve stopped us from finding others. We’re dying off, precious one. And it’s your fault.”

  Nyx raised her chin. “I am not your creation. And I would never have stayed.”

  Selenia pouted. “But you’ve come back.”

  Nyx stared at her, baffled. “I came back and brought an entire pack of Garce with me.”

  Selenia’s pale face went gray and her large eyes widened. “What?”

  “You took my humans. I’m taking your stupid ship.”

  Selenia pushed past Nyx, racing to the outer corridor. Nyx didn’t follow. Instead, she sprinted the opposite direction, toward the lab where she’d been created.

  It was nearly empty. On slabs in the middle of the room, there were three lifeless bodies. Nyx remembered them from the compound, and her heart broke. She rushed to them, checked their pulse, prayed they still lived.

  They did not.

  In the tubes, though, she could see RayAnna and Enika and another girl, all encased in the weird liquid she’d been caught in. The girl Nyx didn’t know was shriveled and gray, and the light above her tube was red.

  Red for death.

  Enika’s and RayAnna’s both were blue. She ran across the room, forcing the memories away, trying to keep her own head.

  “What are you doing?” Selenia asked, pausing in the doorway. Her face was tear-stained, and still beyond beautiful.

  Never trust beautiful things.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  “I’M TAKING THEM HOME,” NYX SNARLED.

  “This is our home. They belong with me. You belong here with me.”

  Nyx banged on the tube, trying to figure out how to open it. “Let them out.”

  “But they’re not ready yet. The DNA hasn’t taken hold yet. If I open it, they’ll still be human.”

  Nyx finally spun on her. “Did you ask them if this is what they wanted? To be turned into freaks like me? We don’t belong here, we don’t belong there. Everyone’s afraid of us becaus
e of you. They didn’t choose this life! Let them go!”

  Selenia’s forehead creased in confusion. “Yes, they did.”

  Nyx felt like she’d been punched in the stomach. “What?”

  “Nyx!”

  Cole’s voice bounced off the walls and into the room. “You’ve got five minutes, Nyx!”

  The bomb was set.

  Selenia whipped toward Cole’s voice and then back toward Nyx. “What does he mean? Why did you bring those men here?”

  “To rescue my friends. Let them out!” Nyx yelled.

  “But the change hasn’t—”

  “They don’t want this!” Nyx smashed her fist against Enika’s tube.

  “Yes, they do. She—” Selenia pointed to Enika “—said she had to do it. For her best friend. And she—” She swung her hand toward RayAnna, “—was the one that told us how to get into your home in the first place. She wanted us to come get her. Instead, we were met with violence.”

  Nyx moaned, her knees giving out. Enika. Enika had done this for her. She hadn’t fought to escape at all. And RayAnna. Nyx glared toward her tube. “I’m taking them home. Both of them. I don’t care if they get their way or not.”

  Selenia tipped her head. “But I need them.” She didn’t seem to realize that Nyx wanted to kill her. That Nyx was the one who had brought the Garce. That Nyx was not her precious creation returned home. No matter what Nyx said, Selenia refused to believe it.

  “Why? What use can you possibly have with two half-breed humans?” Nyx cried.

  Selenia’s eyes darkened and she was suddenly in front of Nyx, jerking her to her feet. “Because you took everyone else from me. You took them all!” she screamed, throwing Nyx across the room. Nyx’s wings tangled, unable to catch her, and she slammed into the wall. She felt bones crack and felt blood seep from the back of her head. Fighting to get to her feet, she stretched her wings. Help me.