Shadow Walker (Neteru Academy Books)

by L. A. Banks

  “Oh, you are dangerous,” Allie said, impressed.

  “Criminal,” Val said with a wicked half-grin.

  “Can you open the door?” Sarah looked at him. “No offense, but that thing that attacked Al looked really, really strong, like Titan Troy strong, and even he had to really try to get the thing open.”

  “I got it, no offense taken,” Val said, but he definitely sounded like he’d taken offense anyway.

  Straining, his sneakers sliding on the ground in fits and squeaks, he pushed against the hatch spinners.

  “But somebody with werewolf strength could get that open, if they had the code, right?” Sarah asked.

  “I said I got it,” Val said between clenched teeth, and slowly but surely, the huge spinner began to turn as the door eerily creaked open. “See,” he said between heavy breaths. “No problem.”

  “Look, man, it’s almost dusk, and they’re gonna be doing roll call right before dinner,” Wil said, standing on the platform under the library with Alejandro, Donnie and Tami.

  “I don’t know if this is a good idea,” Tami said, craning her neck and shielding her eyes against the last of the sun.

  “Listen, just be cool,” Al said, and then kissed her quickly before turning back toward Wil. “Plenty of time for me to make a reconnaissance flight as long as you and Donnie work together to try to get a beacon inside the perimeter, and Ayana’s girls and Miguel go on keeping old Mojo mind stunned over there.” He nodded in their direction.

  “One flight only, on this side of the dead zone, and hurry up before the light goes and you lose visual,” Wil warned.

  “I’ve got night vision, dude. Don’t worry. Just juice up Donnie’s and my PIUs and see if you can get a pulse back from the ones that’re out there.”

  “Be careful, okay?” Tami said in a worried voice.

  “I got this, baby.” Al gave her a dashing smile. “All Neteru warrior,” he said, slapping his bare chest.

  Wil stood next to Donnie. “Al, man, I hope you know what you’re doing.”

  “Hey, guys, before you lock the hatch, could we go see ‘em?” Allie’s eyes searched Val’s and Sarah’s faces, her voice so plaintive that they both smiled.

  “They are really beautiful,” Sarah said, hoping Val would humor her friend. But as she stood there, and the more she thought about it, a crazy plan began to hatch in her mind. “What if we talked to Mr. Milton about taking the Pegasus out with his Peguni to do a fly over to look for—”

  “Are you crazy?” Val said. “You’re scaring me, because you’re sounding too much like your brother.”

  “Come on, Sarah,” Allie said, looking between her and Val, “Be serious. Like, that’s why Aunt Valkyrie and your mom are out there covering the area from the air. Seasoned warriors, okaaay.”

  Sarah’s shoulders slumped. “All right. Fine. It was just an idea. I hate feeling like we’re all helpless, and the only person taking action—my brother—is taking the totally wrong action.”

  “If you’re gonna do something insane, I’m out.” Val folded his arms over his chest.

  “Me, too,” Allie said, stomping a foot. “The only way I’m going out there is if we’re just going to look at the beautiful horses, not try to attempt a raid with them. Promise me, Sarah.”

  “Okay, okay,” Sarah muttered. “It was just an idea, like I said.”

  Allie’s shoulders relaxed. “I bet they are really pretty.”

  “They’re magnificent,” Sarah said, staring toward the door.

  Val shrugged and looked up the steep steps. “Okay, but it’s getting late, so it’d hafta be a quick run. And that door is really hard to open, so…I don’t know. I don’t have a flashlight, so when I shut the hatch behind us, it’s lights out till we get to the top, and that’s assuming I can get the hatch up there open—could take a while.”

  “Can’t you just leave this one cracked while we run up, see the stables, then come right back.” Allie’s pleading gaze went from Sarah to Val.

  “It would be easier,” Val said, considering the battle he’d fought to open the door.

  “That’s a hell of a security risk,” Sarah said. “I dunno.”

  “All right,” Allie said, dejected. “Some other time, like five years from now, when they lift the outdoor ban.”

  “What could it hurt, Sarah?” Val said, letting out a long breath. “Right now, while every staff member and most of security is in emergency meetings or working round the clock on research, this is the emptiest I’ve seen the halls. No reason for any students to come here even without the place being on lockdown. If there was ever a time to go for it, it would be now, and I think Mr. Milton would be cool with us coming.”

  “Do you see anything?” Donnie yelled into his PIU, squinting toward the waning sun.

  “No,” Al radioed back, diving low enough to buzz the fields.

  “Tell him to come on, call him back,” Wil said in an urgent tone. “This was stupid, and it’s not gonna work.

  Donnie pointed at Al. “You see how strong he is? You see that wingspan? Like…those aren’t Valkyrie wings, his mom is part Powers Angel. Those wings don’t even get dirty.”

  “Call your buddy back before I do!” Wil said, then dropped the Tactical magnetic charge he was creating and that was arcing between his PIU and Donnie’s. “I’m serious. Before he gets hurt.”

  “All right, fine,” Donnie said, and then spoke into his unit. “Wil said to come back. He wants to stop—and if he convinces Ayana’s girls to stop, Miguel won’t be able to keep Mojo stunned by himself.”

  “Tell Wil to stop being a wuss,” Al shouted back, squinting. “I see something moving, man. Something right near the edge of the dead zone.”

  “Tell your boy to get away from there!” Wil shouted. “It’s demon distortion. The forest is crawling. If he gets too close, the negative magnetic pull will drag him in like a whirlpool! Get him outta there!”

  “I know they say three times a charm, but three times in one day?” Mr. Milton smiled at Sarah even as he shook his head. “Well, your friend is in for a surprise—I just brought them all in, barn’s full.”

  Delighted Allie ran behind Mr. Milton, but Sarah and Val hung back. Sarah wanted to ask him about potentially using the horses to help create a wider search party, but the look on Val’s face made her temporarily hold her thoughts.

  “That was nice, what you did for her. She really feels left out, with ‘Cinth sick and everything. This means a lot to her.” Sarah stepped in close to Val, glad he hadn’t put his shirt back on, and touched the dark bruise on his face. This time he didn’t pull away. “I’m so sorry. I wish I had healing powers like my mom so I could just erase what Al did. He was wrong.”

  “You do have healing powers,” Val said quietly, staring down at her.

  “I was gonna ask you about that, laddie—quite a shiner. Who gave it to ya?” Mr. Milton said, surprising them with his proximity and raising his eyebrows in a way that made Sarah and Val jump apart.

  “Long story, sir,” Val said, clearing his throat and walking down the barn’s center aisle.

  “Always is, laddie,” Mr. Milton said thoughtfully.

  “Oh, my goodness!” Allie exclaimed, running from one stall to another. “They’re beautiful!”

  “Watch out for—”

  Allie’s scream made every animal in the barn erupt in whinnies and start kicking their stall doors. She hit the ground butt first as Sophocles charged out of his pen, pawing the ground, clearly ready for war.

  “What is it, boy?” Mr. Milton said, trying to calm the agitated stallion. “I haven’t seen him like this since we lost those two fliers.

  Allie covered her head, and suddenly Peggi was whinnying in such distress that Sarah ran and let her out of her stall to comfort her as Val dragged Allie to safety.

  “Milton, Milton,” Mrs. Hogan said, running into the barn, wand raised and sparking. “One of the first years, that Neteru boy Alejandro, went out on a stupid attemp
t to find those missing students and got sucked into the energy of the back forest—that poor boy is in the dead zone!”

  “Find Titan Troy. He’s the only one strong enough to hold Sophocles!” Mr. Milton yelled. “Call Professor Razor immediately!”

  “No!” Sarah hollered as Val took off running and glided into flight.

  “Call him back!” Mr. Milton said shouting.

  “It’s my brother!” Sarah yelled, running alongside Peggi. “Val’s his best friend, a Valkyrie. He can’t leave Al out there any more than I can!”

  Mrs. Hogan, Mr. Milton and Allie ran into the barnyard as the huge red stallion broke free, not waiting on Titan Troy and went airborne in the war party.

  “We’ve got to stop him!” Mrs. Hogan shouted, sending useless glamour sparks toward the red stallion.

  “Give it up, love,” her husband said. “That’s Hannibal’s charger, and the boy who went down is a Neteru heir. Sophocles will die looking for him. Call Headmistress Stone and Headmaster Shabazz,” he ordered her. “Tell them the Neteru children and their friend are in imminent danger!”

  Chapter 31

  The images battering her mind were so horrible that Sarah pressed her face to Peggi’s neck and squeezed her eyes shut. Her brother was in mortal danger. She not only felt it, but saw it all in a terrible, intense vision.

  Brutal magnetic force clawed at his body like a riptide current, the tendrils of its dark energy tangling his body in their horrifying grip. He lost altitude at a breath-stealing velocity, making the gnarled twists of black tree limbs seem as though they were reaching for him, yearning for his body and blood. Unable to fight gravity, he slammed into a blackened oak. They both heard and felt his wing snap just like a dead branch.

  Sarah cried out at the same time Alejandro released a long yell of agony that echoed as his body continued to careen from snapping branch to snapping branch before finally coming to rest in a heap on the dank forest floor.

  Groaning, she felt the pain in his shoulder stabbing into his back and spine as he finally opened his eyes and turned to survey the damage, only to quickly shut them again. But she saw what was coming for him.

  “Get up,” she screamed, making Peggi fly faster.

  She wanted to hurl as nausea roiled in Alejandro’s stomach. One of his glorious wings was broken. Jagged bone had torn through the skin and bloodied the once-pristine white feathers, which were now gray and covered with filth.

  Panting, her brother couldn’t even drag himself to the base of the tree. “Oh, God, oh, God, oh God, this hurts,” he whispered between his fangs, then let out another scream as the bone slid at an odd angle. “Oh, Jesus…” Blood and saliva mixed in his mouth until the pain finally made him hurl.

  Two inches from his own vomit, all he wanted to do was die—until he heard the howls. Shuddering and clutching the Peguni’s mane, tears wet Sarah’s face as terror made her repeatedly call out to him, “Al, get up! Get up!”

  Sudden adrenaline helped him lift his head. His keen hearing picked up the sound of snuffles in the distance, footfalls, snapping branches. Frantic, he glanced around for anything he could use as a weapon. The ground was barren. Gnarled roots were so thick and dug in so deeply that even if he’d been uninjured, they would have been impossible to break lose. The rocks that bit into his skin were the crests of boulders, mammoth and half buried.

  Survival instinct told him that he had to move. He seemed to be straining toward Sarah’s insistent calls. Something quiet and deadly inside his mind told him that, as much as the broken wing hurt, getting eaten alive by walkers would be horrific and a hundred times worse. As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Sarah screamed, almost feeling his pending death. Her brother had to get up! He’d lost himself momentarily to despair, until a lonely howl cut through his pain and brought him back to reason.

  Alejandro clawed the ground and finally pushed himself up with one arm, then clambered to his feet, wincing, sweat pouring off his face and favoring the left wing as he stumbled forward. He tried to remain quiet, stopping every few feet to pant like he was giving birth, blood running from his mouth where his fangs had punctured his tongue. Revenge was far away from his mind now, seemed so pointless as he struggled to live. How many times had his mom told him that he couldn’t bargain with God? How many times had Nana Marlene said the same thing? Sarah said a silent prayer—Dear God, please save my brother!

  Al slumped against a tree trunk for a moment to spit blood and gasp for air. “I swear, God,” he rasped out, eyes closed, “I’ll change my ways. Just get me out of here in one piece.”

  After a moment he opened his eyes and saw a drop of blood from his wound hit the top of his sneaker, then watched as the black earth slid over this shoe, as though licking it. When it receded, it left black, wriggling maggots in its wake, and as he turned back to look at his path, he saw that everywhere he’d bled there stood a small, gargoylelike demon with red gleaming eyes, savoring his life essence.

  “Run!” Sarah shouted against the wind.

  Run. His mind shouted the command. Run.

  So he did.

  A sea of thousands of glowing red eyes and tiny, slimy, deformed demon bodies gave chase. Branches slapped his face and jarred his injured wing, making him cry out, but he had to push on. Glowing golden eyes suddenly opened in a huge tree as he knocked into it in passing. Vicious vampire bats rose up like a dark cloud from its branches, coalesced into a black funnel and then bore down on him, tearing up trees by the roots with the splintering force of a tornado.

  Al zigzagged as if he were running a football play, and the effort paid off as the bats saw the gargoyles chasing what they considered their meal. The two groups of predators collided in a vicious, snarling, high-pitched battle. Small black beetles and scorpions poured over the ridge in a nasty carpet, sending him in a different direction that he was sure was taking him farther into the darkness.

  It was as though the darkness was corralling him like a farm animal to be butchered—exhausting him, sending him this way and that, until pain, blood loss and fatigue would win.

  Heavy branches broke before him, all around him. He spun wildly, knowing he was surrounded, holding the injured wing. And then they stepped from behind the trees, eyes vacant, teeth yellow and twisted, mouths black holes…hands reaching.

  Complete terror shot through Al’s nervous system and connected to Sarah’s as he looked around wildly and spotted a path that had the fewest of the circling walkers. He stared at one of them, determined to lower his good shoulder and take it out in a football rush, but suddenly it screamed and held its face as its head exploded. He looked at the one behind it, and the same thing happened, and then they all started coming at him.

  Al leaped over the two shuddering bodies. His silver stare and his fangs were his only defense. Then something huge came out of the thicket and lunged. He didn’t see it, just felt it coming and had only seconds to go down on one knee. The attacker hurtled over his head in a blur, then began to take out the walkers like bowling pins.

  Sarah was glad he didn’t wait to watch the carnage. Her voice was hoarse now from screaming into the whipping wind. Her brother’s internal sense of direction was beginning to return, his Neteru homing sense. Together they could hear the bone-crunching battle going on between what they now knew from the growls was a werewolf and the walkers. The fight for food—human blood—was to the death, but Alejandro and Sarah couldn’t count on it lasting for long.

  A stabbing pain shot into his third eye. His sister’s voice was screaming his name. Val, airborne, was yelling that he was on the way. Alejandro stopped for a second, coughing blood, getting his bearings, then headed off toward their voices and the light.

  The huge red stallion crashed through the green fields just before the land turned black. Val glided to a running stop, and Peggi and Sarah alit beside him. She slid to the ground and saw that her Collectors were going wild, screeching and squealing and running between her and Sophocles. The warhorse reared
and pranced, his loud vocal protest added to the stomping of his hooves.

  “We can’t take him in there, Sarah. He can’t spread his wings, could break a leg. I’ve gotta go in on foot, find Al and bring him out, and then we’ll all get out of here on the horses. You stay—”

  “Not on your life! He’s my brother, and you’re…special. So hell no, I’m not staying out here in the dark just waiting to hear you eaten.”

  “Then what?” Val said, spreading his arms in question. “We don’t even know where he is!”

  “He’ll find me,” Sarah said. “I’m his twin…well, at least we shared the same womb. And I know this much about war horses—they go in where angels fear to tread. My parents flew them right into Hell, and that forest’s a portal to Hell, so we ride.”

  Sophocles bowed to allow Val to mount him, and Peggi went down low and whinnied for Sarah to hop back on as Beep and Bop ran headlong into the darkness. At a breakneck gallop, Peggi led the way, her unicorn horn turning a hot glowing white and then discharging a laserlike blast that blasted away enough trees for Sophocles to spread his wings. Beep and Bop scampered up trees and leaped over boulders, keeping pace and slashing out with showy claws as they ran.

  “This is how they said it was done!” Sarah shouted, feeling something new and indefinable snap to life inside her. Her brother’s life was at stake; there was nothing scarier than that. If her shadows could help them now, so be it.

  They had to get to Alejandro! It no longer mattered that she’d always been afraid of the dark, always scared of what might come crawling out from under the bed. But as Peggi white-lighted a flight path, Sophocles torched everything beneath him, and Beep and Bop scampered beside her, a sense of power rose within her, even as dark and threatening shadows closed in behind her. A war cry burst forth from her lungs, raced up her throat and cut through the night. Beep and Bop jetted in front of her, inking the passage and attacking anything that entered the path.

  “Lelelelelelelele!” she shrieked, swooping over Harpies and gargoyles and thick-bodied black serpents, Sophocles left everything burning in their wake, and then—finally—she saw a small form huddled by a tree.