All Things in the Shadows II

by B. D. Messick

  I burst through the door on the first floor and into the lobby, barely missing a young man in a suit in the process. A couple people look in my direction, but quickly go back to staring at their phones and tablets.

  “Eve? Are you there?” the radio on my belt squawks.

  I grab it and press the button as I dodge and weave through the crowded lobby.

  “Kateri? Where are you?”

  “We’re back. We should be there in a few minutes.”

  “How’s Syrra?” I ask as I push through the doors, bumping into a few people in the process and emerging onto the busy sidewalk.

  There’s a pause, which seems a little too long.

  “We’ll be there soon,” she finally replies.

  “Kateri.”

  “Just be careful. Don’t do anything until we get there,” she responds.

  I shake my head and look off in the direction of the Factory.

  “I have to stop him, Kateri. He’s going to destroy the Factory,” I say, and after a slight pause, I add, “I love you.”

  “Eve! Don’t—”

  I switch off the radio and clip it back on my belt. Grabbing my phone, I dial up Evan again. He picks up in less than a second.

  “Evan.”

  “You still tracking his earpiece?”

  “Yeah. It’s still on.”

  “Where is he?” I ask.

  “About five minutes out…maybe less.”

  “I’m on my way. Is the place evacuated?”

  “We’re working on it.”

  “Work faster,” I say before slipping the phone back into my pocket.

  I race across the street and fade into a shadow from one of the skyscrapers and stream up five stories to the top of a squat little office building. I link three more times, traveling three blocks without stopping. When I hit the gravel-covered roof of a white, marble bank, I skid to a stop and reorient my course. Jogging across the slightly uneven surface, I launch myself off the side of the building directly into an overhead power line shadow.

  I stream along the narrow, dark line, switching to other lines at various intersections, trying to cover as much ground as I can, as quickly as I can. Finally, after what seems like hours, I spot the roof of the old creamery. I link off the side of a small apartment building, to the top of a semi-trailer and then onto the fire escape on the side of a liquor store. I race up the stairs and onto the roof. Two more links, and I’ll be there, and then I spot him on the roof of the Factory; a lone figure crouched down near the door that leads to the heart of the building.

  I can’t decide what to do. Should I just appear right behind him and run him through with my sword or should I give him a chance? I stream across the street, linking off the top of a three-story office building and onto a slightly taller condo directly across from the Factory. I draw my sword and run to the edge of the roof. I see him stand and begin moving toward the door; the backpack hanging from his left arm. I fade and stream over, landing about twenty feet from him, blocking his path, my weapon at the ready.

  “Clay. Stop.” I say, not yelling, my voice calm.

  He glares at me. His face is tired, his eyes hollow.

  “I have to end this,” he replies.

  “End what?”

  “It’s time for the Shayds to end, so they can rise again. Better, stronger, purer.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  He sighs and shakes his head, as if there are too many thoughts bustling about inside.

  “This is all your fault,” he says, pointing at me, his hand shaking.

  “Why is it my fault?”

  “You came here. You’re not one of us…you’re a freak and everyone’s looking at you like you’re going to save us…like you’re going to save the world,” he says, his voice rising and falling as he speaks.

  “I never said I was going to save the world.”

  “Doesn’t matter. That’s what everyone thinks.”

  “Clay. You need to put down the bag and stop this, now,” I say, a more commanding tone to my voice.

  “You know, it’s not just that,” he says, completely ignoring what I said. “Then you go to the Abyss and come back with one of those animals.”

  “They’re not all bad,” I reply.

  “And you convince Reeva to…to be with him,” he says, his face contorting into an ugly mask.

  K ~ I’m almost there.

  “I didn’t convince her about anything, Clay. And those animals, as you call them, saved my life as well as Reeva’s and Kateri’s.”

  “Oh, yeah…let’s not forget about your girlfriend. It’s not natural…none of what you’re doing is natural, you’re destroying everything.”

  “You’re the one who’s destroying everything, Clay. You’ve killed a lot of people…innocent people,” I say, a bit of anger flaring in my voice.

  “Sometimes the blood of the innocent must be spilled to cleanse the world of evil.”

  I just shake my head.

  “I’m not going to let you do this, Clay.”

  “Why couldn’t you have just died on that plane?”

  I grit my teeth, thinking about the carnage that he is so willing to inflict just to kill me.

  I lift my sword; the light glints off the edge.

  “I knew that was you,” I snarl at him, before gaining control of myself again. “This is over.”

  “I told you, it’s too late.”

  He opens the top of the bag. Inside, I can see what looks like a block of light gray clay with wires attached and a timer displaying 0:09. Suddenly, Kateri appears behind him, maybe five yards or so.

  “Kateri! Get out!” I scream.

  I turn and start running toward the shadow cast by the building across the street. I barely take three steps when I’m hit with a blast of air that hurtles me across the roof, followed by a wave of heat that burns the hair off my arms. I struggle to remain upright as bits of debris pelt me from all directions, but it’s no use, and I fall, face-down, hitting the ground hard.

  My ears are ringing, and my arm is throbbing as I lay there, pieces of wreckage strewn across me. Tiny grey flakes of ash are falling like snow. I make a feeble attempt to stand, but I fail miserably, collapsing almost immediately. I manage to turn my head and after my eyes finally focus on the spot where Clay had been standing, there’s nothing there now, except fire and smoke and the sounds of screaming. Suddenly, the roof gives way and I’m falling. Luckily, I pass out before I hit the floor below.

  Blood.

  I can feel it on my face.

  I know what it is without seeing it.

  Nothing feels like wet blood on your skin.

  It’s warm at first, and then it turns cold as the life drains away.

  My arm hurts.

  So does my head.

  Smells like smoke…

  I slowly push myself up. Dirt, debris and other bits and pieces of the Factory tumble off me. My arm feels like it’s broken. The pain is nearly unbearable, and my head feels fuzzy as I try to steady myself. I lift my hand and touch my forehead and when I bring it down, it’s red with blood. My finger traces a jagged line to my chin that’s only interrupted by my right eye.

  “Kateri,” I mutter quietly as I take a few steps.

  Making my way through the rubble, I move toward one of the shattered windows overlooking the parking lot. I look up and the sun is shining down through the massive hole above my head. When I reach the window, I look down on a scene of utter chaos. People are running here and there like frantic ants, some of them with obvious injuries, and then I spot the telltale glimmer of blue that precedes the appearance of a portal just a few feet from what looks like a triage area. A few seconds later, a second one forms close by, and within the next ten seconds there are over fifteen spread all throughout the parking lot.

  “Fuck!” I mutter before fading and streaming down to the ground.

  The moment I touch down, I drop to my knees. I’m dizzy and blood is now running down my face
and my arm feels like it’s in a vice. Somehow, I draw my sword. I jab it into the ground and use the weapon to help me stand. A figure emerges from the portal and I raise my weapon.

  “Go back, or die,” I say, my voice unsteady.

  “Eve. It’s me. We’re here to help,” the blurry figure replies.

  It takes a moment for my eyes and my brain to work together again, and then Kyuki’s face comes into focus.

  “Oh, thank God,” I say before collapsing.

  She darts to my side as I’m falling and then everything goes black again.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  I can see them down below as they emerge from the portal. They slink like rats, staying low, their heads moving from side-to-side as they sniff and snort. Two of them look like the wolf-like beasts we’ve fought so many times before, but the other one, he’s a different story; at least seven feet tall, with arms like tree trunks, bright blue skin and multiple horns protruding from his skull. A sword hangs in a black leather scabbard on his right side. This is my two-hundredth incursion since the attack, and my seventh of the day.

  I lower my sunglasses, adjusting the round, blue-tinted lenses for a moment. After raising my hood, I stand slowly and watch the beasts as they move down the alley. I check my left arm; the prosthetic seems tight where it meets what remains of my original limb. The curved blade at the end of the artificial arm glimmers along its edge. I decided to switch out the normal robotic hand for this encounter; two swords are better than one.

  I draw my other weapon, spinning it in my right hand before leaping off the edge. I free fall for a few seconds before fading and linking off the side of the building on the other side of the alley. I reappear directly above the lead wolf. I slam into him, smashing his head into the dark, wet pavement. The satisfying crunch of bone shattering beneath my boots makes me grin under my mask.

  The other wolf turns and charges at me while his master remains in the background, for the time being. I do a quick back flip off their dead companion and raise both of my blades. The beast leaps at me and I easily dodge to the right, slashing as it passes by. I can feel the end of my sword cut into the demon. I spin around, my eyes searching for the big bastard, but he’s gone.

  “Shit!”

  I turn back just as the wolf bulldozes into me, pushing me back against the rough brick wall. My head hits the masonry and for a moment I see stars. The beast clamps down on my false arm and jerks its head back and forth. I lift my sword and plunge it down into the top of the creature’s skull. It quivers for a moment and then collapses. I can feel something wet trickling down the back of my neck, and I know I’m bleeding.

  I step over the body of the second wolf and look down the alley toward the sidewalk full of pedestrians, but there’s no sign of the other demon.

  “Where the hell are you?” I say to myself.

  The moment I turn back, I’m hit in the side with something that feels like a concrete block. I’m hurtled down the alley, my sword slipping from my hand and clattering onto the trash-strewn ground. I scramble to my feet, hunching over slightly from the pain in my chest from what I assume are more broken ribs. The blue devil draws his sword as he advances on me. I take a few steps back and then charge the monster. He seems unprepared for such a brazen attack and he makes an awkward swing with his weapon, completely missing me.

  I fade into a shadow just inches from him and then re-materialize directly behind him. I slice deep into the back of his left leg with my arm blade and he roars in anger and pain. His sword passes just above my head as he spins and swipes at me. I roll to the right, stifling a cry as the pain from my ribs intensifies. I spot my sword lying on the ground a few feet away, but there’s no way I can get to it before he reaches it. Instead, I rush at him again. This time he backs up, preparing for me to vanish, but I pass through the shadow and plunge the curved blade deep into his belly. I smile at my cleverness, but my celebration is short lived when he backhands me, snapping the blade and sending me tumbling down the narrow alleyway. I end up slumped over against the wall, my head spinning.

  Before I can recover, he’s on me again, his massive hand wrapped around my throat. He lifts me up as his hand closes tighter, slowly crushing the life out of me. I punch and scrabble at his arm, but my feeble attacks are futile. Eventually, I stop struggling as I accept what’s coming…maybe what I’ve been searching for? My vision begins to blur from lack of oxygen and then suddenly I’m falling, and air is rushing back into my lungs. I hear metal clashing against metal and then silence.

  When my eyes finally focus again, Wren is crouched in front of me.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” she asks.

  “I’m working,” I reply, frowning at her.

  She shakes her head and extends her hand. I wave her off and boost myself up, turning away as I do, so she won’t see the pain on my face. Just behind her, Trista is finishing off the demon, thrusting her sword deep into his chest.

  “Working, huh? Because from where I’m standing, it looks like you’re trying to get yourself killed.”

  I scoff at her as I head toward my sword. She vanishes and then reappears directly in front of me.

  “Are you trying to get yourself killed?” she asks, her hands on her hips.

  “No.”

  I step around her and pick up my sword, moaning as I bend over. When I turn around, she’s shaking her head again.

  “How do those ribs feel?”

  “They hurt, okay? Is that what you want to hear?” I ask, my tone bordering on hostile.

  “No, it’s not. I just want to know what’s going on with you.”

  I feel a little annoyed that she seems to be interrogating me.

  “Did my mother send you here?”

  “No. Mother doesn’t know anything about this, although I’m sure she’s as worried about you as everyone else.”

  “No one needs to be worried,” I reply as I slip the sword into its scabbard.

  “Yeah, right,” she says, and this time it’s her turn to scoff.

  “I’m fine, okay?”

  “You’re not fine, Eve. You are so far from fine, and you haven’t been for a long time.”

  I sigh and stare into her fiery orange eyes with clouds of purple swirling about.

  “You don’t know, okay? You can’t understand.”

  “Then tell me.”

  “You can’t understand how I’m feeling.”

  “Oh really? Is that because you’re the only one who’s ever lost someone? The only one who’s in pain?” she asks, her voice bitter.

  “No, I’m not saying that.”

  “It sure sounds like that’s exactly what you’re saying. We all lost people, Eve. We’re all in pain, but we’re trying to go on…so that their sacrifice means something,” she says, and I watch a single tear slide down her cheek.

  “I know that,” I say, looking down at the ground.

  She steps closer and takes my hand, intertwining her fingers with mine.

  “You saved me once,” she says. “I’m just trying to return the favor. You need to go home and see Kateri, okay?”

  She turns and steps into a shadow thrown by the fire-escape on the side of the building and streams away. I hear someone clear their throat behind me and Trista walks up, wiping the dark blood off her blade with a piece of newspaper as she approaches.

  “She’s right,” she says.

  “I know she is.”

  “Well, then, do something about it,” she replies before stepping back into the shadows and leaving me alone in the dirty, trash-strewn alley. I look down at my hands and the broken blade.

  I really do need to talk to Kateri.

  The door to our apartment slides open, and I step inside. That intoxicating scent of lilies and sunshine that inexplicably accompanies Kateri, fills the air.

  “I’m back,” I say as I strip off my hoodie, tossing it on the floor next to the front door.

  I walk into the bathroom and stare at myself in the mirror for a
moment. I look tired as I remove my mask, revealing the long scar that that runs from my forehead, across my cheek and stops at my chin. I think I sort of look like Hester Shaw from the Mortal Engines series. The dark red cloth design for my mask is most definitely stolen from the book.

  After wiping my face, I walk into the kitchen, grab a glass off the shelf, and fill it with water from the tap. I straighten the hand-towel hanging on the hook at the end of the small island. Moving to the bed, I sit down on the edge, glancing over at the monitor, watching the three lines for a moment before gazing down at Kateri. I brush a few stray hairs away from her face, being careful not to disturb the feeding tube.

  “Wren and Trista yelled at me,” I say. “I probably deserved it.”

  My ribs pinch me, and I take in a quick breath. I look down at my bare abdomen. The scars from the explosion are still visible, but just barely. What’s more prominent are the bruises, the fresh lacerations and scratches that I’ve collected over the last three and a half months. I lay my hand on hers, gently stroking the top of her fingers.

  “I love you,” I say, my voice unsteady.

  Her chest rises and falls in a comforting rhythm and I close my eyes, concentrating on the way her fingers feel, the subtle throbbing of her pulse and the sound of her breathing. I know I need to do better. I know I need to be better, but it’s so hard.

  Suddenly, the bell rings and my heart leaps into my throat. I slip back into the bathroom to retrieve my mask. After securing it, I look in the mirror for a few seconds before heading to the door.

  I press the button on the wall, and the door slides open and my mother walks in. She smiles at me, and I return the gesture, but then she sees the growing bruise on my side just under the edge of my shirt and a frown takes over.

  “I heard you were out again,” she says.

  “Did Wren snitch on me?”

  She shakes her head.