Sky Ghosts: All for One (Young Adult Urban Fantasy Adventure) (Sky Ghosts Series Book 1)

by Engellmann, Alexandra

Pain choked at the squeeze he gave her, but he ignored that and hurried the guys inside, too, then slammed the door shut behind them. There were a dozen Ghosts of all ages, sizes, and nationalities, all staring at them with interest and worry. Pain looked over them with a scowl and turned to Peter.

  “What’s with the crowd, the usual guard is not enough for you anymore?” she said in her usual resentful voice, and Peter chuckled.

  “Yeah, now I’m sure you’re alright,” he said, waving his hand for everybody to leave the room. The fighters shot up through the hatch, leaving only one guard behind. Peter looked at the sisters, frowning. “That must have been a hell of a battle you’ve had there,” he muttered.

  “You too,” Jane replied, pointing at the blood on his gear.

  “At least, we have a place to back out to,” he said with a sour grimace.

  Pain came up to the guard’s desk and scribbled something on a piece of paper.

  “Peter, we gotta clean up the mess there,” she handed it to him. “I don’t know how, call someone. The sun will rise soon.”

  He looked at the address thoughtfully.

  “Okay,” he finally nodded. “Let’s go up there, you need some coffee, and we need to talk,” he suggested.

  When they climbed the ladder, they found a sad sight. The ground floor was crowded with Ghosts, bloody and battered, their gear torn, their weapons smeared with fresh blood. They were milling around or sitting in chairs which had been brought down and placed along the walls. Some of them were hugging their wounded arms to their sides. The others were supporting their comrades, staring at the wall nervously, as if waiting for something. There were three vending machines in the corner, and a bunch of Ghosts gathered near them, talking to each other in low voices. As Pain looked around, a bright light poured from her right where a part of the wall slid away, opening to a hidden room behind it. A man in a white coat showed up in the doorway, looking weary and nervous, his clothes stained with blood, his glasses askew. The additional infirmary, she realized.

  “We’re done, next!” he called out. The occupants of the chairs looked up and stirred, but the man pointed with his finger at one of them. “You, bring him in,” he said to some Ghost’s partner.

  The wounded lay on a few chairs, his head in his comrade’s lap, and muttered something weakly, clearly delirious. The fighter got up, taking his friend under the arms and carrying him inside.

  “Who’s that?” Dave asked with worry, appearing beside Pain and looking at the man in the doorway.

  Pain cut her eyes at him with a frown.

  “That’s Doc. He’s the best,” was all she said.

  Dave only noted that Doc was about his height, had tattoos on the outside of his hands, was about thirty-five, and somehow reminded him of some rock star. Then he disappeared behind the wall, and the door slid in its place, making the corner where they stood dark again.

  Peter strode off right to the coffee machine, waving his hand for a couple of guys to follow. They quickly got four cups of hot coffee and a few energy bars from the automats and headed back to the four of them. Dave grabbed the cup with gratitude, realizing that just an hour ago he was sure he would never do something as ordinary as drinking coffee again. Only now it dawned on him that they had lived through that nightmare, survived, and for a moment the thought that he had accepted the idea of dying shocked him a little. It was depressing: his thoughts, the space around him, filled with moans and muttering and consoling murmurs. So he looked at Pain, expecting to draw some comfort from her usual disdainful indifference or at least anger, but no, even she looked grim and thoughtful, staring into her cup of coffee as she drank. She and Chad had the same expressions, actually, and for a moment Dave just looked from one to another, baffled. The thought did distract him from the gloomy atmosphere: when the hell had they become alike?

  Peter’s voice broke the silence, and they all looked up.

  “So, we both have news for each other,” he started, folding his arms.

  “You mean Jerry?” Pain cut in right away. “We already know about him,” she added, stripping an energy bar off its wrapping.

  “Really?” he looked surprised. “How come?”

  “He called. From your cell, by the way,” she answered. “Did you see him since… I mean, is he… ”

  “Alive? I don’t know,” Peter shook his head. “I haven’t seen him, and nobody mentioned if they found the body.” He gave her a nervous shrug, and she just nodded. “And I thought I dropped the phone somewhere, guess I was wrong… Let’s start with your story then. There isn’t much to explain about this, really,” he looked around. “They just came, dozens of them, and trashed the place and everyone who wasn’t fast or lucky enough. We took down about a half of them, but at what cost… Some of them are still up there, and some of ours, too, while we’re taking a break. Eugene didn’t show up, didn’t call or anything. I guess no goal, just carnage. It’s just so like him…” he added the last words in a quiet voice, as if to himself. “So, what happened with you?” he asked in a more cheerful tone, trying for a smile but failing, so his face just turned into a grimace.

  The four of them exchanged troubled glances for the first time since they arrived. It was Pain’s duty to report about the night’s events, but she was hesitating. Should they reveal that Chad was a Ghost? Wouldn’t it be safer for him if no one besides the four of them knew, and would she feel okay with deceiving Peter? He was like a father to her and Jane, and she could be mean to him sometimes, but she never actually lied. Well, she did lie about the pot in Marco’s room, but not about something so huge. And would it really be a lie if she just kept the fact about Chad being a Ghost to herself?

  Suddenly, she realized that she was seriously considering lying to Peter for someone she barely knew, and deep inside she cursed, shocked by the idea. After all, if she told Peter, he might understand something in all this. Oh, for God’s sake, what are you doing! They were staring at her expectantly now, so she let out a loud sigh before saying as much as she was able to.

  “The story’s short: left the barn after the call, had a fight with three dozen Beasts downtown, Chad is a Sky Ghost.”

  Peter’s jaw dropped open for a moment. Chad only gave him an apologetic grimace. Jane frowned. Dave picked at his teeth, struggling with some peanut.

  “What??” at last, Peter barked out incredulously.

  “What I said. He can fly, throw people into the air and shit.” She finished her coffee and tossed the crumpled cup into a trash bin. “He’s a Ghost.”

  “But he doesn’t have the Mark!” Peter exclaimed in disbelief.

  “Actually, I have… ” Chad started, but Pain silenced him with a murderous look.

  “It’s concealed under a tattoo. He has the Mark, the glowing, the speed and stuff. He just needed an Initiation.”

  And now Peter frowned with suspicion. He drew a slow breath, giving himself more time before asking the question that he already knew the answer to,

  “And what you mean is that he’s just had one?” he said carefully.

  She shrugged, unconcerned.

  “He fell off the roof.”

  “Actually, I jumped- ”

  “He fell off the roof?? How the hell did that happen??”

  Pain opened her mouth to protest, but snapped it back shut. She couldn’t tell him that Chad did it to save Jane, not really. She was supposed to be the one controlling the situation, the one reacting at the right time, not staring stupidly, all paralyzed with fear and not knowing whom to save. She had never been in a situation quite like that one. Of course, she had screwed up more than once on her missions, she had made mistakes and paid with her blood for them, she broke the rules, she needed the others to save her from a hell or two. But never before she had to choose between her sister and a ward. Two wards, actually. She couldn’t just leave one of them in the middle of the battle.

  She groaned inwardly. This whole situation was just too crazy, she thought. How was she supposed to
come out of such a battle with no damage? Over thirty opponents – well, she still could try to fight them, but to protect someone in that chaos? The thought irritated her, and she knew at once what she would do so she wouldn’t have to answer Peter’s question: she would go on the offence.

  “I hate to break it to you, but there are limits to even what I can do! He’s alright now, our job is done! So no yelling for now, okay? Anyway, where’s Marco and Ryan?” she enquired sharply, seeing an irritated expression flash on Peter’s face and immediately subside. She knew he wouldn’t argue now. There was just no time for it.

  He shook his head, pursing his lips.

  “I don’t know, he hasn’t come down yet, and Ryan went up there to look for him. Must be dispatching some of the Beasts up- ” his sentence hung in the air unfinished because Pain was already storming to the stairs door, katana in hand.

  “Open the door!” she bellowed at the guards.

  “Pain, wait!” Peter flounced after her as he realized what she was about to do. “We’ll find him! I still have a lot of men looking for the wounded. You don’t have to go up there!”

  “Yes, I do,” she hissed, pausing at the threshold and turning to glare at him. “In case you didn’t realize, this was the first thing you were supposed to tell me when I came here. The first thing.”

  And she walked through the door with Jane hurrying after her, tossing her half-empty cup to the trash on the run. Dave realized that there was no one left with him suddenly. Chad was close on the sisters’ heels, disappearing behind the door before anyone could catch him.

  “Wait- ” Peter called out after him, hand outstretched, but he was already gone. “Oh, what the hell,” he waved his hand helplessly. The guard banged the door shut, and Dave was left to stare at it in confusion.

  “You better stay here,” Peter said to him wearily. “You’ll be safer, and Chad will be alright with them, I hope.”

  Dave only nodded, lost deep in thought. What was that about? Since when had Chad become so eager to rush into battle, being the one the Beasts came for in the first place? Or was he afraid to let Pain out of his sight, no matter if he was no help, really? He remembered their little private communication back on the roof. Well, actually he could be of help, in one case…

  He broke off the thought. In case if Marco’s dead.

  No, he couldn’t be. The fact that he hadn’t come down yet didn’t mean he got killed. He just must have been too distracted snapping necks all over the place.

  Dave sank into the nearest chair, putting his head in his hands. Finally, he was left alone, free to let his mind wander or doze, and he just couldn’t do it. He itched to be somewhere else, because the place made him anxious. Everyone around him seemed busy – except for those who were wounded, of course, but they sort of had an excuse for doing nothing – and he felt awfully out of place. Somewhere in Manhattan his fancy apartment was, all high-tech and extremely tasteful. He suddenly realized that in all these days he hadn’t thought about his comfort even once. Even now, just sitting here, he didn’t feel bored like he used to feel there sometimes. He could actually just slip away; he doubted that Eugene cared about him. He only wanted him along with Chad. But did he want to leave? Aside from worrying for his friend, could he just walk out of this building and forget about all this? He knew that the answer was no. Maybe he wasn’t a part of all this, but somehow being here he felt like he belonged to something important finally. Or like he wanted to belong.

  “You okay?” a booming voice broke the comparative silence around him, making him startle and look up.

  A gigantic figure loomed over him, blocking all the lights. He glimpsed a machete at the man’s thigh and realized it was Skull, though he could have guessed it just as well from his incredible size. He was like a black cloud obscuring Dave’s vision, and suddenly he felt very, very tiny. Like a hamster.

  “Yeah, I’m alright,” he answered hoarsely, thinking about the gear that Skull was wearing. Was there a clothing size for a man like him, really? How many Xs were there?

  Skull only grunted in response, coming to sit beside him. A week ago Dave wouldn’t even dare to open his mouth with him around, but now he was so drained of every possible fear that he didn’t really care, so he asked what was on his mind.

  “What’s up with you, did they cast you out, too?” He turned his head to the right, giving him a half-smile. Skull wasn’t looking at him, and his face was expressionless as he stared into space. His eyes seemed somewhat sad, his look heavy, but that never changed.

  “I’m Peter’s guard,” he answered simply.

  “Oh, right… I guess he only has one bodyguard now…”

  “Does he look like he needs a bodyguard?” Dave thought he actually heard some mockery in that deep voice, but he wasn’t sure. “Not a bodyguard. I only fight by his side.”

  “Well, he’s your boss, and I thought… Whatever. But it’s your duty anyway, right?”

  “Yes, it is. That’s what I believe.”

  Dave frowned.

  “Believe? Like, you don’t have to stay in here, but you want to?” Dave asked with weak surprise.

  “I just got back from the outside. There was a bunch of Beasts. Someone had to take care of them. But whatever happens, I’ll be covering his back.”

  “So you’re like his partner? Like Marco and Ryan, Pain and Jane?”

  Skull grunted almost imperceptibly.

  “Joseph was his partner. I just have the best chances to keep him alive, whatever comes next,” he said simply.

  “Then… Jerry was yours?” the words slipped from Dave’s lips before he could stop himself. “Sorry! Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that- ”

  “No,” Skull cut him off, and there was no anger in his voice. “I don’t have a partner,” was all he said, but the way he said it made it clear that he wouldn’t discuss the topic.

  Dave fell speechless. Whatever happens, I’ll be covering his back. He saw the skyscraper’s roof in his mind’s eye and Pain, not leaving him even when Jane was in danger. Not leaving when Chad fell off the edge. He wondered what some other fighter would do if he was assigned to him instead of her. Would he be alive by now if it wasn’t for her, protecting him all this time?

  He swallowed. The thought made him feel uneasy, and an idea sparked in the back of his mind.

  “Hey, do you have something for me to do? Some non-decapitating help? I really feel like doing something right now.”

  Skull looked at him for the first time during this conversation.

  “There isn’t much to do here, but I’m sure they could use some help in the infirmary. Just knock on the door, they’ll let you in.”

  Dave nodded.

  “Okay.” He got up and made a few steps away from him, but then paused. Turning back, he saw that Skull was already staring into space before him again. “When you said there was a bunch of Beasts outside… How many were there?”

  Skull turned his face to him – his black eyes seemed sizzling in the semidarkness. He mused for a moment, as if deciding should he answer this silly question or not.

  “Not many. A couple dozen,” he said finally, and Dave made an effort to keep his jaw closed.

  “Okay,” he responded in a thin voice and turned on his heels, heading to the infirmary and trying not to imagine how someone could take down two dozen fighters and not have a scratch on him afterward.

  Chapter 19

  “Where’s Marco? Did you see Marco? Is Marco or Ryan on this floor?” Pain called out, running through the Ghosts that were scurrying around the hall like bothered ants. They were all heading to the staircase, wounded and bloody, hurrying to the infirmary.

  “Check the fourth floor!” someone answered, disappearing behind a corner.

  “Dammit,” she muttered, running back to the staircase and dashing up the steps. Jane was following her, and Chad had fallen behind.

  The sisters stopped in their tracks as soon as they reached the fourth floor. The place was ru
ined. It looked like every piece of the furniture that had previously belonged to the rooms was broken and thrown out in the rush of the battle. The wide space of the hall was cluttered with bits of wood, glass, metal…

  …and bodies. Not only the Beasts’ bodies, there were also a few Ghosts, covered in splinters and shatters, lying in sick and unnatural poses. Pain saw instantly that they all were dead. Half of the lights were out, smashed. But in the dimness she was able to see that even the walls were ragged and sprayed with blood. The place was torn to pieces.

  She made a sound low in her throat, feeling the blood in her veins rise. Eugene, you sick bastard.

  “I’ll check the left side,” sounded Jane’s dazed voice from behind her. Then she jumped over the heap and landed softly on the other side.

  Pain darted to the right, taking out her katana. Some of the doors were thrown open, the rooms like black pits behind them. She walked along the wall slowly, peering into the rooms one by one, turning the lights on. It seemed there was nobody on the floor already. Nobody that was alive, at least.

  There were more bodies and broken furniture inside the rooms, and even the bunks were torn off the walls. Pain came out of the second room, turning to look for her sister. Suddenly, a tall, dark figure slid through the broken window at the end of the left corridor and landed soundlessly on the floor, holding two gleaming swords in its hands. Pain stifled back a cry because at the next moment the black shadow straightened up, and even in the faint light she saw the familiar light hair and black gear – it was Ryan. He nodded to her across the corridor and disappeared inside some room where Jane must have been at the moment. As soon as he left, another figure showed up in the window, in a torn sweater and jeans, tousled hair gleaming pale-brown.

  “Where the hell have you been?” Pain hissed through the space to Chad.

  He didn’t waste time on landing, just flew straight to her through the hallway.

  “I’ve found Ryan. He’s looking for Marco, too,” he said.

  “You’ve found Ryan…” she quoted him with a scorn, opening the door to a brightly-lit room. “What do you think… ” the words died on her lips because at that moment she looked around the room and spotted something familiar under a great heap of bodies.