Skye wasted no time. He left the blade hovering in place and then burst into the restaurant. He turned right and ran straight to the young man sitting in the booth, whose jaw had dropped after watching the entire encounter through the window.
“Come with me,” Skye said, grabbing the boy's arm.
Roman let out a terrified wail. “Help! Someone help me!”
His cries fell on deaf ears. Everyone inside was too shocked to even move. Skye picked Roman up by the torso and flung him over his shoulder. He then ran back outside and, with relative ease, leapt upwards. The blade ripped itself from Night's face and followed. Skye flew up and landed softly on the roof of the building he was sitting on earlier. He placed Roman back down on his feet beside Tango.
“Please don't kill me!” the boy pleaded.
“We're not going to kill you,” Skye assured him. “We're here to save you. But you have to come with us right now or you'll die.” His voice had a strong sense of urgency to it.
“What have you done!” Ren shouted.
“That wasn't a smart move,” Tango cautiously agreed.
“I know!” Skye snapped back, not appreciating his colleagues stating the obvious. “But what else could I have done?”
Roman tried to keep calm, but his heart felt as though it was going to explode out of his chest. “I don't understand,” he admitted, his voice trembling with fear. His eyes widened as another wave of adrenaline surged through his terrified body.
“You will. Right now, all you need to do is run.”
“Look out!” Tango screamed as he tackled Roman to the concrete. Less than a second later a glowing black ball crashed into the large air vent where he was just standing. The metal buckled as the vent caved in on itself.
Roman shrieked, and looked up at a neighbouring tall building. On top stood Tahlia. She moved her hands in a trance-like gesture, skilfully crafting a ball of black energy in her palm. She thrust it downwards at the building below.
There was no time for practising his telekinesis. Skye grabbed his sword with lightning speed and sliced the ball in half before it reached them, dissipating the dark energy and sending scorching black embers across the rooftop. Roman's panicked state intensified.
“Let's go, now!” Skye ordered. He picked Roman up and placed him on his shoulder again. He held him with his left hand while carrying the sword in his right, and started running. Roman, frozen with terror, lay seemingly lifeless while draped over Skye's shoulder.
“What's happening?” Ren asked. “I can't see where you are.”
“Tahlia's attacking us. There's another coming!” said Tango, gazing up at another ball of energy.
The woman in black held the ball, ready to throw it at her fleeing targets.
She turned around suddenly, distracted by something that caught her attention. A second later she screamed in agony as a crossbow bolt ripped through her forearm, wedging itself deep in her skin. Blood seeped from the wound and dripped onto the roof below. She released the dark energy, which vaporised into nothingness. Tahlia winced as she crouched down and then vanished into the air.
“Thanks, Sierra,” Skye said to the short woman who landed next to him from high above.
“Quickly, let's go,” she said, her facial expression blank. She grabbed Tango, awkwardly carrying him in the same fashion as Roman, then leapt onto the roof of another nearby low building. Skye followed without a second thought. They ran along the rooftops, running as fast as they could to escape any further danger.
“Echo, start the van,” Skye said into his headset.
“Already have,” Echo's voice spoke back.
They jumped onto the next structure; a car parking facility. They sprinted down the ramp, running past the luxury sedans typically found in the district, and made their way to their old yellow van nearby. Echo was standing outside waiting for them.
“We've made it back to the van,” Skye informed Ren.
They placed Tango and Roman back on their feet. Echo grabbed the side door and opened it for them. He was startled to see Nikolai sitting inside.
“Going somewhere?” Nikolai asked as he climbed out. Roman shrieked when he saw the man.
Skye stood tall. “He's coming with us.”
Nikolai laughed softly. “Obviously.”
Tango jumped forward and swung a fist at Nikolai, who stepped aside and grabbed his arm, thrusting him into the door of the van. Echo joined in on the attack, raising his leg in an attempt to kick Nikolai in the face. Nikolai vanished and reappeared behind Echo, grabbing him by the neck and throwing him down to the concrete.
“I don't know why you bother,” Nikolai laughed. He grabbed Roman's torso with one arm, lifting him off the ground. The boy screamed, filling the silent parking facility with a terrified roar.
Skye pressed the small button on his sword handle, ejecting the blade outwards. He threw it at Nikolai, who raised his arm and grabbed it before it could slice his neck.
Skye dropped down and tried to kick Nikolai in the knee, but the towering man instead kneed Skye in the face, stunning him and knocking him back to the ground.
“Apologies, brother,” Nikolai said, regretting attacking his former friend. He turned his attention to Sierra, who simply stared up at him. “You're not going to assist your comrades?”
“Where's Tahlia?” she asked, changing the subject to one that was more to her liking.
Nikolai laughed at the odd question. “An enigmatic one, you are. Your friends need your assistance, yet you offer them nothing.”
“Is that Nikolai's voice?” Ren asked through the headset, disappointed.
“It is,” Skye replied as he climbed to his feet. Tango and Echo picked themselves up too.
The four figures stood facing the powerful man in a silent standoff. Moments passed. Skye stared up into the gaping eye sockets of his towering enemy.
“Kill him!” Roman screamed as he tried to wriggle his way out of Nikolai's powerful grasp. No one made any attempt to do so. They all stood poised, waiting for the stalemate to cease.
“They can't,” Nikolai admitted with a grin. “They know they can't, yet they still try. Admirable, but foolish.”
“I said he's coming with us,” Skye warned, narrowing his eyes at his enemy.
“As you've already informed me,” Nikolai said. “Alternatively, I can have him killed swiftly right now. Surely it's better than a slow and dishonourable death, much like our friend Foxtrot at the hands of the Tianzu.”
Tango took a step forward, but Echo held his hand in front of him, indicating to stay back.
Skye gritted his teeth and briefly contemplated launching another attack, but knew it would be a pointless manoeuvre. “He's innocent. He doesn't pose a threat to you.”
“And you said the same thing about Jacinta,” Nikolai said, referring to Juliet, “yet she sits back at your base attempting to locate me. How am I to know that this boy won't be breaking into my quarters months from now and attacking me in my slumber?”
The friction between Skye and Nikolai intensified as they glared at one another.
“Last chance,” Skye threatened for a final time.
“It will be a swift death, I promise. Just say the word,” Nikolai grinned, placing his free hand around Roman's neck.
Skye took a step forward. “You'll have to kill us first,” he declared confidently. Sierra looked up at him and noticed a slight smirk on his face.
Nikolai laughed loudly, pleased with the coup. “The answer that I was secretly hoping for.” He removed his hand from Roman's neck and placed it on Skye's shoulder. “Let us have a little fun then, shall we?”
He hurled Roman at Skye, knocking him back to the ground. Echo knelt down and helped the two climb to their feet.
Nikolai stared down at Skye and offered him a sadistic grin, clearly pleased with the prospect of getting to hunt Roman slowly. He held his hand to his head and offered a respectful salute to his friend, before vanishing into nothingness.
Wasting no mor
e time, Sierra climbed into the driver's side of the van. Tango and Echo ushered Roman through the side door.
“He's gone, Ren. We're on our way home,” Skye said.
“Where am I going?” Roman asked, his voice trembling from the extraordinary last few minutes.
“It's okay,” Skye offered as he climbed in behind him. “You'll be fine. We're here to help.”
He closed the sliding door after Echo and Tango were inside, and the van started driving down the ramp toward ground level.
“Who are you people?” Roman asked, frantically looking back and forth between them all.
Echo gasped loudly. “Look!”
The others all turned to see what he was staring at outside the window. A short distance away, high up on a nearby building stood a man in a blue shirt. He watched the van speed away but made no attempt to pursue it.
“He's just staring at us,” Echo continued.
“What is it?” Roman asked with panic, uncertain what he was looking at.
“Do you think he's one of them?” Tango asked, ignoring the boy's question. “Juliet said there was one more elite in the city.”
Skye watched on. There was no doubt in his mind that the man they were looking at was one of the Tianzu. “Absolutely.”
Tango gritted his teeth, not wanting to lose the opportunity to pursue the man. “Stop the van!”
“No!” Skye yelled back. “We need to get out of here before the others arrive,” he said, referring to the remaining Black Dawn personnel.
Tango didn't protest any further. As much as he wanted to fight, he knew that Skye was right. The four of them would be greatly outnumbered if they stayed. Their best strategy now was to return to base and plan their next move.
“What is it?” Ren asked. “What's happening?”
“The other person Juliet detected,” Skye said. “He's one of the Tianzu.”
Ren paused for a moment. “Do we know him? Have we seen him before?”
“No. He might be the one that Delta sensed before she left Athenia.” The man in blue stared downwards, never once taking his gaze away from them.
“Get back here as fast as you can,” Ren said. “Don't go near him.”
Tango stared out the window, barely able to contain his rage. “We won't.”
The van continued driving through the streets until the man disappeared from sight.
Eleven
The van navigated its way through the busy streets of Shangwu Qu. While the vast majority of commuters opted to ride the subway into the city, there were still more than enough cars filling the roads. In order to combat accidents and traffic jams, the government wisely eliminated vehicles from much of the district by transforming several of the roads into a series of interconnecting promenades.
Sierra turned right and proceeded down Jalan Raya. Stretching from the east end of the island to the west, it was the main arterial that intersected Athenia. Roman lay on the floor of the van, trying to keep his breathing under control.
“What's happening? Who are you people?” he asked again, desperate for an answer. “Who were those people?”
“We'll explain everything soon,” Skye said. “For now, just keep calm.”
“Calm?” Roman retorted. “How can you possibly expect me to keep calm! They just tried to kill me!”
The van drove along in silence. The other four knew there was little they could say or do at this stage. Roman would eventually have to accept the dangerous game that he had just entered.
“He sees you as a threat,” Skye finally explained. “That's why he wanted to kill you.”
“Me?” he asked, astonished. “How could I possibly be a threat?” Roman's mind was in a state of shock.
“You recently had a realisation. You reached a certain conclusion and you felt something change within you. Do you remember that?”
Roman stared at him, puzzled. “How? How did you know that? How did he know my name?”
Skye said nothing. It was the same transformation that they'd all undertaken.
“Let's wait until we get back to base,” Echo suggested. “Give him a chance to relax a little first.”
Skye nodded in agreement. Roman continued staring at them, wide-eyed and eager for answers, but no more words were exchanged for the rest of the trip.
The van proceeded through Nanping. Roman kept his gaze out the window, trying to piece together what was happening. He seldom visited Nanping, instead usually spending most of his time in the more heavily populated Xindian Qu, located north of the business district.
The van eventually came to a halt outside the small warehouse. Skye extended a friendly hand outwards toward Roman, who just looked at him with vacant eyes.
“Come on,” Skye urged softly. “Everything's going to be okay.”
After a moment's hesitation, Roman climbed across the van and exited the side door.
Skye put his arm around the young man and escorted him to the entrance of the old and rusted warehouse. He exhaled noisily, not wanting the burden of recruiting another member for their group at such a busy time. Explaining everything was a long and cumbersome task, and Skye's mind could only think about breaking into East Tower and killing the president later that night. Nevertheless, he maintained a polite demeanour and opened the metal door for the newcomer. “Welcome home.”
Roman looked around their headquarters. Immediately on his right was an open kitchen. Beyond that was a cordoned-off hallway with several adjacent offices, which appeared to function as makeshift bedrooms. The rest of the warehouse comprised of a handful of tables and computers. His eyes then focussed on the large, empty space at the back of the room.
“For training,” Skye said, catching sight of his attentive gaze. “We sometimes train over there, and outside.”
Roman slowly walked around on his own accord, taking in all of the furniture. The inside of the warehouse was neither modern nor outdated, unlike its bleak exterior. His attention turned to the silver-haired woman sitting by the left wall. She didn't look away from her computer monitors.
“This is where you live?” he asked, curious as to how a group of fighters could permanently live in the metallic prison.
“This is our home,” Skye admitted with a smirk on his face. He placed his unused mask down on the large table in the middle of the kitchen.
Echo handed Roman a glass of water. “Here—have a drink and sit.”
The young man drank the water quickly and sat at the table as instructed, still shaking and breathing erratically.
“What's happening?” he asked. “Why am I here?”
“Hello,” a bright voice said from behind. Roman turned around to see a girl standing behind him. Her skin was light brown, not unlike his own. She had a pleasant smile on her face and looked to be only a few years younger than himself. Seeing another youth there brought him a little relief.
“Hi,” he said, not hiding the confusion and fatigue in his voice.
“This is Jacinta,” Skye said. “But you can call her Juliet. She's our newest recruit apart from yourself.”
“Recruit?” he asked.
“Nice to meet you,” Juliet said.
“You too.” He wearily returned her smile.
Ren approached the table and stopped in front of Skye, shooting him a fierce glance. “What have you done?” she asked, trying to keep herself calm.
“I didn't have a choice,” Skye defended, holding his hands up. “Night was going to kill him. I had to intervene.”
“I told you not to expose yourself like that,” she hissed back. “Especially not now. There's already a warrant for your arrest.”
Skye closed his eyes and winced. He'd feared that his actions might have led to this, but he also knew that there was no other option at the time. “Can you delete the warrant?”
“I'm trying, but the system is difficult to override.”
Skye looked down at the floor. “I don't like that there's another Tianzu here,” he said, changing the subj
ect. “The timing is—”
“I know,” Ren agreed. “This isn't good. Let's pray they're not about to stage another attack.” She turned and looked at Roman, who sat timidly at the table. “But then again,” she continued, “how do we know that he hasn't been in Athenia the entire time? Maybe he never left.”
Skye nodded, although not confidently. “Maybe.”
Ren approached Roman at the table. “And who have we here?” she asked, her voice blunt and her mood sour from the morning's events.
He stared up at the woman, still trying to process everything that had just occurred. He wasn't certain whether his mind was telling him to be afraid or not. “I'm Roman,” he admitted sheepishly.
“Roman, is it?” Skye asked, uncertain of the boy's name himself. “I'm Xia Qiuyu, but you can call me Skye,” he introduced. “And this is Ren.”
Ren offered a weak smile but made no further attempt to make the boy feel welcome. The immense stress she'd been under recently had taken its toll. She looked exhausted.
“So, who's going to tell him?” Skye asked. “You're usually good with speeches.”
Ren scoffed. “Sure, I'll bring him up to speed. Or at least try to.”
The others went about their business, leaving Ren, Skye, and Roman alone. They took a seat opposite the newcomer and looked him in the eyes.
“How are you feeling?” she asked, trying to ease into the topic.
“I don't know. I think I'm okay,” Roman said, clearly drained from the ordeal. “Maybe.”
“You seem relatively calm. That's good—you'll need a clear head to process everything that I'm about to tell you.” The boy could certainly prove to be an asset, she thought to herself, but there was simply no time to train him.
Roman shifted his position in the chair, making himself more comfortable to hear what she had to tell him. Now that he was a little more relaxed, he was eager for answers.
Ren paused as she tried to think of an appropriate way to start explaining everything. Her mind was occupied with other matters, and she wanted to get the conversation over with. “As you already know, I'm Ren. This is Skye.” She gestured to the long-haired man sitting on her right. “You've also met Juliet and Sierra, and Tango and Echo. And this is our organisation that we call 'White Shadow'. These are our headquarters.”
Eternity's War (Books 1-3) (Eternity's War Boxsets) Page 6