Runaways

by Christopher Golden

“You really don’t know anything about people, especially families,” Nico said. “No wonder you betrayed your own.”

  “Is that supposed to hurt?” Kurdo-Zeke said. “Do you still not get how deep this goes? I made a deal with the Kurdogrim before I turned ten years old. I brought the others in. When you destroyed the Pride, I’m the one who came up with the plan. I told the Kurdogrim to quiet down, act like they were dying, stop making trouble in San Francisco so the heroic Nightwatch would think maybe they’d won, after all these years. Then I told my mother and Abernathy that now was their chance, while the Kurdogrim were quiet and the Pride were gone. Come to L.A., take down the last followers of the Pride, make sure the Gibborim never find another foothold in this world.”

  He said the last bit with all the theatrical flair of a bad Shakespearean actor. And then he snickered. “I told them it was time for us to expand the family hero business. I convinced them Allis and Carlos and me and Tess…we’d stay in L.A., protect the innocents like they were protecting the innocents in San Francisco. We’d be ‘Nightwatch Junior’ or some shit like that.”

  “You little bastard,” Abernathy hissed.

  Kurdo-Zeke smiled a terrible smile, still focused on Nico. “We had a plan. Infiltrate your little gang, lie our asses off, get you on our side, kill our parents and then all of you. Allis went out to offer herself up to the Pride’s minions as a sacrifice to the Gibborim, but first Carlos went out and shape-shifted, made sure you girls knew kids had been vanishing, made sure you knew one particular girl had just been taken.”

  Karolina flashed back to that night outside the dance club. The whole thing had been a setup. Carlos’s mother could only become animals, but it seemed her son could do more than that.

  “The problem was that without Allis around, we couldn’t keep shielding our thoughts from Abernathy,” Zeke said. “Not well enough. His telepathy’s crap, but he caught enough of a hint that it put them on guard. We fought. I got away. You know the rest.”

  Nico shook her head. “But Emilio…he tried to kill me. Heroes don’t…”

  Zeke smiled. “Oh, they don’t. Remind me how your parents died? Don’t be stupid. You’re the daughter of dark wizards and you attacked the Nightwatch right by my side. He figured you were there to kill him. Not that it matters. It’s over for all of you, now.”

  Zeke walked to Nico, glared down at her. “It’s a shame. I had high hopes for you.”

  Allis turned to Karolina. “What about you, Kay? You don’t all have to die.”

  A bark of laughter echoed across the street. Tess walked toward the growing circle with a new weapon in her hands, a bow made of pure golden light. She had an arrow nocked into the bow, a red thing that steamed with scarlet mist. Karolina had no idea what such an arrow would do to her, but she knew it would do more than make a hole. Chase aimed one Fistigon at her and the other stayed trained on Allis.

  Karolina lifted one hand, just a hint of color dancing around her fingers.

  “Watch it, bitch,” Tess said. “Allis may like the way you kiss, but I will kill you where you stand if you even look at her wrong.”

  “Forget it,” Kurdo-Zeke rumbled. “Let’s just kill them all and be done with it. Immortality’s waiting.”

  Nico sighed loudly. “You are such an asshole,” she said. “Also, I’ve gotta say…Body Swap.”

  The Kurdogrim Zeke started to shout. His voice shifted mid-word as his giant, ancient form blinked out of the world and his own body reappeared, handsome as ever, but with his good looks poisoned by rage.

  “What did you do?” he roared at Nico, lunging for her as if to strangle her.

  Nico used the staff to crack him in the side of the head. Zeke fell hard, knocked out. “Lonely, clever goth witch, remember? I’m just being who you think I am.”

  Allis aimed her plasma pistol at Nico. Chase stepped up and pressed one Fistigon against her skull, the threat implicit. He ripped the plasma pistol out of her hand. “I knew Zeke couldn’t be trusted,” he said. “But I guess you made sure I trusted you.”

  Allis smiled.

  Tess released her arrow.

  Karolina flicked her wrist, and spirals of color whipped out and snatched the arrow out of the air and sent it flying into a pile of rubble. Tess gestured and another arrow appeared in her hand. She nocked it against the string, drew it back…and her father popped into existence behind her. The sound of that pop, so familiar, made Tess hesitate and begin to turn, but she never saw the anguish on her father’s face as he struck her from behind.

  Tess fell, gasping in pain. She rolled over and stared up at her father. Emilio stood over her, the point of his sword pressed against her sternum. Tears streaked his face as he commanded her to be still—as he found himself forced to threaten his own daughter’s life.

  Karolina glanced around at the ruin of three families. She thought about the Nightwatch—the Ochoas and Abernathy and Kathryn Zheng—these parents who had just suffered the worst betrayal imaginable. Their children had twisted everything they’d ever been taught into some horrifying grasp for power, for immortality, for freedom from their parents’ rules. It should’ve been unimaginable, but Karolina and her friends had suffered a betrayal just as awful, just as painful, so she knew what it was like. In days to come, the Nightwatch would wish they could go back to the time before they knew about the darkness that thrived in the hearts of their children.

  “Well, Karolina?” Allis asked. “How about it?”

  Karolina felt a tickle at the back of her mind, just the slightest hint of a push, the psychic influence that Allis could exert. Not her full power, Karolina was sure. Just a whisper, a suggestion of what Allis could really do if she wanted to.

  So why didn’t she? Why didn’t she try to bend them all to her will? Even if that was beyond her, she could twist Chase, make him use the Fistigons on Nico. Make Molly pummel Gert. Maybe get Old Lace to look at Chase and see dinner.

  Why didn’t Allis do any of those things?

  Karolina felt a dreadful sadness fill her. She stared at Allis with dawning horror, her eyes filling with tears she refused to shed.

  “Kay?” Gert said. “It’s all right. Ignore her. She knows it’s over.”

  Karolina closed the distance between herself and Allis. Chase and Nico stepped back as Karolina came face-to-face with this girl she’d laughed with, this girl who had kissed her, touched her. This girl who’d seemed real and true.

  “I believed in you,” Karolina said, and she gave a dry laugh. “You were the damsel in distress. Made us believe you needed our help.”

  “But I did need your help. Just not the way you thought.”

  Karolina balled her fists, fingernails cutting into the skin of her palms.

  “You going to hurt me now?” Allis asked, trying to make it seem like a joke, though there was a quaver in her voice.

  “I think I am,” Karolina said, lifting her hands. “But not with these.” She summoned bright colors that sparked from her fingers and began to flow through her hair. “And not with my powers. The thing is, Allis, I opened up to you, and I think you opened up to me, too. I think there’s a part of you that never wanted any of this to happen.”

  Allis laughed. “Oh, is that what you think?”

  Karolina nodded. She reached out to stroke Allis’s cheek, where the bruises from days before had still not faded. “Yes. It really is. You had a chance just now, a moment when you could’ve kept fighting, maybe even won. I think part of you never wanted to win. You had two shots at your dad. You could’ve killed him with that second one, if you’d really wanted him dead.”

  Allis lowered her gaze, brushed away Karolina’s touch.

  Karolina glanced around. Zeke and Carlos were unconscious, as was Kathryn Zheng. Rosie Ochoa had come around, but she sat on the street, one hand over a wound on her chest. Emilio Ochoa stood over their daughter, sword in hand, ready to cut her if she forced him to. The Runaways had gathered around Karolina and Allis now, and Karolina glanced at
her friends—Nico and Chase, Molly and Gert and Old Lace. Her family. Molly had picked up the gigantic ax that Kurdo-Zeke had dropped, dragging it at her side. The sight ignited a spark of love in Karolina’s heart for this girl, this sister the harsh world had given her.

  Abernathy lay on the ground, wounded, breathing hard with his pain, but his eyes were open, and now Kathryn Zheng began to come around. The Nightwatch was intact. They’d been heroes all along, and now they would have to decide what to do with the most insidious enemies they’d ever faced—their own children.

  “Your father’s going to recover from what you’ve done, Allis,” Karolina said. “But honestly? I don’t think you ever will.”

  One hand over his wound, Abernathy climbed to his feet. “You kids can go now. I’m sorry that our children dragged you all into this. If you ever need help, if there’s anything the Nightwatch can do for you, please don’t hesitate to ask. But I think we’ll take it from here.”

  Nico put an arm around Karolina. Molly took her free hand. “We’re sorry for what’s happened,” Nico replied, forcing herself to hold Abernathy’s gaze, though she wanted very much to look away from the sadness in his eyes. “And the feeling’s mutual—if you need us, just ask. But for tonight…” She glanced around at her friends. Her team. Her family. “For tonight, we just want to go home.” Chase slid an arm around Gert, while Old Lace narrowed her eyes and spit on Zeke’s unconscious form.

  “Can we get the hell out of here?” Chase asked.

  “Absolutely,” Nico replied.

  And so they did.

  Three days later.

  Nico felt like she was burning alive. She trudged across the sand, muscles straining, the heat baking into her brain. The sunlight seared her skin and her throat felt parched. Desperation made her heart race and she glanced over her shoulder, searching for an escape route—any way out of the torment she’d found herself in.

  “Nowhere to run,” Chase said, as he marched alongside her.

  Nico blew out a breath, resigning herself. “This is a terrible idea.”

  To her right, Karolina almost seemed to bounce along the sand in jubilation. “Are you kidding me? This is exactly what we need!”

  “Fine.” Nico huffed, lowered her face so the brim of her black lace hat would block some of the sunshine, and followed dutifully after Gert and Molly, who were already running toward the waves, even though they hadn’t set up their gear. “But I hate the beach.”

  Karolina laughed, dropped the beach umbrella she’d been carrying—nearly impaling Nico’s foot—and ran after Molly and Gert. Molly, who’d begged them to bring her newly acquired and deeply cherished Kurdogrim ax on this picnic, and sulked when they’d all said no. The sulking had been replaced by laughter, and it was a beautiful sound.

  Only Chase stayed behind with Nico. The two of them spread out a woven blanket, and weighted down one corner with the cooler and the others with piles of flip-flops and the beach bag Gert had already abandoned.

  Three days had passed since the impossibly long night when they’d thrown the Masters of Evil at the Nightwatch—two days since they’d discovered just how badly they’d been manipulated by Zeke and Allis and the Ochoa siblings. The Runaways had used the Masters of Evil as weapons, but Zeke and his friends had done the same to them. For the first twenty-four hours afterward, they’d done very little other than sleep and give each other sullen, regretful glances as they moved through the Hostel. The hideout beneath the La Brea Tar Pits ought to have been buzzing with excitement as they explored, but instead, they kept to their rooms with small breaks as they foraged for food.

  This morning, Gert had declared that she’d had enough and suggested they go to Venice Beach. Every atom in Nico’s body had rejected this plan. She preferred quiet shadows to glaring sunlight. Her goth leanings made the beach just about the last place she pictured herself, but if she had to go to the beach, Venice Beach was the worst possible choice. The sheer number of tourists was overwhelming, not to mention the bleach-blond, fake-boobed beach bunnies, and the overearnest athletes running or biking the path alongside the beach and casting judging glances at anyone not perfectly fit.

  Plus, she burned. Somewhere along the line, white people had become convinced that people of other races were immune to sunburn, which was stupid, but considering 7 percent of American adults thought chocolate milk came from brown cows, there was plenty of stupid to go around. Nico didn’t relish the idea of sacrificing her skin to prove Japanese American girls could burn, so if she was going to be forced into a day of “beach fun,” that meant a good umbrella, a hat, a cover-up, and sunscreen with about 1,500 SPF. If she could create enough shade and she could sit and read her Scandinavian murder mystery without anyone bothering her, she might be able to endure the day.

  Chase dragged off his shirt and kicked off his flip-flops, then stood and watched Nico as she anchored the base of the umbrella in the sand.

  “I’m glad you went along with this,” Chase said.

  “We really should be tracking down the Pride’s minions,” she said. Chase had been searching surveillance camera footage from the night they’d saved Allis. Nico and Gert had been checking police logs for any injuries or deaths from that same night in hopes of getting a lead on the cult. The Nightwatch might have killed one or two of them, but most of the cult had survived. Nico thought they’d scattered, but she didn’t know where they’d gone or who they were.

  “We’ve been working on it,” Chase reminded her. “It’s okay to take a day off, Nico. We need this. If the cult is still together, you know we’ll find them. But just for today…we’re at the beach. Exhale. Breathe. We’re young and we’re alive. The world is still turning.”

  Nico kept working the umbrella’s base into the sand. “I guess.”

  Chase laughed. “I know you hate it, but Molly would have been really bummed if you’d said ‘no.’ Karolina, too.”

  “It wasn’t really up to me.”

  Chase arched an eyebrow. “It was, though. We’d basically made you the leader before, but it was a casual thing. Like, ‘oh, Nico’s the responsible one—’”

  “Gert’s the responsible one.”

  “You know what I mean. You were the leader because you wanted to make the decisions, and we all wanted you to make them so we wouldn’t have to. It’s different now. Now you’re the leader because we want you to lead. We know when things get ugly, you’re our best shot.”

  Nico smiled. “Would you still feel that way if I’d nixed going to the beach?”

  Chase smiled. “Honestly? Probably not.”

  “Good to know. Though I have to say, just because I went along with it, doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

  “I don’t think too many people will recognize us,” Chase said. “There are thousands of people here. We’ve all got sunglasses on. Gert’s wearing that floppy sun hat, and we didn’t bring our dinosaur.”

  Nico laughed. “Old Lace would have been a dead giveaway. And I know you’re right. We’ve all just been sitting around with all this simmering tension—”

  “With good reason.”

  “No argument,” Nico said, locking the upper half of the umbrella in place. “We got played. All of us.”

  “Some more than others,” Chase said, and the grim tone in his voice made Nico stop what she was doing.

  She looked up to see him staring out at the waves, where Gert and Molly were splashing each other. A few feet away, Karolina stood in the surf like the perfect California girl she was. Tiny bikini, mirrored shades, blond tresses already wet from the water and hanging down her back. Nico didn’t think she’d ever seen a better example of the old cliché that appearances could be deceiving. Karolina wasn’t a California girl. She wasn’t even an Earth girl. Looking at her, though, it was impossible not to see a kind of unflappable perfection. No one would have guessed how much Allis’s deception must have wounded the beautiful spirit beneath that perfect facade. Karolina always wanted to see the best in everyon
e and she’d taken to Allis immediately, only to have her sweetness twisted into a weapon to be used against her.

  But Chase’s innuendo had nothing to do with Karolina.

  “She loves you, dummy,” Nico said, opening her umbrella. Her whole body exhaled now that she had created some shade.

  Chase ran his hands through his scraggly hair and shook it out. If Karolina looked the part, so did he. If they hadn’t been forced to stick to the shadows for so long, Chase would no doubt have had a deep tan. He’d been born for the life of an L.A. surf bum, but none of them were ever going to get the life they should’ve had. They had to make new lives for themselves.

  “I love her, too,” Chase replied, helping Nico spread her towel out under the umbrella. “But Zeke messed it all up.”

  “He messed with her head, and with yours,” Nico corrected. “Plus, Allis was there the whole time. She admitted she was giving us all a little psychic push here and there to manipulate us. Zeke pushed buttons on purpose. He wanted you and Gert unsure of each other. The five of us are a family, and Allis knew there was no room for her and Zeke unless they could make room. They had to make us all less sure.”

  Chase stood halfway in the shadow of the umbrella with her, half in the sunshine. For a moment, he dropped the surfer-boy mask and she saw the real worry on his face.

  “What if it had nothing to do with Allis?” Chase said quietly. “What if Zeke was just a cute guy who paid attention to her and that was enough to make her second-guess being with me?”

  Nico shoved him back out into the sun. “Toughen up, Stein. I’ve got news for you. That girlfriend of yours is smart and cute and there are always going to be guys who are smarter than you, cuter than you, and more charming than you. Some of them are going to flirt with Gert.”

  Chase held his hands up in surrender. “If this is your idea of a pep talk, I’m pretty sure you’re doing it wrong.”

  Adjusting her hat and sunglasses, Nico stepped out from beneath the umbrella. Somewhere nearby, a radio thumped out the rhythm of something old-school. A laughing little girl ran past, pursued by her father. In the sky, far along the beach, there seemed to be some kind of kite festival happening. Some of the tension in her shoulders seemed to unknot itself.