Wind Runner: The Complete Collection

by Edmund Hughes

  He managed to get in close, and slammed an elbow into the back of Rain Dancer’s head. The demon growled and spun around. Almost immediately, he lifted his hands for a lightning strike, but Malcolm was already in the air. He flew straight into one of the church’s walls, landing feet first against it next to a broken window.

  Heedless of the glass’s sharp edges, he quickly cracked loose a shard about the size and length of a dagger. He kicked off as soon as he had it, barely dodging another blast of lightning.

  Malcolm dropped down to floor level, rolling between two benches and coming to his feet at a sprint. Rain Dancer was following him with lightning, striking the place he had just been. Malcolm felt the heat as one of the benches ignited from the strength of the current.

  He feigned as though he was going to charge Rain Dancer, spinning to the side to dodge again at the last second. It gave him the chance he needed, and Malcolm flung the glass shard forward with all the strength he could muster.

  It would have killed the demon, if his aim had been true. Instead, it tore a chunk out of Rain Dancer’s shoulder. He screamed and grabbed at it. Malcolm realized that he should press on the attack a second too late. Rain Dancer’s retaliation struck him full in the chest, a blast of lightning intense enough to knock him out one of the broken windows.

  He landed in the church’s yard, rolling across the dew sprinkled grass before coming to a stop. The sun was peeking out over the horizon, giving off long shadows as it banished the night.

  “Beg for your life,” said Rain Dancer, as he descended from the air near Malcolm. “And I’ll consider sparing you.”

  Malcolm chuckled. His body was bruised and exhausted. He could barely push himself up to a kneeling position after Rain Dancer’s last attack. He slowly shook his head.

  I’m ready for this. I knew it was coming when I came here.

  He had one last trick up his sleeve, one that he’d been hoping he wouldn’t have to try to play. Malcolm gathered every ounce of wind manipulation he could summon, slowly building it up, twisting and knitting it together. He felt it rustling his clothing, and then saw Rain Dancer stagger to the side as the wind built in intensity.

  “Do you know what the wind can do, when it stops caring?” he asked, in a slow voice.

  Rain Dancer let out a shout of surprise as a gust blew him off balance. He tried to blast Malcolm with more lightning, but the wind was suddenly too powerful for him to aim straight. Tiles tore loose from the church’s roof. Plastic bags, discarded newspapers, a trash can, all of it was pulled up into the air, into Malcolm’s tornado.

  He stood at the center of it, grinning like a madman. The euphoria of pushing his powers so close to his limit was an evil kind of ecstasy. His stabilizer was hot against his skin, clearly struggling to keep his emotions in check, and failing.

  “You’ll kill us all!” shouted Rain Dancer.

  “That’s the idea,” said Malcolm.

  He smiled and held his hands out to either side. He could it feel it coming, as though he was standing on the tracks in front of an oncoming train. He could see the turning point, the line between being one of the gifted and being a monster, and he didn’t stop as he surged toward it.

  And then, Rain Dancer tackled him, full on in the chest. Malcolm caught a glimpse of the demon’s face as they tumbled to the ground together, bruised and bloodied by the deluge of airborne objects. The tornado began losing strength as soon as Malcolm stopped focusing on it.

  Rain Dancer slammed his fist into Malcolm’s face, tearing a cut into his cheek. He set his hand on Malcolm’s chest and roared as he blasted electricity through him. Malcolm didn’t have enough breath left to scream. He felt his eyes rolling up into the back of his head, his body seizing from the intensity of the current.

  I tried. I even came close. I’ll die… but the story won’t end here. I have a Second Wind.

  CHAPTER 40

  Malcolm blinked his eyes open, struggling to remember what was going on. He was lying on the grass. More importantly, he was still alive, and Rain Dancer was no longer on top of him.

  A fire burned a few feet away from him, smoldering grass and a nearby bush. Malcolm slowly turned his attention back in the direction of the church. He saw Rain Dancer, his face bloody and contorted into a furious expression. Across from him was Danny, hands set on his hips, standing in between Malcolm and Rain Dancer like a superhero enforcing a mandate of protection.

  “You think I’ll let you kill my fucking brother?” asked Danny. “Has all of that lightning melted your fucking brain cells?”

  “This doesn’t concern you,” said Rain Dancer.

  “I’ll take that as a yes,” said Danny. “Prepare to die, Rain Fucker.”

  Rain Dancer roared and unleashed his lightning. A glance at the intensity of it was enough to momentarily blind Malcolm and confirm that the electric demon had been holding back against him.

  Danny dodged and unleashed a burst of fire. Rain Dancer only barely managed to roll away from it, letting it strike the church behind him, instead. Malcolm briefly thought of Rose and Shield Maiden, still inside what was now a death trap.

  The entire area is going to be destroyed if these two fight for too much longer!

  As if confirming his fear, Rain Dancer blasted electricity at Danny, missing him by a few feet and striking the building behind him with enough force to explode one of its walls.

  “Bro!” shouted Danny. “I got him! Get the fuck out of here!”

  “Danny!” Malcolm gritted his teeth. “I can’t. I… have to stay.”

  He felt resolve take hold in his chest. It wasn’t just about ensuring that Rain Dancer wasn’t left alive and able to hurt the people he loved. It was about Danny, too. Malcolm was a champion, and a battle between two demons capable of doing as much damage as each of them wasn’t something he could run away from.

  He pushed up into the air, getting high enough to scan the area for any civilians in danger. He couldn’t see any, and figured it was either due to the remoteness of the church, or the early hour.

  Rain Dancer and Danny were advancing on each other, attacking with unbridled ferocity. Rain Dancer looked to be on the defense, with Danny’s fire powers doing more damage to him than he gave in return with his lightning.

  Malcolm dropped in behind them. He tried to launch some debris at Rain Dancer with the wind, but the electric demon was quick enough to blast them away from him with his powers. The attack only resulted in drawing Rain Dancer’s attention back to him, a slow smile spreading across his face as he realized what Danny’s true weakness was.

  Rain Dancer held one hand up in Danny’s direction, as though to blast more lightning at him. With the other, he reached into his waistband and pulled out a small pistol.

  Danny reacted faster than Malcolm did, throwing himself in the way of the gun as several shots rang out. Malcolm blinked, watching in disbelief as his brother staggered backward and collapsed on the grass in front of him.

  If he’d reacted faster, Malcolm could have knocked the gun out of Rain Dancer’s hand with the wind. He could have deflected the bullets with a targeted wind shield. He could have yelled out to Danny, told him to surge his heat powers outward to melt the bullets before they hit him.

  He thought about all those things as he fell to his knees over his older brother. Danny’s face looked placid, perhaps a little irritated, but not contorted by pain, as Malcolm had been expecting.

  “Hey!” shouted Malcolm. “You’ll be okay! I’ve seen you get shot before. You’re a tough demon, right?”

  Danny groaned. Malcolm squeezed his hand, and then decided to put his hands over the bullet wounds and apply pressure, instead.

  “Not… this time,” said Danny. “He got me in the fucking vitals.”

  Danny put his hands over Malcolm’s and locked eyes with him.

  “Take my power, bro,” he said, weakly. “Do it. I’ve… fucking… seen you do it, before.”

  “Danny…” Malcolm felt the
tingling run up his hands. He slowly nodded.

  “Now….” Danny’s voice was barely a whisper. “Take… my… heat…”

  Malcolm felt a sudden surge of intense heat energy, as though someone had just turned on the hottest electric heater in existence and pointed it at him, full in the face. He felt the heat leaving Danny, all of it, until his brother’s hands felt ice cold in comparison to his.

  “Touching,” said Rain Dancer. “It’s truly sad, you know? But now…it’s your turn to join him in death.”

  He had the pistol raised already. This time, Malcolm had the wind shield up. The bullet went wide, along with the one after it. Malcolm slowly shook his head.

  “You had so many chances to kill me,” he said. “You should have seen this coming.”

  He reached for Danny’s power, channeling all the heat energy he’d been gifted in his brother’s dying breath into a single, massive blast. He launched it at Rain Dancer without any preamble, using his wind manipulation to feed it even more oxygen and expand the ball of flames into a rolling mass of spherical inferno.

  Rain Dancer seemed to think he could dodge out of the way in time, as he’d done with Danny’s attacks. He couldn’t. The fire hit him before he realized what was happening, consuming the flesh of his body in an instant.

  Rain Dancer’s charred skeleton was all that remained of him. It stood in place for a moment like a Halloween animatronic, and then crumbled to the ground. Malcolm stared at what was left of the demon, half expecting it to coalesce and reform. Nothing happened.

  Danny was dead. Malcolm knelt next to his corpse, cradling his head and trying not to be overwhelmed by the sense of loss he felt. He thought that he’d already let go of him, having believed him dead once before, at his own hand.

  He’s my brother. He was trying to do better, and I guess in the end… he did.

  “Malcolm…” Rose came up behind him, slowly. Shield Maiden stood a few feet back. Malcolm looked at them and shook his head.

  “The fight’s over,” he said, to Shield Maiden. “If you leave now, I won’t try to stop you.”

  “You killed someone I love,” said Shield Maiden. Her voice sounded confused, rather than angry.

  “Yeah, well, he killed someone I loved,” said Malcolm. “Join the club.”

  Shield Maiden turned around and left without another word. Malcolm almost thought that Rose was going to follow in her wake, but instead, she dropped to the ground next to him, pulling him into a hug.

  “You’re… incredible,” she said. “I don’t even know what to say.”

  Malcolm shook his head. He was tired.

  “There’s nothing to be said. I did what I had to. And the only reason I survived was because of…”

  He swallowed hard and closed his eyes. There was a lump in his throat the size of a golf ball, and his eyes felt hot.

  “I’m so sorry,” said Rose. “For everything. I wish… I could have helped you more.”

  “It’s not your fault,” said Malcolm.

  Emergency sirens sounded in the distance, drawing closer by the second. Malcolm set a hand on Rose’s shoulder, looking away from his brother’s body.

  “We both need to get out of here,” said Malcolm. “But… I’m going to need to explain a few things to you, soon.”

  “What does that mean?” asked Rose.

  Malcolm shrugged.

  “Oh man,” he said. “Where do I even start?”

  CHAPTER 41

  Second Wind waited outside the apartment that was now technically his, watching for anything suspicious. He knew it was redundant, given the instincts of who he was on his way to meet.

  He went back inside the apartment, unlocking the door with his keys and slipping through. Malcolm was leaning against the arm of the couch and quirked up his eyebrows as he met the gaze of his copy.

  “So…” said Second Wind. “Are you here to kill me?”

  Malcolm chuckled. “I realize that you’re joking, but if I was, you’d already know,” he said.

  Second Wind shrugged.

  “It’s possible that we could have chanced enough in the time we’ve been apart for that to be an issue,” he said. “To be honest, I wasn’t totally certain when I got the email you sent. Nice touch on proving it was you, by the way.”

  “Who else would know about my illicit crush on Ms. Maxine back in the fourth grade?” asked Malcolm. “Kept that one pretty close to the chest.”

  Second Wind smiled. A bit of tension hung on the air, the unnecessary, awkward kind.

  “Danny’s dead,” said Malcolm. “For real this time.”

  Second Wind flinched back. He brought a hand up to his mouth and closed his eyes.

  “That’s how…” he muttered. “Of course. I should have guessed.”

  “He died a noble death,” said Malcolm. “I buried him a couple of days ago. He’s in his actual grave, you know. The one the insurance company paid for way back when our house exploded. I figured there was no reason to waste it.”

  “He saved you,” said Second Wind.

  Malcolm closed his eyes and slowly nodded.

  “I didn’t have time to explain it to him,” he said. “You know how Danny is. But because of him, and his sacrifice, I managed to pull it off. Rain Dancer is dead.”

  “Good,” said Second Wind. “I didn’t trust him to keep his word.”

  “I know,” said Malcolm.

  A couple of seconds of strange silence went by before Second Wind finally cleared his throat.

  “Tapestry is mad at me,” he said. “Or, uh… I guess, us?”

  “How unexpected,” said Malcolm, dryly.

  “I think what she really wanted was for me to rally the champions and make one last stand against Rain Dancer and his minions,” said Second Wind. “When she realized that I actually intended to take her advice and stay in hiding… she got weird.”

  “She’s not always honest with herself about what she wants,” said Malcolm. “She’ll forget about it in a couple of days.”

  Second Wind nodded, but it was clear that he still had a question on his mind. “So… What happens now?”

  “This is where things get interesting,” said Malcolm. “I told Rose about you.”

  “You did?” Second Wind furrowed his brow.

  “I did,” said Malcolm. “And I don’t think we should tell Tapestry.”

  Second Wind ran a hand through his hair. He seemed to mull it over for a few seconds before giving a noncommittal shrug.

  “You’re probably right,” he said. “I don’t think she’d react so well to it. But it is another secret that we’ll have to keep from her.”

  “A secret that you’ll have to keep,” said Malcolm. “And a secret that ties up another secret.”

  “Is this how I sound to other people when I explain my plans?” asked Second Wind. “Just come out and say what you mean. I haven’t thought about this for long enough to guess at where you’re going.”

  “You’re taking my place,” said Malcolm. “As Wind Runner. You’ll continue living as a champion and help Tapestry, Morph, and Wax rebuild.”

  “What about you?”

  Malcolm held his hand out. He used Danny’s power create a small flame over the center of his palm.

  “I’ll do whatever needs to be done,” said Malcolm. “The things that you can’t do, either because they involve Rose, or having to go up against the Champion Authority’s hard line.”

  “And you’re planning on using Danny’s power,” said Second Wind. “That’s clever, except for the fact that you’ll be recognized as Wind Runner as soon as someone sees you in the daylight.”

  Malcolm grinned.

  “That’s why I’ll wear a mask.”

  Chaste Widow

  Edmund Hughes

  This digital book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. It may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this title with another person, please purchase an additional copy. Thank you for
respecting the hard work of this author.

  All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. All other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual events or persons is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2017 by Edmund Hughes

  Kindle Edition

  CONTENTS

  Chaste Widow

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  CHAPTER 16

  CHAPTER 17

  CHAPTER 18

  CHAPTER 19

  CHAPTER 20

  CHAPTER 21

  CHAPTER 22

  CHAPTER 23

  CHAPTER 24

  CHAPTER 25

  CHAPTER 26

  CHAPTER 27

  CHAPTER 28

  CHAPTER 29

  CHAPTER 30

  CHAPTER 31

  CHAPTER 32

  CHAPTER 1

  The car’s tires let out a hideous screech as it skidded around the corner, ricocheting off a parked car as it went. A car alarm began sounding an instant later, no doubt waking half of the sleepy Vanderbrook neighborhood.