Mortal Sight

by Sandra Fernandez Rhoads

  “No.” I toss my useless knife on the counter near the scraps of paper before turning to face Devon. “Let me use the Paradise Steel. I can see the creatures before they form. If I have the right weapon, I can attack without anyone getting hurt.”

  “The war ain’t about destroying.” Pop shuffles into the light.

  “Maybe yours isn’t, but my war is about fighting for one life.” Pieces of the sketch Maddox tore up lie on the ground near my feet. “Whatever it takes.”

  Maddox stands firm. “Even if we had a third weapon, you haven’t been trained to use the Steel.”

  The sparkling etches of the deadly weapon in his hand provoke me. I rush over and grasp his forearm. “Then let me go with you. I’ll be your eyes, navigate you around the Legions, or better yet, tell you where they are so you can strike them as they form so they won’t have a chance to attack. I’ve been running from them since I was seven. I know how to survive.” I force myself to look into his stormy eyes despite the fierce jolt of the Current. He glances at my hand, resting on his arm. Suddenly aware of how tight I’m gripping, I let go. I lower my voice. “In the cellar, you told me we were all in this together. You said we couldn’t handle this fight alone. Together, we could start something new.” His eyes lift to meet mine. “Saving one life can be the storm that changes the landscape.”

  Devon spins around as someone answers his call. “Claire?” He makes his way toward the balcony. “Where’s Harper?”

  With his jaw set and the knife in hand, Maddox steps away from the door. He gives me a sideways glance and a subtle nod, the same way he did behind the trash bin when he signaled me to run from the Cormorants.

  Without hesitating, I fling the front door wide open and dart into the musty hall and then down the metal stairs. Maddox clamors right behind.

  Reaching the bottom step, I race through the dark foyer. My fingers fumble along the doorframe and flip the lock. I put all my weight into opening the solid wood door. Maddox reaches over my head and helps heave the weathered blue door wide open. In that brief moment, I smell a hint of rain.

  “We’ll find Harper. Get her to safety. No one’s going to die.” He wears the same intense expression he did on the streets when he found me. “If you spot a Legion, tell me. I’ll take it out. Then you hide. They’ll fight harder if they sense you’re around. Got that?” I look up, straight into his determined eyes. That electric Current swirls in my gut, kicking a surge of adrenaline through my blood. But I don’t have time to blush.

  Without another word, our feet hit the pavement in unison. Maddox guides the way with the Paradise Steel in his fist while I scan the dank streets for traces of black mist.

  Together, we run down the buckled sidewalk and search for Harper.

  Maddox takes my hand to lead me as we turn another corner in the predawn light. The smell of bitter ash mixes with exhaust and chokes the soggy air. I slow to look down the darkened street. Anemic streetlights reveal overstuffed trash bags, wet cardboard, and an old recliner littering the damp curbs. Early shopkeepers roll up metal walls and unlock storefronts, but as far as I can tell, there’s no sign of mist or Legions.

  We jog along to the steady cadence of the city and our own breathing. Waking light blankets the violet sky. If we can find Harper before sunrise, perhaps we won’t encounter any Legions. We can only hope.

  One street away, a truck’s squealing hydraulics break through our silence. Not the sound of hornets or bees, but I jump anyway. A cold wind taps against my back with the sulfuric smell of decay.

  I stop. My heart kicks against my ribs as I squint into the dark. A hiss escapes from a decrepit building. Not the sound of hornets. Or black mist. The sound and smell come from a cracked gas pipe.

  “All okay?” Maddox is barely audible, though he is close beside me.

  I nod. False alarm but my pulse races just the same.

  “The shop’s a few blocks away.” Maddox glances at the lavender sky. Darkness is lifting. We need to hurry.

  I bite my chapped lips as we run in the cold shadows of the looming buildings, searching for Harper. A shiver climbs my skin. Maybe I shouldn’t have come. If my presence lures the enemy, Maddox is sure to be in danger.

  We jog another few blocks. As soon as we turn the corner, I inhale the sickening stench of sulfur. I come to a hard stop and turn around. Something feels wrong. Not like it did when I found Juniper. This time the creeping chill courses through me. In the dim light, shadowed shapes are hard to see. I focus on one spot and use my peripheral vision to catch any movement, the way Tanji taught me.

  Not a few buildings away, something moves. “What’s wrong?” Maddox whispers.

  I put my finger to my lips as a signal for him to keep quiet. Pulling at his shoulder, I step up on my tiptoes and put my mouth against his ear as he leans down. “Mist is climbing up the building. Too high up for you to attack.”

  Maddox turns to look at me. His concerned stare, inches away, burns into me as the Current blasts between us. I swallow. That sensation keeps getting stronger when it should have faded a long time ago. I push the feeling aside and race off, following the black haze with my footsteps light and soft. With the Legion wandering that high, we can’t attack. I’ve got no choice but to find Harper before it does.

  I reach the corner and halt. Which way do I go? Maddox comes up behind me. Morning is beginning to light the sky. The mist is now easier to see, but that also means I’m running out of time. The black fog slinks along the top of a building, and Harper is nowhere in sight.

  Swift footsteps sound down the pavement behind us. Before I can turn around, Devon is at our side with sweat beading his forehead. I point to the top of the building and mouth the words, “Headed south.”

  “The store’s the other way,” he whispers skeptically, searching the roofline.

  “Trust her,” Maddox whispers back at him.

  My gaze follows the mist creeping along the roof . . . until it doesn’t. The hazy fog stops. The creature didn’t hear us from this far away, did it? I scowl. Either we’re too loud, or the creature senses I’m around. Both of which are not good.

  In that moment, a second mist-cloud converges with the first. The black haze doubles in size before resuming the southbound course along the roof. My pulse flares. I hold up two fingers and then point again to the roof. Devon grips the short hunting knife in his fist, ready for battle. If we can find Harper before the Legions do, then there will be no need to fight.

  I take off down the road in a full sprint, working hard to outrun the Legions. Maddox and Devon race after me.

  I skid around the corner and trip over a garbage bag before weaving around a man carrying a paper coffee cup. “Sorry,” I say, as the guy shakes his hand dry while mumbling under his breath.

  As soon as I regain my balance, I see her. Down the street, near the next corner, Harper sifts through a cart parked in front of a small floral shop. She delicately picks through greenery, smelling each one, oblivious to any danger. Just like Jess.

  I scan the street for the Legions. On the rooftop, directly across from her, two misted creatures rear up like onyx cobras. Right before my eyes, they shapeshift into deformed men with black vellum wings and outstretched arms. The hum of hornets’ wings carries on the wind. Before I can scream and tell her to run, Devon flies past me like an all-star quarterback.

  Maddox yanks me into the alcove of a vacant storefront. “We found her. Now wait here.”

  “No.” I shift to push past him. “Move out of my way.”

  He slams his hand up against the display window, blocking my escape. “We know two are out there. Maybe more, and you don’t have a weapon.” He moves closer. So close that my heels back into the cement stair. I try to focus on anything but his warm scent of rain filling the space between us. “If the Legions find you, if they know what you are, they’ll kill us all. The best you can do is try to outmaneuver the beasts and run.”

  I step up to meet him eye level, giving me distance an
d the ability to concentrate. “I’m not running anymore—”

  “Cera.” He leans in. His voice is urgent. “If anything happens to me, run back to the apartment. Hide. Pop will know what to do.”

  “I’m not hiding.” I shove his arm aside, but he takes my shoulders, holding me so I’ll look at him.

  “Last time, with the truck—we almost died.” His voice strains. “You have to stay safe. You can’t go out there, you hear me?” A storm rages behind his eyes. In that moment, a million electric flutters take flight inside my stomach as the Current pierces through me.

  I start to protest, but no words come out. Not only is he standing so close that the smell of rain fills the narrow inches separating us, but something about the way his gaze drifts to my lips as I swallow detonates a scorching fire all over my face. When his eyes rise and meet my mine, the Current explodes between us.

  My heart drums so hard, he must be able to—Maddox presses his lips to mine. They’re soft. Warm. Heat radiates through every part of me. My insides—along with my fight—dissolve as he holds my head in his hands. My own hands slide up and around his back. His kiss, gentle at first, turns heated and urgent, as if saying goodbye.

  Without warning, the vision blasts through me:

  A handheld lantern shines

  A ray of caramel light beams

  A narrow path illuminates through the dark

  A yellow glass goblet, smothered in smoke . . .

  Maddox’s head snaps back. The intense, electric air between us breaks. He releases me and my hands fall to my sides. Remorse darkens the edge of his eyes, still inches from mine. “Cera . . . I . . .” He swallows the rest of his words. Taking my hand, he presses something into my palm, and then curls my fingers shut.

  A shrill cry pierces the air. We both know without saying so that the cry sounds a lot like Harper. The next thing I know, he’s racing out of the alcove, heading straight for battle.

  I can’t move. I press a hand against the cold storefront window, stunned, raw, and weightless. I open my curled fingers to find the white flower hairpin Gladys gave me. Maddox found it? My lips tingle. But as soon as glass smashes and Devon cries out in pain, the spell breaks.

  I stuff the pin in my pocket and rush to find them. On the sidewalk, not far from Devon, Maddox shields Harper, urging her to run. The cart is toppled over. Flowers trampled. Smashed glass sparkles on the ground near Devon as he lies in the road, writhing in pain. The gold blade is knocked from his hand and glistens in the dawning light, too far out of his reach. Useless.

  Two Legions, one a tornado of black smoke hovering two stories high, prepare for another strike. The other swirls in mist form on the rooftop across the street. My vision showed three, possibly four . . . where are the others?

  I spin around searching for more, listening for the vibrating hum of hornets. Only two for now. Both misted creatures shapeshift into funneled torpedoes, simultaneous death missiles. No one can see the Legions in this form but me. Coming from opposite directions, both hazy rockets launch straight for Devon lying on the ground. At that speed, Devon won’t hear the buzzing wings; he won’t know to shield himself until it’s too late.

  I run between parked cars, scrambling to get to the street, and yell, “Devon, move to your left!”

  Through the cloudy car window, I catch sight of the mist transforming into Legions a few feet before impact. Devon must have heard me—just in time too—because with great effort, he rolls to his side as the creatures explode in a plume of black smoke. And even in the explosion, they are already reforming. I slump against a red sedan, and the car alarm goes off. That was too close.

  Maddox spots me. “Get out of here!” He pushes Harper toward the far corner. Instead of running away, she rushes to Devon. Hands shaking, she fumbles for the purple vial in her pocket. Both Legions retract into the sky. “Harper, no!” Maddox’s yell contains the same dread in my mind: if the wretched beasts sense she has the serum, they’ll attack her just like I envisioned.

  I push into the wind and race toward Harper. I can make it. I can knock her away before the Legions descend. The buzzing intensifies. I hurl myself at her and shove her away as she screams. The beasts slam into my side and I’m knocked onto the concrete. I instantly cover my head. The beasts hit the pavement beside me. Devon’s knife lies in the middle of the road, far beyond my reach.

  “Cera, move!” Maddox’s voice cuts through the horrific buzzing. Mustering strength, I push off on my elbows and shift backward as red embers burst then rain down from overhead. Maddox has taken one out. I scramble to my feet. The remaining Legion retracts three stories into the sky. A new one joins his side, both hanging in midair.

  Devon, burned and holding his arm, is working hard to get up. Thankfully Harper is hidden behind a parked car, safe.

  Maddox crouches behind the broken cart. But neither of them can see the vile mist billowing higher in the air, hovering in the sky, listening over the wailing alarm. The mist stops swirling and twists into two obsidian tornados.

  One beast aims right for Maddox. The other kicks out toward either Devon or Harper. I don’t have time to warn them all. With my heart jammed in my throat, I leap up from my crouched position and race into the middle of the street. I whisk Devon’s blade off the road and shout at the vile creatures. “Leave them alone!”

  Instantly the Legions stop spinning and unravel as if caught midair. An electric pulse zaps my palm where the hilt presses my flesh, but I grip tight and won’t let go. The thick fog sways as though hypnotized before slowly forming into two sallow men.

  I tune out all sounds around me—Maddox freaking out, the store owner’s shouts, and an angry car horn—and lock in on the monsters.

  “That’s right,” I scream at the beasts. “Follow me.” Hovering over six feet in the air with outstretched vellum wings, the Legions look at me with their cavernous holes for eyes that melt down their elongated faces. I shiver when the lurid, horrible buzzing of mad hornets drowns out every other sound in the frigid air. Reason is screaming for me to run. I’ve never seen their sagging, ashen skin in this light or noticed the deformed claw hands that hang well below their knees. Instead of feet, the creatures rest on a black cloud that reeks of sulfuric ash.

  Despite the smell burning my nose, I inhale deeply. Stay calm. Each of them was once a person. I tighten my hold on the small hunting knife. How can this possibly be the weapon to destroy the hulking mass in front of me? My feet twitch. It takes everything I have not to run. I know if I do, the Legion will only target the others again. Instead, I take a step toward the creatures. If I can get close enough, the way Kellan told me, perhaps I can stab one of them through the heart.

  I’m not far from the Legion hovering near Devon. My insides churn with each step. How could Pop say these rabid, disfigured monsters were on my side? They’re nothing but ruthless, destructive, evil. They are the enemy. Not me.

  I raise my weapon, ready to drive the blade through the creature’s heart. As I do, the beast tilts his head as though studying me. The disfigured face shifts, revealing the outline of a square chin and pointed nose. This was once a person. A man. Someone who allowed their Bent to be siphoned and replaced with Sage’s power. Someone like my father, who used to call me “ma belle,” while dancing around the living room . . .

  Would destroying a creature be the same as killing someone? If it is . . . My hand droops, trembling.

  “To crush his head / Would be revenge indeed, which will be lost / By death brought on ourselves.”

  Yes, Milton. Destroying can’t be the answer. I’d be no less a monster if it were. I can’t cause more death than I already have. There has to be some other way.

  Dawn burns like fire over the buildings. I stand in the middle of the shadowed road with a Legion ten feet in front of me and another hovering in front of Maddox a little farther away.

  Maddox doesn’t hesitate. He comes up behind the Legion blocking his path, and with his blade sparkling in the morning li
ght, stabs the creature through the heart. The Legion explodes, emitting thousands of red sparks over the road like dying embers. Harper screams, and the squared-jaw Legion that was hunting Devon—the one I held captive but couldn’t bring myself to slaughter—ascends into the sky with a piercing screech, its pitch cracking nearby windows.

  “Cera, behind you!” Maddox gestures frantically at something looming over my shoulder.

  As soon as sulfuric wind whips near me, I duck and roll into a solid crouched position that would make Tanji proud. Dodging the hit, I quickly spring to my feet. A Legion, larger than any other, implodes on the asphalt right where I had been standing. My heart races. The creature reforms. It’s the fourth Legion. Two down. Two remain. So far.

  Harper manages to get Devon to his feet, and they take cover. It’s Maddox, hunched in the middle of the road, searching the sky, who’s too exposed. And the Legions heard him call my name. Both wispy creatures, invisible to his sight, swirl twenty feet overhead, prowling like greedy vultures ready to descend.

  If I can call them out again, maybe I can hold them steady until Maddox can attack. “I’m right here!” I yell, holding my weapon to the sky.

  Sirens wail in the distance—police, ambulance, or both, I can’t tell. But it doesn’t matter. They’re both equally unwelcome right now. Unless they can sense what we sense, they’ll only get in our way.

  I don’t dare take my eyes off the beasts. I take a step away from Maddox. “It’s me you want!” I shout up at the Legions. My throat tightens. The deformed beasts float in my direction as if I’m pulling hideous helium balloons on a string. I take another step on the warped asphalt, luring the creatures farther away.

  But then Maddox shouts, “No, Cera, run!” The Legions break away and form into one colossal smoke bullet, aiming right toward him. No!

  I scream. Maddox can’t see the double assassins headed his direction. I run full force at Maddox. I crash into his side, but I’m blown back. As I’m knocked to the ground, the knife sparks against the Legion and burns my hand before flying out of my fist. My back and elbows scrape against the cement as the creature lands on top of me. My hand sizzles as I try to punch through leathery skin. Both Legions wobble for a brief moment then regain strength. Despite what they used to be, these beasts are not human. Suddenly the Legions retract into the sky, clearing my sight.