Nighthawks (Children of Nostradamus Book 1) (20 page)

“Warden,” he hissed.

Alyssa threw a knife, landing it square into the chest of a gunman. They were near the top of the staircase leading to the banquet rooms below. Scattered about were men and women with rifles. The Nighthawks were very outnumbered.

A horrific primal scream shook the walls of the hotel. The cry sounded like a woman in distress but the echo in his mind told him Vanessa was pissed. He glanced up just in time to see her launch from the balcony. Her wings stretched outward as she plummeted toward them at a brisk pace. She pulled up just before hitting the floor, knocking two gunmen onto the faded carpet.

Conthan balled his left fist and the tingling started coursing through his body. He charged toward Alyssa and Skits as they fended off two attackers. A third man stepped from behind a pillar, holding a rifle. Conthan pulled out his gun and began to squeeze the trigger. The weapon jerked upward with each trigger pull.

None of his shots hit the attacker. He chucked the gun with all his might and let his balled fist open. A small dark hole appeared in the air, consuming the gun. A split second dragged on for an eternity. The open hole in the air was like an explosion through his body, forcing the second void to appear next to the creeping assailant. The gun emerged, clubbing the guy on the side of his face.

Skits saw the gun strike from nowhere, knocking him to the ground. “Points for creativity.”

Conthan squeezed his hand again, but the portals resisted closing. He clenched his fist tighter, letting his nails dig into his palm, and the two holes vanished. He opened his fist, this time directly in front of him. He shoved his hand through the wall of black. The icy sensation coated his arm as if he had plunged it into a bucket of ice water. As the second portal opened, his muscles relaxed.

His hands appeared twenty feet away. He grabbed onto a man’s collar and dragged him backward onto the ground. He pulled his hand back and growled at the effort needed to close the portal.

“Don’t overextend yourself,” Alyssa said through her panting.

They both ducked into the hallway leading to the elevators. “What?”

“Your body can only handle so much at first. Use it as you need it, but you’ve seen how fast the fatigue sets in.”

“Stop your yammering.” Dwayne barked.

Skits dropped to one knee, sweat dripping off her forehead. “They’re everywhere.”

“They’re skilled,” Alyssa commented. She grunted as she took a gun from one of the Outlanders. The annoyance showed on her face as she cocked the weapon and took several shots at the Outlanders. She stayed hidden behind the wall while she reached around and pulled the trigger. “Had I known, I would have watched more trick shot videos.”

“No need for guns, huh?”

Alyssa glared at Conthan. “Shut the fuck up.”

***

Conthan watched Vanessa drop low to the ground, using the wall around the mezzanine for cover. She sprinted with her wings tucked in close to her body. At the last moment she launched herself into the hallway, barreling into the opposite wall. She scurried out of harm’s way. “They’re possessed by the Warden.”

“All of them?”

Vanessa nodded in reply. “All of them.”

She looked back to the angel pressed against the wall. “Can you possess a few of them?”

Vanessa shot Skits a dirty look. “No.”

All the firing stopped.

“That doesn’t usually happen,” Skits remarked.

“You cannot stop us,” came voices from all around them. “You won’t kill all of us.”

Vanessa’s mind began to ache. The imaginary hands were pressing against her skull again. “He’s trying to get in our heads.”

“Why?”

“Superhero army,” Skits replied.

Conthan recalled the blank expression on Sarah’s face. It suddenly made sense. “How do we stop him?”

“Killing them will only stop him here,” she said.

“Then that’s where we start,” Skits announced.

She stepped around the corner, toward the staircase, while a man holding a knife-tipped rifle lunged at her. The man swung the blade in a wide arc, nearly catching Skits across the chest. She backed up as he lunged again, nearly catching her in the neck.

“Fuck you, dude,” she said while her hands generated an intense heat. The blade of the gun pushed into the palm of her hand, cutting to the bone. Skits screamed, the liquid fire intensifying. The plasma thrust forward, encompassing the man’s torso. His skin skipped the tender pink a burn would cause. Instead the plasma ate away at it until the smell of burned flesh filled the air.

The man fell to the ground. He didn’t react to the hole in his body or his fast-approaching death. His face showed no emotion while he gazed at her. “You cannot defeat me.”

“Really? Villain dialogue?”

Before the man could respond, Alyssa kicked him hard in the face, knocking the retort from his lips. She smiled at Skits. “Don’t play with the bad guy.”

Skits rolled her eyes. “Yes, ma’am.”

He didn’t try to hide his worry; the telepath’s face reflected his own. He could only assume the fear radiating off his body was like screaming “I’m scared.” She grunted and her eyes rolled back in her head from the pain. He had to assume it was the Warden. Conthan held the sides of her head in his palms. “We’ve got this.”

As his finger touched her skin, she gasped. Hidden underneath his momentary confidence was a woman in a cell covered in bone shards. Once he realized it was the Warden doing this, he unraveled the truth behind Sarah’s drugged state. He gave the telepath a slight nod, knowing she had seen every thought crossing his mind.

“Go,” she said.

A calm moved through his body, relaxing his muscles and easing the tension between his shoulder blades. He balled up both of his fists, forcing the tension back into his body. He envisioned a well in his body brimming with a black fluid ready to spill over. He reached into the liquid and began to draw it through his limbs.

A crack of lightning rocketed toward the ground from stories above them. Conthan opened one hand, opening a void, and the lightning vanished into the black disc. He opened his other hand, and another small portal, and the lightning poured out, slamming into the chest of one of the Outlanders. He clenched his fist, drawing both holes to a close, and threw his arms out wide, opening a much larger portal behind the falling Outlander.

Conthan spun around to see an armed man perched on the seventh floor balcony. He opened his hands and the exit portal appeared above the sniper, purging the unconscious Outlander and knocking them both to the floor.

He strained his muscles to force the connecting tunnels to close. An old woman climbed the staircase, running toward their position. He couldn’t form a plan. He reacted, opening both hands and letting the energy in him do as it wanted.

The void tried to open. The resistance was greater than for any of his portals before. He grunted with pain and pushed harder. He blinked as his mind attempted to process what it was seeing. Where the woman’s upper body should have been was another void, opened from inside of her and expanding outwards, severing her torso. The sensation in his hands turned from tingling to burning. He opened another portal to the side of an Outlander trading blows with Alyssa.

Alyssa stepped back as a bloody torso slammed into her attacker. He was knocked to the ground. Alyssa grabbed the crowbar from the dead woman and clubbed him in the head, leaving his body still.

“That was disgusting,” she yelled at Conthan.

The portals resisted his command to close. His muscles ached. In a few short minutes his arms hurt like he spent the day at the gym. He couldn’t fathom how Dwayne managed to wreak so much havoc. With a loud grunt, the portals shut. He collapsed to the floor and braced his back against the wall.

Skits jumped onto Conthan and rolled over. She began pushing the plasma into a shield. The heat bit into his skin. He wondered if it was worse than bullets. He managed to tuck his legs up, making his footprint on the ground smaller. He could see the cut in her hand. Where it should have been a deep bloody puncture through her palm, it was already cauterized into scar tissue. “Vanessa, he’s out of commission,” Skits said.

Conthan could barely make out his surroundings as she protected him. Bullets turned to liquid as they rained onto the ground. The angel turned skyward to see if there was any sign of Dwayne. There were too many Outlanders for them continue. The Warden treated the Outlanders as pawns, sacrificing them as if their lives meant nothing. He was proving he could outlast them.

Alyssa yelled back at the others, “There are too many of them.”

Vanessa turned to see her somersault in the air. She landed on her back and rolled. The bullets were getting closer and closer. Alyssa’s body would do what she wanted, but eventually it would fatigue.

Vanessa let her mind view the world and for a moment, each of the Nighthawks saw through her abilities. The moment she stopped looking with her physical eyes she could see the dark shadows wrapping themselves around the Outlanders. As one fell, the shadows would cling tighter to the living. “He’s getting stronger as we remove players,” Vanessa shouted.

Each of them could hear the buzzing in their heads getting louder. It started as a distant humming and now it was like listening to a raging river. Vanessa cursed aloud. Conthan knew her wings were magnificent to look at, but her mind was her real weapon. She was useless unless she was able to use her telepathy.

Skits pointed up, drawing everybody’s eyes to a dark shadow filling the skylights at the top of the hotel. “Not our calvary, but they’re here.”

A ship hovered over the window. Its wings held propellers facing upward, allowing it to fix itself in position. The hotel went silent for a moment. The skylight shattered into millions of tiny shards and rained downward. Alyssa and Vanessa ducked under a balcony as the glass scattered across the floor.

The Warden’s thoughts were clear.
More toys for me to play with.

The pressure pressing at Conthan’s temples lessened. He turned to Vanessa and could see the relief on her face. The Warden pulled away. It was the first time she could breathe easily. Her expression quickly turned to panic. “He’s trying to possess the Paladins.”

Chapter Sixteen

May 19th, 2032 11:46AM

The
world remained frozen. The inhabitants of the hotel waited for the Paladins to make their next move. A red figure fell from the craft. The line attached to her waist slowed her descent, but not enough to keep her from hitting the floor. Concrete crumbled and debris flew into the air. Vanessa had no doubt, it was the Child of Nostradamus the government relied on.

The angel began to laugh. The Warden’s plans were about to come to a halt. “He can’t possess powered people.”

“Not helping us any,” Alyssa said.

Vanessa heard the Warden’s thoughts as if he was speaking aloud. “The Warden’s going to kill the Outlanders to get the Paladin.”

“Not our problem, Vanessa. If we stay, we’re going to be shot.”

Dwayne burst out of a door leading to the stairs. As Jasmine climbed to her feet, Dwayne pointed at the Paladin’s Child of Nostradamus. “Not her! We’re so screwed!”

Two more figures jumped out of the ship. Vanessa didn’t need to see them to know they weren’t human. Their awkward motions and silence gave away their lack of a brain. “She has reinforcements coming.”

The two machines smashed into the concrete, leaving cracks along the floor. Their motors hummed to life as they stood. Their bodies were made from metal, covered in a malleable material to make them look human. She knew from Dav5d hacking the government computers they were capable of ripping cars in half. Housed within them were weapons the world had never witnessed before. Before anybody could react, two small black objects emerged from the shoulders of the robots. A burst of red light shot out, piercing and burning through the skull of an Outlander.

Jasmine let the machines do their job while she surveyed the hotel. Of the dozen humans she witnessed on her descent, two survived a laser to the forehead. The machines paused for a moment. The spent weapons on their shoulders ejected and fell to the ground. An identical device appeared on the other shoulder of each robot.

The Paladin didn’t like machines for backup. Her team could think quickly and were capable of solving problems. The robots had adequate artificial intelligence, but most of their actions were being controlled by pilots in the government facility. Between the lag time and their inability to assess situations from a distance, she would prefer to be on her own.

Jasmine’s years of service hadn’t prepared her for what she saw next. She gasped out loud. At the far end of the hotel, a woman in a robe stepped from a hallway. She had never believed in God, but staring at the wings protruding from the woman’s body, Jasmine questioned her decisions. The angel let her wings stretch outward, making a spectacle.

Jasmine had heard rumors there was an angel that watched over the banished. The government dispelled the angel’s existence as a myth propagated by the desperate residents of the Outlands. Jasmine was to terminate every hostile. She could only imagine the gods would reign down hell for killing their servant.

She understood why the Outlanders worshipped this Child of Nostradamus. Jasmine couldn’t help but wonder if the wings she so proudly displayed were capable of lifting her into the air or if they were a cruel joke. Jasmine pointed to the Children. “Contain them.”

The machines didn’t obey her command. She knew they were receiving orders from headquarters. She tapped her wrist and switched frequencies just in time to hear, “…to bring in their bodies.”

“This is my mission, control.”

“You’re on a secure line, Jasmine.”

“Let me do what you sent me here for.”

“You’ve disappointed us twice in the last forty-eight hours.”

“Twice?”

She clenched her jaw as the conversation between her and the teenager an hour earlier played over her earpiece. She balled her hands into fists with anger. There was almost no chance they were going to let her live. She had an impeccable track record, but the moment she began to side with the enemy, they would terminate her. She had only given the girl a fighting chance and Jasmine would die for it.

“We’ll deal with you when you return.”

The machines took a step toward the Children. The angel was blocking her companions, willing to die to provide seconds to their forfeited lives. Jasmine could only think of the girl; the letter she received had prompted her to show her humanity. For the moment, she felt pushing the girl away was the right move. She wouldn’t live in a cell being studied like a rat, or worse, have an explosive attached to the base of her brain stem, controlling her every decision.

The robots sprinted toward their prey. The young girl on the ground, hands glowing a bright blue, jumped up from her fallen associate. Jasmine recognized the others from the attack on the Facility. These Children had caused her more grief in a few days than any powered being before them.

One robot lunged over the stairwell, grappling onto the wall, carrying itself closer to its first victim. The moment it had the girl in its sight, the gun moved on its shoulder, targeting her. The girl didn’t appear afraid. Jasmine thought she was a fool.

“Run,” the older man screamed.

Skits flexed every muscle. The heat radiated through her entire body and liquid flames consumed her upper half. She began to scream at the charging machine. Its shoulder cannon fired. The burst of red light sliced through the liquid fire and seared through her shoulder. The fire licked her wound, cauterizing it instantly. The girl had made a mistake, she should have run.

Her screams got louder as the machine came within arm’s reach. Fatigue was setting in. She would be sore for days. She pushed harder and the blue flames leapt toward the machine.

Her screams caught in her throat. The thumping in her ears made it difficult for her to hear. Skits took two steps forward, grabbed the gun, and felt it resist her grip. Her hand ached as she pushed at the weapon and her screams ran out of breath and her throat ran dry. Her hand pushed through the durable metal exterior of the machine. Before she could push any further the machine reached through her plasma and grabbed her neck.

“No!”

Electricity hammered into the side of the robot, knocking it off its feet. Skits fell to the pavement, gasping for air as her powers shut off. The older man attempted to bear hug the machine on the ground. He let it grab him by the shoulders. He sucked in air and the electricity from its computer siphoned through its arms into his body.

Skits coughed as Dwayne drained the robot of power. “Thank God somebody knows what they’re doing here.” She gasped as he sat up and his eyes leaked energy, causing small sparks. His hands were arcing electricity between fingers as he started to growl.

Jasmine stared in amazement as the man tore electricity out of the machine. Their files on this group were sorely understated. She had assumed even after the assault on the prison they were just rogue Children. No, the way they functioned showed they had worked together before, not quite as skilled as her unit, but definitely cooperative.

“Careful,” the girl choked.

He held one hand toward the other robot, which was positioning itself on top of a no longer functioning water fountain. The small black weapon on its shoulder turned toward Dwayne. He let the power pour out of his hand and began to scream. The electricity erupted throughout the hotel. His attention was focused on the machine, directing the lightning as much as he could. The machine fell back several feet. Its claw-like toes dug into the fountain, preventing it from sliding further.

He held up his other hand and let his body purge the energy. Jasmine held up her hands, trying to push away the biting hits of electricity. Her skin might be impervious, but this much energy had the potential to tear through her innards. Between outstretched fingers, she could see the Euphoria creep across the man’s face. The bliss of allowing his power to consume him was too much to resist, she knew he’d die if he didn’t wrangle in his gifts.

“Stop it, Dwayne,” Skits cried out.

The hiss and roar was deafening. The crackling and popping sounded like gunfire. In the depths of his gut, his internal battery was fading. Every cell of his body pumped electricity into the air. It was nearly depleting his body. Even with his death looming above him, he found it difficult to care. With the least amount of effort, he attempted to shut off his powers.

Skits remained behind the man, avoiding the onslaught of vaporizing bolts of power. He turned his head, and the expression on his face spoke volumes. Regret filled his eyes as they returned to their normal deep brown.

“Sleep,” Vanessa screamed as loud as she could. Jasmine tried to see past the barrage of lightning from the man. The angel was screaming at the man, commanding him to stop his assault. She had witnessed Children succumb to their abilities before, killed by the havoc their talents could inflict on themselves.

Jasmine stumbled forward as the lightning ceased, landing on all fours, and her skin sparking from the beating she received. Her strongest opponent fell to the ground. She dug her feet into the carpet-covered cement and began charging. She reached to her wrist and touched a metal band. Sharp pain attacked her entire body as her skin changed density, growing stiffer.

Stop.

She looked at each of the three conscious people and only the angel stared back at her. Jasmine had been working for the government for years. No Child had ever exhibited secondary mutations. With the single word hovering in her mind, she knew the angel was more than a woman with feathered wings.

“Telepath,” she said out loud.

We are not your enemy, Paladin.

Jasmine pitied the angel. The Middle Eastern girl stood between them. Jasmine expected to feel the woman’s body thud into her own. She charged with her shoulder leaning forward, determined to toss the girl aside. Instead she felt her feet knocked out from below, the agile girl sweeping her legs out from underneath her. She slammed into the ground hard enough to crack the pavement.

“Killing your own is a no no,” said the girl, lying low with her leg stretched outward.

Jasmine rolled back to her feet and squared off against her. She was one of the most highly trained individuals on the planet and she was being bested by a Middle Eastern girl with no visible powers.

“I’ll let you give up now,” said Alyssa.

Jasmine laughed at the bravado of the young female. “You can’t hurt me,” she said in truth.

Alyssa knew the woman’s taunt would become action. The direction of her big toe would lead to a right hook. Alyssa caught the fist, pushed it out wide, spinning her attacker about. The steely woman’s leg buckled as Alyssa drove her foot behind her knee. Alyssa used her shoulder to force her back to the ground. Then she rolled backward out of her grasp.

“Awww,” Alyssa said. “You took a few basic fighting classes, how quaint.”

Jasmine eyed the cyborg. Its chassis was melted in several spots, but his humanoid head moved to follow their fight. The eyes of her supervisors watched. She was in a fight for her life against bureaucrats and researchers. If she failed, without a doubt she’d be terminated with the flip of a switch.

Jasmine clambered back to her feet, feigned a punch with her right fist, and instead brought her knee up to connect with the girl. The girl spun out of harm’s way, dodging the attack. Her arms wrapped around Jasmine’s neck, taking her off her feet. Jasmine struggled but couldn’t get leverage to break free.

“Submit,” the girl said.

“Never.”

Jasmine tapped another of the bands on her uniform and sharp pain rushed across her skin. Her body lurched as it adapted to the new material. Neither metal was more dense than the other, but she knew that the girl would let go as her skin rolled like liquid to its new state.

Alyssa let go just as she predicted. She let her grip break and spun around just in time to catch an elbow thrust. She tried to stop the blow but felt the power behind the assault seemed disproportionate to the woman. Alyssa stumbled backward and the woman was on her quickly.

“Submit.”

“Bitch.”

Jasmine hovered over the girl, annoyed with the Child’s fighting ability. She stared at the fallen girl’s eyes, watching as they flicked back and forth rapidly as if they were reading a book at lightning speed. The girl could avoid her attacks, but she didn’t seem capable of gaining the advantage.

Alyssa yelped as a red beam struck the Paladin’s back. The laser scattered, striking the carpet near Alyssa’s head and burning a hole through the material. Jasmine fell to her knee, reaching for the burn behind her. Jasmine hissed, “I felt that.”

Even with its lack of eyes, Jasmine could feel the machine staring at her. She knew the general was getting his wish. She was cancelled. The machine continued its mission of terminating all Children. Jasmine turned to see the angel standing between it and her. There was nothing the woman could do with her telepathy. The robots were part of a resurrected program used to hunt mentalists in the nineties. Their artificial intelligence was combined with a team of operators in a building far away tucked away from the influences of their abilities.