Page 56 of Infamous Heart

“Leave them.” I took a deep breath, terrified of the next words out of my mouth. “Take me.”

“Foolish,” she spat, “so incredibly foolish.”

The liquid rushed around my legs, squeezing until I feared she’d break my bones. She moved closer, gliding as she formed a sword like shape in her right hand. I wouldn’t stand a chance, and no amount of begging or pleading would slow her. I prayed it gave Sebastian a chance to break free.

“Your boyfriend can’t save you.” She let loose a laugh that sent a shiver down my spine. Off in the distance, her shadows drove Sebastian downward, slamming him into the ground hard enough to create a crater. The shock knocked cars back and shattered the windows in nearby buildings.

“I grow tired of playing with him.”

I tried to bolt, to run in his direction, but she had encased my legs in the sludge. No matter how hard I pulled, my legs refused to move. She had gotten close enough I could feel her breath along my cheek. While she violated my personal space, she never let the sword leave my line of sight.

My desire to be a hero wavered. Tears flowed down my face. It wasn’t Wraith who laughed at my fear, it was Rebecca. I wouldn’t get another brunch with the guys. I wouldn’t see my work on the front page of the magazine. As the future I wouldn’t experience flashed before my eyes, one thing continued replaying. I wouldn’t get the opportunity to apologize for the horrible things I said to Sebastian.

“You thought you could save them.Him.I might have broken every bone in his body, but you’re the one who broke him. You—“ She pressed dangerously close, well within striking distance.

I swiped with my arm, nails scraping along the woman’s face. The black covered my hands, but for a split second, I could see the alabaster skin and four streaks of red. I tried for a second swing, but a shadow caught my arm.

“Die.”

I expected the plunging of the sword, cracking my sternum and piercing my heart. I prepared for the impact, the pain, and transition from agony to the cold of death. But as I shut my eyes, it felt more like a hug around my waist and a quirk jerking motion.

I slammed into something, trying to cradle my head to prevent a concussion. I came to a stop, opening my eyes, prepared to make a dash for Sebastian. I wasn’t on the street. Somehow, I had been yanked from harm’s way and dropped on… the Beacon roof?

I spun about and saw Slipstream, still covering her wound. Her suit hid the severity, but the pale features and circles under her eyes didn’t lie. She had risked certain death to save me.

“You’re a hero,” I said. I took a step forward, determined to be by her side until help came or… The tears didn’t stop streaming down my face. I had never been this close to heroes, and as she put her life on the line to save me, I found it much more real than comic books had let on.

“We are,” she winked. In a puff of smoke, she vanished.

“No!”

I ran to the edge of the roof, looking over the waist-high wall to see Slipstream teleport behind Wraith. Bringing down bloody fists, she stuck the villain across the neck. Before the tendrils could ensnare her, she teleported away.

I let out a breath, thankful she escaped.

“No!” I shouted, as she blinked in again. She could barely hold herself upright, but she refused to quit. This time, however, she didn’t blink away. “No. No. No.”

There were no speeches, no maniacal laughter. Wraith plunged the sword into the hero’s torso. The black pushed out the back of her suit, holding the poor hero in the air. I held out hope until Slipstream’s body went limp.

Wraith pulled the sword free, letting it merge with the rest of her body. She could have gone after Sebastian finished him off, but I had made her an offer she couldn’t refuse. Pointing in my direction, she wanted me to shake in terror before she claimed her prize.

I had run out of terror. The only emotion pumping through my body was rage. The chances of me surviving against Wraith were non-existent, but I wasn’t going to go down without a fight.

Running to the stairwell leading into the building, I grabbed the push broom we used to prop the door open. It’d be locked from the inside, a fact I learned the hard way the first time I decided to take my lunch break on the sunshine covered rooftop. With a quick spin, the broom fell off, and I had a weapon, not a good one, but it was better than trying to cut her with my wit.

The shadows crept along the ledge before she appeared. Preparing for the swing, I charged toward her stain. She crawled over the wall like a monster from a child’s worst nightmares. I screamed as I swung. It landed on the side of her head, bursting into splinters. Despite the force of the blow breaking the stick on her skull, Wraith didn’t flinch.

“Cute.”

I backed away, eyeing the sharpened pole. If she got close enough, I could stab her. If I hit a fleshy spot, maybe that’d wound her enough to get away. No, I wasn’t going to wound her. If this came down to me or her, it was time to admit playing nice wasn’t an option.

I thrust the sharp end of the broom stick toward her throat. Wraith slithered to the side, batting it away with her arm as if it were a mild inconvenience. She moved forward, unthreatened by my determination.

“Griffin Smith, did you just try to kill me?”

“Try?” I thrust again. She moved with speed and grace, pushing my arm out wide with one hand while the other grabbed my throat. For a moment, she held still, and I thought she’d drag out this game of cat and mouse.

“You’re less than pathetic.” Her fingers tightened, and she lifted me upward until my toes barely touched the roof.

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