Sky Ghosts: Initiation (Sky Ghosts #1)

Chapter 3

"So?" Peter leaned forward on the table, pinning them down with his stare.

Jane shifted in her chair and glanced at her sister.

"What?" Pain asked, confused.

"The mark, do they have it?"

"Oh, that." Pain waved her hand. "No, they're not of our folk."

He exhaled, pulling back. "Then I don't understand a thing. We don't even know which one Eugene wants. Why do you think it's only one of them, anyway?"

"Eugene's men said him, but they never said which one. I tried pressing them." Pain shrugged. "Of course, there was also hope those two would tell us what they knew."

Peter pursed his lips, frowning.

Pain added, "I've already met this... David a week ago, and it's really suspicious. What if he was waiting for the Beasts? Or spying on them? Maybe he's lying or... blackmailing Eugene? Maybe Eugene set this all up?"

"I doubt that," Peter said. "Dave Forrester, spying for Eugene? His father is a billionaire. He's too well known."

"That alone could be a reason for him to know Eugene."

Peter's fingers tapped on the table, and he shook his head, looking conflicted. "Well, I didn't notice any signs of him lying, but we'll see. Do explain to them where they are so they don't cause any trouble here. Actually, tell them everything. Maybe it'll help you four find a connection to Eugene." He watched them get up and head to the door. "You did the right thing bringing them here. We're lucky it was you who found them."

Pain muttered a long string of curses under her breath, earning a scowl from Jane.

They were quiet as they took the elevator down, immersed in their thoughts. The guys stared at them when Pain swung open the door to their room. With the two men inside, the room suddenly seemed to shrink in size. If not for the vanity table in the corner, it would be identical to the others, with its light walls, two bunks, and nondescript furniture.

Chad returned to studying the trinkets on the wall as the girls walked in and closed the door. Pain went straight for the bathroom, Dave jumping out of her way.

"I'll go shower," she grumbled, leaving Jane to deal with the awkwardness in her wake.

Jane suppressed a sigh as she pulled off her jacket and weapons belt. The guys turned to look at her, as if expecting something.

"So..." Dave rubbed his hands, taking a seat. "Looks like you'll have to tell us about this place, since your sister got away."

Chad just nodded and arched his brow.

Some restless thought stirred in the back of her head as she looked at him. It wasn't the first time, and she couldn't quite grasp it, so she dismissed it. With a sigh, she went to the big recliner in the corner. Better to tell them everything at once and be done with it.

She hesitated, unsure where to begin.

"What is this place?" Chad prompted, perching on her bunk across the room.

"The New York Sky Ghosts Headquarters. We had other names, but Sky Ghosts was the one that stuck. Even though we try to hide our... abilities, someone would see a silhouette in the sky every now and then, and that's where the nickname came from." Jane looked at their wide-eyed faces and continued before they had a chance to interrupt her. "There are other headquarters in big cities all over the world, all of them providing top-level security services for the elite. Plus, other organizations in town. Private security companies, clans, gangs, some good, some bad. But this is the biggest one."

"And Eugene? What exactly does he do?" Chad asked.

"Eugene is one of those who have switched sides. They use their gift to prey on humans instead of protecting them. Sky Beasts, or just Beasts." She shrugged. "Eugene was one of ours. He left headquarters about twenty years ago and started his own company with a group of men that followed him. The least skilled of his men are usual street criminals. But his agents, just like we do, work for those who can pay: governments, businessmen, oligarchs. We provide protection, and Eugene and his men kill, steal, kidnap, you name it."

Someone knocked on the door, and she fell silent as two men entered the room with a bunk and tools. They attached it to the slots in the wall above her bed, then brought and installed another bunk. The men smiled at Jane and left.

"Why can't you just get rid of this Eugene?" Dave said once they were gone.

"He's..." Jane searched for the right words. "Not like the others. Flying is our basic ability, but we have others as well. They have to be developed, practiced. Eugene took it to the next level with his shield. He wears it all the time. It takes enormous willpower to maintain a shield like that."

"You can't break through it?" Chad asked.

Jane shook her head. "We had a chance against him with Michael—our former director, he used to be Eugene's best friend. He was the only one who could predict Eugene's moves. But Eugene ambushed and killed him, and since then, things have gone downhill. Eugene's company has grown too big. All we can do is patrol and maintain some kind of order so the city streets don't turn into hell."

She fell silent, and for a minute, only the distant hum of running water filled the room. Chad and Dave seemed to be contemplating her words. Peter was right—they did look genuinely surprised by all this.

Dave waved a hand at her. "So this... power of yours, are you just born this way?"

She looked into his brown eyes, almost as dark as her own. He still had something boyish about him, despite obviously being a few years her senior—and almost a foot taller.

"We are born with it, but the power only starts manifesting around seven years old. It's released by stress. In the past, they used intoxicants and drugs to cause hallucinations that would scare the child, and there was this whole ritual. But these days, hypnosis is more popular. Or they just throw you off a rooftop," she added with a shrug.

Dave paled. "That's barbaric."

"It's better this way, with someone around to help the kid land for the first time. If it happens by accident, and they're on their own... It ends badly sometimes."

"And then what? When they're grown up?"

"Most of us live an ordinary life among civilians. Some come here. Too many were killed during the witch hunts, so we don't disclose to our clients. They see the good work, they don't need to know how it's done."

"But what about us? You told us about all this, why?" Dave asked.

"What about you? We won't be able to find out the truth about your situation if we keep you in the dark. Some of our clients know what we are, and they keep our secret. Who would believe you if you told them about this?"

Dave ran a hand over his face. "True that..."

The bathroom door squeaked, and Jane turned to look at her sister. "And I just thought you drowned in there."

Pain cast a dark look at the guys, drying her hair with a towel. She was wearing plain white shorts and a top. "I wish I did."

"Well, you didn't, and it's your turn to entertain them." Jane grinned, grabbing a towel from the wardrobe and opening the bathroom door. "And please, no blood stains on the carpet."

The last thing she saw was a wet towel in her face.