Free Shadows (Ultrahumans Book 2) by Niall Teasdale Page B

‘David Tonaldo put a price on Twilight’s head. He might come after me here if he knows.’
    ‘He won’t come here. Too public, too obvious. And it’s a risk I’m willing to take. I mean, I might take out more insurance, but if anyone does come I’ll have Twilight in the shop.’
    ‘Okay. I think you’re nuts, and I think we should ask Zoe if she’s okay with this.’
    His eyebrow went up again. ‘Seriously? You think she’s going to think knowing Twilight is a bad thing?’
    ‘Well… no, but we should ask. And I need the rest of the week off.’ She sighed. ‘I need to get used to this, and I’m going to Boston.’
    ‘Your parents don’t know?’
    ‘Not yet. Can’t say I’m looking forward to that conversation.’
    ~~~
    ‘You know,’ Cygnus said, ‘this isn’t really me.’
    ‘I ain’t tellin’ you nothin’!’ The man she was suspending by his ankle from the top of the Americas Trade Tower was a relatively minor drug dealer. Nothing very far up the Tonaldo family tree, but she was hoping for a little more than bad grammar.
    ‘Where did you go to school? Did you go to school?’
    ‘I don’t know nothin’!’ the man squeaked.
    ‘Now, if that were true, that would mean you didn’t need to tell me that you weren’t going to say anything. That’s “not going to say anything .” Double negatives make you sound like an idiot.’
    ‘I ain’t scared of you!’
    ‘The urine stain on your pants suggests otherwise. When’s the next shipment coming in?’ She let her grip slide a couple of inches and he let out a screech.
    ‘Friday! We were told t’ expect new merchandise Saturday.’
    ‘Very good. You see? I knew you knew something.’ Then she let him go.
    He was still screaming when she grabbed the back of his jacket at about seventy feet, straightened out the dive, and lifted him onto one of the lower rooftops nearby.
    ‘You’re out of the drug peddling business,’ she told him as he sat, shivering, against the roof access door. ‘If I see you on the streets again, I’ll tragically fail to catch you.’ She took off from the roof, heading south toward North Beach.
    Scaring street dealers made her feel dirty, and Twilight was better at it anyway. She needed a shower, but at least she had a date for the next shipment. Friday. Andrea was going to be out of town by then, telling her parents about Twilight. That was going to be a tough conversation; Cygnus did not envy her at all.
    There was still a light on at the house and she was not entirely surprised to find Andrea in the lounge, reading a magazine which really did not suit her. It was one of the fashion mags June kept around the house and Andrea did not seem like the type to follow fashion too closely.
    ‘How’re things on the street?’ the brunette asked as her partner walked in, looking less regal than usual.
    ‘Tonaldo has a shipment coming in on Friday. Any guesses where?’
    ‘Watch the docks. With your eyes, you’ll probably spot the wake from the boat. I could delay my trip…’
    ‘I can manage on my own, and you need to tell your parents before they find out from some news broadcast.’
    Andrea scowled. ‘I hate this. I should be out there with you, but…’
    Cygnus walked over and sat down beside her friend. She seemed to have a need to talk, and what else was a partner for? ‘But what? You need some rest, and you need to get used to… whatever it is you can do now.’
    ‘I know, but… I’m scared of going out there, Cygnus. I think I’ve lost confidence in myself. I got caught. I died . I don’t want to do that again. But Twilight does.’
    ‘You are Twilight.’
    ‘No.’ Andrea grimaced at the look of worry on Cygnus’ face. ‘I always thought of Twilight as… as a mask I wore. I’d put on the cowl and I had one goal: take down Tonaldo. It let me have a life outside of that. Now it’s worse. I hear her, in the back of my head. I think she knows what we can do. She’s as confident as ever, but