One, two, three.
I counted the number of times my feet bounced off the side of the Empire State Building. I leaned my head back against my little hiding spot and closed my eyes. My thoughts flashed, and I was no longer on a ledge on the Empire State building. There was a flash of platinum blond in the trees-Thorne- and then it was gone. Then came a deafening crack as her goldenwood staff made contact with the head of a Nightmare that promptly evaporated. I came back to Earth with a small gasp.
Four, five, six.
I didn't move at all. I mean, not even shifting my weight. I just sat on my ledge and let everything in my thoughts sink into the concrete. I could barely catch a glimpse of Ashton's brown curls at the top of a thin black tree. He drew back on his bow, an oak arrow nocked. A sharp twang, and the Nightmare below him disintegrated. I opened my eyes slowly, carefully.
Seven, eight, nine.
I heard an almost inaudible scraping, and then an even more quiet fwump as someone landed beside me. Someone who went by the name of Jesse. Jesse's turquoise eyes cut through the night, the city lights glinting off the two blades twirling around in his hands. He lunged, and the Nightmare in his path faded away just as Jesse's douleblade sliced it in half diagonally. I shivered and rubbed circles into my upper arms with my thumbs.
Ten, eleven, twelve.
"Letta. What's up." He didn't even say it as a question- he wasn't asking, he was demanding. I could almost feel the concern bearing through his turquoise eyes. I opened my own pair, of a pale silver, and turned my head toward him.
"Tough battle today." I said, barely letting my voice go above a breath. He did the same as he breathed my name. I wouldn't let anyone except him, Thorne, and Ashton say my name like that, just Letta. Usually, I was Sparky, a name created by my knack for fire. The last two syllables of my actual name, Scarletta, made up the only other name I would go by.
I dashed through the park, sword drawn. Air whipped by on either side of me, as I had kept my jacket zipped up. I spotted a Nightmare, with its indefinite edges, blue black body, and glowing, orb like yellow eyes. As I approached it, its appearance changed; a long tan coat, twisted smile, bloodstained fingers, long black hair. My body wanted to race up the nearest tree, but I let out a feral snarl and stabbed the Nightmare through the heart, both hands on the hilt, arms overhead. I broke out of my thoughts with an inaudible whimper.
Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen.
Jesse squeezed my shoulder. I could feel each muscle ripple, and shivered at how earlier tonight, those same muscles had gripped the doubleblade that had destroyed a Nightmare. Me and Jesse were forced back to back, taking advantage of the leverage to slice and dice the oncoming hoard of Nightmares. Each one was different. A tan coat there, an old man with haunted eyes here, etc, etc. I rolled my head around.
Sixteen, seventeen, eighteen.
"Sparks. C'mon. We've gotta get back to the Haven." he whispered in my ear. I groaned. I slithered up the wall silently, knowing the others were just a few feet above. I needed peace, and my ledge gave that.
"Why? I like it up here." I said, gesturing vaguely to the city below.
Nineteen, twenty, twenty-one.
"Because we're the Dreamkeepers, Sparky. We need to recharge. We literally killed every Nightmare in New York today." I half glared at him and weakly thumped his blond head. I immediately winced, though, when the motion pulled at my sore arms. Hey, swords like mine aren't weightless. As I tucked my legs in for a roll, my sword grazed my forearm. I swore. That was a rookie mistake! I couldn't get sloppy now! I dropped the chastising as my the roll ended its course, and I sprang at the nearest Nightmare.
Twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-fo-
Jesse picked me up and climbed up the wall with me slung across his back.
"Hey!" I yelped, instinctively grabbing at the hilt of my sword to ensure it was still there. Thank God; it was, still slipped in the black sheath strapped onto my waist with a strip of leather tied across my torso, shoulder to opposite hip. It's easier to put on and take off than it sounds, I promise.
I glowered at the back of his head. Unlike most girls, I was not swooning over the muscles beneath me, or the reflection of the aquamarine eyes (or the playful smirk), or the blond locks in front of me. If we weren't so high up, I probably would've kneed his back and twisted out of his grip. Instead, I blew a black lock out of my face and bonked his shoulder with my forehead.
"Jerk." I said, scrambling off his back and onto the rooftop.
"Watch it, Sparks, I'm still the one with a doubleblade."
"And I'm still the one with a sword. Watch yourself, Jess." I warned, shouldering my messenger bag. I would have used a backpack- more practical- but the strap of the messenger bag covered the strap that fastened my sword to my waist. The sword itself was invisible to the human eye, sheath and all. Concealment was vital when we were in the human world.
Thorne shrugged herself off the edge of the roof and headed our way, the corners of her mouth twitching, threatened by a smile. She untwisted the bun at the back of her head, letting her white blond braid tumble down her back. Like mine, her hair reached almost halfway down her back. Her emerald eyes flickered to Jesse's doubleblade, making sure it was hidden well enough in the folds of his jacket, and then to Ashton, who was on top of a skylight, probably about to do something incredibly stupid.
She picked up her staff. I had always liked the weapon of choice for her, as I did the others. Thorne's staff was long and thin- like her- made of a very dark gold, with, what else, thorny ivy carved around it, so it looked like golden vines had twined around it. It may have looked like just a fancy stick, but we knew better. That fancy stick could move at frightening speeds, and could do just about anything.
Ashton saw her threatening move and said, "Wait, wait, just check this out!" He slowly slid a pair of shades over his eyes.
"I wear my sunglasses at night." he said suavely, earning him three "Really, Ash? REALLY?!" looks. He hung his head and stepped off the skylight glumly. He slid his bow and quiver onto his back. His bow was made of a cherry wood and carved with stars and moons; quite a good representation of what he did, and when.
Jesse slapped his back and led us over to the Entrance, where we would cross over to Somnium. In Somnium, we were the equivalent of soldiers. Except we were an elite team, trained like nothing you would believe, teenaged, and had extremely precarious relations with the government. Before he let us through the door, he pulled his doubleblade out a little more so everyone would know who he was.
Jesse's doubleblade is easily one of the most dangerous weapons out of all of ours. Black steel handle, two curved, plain silver steel blades coming out of either end. It's deadly fast and deadly sharp, and not something whose power you question. He had refused having it carved with anything; "It messes with the aerodynamics," he had said. The only decoration he had allowed was a tiny black star on the point of each blade, proving his status.
I, myself, was the proud owner of possibly the best sword in the world. Black hilt, amethyst inlaid pommel, curling script wrapping around the purple-edged blade... it's razor sharp and can slice through the air at Lord knows how fast. Of course, like each of our weapons, there's a tiny black star at the end, to match the tiny black star tattoo on the back of our necks.
I smiled and fondled the pommel of my sword and followed Jesse through to Somnium.
When we first crossed into Stellaluna Avenue, there was a stunned silence. Then, in one big burst, every man, woman, and child broke into roaring cheers and applause.
"The blond headed boy can kill off a dozen Nightmares at once, all by himself!"
I looked over to Jesse with round eyes and whispered, "Oh, wowzees! And he gets his butt whupped every day by a girl!"
"The boy with the curly brown hair and the hazel eyes? Yeah, he can shoot a man in the heart from half a mile away!"
Jesse snorted. "Oh, pleeease. You know Ashton prefers to shoot small woodland creatures." he muttered out of the side of his mouth.
"The girl with the green eyes can make a grown man cry!"
Ashton snickered. "Yeah, all she has to do is try to cook!"
Thorne whipped around. "Heard that, Curly!"
"The black haired girl can fight off a whole pack of buff dudes!"
"Yeah, and she's hot!"
Every person in our team fell silent at the latter statement. Jesse's eyes flashed dangerously. He walked steadily over to the two boys discussing my creds and said sharply, "She can also fight off her fanboys quite well." They both whimpered and backed away. I rolled my eyes.
"Always one for theatrics, our Jess." I said, pulling him by the elbow into the waiting SUV. None of us buckled in; it was more of a hinderance than a help.
And so, we rolled off, away from screaming fans and Somnium citizens, and towards the Haven.
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