Fated, A Timeless Series Novella (A Timeless Series Companion Novel) (12 page)

The roads were slick with rain, and huge puddles spread from the drains and dips in the road. They reflected the pink sky perfectly, until the tyres of the trucks and jeeps sliced through them.
The
air was wonderfully fresh, too, if still somewhat chilly
for late
spring
.
I ran my hands across my arms, missing my coat.
Maybe I was the runt of the O’Shea family. Colt and Callon hardly
ever felt the hot or cold,
they both ate less than I did
, and slept less than I did
.
By Timeless standards, I was practically human…

A rumble above caught my ear, and I looked up.
The sky had darkened again; another shower was imminent.
I walked faster, hoping to find cover under the shops. Soon the quiet patter of drops hit my shoulders, and the heavens opened.
I grimaced,
half-tempted to snatch a coat from one of the shops.
I could take one and jump before anyone ever saw me.

I shook my head. What the heck, Daniel? What a stupid thought!
I
t was my fault for storming out last night.
I could bear the wet for a little longer.

My walk led me to another set of
crossroads
.
As I came to
the edge
, more people appeared.
The weekend rush was about to begin.
Most carried umbrellas or sported raincoats, but there was one woman who was hurrying along, holding a soggy
paper bag
over her head.
Her blonde curls stood out in the sea of
gray
, and my eyes widened.

That was
Cheyenne!

I immediately changed direction, following
her
from across the road.
She was rushing through the puddles, soaking the bottom of her jeans.
I frowned. Colt said she usually drove the Jeep
to any appointments
,
parking directly in front of any shops.

M
y heart tightened.
She
was out here
,
walking all alone…she
was
a
sitting duck!

I needed to make sure she was safe.

Cheyenne stopped at a set of traffic lights, waiting for the crossing
signal
to change. She was impatient, tapping her feet against the sidewalk.
Suddenly a
gap appeared in the traffic, and without hesitation she ran across.
Then a truck came round the corner, a little too fast. Cheyenne was almost on my side, when she slipped in a puddle.
The truck’s
tires
screeched, and it was heading right for her.

No!

I was there before I had a chance to think. I grabbed her arms and jumped back to the sidewalk, just as the truck zoomed past.
Cheyenne
yelp
ed, almost falling over
and taking me with her
.

“Hey!”
She was going to raise her head to look at me. Instead I pressed her into my chest. I couldn’t let her see my face.

“It’s okay, you just slipped,” I said.
“You’re not hurt?”

“I don’t think so.” Cheyenne
made to push me away.
At the same moment I took her
paper bag
, and managed to half-cover my face. “Um, thank you.”

“No trouble,” I said.
“Just next time, you might want to wait for the
crossing
light, yeah?”

Cheyenne blushed.
I was glad everything had happened so fast; she wouldn’t have noticed jumping the extra few feet in the rain.
Otherwise this could have been very awkward.

“Well, take care.” I
handed back the
paper bag
and
headed off
, hiding my face
.

“Wait!” Cheyenne called. “Can you at least tell me your name?”

“
Sorry, I’m in a hurry,” I said, slipping into the nearest alley.
I didn’t like leaving her like that, but
I didn’t want to attract unwanted attention.
Besides, I needed to find a way to get behind her and make sure she got to her
appointment
in one piece.

I waited for about five minutes, then
backtracked to
peer round the corner of the wall. Cheyenne was off again, this time heading towards
the park. She was probably planning on taking a shortcut.
Casually I walked in the same direction
.
As I crossed the far road, though, something in the puddles caught my eye.
Tiny, glistening lights that
danced off the surface.
But the sun was behind the clouds.
So where…

Oh no,
Ghosters!

Frantically I looked to the rooftops of the buildings. I knew they preferred high vantage points
, as it helped them spread their soul-shards further
.
I couldn’t see anything, so I changed track and headed back into the alley. Once alone, I jumped up the fire escape to the roof of the adjacent building.

From this height, I could see pretty much the whole downtown area.
Cheyenne was in the middle of the park, thankfully far away from the pond
, which was also covered in lights
.
But with all the puddles around, there were too many things to reflect the soul-shards. I had to find the Ghoster and take
them
out, quickly.

Knowing nobody could see me, I jumped from rooftop to rooftop, hoping to find something.
It was all looking fruitless, until I came to the top of the high street
.
In the backstreet below,
I spotted someone crouched behind a dumpster, their hands held at right angles. Light danced between them,
and they were muttering quietly.

Aha!

Silently I jumped to the fire escape above. The person was actually a woman with lank dark hair.
The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end; she wasn’t alone.
Though I couldn’t see them, I could s
ense
the Tresez that must be hiding in the dumpsters.
Ah, so t
hat was her plan; to lure Cheyenne here and let the dogs tear her to pieces.

Like I was going to let that happen!

I paused, thinking out a plan. I couldn’t face the Ghoster and her Tresez entourage
all at once
. I’d have to jump her away, probably onto the roof, and deal with her
first
.
After
she was gone, the Tresez wouldn’t
be able to
come out until nightfall.
And I’d have made
sure
Cheyenne was safely tucked in bed before then.

The woman below was totally oblivious to my presence, concen
trating on maintaining her soul-
shards.
I’d only get one chance to do this right. Bracing myself, I jumped to her level and grabbed her arm. Her eyes snapped open, but we were already back on the fire escape. She cried out as we reached the roof, and she shoved me back.
I stood my ground, crouching slightly.

“
So, Marcus was right,” she hissed, her eyes glinting. “You are protecting something precious here.” She opened her hands, sliding
out
a knife from her sleeve. “
Care to tell me now, boy, or shall I have you scream it for me as I torture you to death?”

“
How about you crawl back to your hole in Canada?” I snarled.
“Or do I have to make you?”

“
My, aren’t we
a brash one,” the woman chuckled. “Let’s see if you’re as tough as you claim!”

She lunged. I jumped behind her, and slammed my elbow into her back. She groaned, but didn’t crumple.
Instead she flung out her arm, hitting me in the stomach. I gasped, the wind knocked from me,
and she drove her fingers into my exposed arm. Her nails drew blood, and I howled.

“Oh, such a baby!” she cooed.
“You really are pathetic if you were chosen to be her defender!”

Her words ignited my rage, and I grabbed her arms. I ran with all my strength
towards the
fire escape
, and then jumped
back into the alley below
. Her back smacked into the brick wall, and she coughed. Warmth splattered onto my T-shirt
, but I didn’t stop there
.
I jumped again,
this time going up. She cried out,
scraping her
side against the fire escape
rails again
and again,
finally
clipping her head against the guttering.

I let go on the rooftop again, breathing hard. The rain pelted down, washing the blood from my arms. The woman staggered to her feet, her face cut and bloody.

“You can’t…resist Marcus forever,” she choked out. “He will…win! Always!”

“Never!” I shouted, racing forward again. I kicked out, my knee connecting with her chest, and she went flying backwards
to the edge of the roof
.
A sudden gust of
wind flittered past, and she lost her balance.
Her arms grappled for the rail, but she couldn’t hold on. My eyes widened as she fell,
and I ran after her.

I was too late. H
er body bounc
ed
off the fire escape
rungs
like a rag doll.
Finally s
he hit the concrete
floor
below
, hard
, and became very still.
Her eyes were blank and staring.

I slumped onto all fours, breathing hard.
I’d beaten her
, but inside I felt terrible
.
My arms shook
as the rain continued to fall
, and it wouldn’t stop
.
I’d fought Marcus’s army before,
but I always hated killing.
Yes, this Ghoster
had
been sent to hurt Cheyenne, but it didn’t make it any more pleasant.
We were both Timeless. It wasn’t right we had to fight like this.

It was a long time before my body calmed.
Now I knew I
had to get back to Callon as soon as possible
.
Even if the Ghoster couldn’t report back that I was in Idaho and not Ireland, the Tresez would have smelled me.
And if Marcus ever found out that one of the
O’Shea
brothers was a long way from home, he’d send his whole army down
here
in the blink of an eye.

Wiping my bloody arms, which were already starting to heal, I picked up the Ghoster’s knife and carefully jumped back to ground level.
I knew the Ghoster’s body would vanish soon, so I didn’t bother to hide it.
I crawled through the trash bags, and scanned the streets.
It was much
busier, which wasn’t good. Even if my wounds healed, my clothes still had blood on them.
I had to stay hidden.

After almost two hours of
jumping between cars, fire hydrants,
trashcans
,
and the forest,
I eventually arrived home.
I
grabbed the knob
,
and the door opened almost instantly.

“Where
the hell have…oh!
” Callon cut himself short. “Daniel, what happened?!”

“Ghoster,” I said simply, walking inside.

“Go shower,” Callon said. “Then tell us everything.”

I nodded,
as
Callon inform
ed
Colt that I was back.
The hot water was beautiful after wandering in the rain for so long, and soon I was in the sitting room in fresh clothes.
Callon and Colt were waiting, looking anxious.

“Daniel, don’t do that again!” Colt said, punching my arm. “We were worried about you.”

“
I didn’t realize you’d become so attached to Cheyenne,” Callon said.
“Sorry.”

“No, I should be sorry,” I said. “I threw a tantrum like a child. I shouldn’t have acted like that.” I sat up straighter. “But in a way I’m glad I did. I ran into a Ghoster.”

I
showed him the knife, then
quickly rattled through what had happened, from saving Cheyenne from the truck to pushing the Ghoster off the roof.
When I was done, both Colt and Callon looked uncomfortable.