Winters (Book Five)

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen

The alarm on my watch goes off as I just finish eating my lunch and I toss my dishes into my lunchbox and yank my suit out of the same drawer I keep my extra drinks in and quickly change. Pinging Orion and Click, they respond instantly and accept my request. I call in Zana for backup due to the churning in my stomach.

We all land in the afflicted area and as I look around, I almost scream as I make out her figure, she has masked her face and hair so that no one can see what she really looks like. Zana stands by the other two as I carefully approach the situation. She hasn't done anything outwardly public so why would she start now? What am I even supposed to say to her?

"What are you doing?" I resort too as I get within twenty feet of her.

Every part of me is on alert, we could all get blown to smithereens right now. Via seems to be losing her grip, her tone, and expression when she blew out the tower was so different from all of our previous encounters. I can't decide what part of her I am more afraid of, but I think the less controlled side is almost worse. I'm afraid she'll lash out and destroy all of New York rather than just us.

"You won't figure out my plan," she hisses as Orion finishes clearing the area. I feel the buzz around us and I recognize it as when Aviva is starting to lose control. Pulling on all of the shadows around us, the sun hurts but I create a vortex of shadows around us. I can see her instant discomfort as I stalk closer to her, pulling them tighter to ease the burden on me.

"Area is clear, the vibrating seemed to have calmed down Invi," Click's voice rings in my ear.

"Don't get any closer to me," Via hisses but I raise my fist for the first punch. My hand slows against my will and I grit my teeth behind my mask.

"Fight me like a real woman," I hiss at her and I throw a fake before smashing my foot into her side. She stumbles to the side before swiping her hand and I slide backward but manage to keep my footing.

Curling my fingers closer to my palm I bolt forward and as I get within a few feet, the shadows cover her eyes and she screeches as I land a solid punch to her nose. Throwing a second one, I pummel her quickly. The punches feel so natural as I chase her backward, continuously drawing the shadows closer to us. She throws me back and I throw my legs hard and manage to land upright and Orion lands right behind me. Looking at Via, blood pours out from under her mask and I get a weird sense of pride, I have always been one of the weakest fighters but I managed to do that to such a strong opponent.

Tapping Orion's arm, he disappears, I don't want him near us. I want everyone as far away from her as humanly possible. Advancing forward, my legs grow heavy and I feel like I am being lit on fire. Gritting my teeth, I break out into a sweat and try to continue forward. I can barely get my foot off the ground but I take a small step and slowly continue forward. I make out the surprise in her eyes and resist the urge to laugh.

Having the shadows collapse in on us, the world is dark but I feel safe and at home. Moving forward, I can easily feel where her presence is but the hand closing in on my throat startles me. Closing my eyes, I see Hadley in front of me as we train and reflexively I break the hold, grab her arm slam her into the ground. Pulling her into an armbar, I hear her noise of surprise and pain slip from her lips.

"It's not fun being thrown around," I growl at her before grabbing the back of her mask, and slamming her face into the ground. She lets out a scream and I don't have time to process and I am thrown hard into the air. Landing hard in someone's arms, I see Zana's amused expression and give her a sheepish grin which I know she can't see.

"Nice one Aegis," Click says and I am put back on my feet as I don't hesitate before charging at Via as she appears from the shadows but we are all thrown violently backward. Zana grabs me and I land on top of her and am thankful my head didn't hit the pavement the ways hers did.