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In the short time that I have known Ryder, he’s been carefree and easygoing. I’ve never seen him like he is now—anxious and on edge. We all take turns reassuring him that we will find Parker, but it doesn’t help ease the pained expression on his face. The only person who comes close to reaching him is RJ. He doesn’t even say anything really; he just walks into the room and signals to Ryder that he gets how much his friend is hurting. He does this with a simple head nod, and soon Ryder calms down—at least enough to stop unclenching his fist.
Like all of us, Ryder is lamenting that fact that he was too late to save Parker. By the time he got to the door, the Nuke, and Parker along with it, was gone, and no one had any idea where they’d headed. RJ managed to calm Ryder down enough that he didn’t go running off on a mission that was doomed to fail.
Nix called Pryor, explaining what had happened. And now Ryder and I are back at Death’s house, listening to Pryor and Silver trying to offer comfort to East and Mel, Parker’s parents.
Mel isn’t saying much. She just cries silent tears. Her husband, a mammoth of a man with a bright red fedora perched on the top of his head, holds her hand tightly in his.
“Why her?” East asks for the third time. “Why Parker?”
He lets go of Mel’s hand and starts pacing the length of the room. Mel’s hand flops back to her side. Her tear-laden eyes follow East as he marches up and down.
“My mom will find out,” Pryor says again. “East, please, I know this is hard, but you have to calm down. We’ll get her back.”
I know it’s irrelevant, but suddenly, I turn to Ryder.
“Why would a Nuke take someone?” I ask.
He turns to the sound of my voice, and I see him register me sitting there.
“What?” he says. “Sorry, I was lost in my head.”
I nod. “Why would a Nuke take someone?” I repeat.
“Nukes usually belong to someone. A demon. They kind of keep them like pets, whatever you want to call them. And sometimes, they send them off to do their dirty work. I’m not sure why a demon would want Parker, but what happened definitely had demon written all over it.”
For the first time since Parker was taken, Ryder looks a bit like his old self again. The talking seems to be helping, so I carry on.
“So all we need to do is find out which demon owns those Nukes and then we can go and get her back. Right?”
“Right,” Ryder agrees. “Except I don’t think it will be us going for her.”
He gestures towards the four adults, who are still arguing back and forth amongst themselves.
“They’ll get her back,” he says.
I nod.
Pryor’s cell phone starts to ring and we all fall silent, watching as she answers it. She puts the call on loudspeaker. It’s Death.
“The Nuke that took Parker belongs to a demon named Torque. He’s well known in the Demon world as someone who will do anything if the price is right. The Shadow and Serpent group hired him. His mission was to kill Summit.”
Ryder and I exchange a glance at this news. Death goes on.
“I’ve contacted the Shadow and Serpent. Torque is under instruction to release Parker if we hand over Summit.”
“So, my daughter is being used as a hostage,” Mel says. There’s no accusation in her voice, just realization.
At the same time, Silver booms, “We are not handing Summit or anyone else over to those monsters.”
“I know that,” Death says. “That’s what I told them. I explained that Summit will be taking part in the quest and when it’s done, the impending evil will be quashed, but they don’t seem to think that we have any chance of winning this one.”
She hangs up.
“We’re not handing her over,” Silver says again.
“Of course you’re not,” Mel says. “Do you really think we would ask you to?”
East nods his agreement and Silver looks ashamed of himself, something I never expected to see.
“I’m sorry,” he says.
I turn to Ryder.
“I’m sorry too,” I say quietly. “It wasn’t Parker they wanted. It was me.”
“We’re a team, Summit. We fight as one and we stand together as one. Whichever one of you they took, it wouldn’t be anyone’s fault but the Shadow and Serpent’s. We’ll get her back, you said so yourself.”
I did say that, but I’m starting to have my doubts. Our parents aren’t exactly coming up with a plan. They are too busy arguing amongst themselves about the best course of action. The only thing they can seem to agree on is that they need to know where Torque’s lair is.
Ryder and I lapse back into silence as we listen to our parents. They are all talking at once and it’s impossible to know who might be right and who might be wrong.
I feel like I can’t take it anymore. They are wasting time arguing together when we could be spending that time finding Parker.
I am just about to yell at them all to shut up when Ryder elbows me gently in the ribs. When I look across to him, he nods to the door. I look up in time to see Pryor slip through it, her cell phone pressed to her ear.
The others haven’t noticed she’s left and I don’t think they’ll notice when I do the same. I point to my ear and then nod at the door, telling Ryder I’m going to go and listen. I think he understands.
I creep through the door as quietly and unobtrusively as I can. I can hear Pryor’s voice coming from Death’s bedroom and I edge closer.
“Yeah, Torque,” Pryor says. “His Nukes took East’s daughter, so if you have any idea where he is, that would be great.”
I strain my ears to hear the reply from the other end, but I can’t hear it at all.
“The underground station. I should have known. He’ll have a lair off the main track. Thanks, Miku, I owe you one.”
I realize with horror that she’s hanging up the call. I don’t have time to make it back into the room, so instead, I slip out of the front door. I just ease it shut before she’s out.
I think about the underground station. She didn’t specify which one, but there’s one not five minutes from here, and if I’m right in my guessing, it’s also the closest one to the school.
Ryder was right; we are a team, and I’m not about to let a member of my team get killed on my account while the grown-ups argue like children. My decision made, I hurry downstairs and out of the building. I will turn myself in to Torque and then he will let Parker leave.
Hang on, Parker, I’m coming, I think.
***
It’s only as I move away from the crowd at the station and slip unnoticed into a dark tunnel marked “Staff Only” that I start to question what I’m about to do.
What if I hand myself over and Torque doesn’t let Parker go soon enough for her to send help? Or what if he kills us both?
I can’t let my imagination run away with me. I have to do this. I have to. And not just because I feel responsible, but because Parker is my friend; she’s one of the team, and we stick together.
My mind made up, I walk along the darkened tunnel. It is lit only by emergency lighting, and the stark concrete walls are kept in shadow. I shudder at the thought of the rats that are no doubt scurrying around in those shadows.
And yes, I see the irony. I’m here to hand myself over to a demon willingly, yet the thought of a rat scares me.
I walk ahead, hoping that Miku gave Pryor good information and that my assumption about what I heard is right.
I come to a stop when the passage I’m following splits into two. What now?
I pause, trying to choose. It’s only when I step closer to the two new tunnels that I notice a smell wafting out of the right-hand one. The whole tunnel smells damp and kind of gross, but this smell is different.
It’s musky, sort of sickly sweet with the tiniest hint of wet dog. It’s the Nukes! I realize now that I could smell it in the school too, it just didn’t register properly until now. The smell makes my decision a bit easier.
I set off down the tunnel. I walk quickly, but try to keep my steps quiet too. It’s one thing handing yourself over, but it’s another getting caught because your feet are too loud!
The tunnel widens out and joins up with the track. I recognize the scrawled graffiti on the walls as a tiny bit of light filters in. I know where I am now. Trains actually run down this tunnel. Does that mean I’ve taken a wrong turn somehow?
I sniff the air. The smell is stronger than ever. I’m heading in the right direction. I continue to walk along, staying closer to the wall now there are actual tracks here.
I round a slight bend in the tunnel and there she is. Parker is lying on the cold, concrete floor, still unconscious. She is being guarded by five Nukes. I smile to myself. I don’t even need to hand myself over. I can take them.
I take another step and that’s when Torque appears, gliding out of the shadows with an eerie grace that someone of his size shouldn’t possess.
He’s well over six feet tall and he looks almost as wide. His bright red eyes glow in the gloom, casting a pinkish shadow over his face. I imagined demons would be ugly, their faces scarred and twisted, but they aren’t.
Or at least this one isn’t. He’s handsome in a mean kind of a way. His mouth is twisted into a smirk, showing his perfectly straight white teeth.
“Well, well,” he says in a deep, low voice. “If it isn’t the girl of the moment. Silver sick of you already, is he?”
I swallow and hope my voice comes out steadier than I feel.
“I’ve come for Parker,” I say.
“Have you now?”
I nod. “Let her go and you can have me instead. That’s what you really wanted anyway, wasn’t it?”
He belts out a deep belly laugh, which cuts off, replaced with a simmering anger.
“You dare to come here and try to make a deal with me!” he bellows.
He raises his hand and a bolt of black shoots out of it. I duck and it hits the wall behind my head. I know I’m in trouble when I see the armchair-sized lump of wall crash to the floor.
He fires at me again and I move quickly to the side. I raise my own palm and fire off a bolt of my own. I’m struck by the contrast of my lightness to his darkness, but now isn’t the time to get all poetic.
He deflects my shot easily and takes a step towards me. I resist the urge to take a step back. He can’t know how terrified I am.
He fires again, and I move to the other side, pressing myself against the wall. I’m not quick enough, and his power cuts into the side of my arm, sending an agonizing pain through my whole body.
I freeze, gritting my teeth against the pain. My breath comes in shallow pants as I reach up again and fire off my own power. It’s not enough. It’s still not back up to full strength after the battle at the school, and I am no match for Torque. He’s going to kill us both if I stay here.
I edge along the wall, getting closer to the bend. If I can make it around there, I can find somewhere to hide. I try not to think about the smooth walls and the long stretch of track that offers no hiding place.
I glance down at my arm, seeing the burnt edges of my shirt. Beneath that, I can see blackened flesh with angry red patches. I wince. I wish I hadn’t looked. The pain has eased a little though.
I reach the bend and Torque follows me.
“Stay,” he commands the Nukes.
I give up on a hiding place and I run.
I can hear him behind me. I have the advantage here I think. I’m small and fairly fast. Hopefully his bulk will slow him down.
I am quick to underestimate him. He can move. I am still a little faster, but he’s closing the gap quicker than I would like. I feel the electric charge in the atmosphere and I know instinctively he’s firing at me again.
I hope for the best and duck towards the wall, his beam of darkness missing me by inches. I feel the heat from it singe the small hairs on my forearm as I push onwards.
The electric feel comes again, and this time, I duck away from the wall. Big mistake. I feel myself plunging down into empty darkness as I overstep and come off the walkway.
I don’t have far to fall. I land on my back, the wind momentarily knocked out of me. I try to get up but I can hardly breathe, let alone move.
I always pictured angels to be graceful creatures. How I can be an angel and be this clumsy still baffles me.
I become aware of my body vibrating slightly. Is Torque doing something to me? I look up, trying to spot him, but I can’t. He must still be a bit behind me.
With growing horror, I realize what the feeling is as I hear a loud whistling sound. A train is coming right at me.
I force my aching body to respond and pull myself to my feet. The train is so close I can see the driver’s horrified face through his window. I squat down slightly and launch myself at the raised walkway I fell from. I grab the top and scramble to safety just in time.
The wind from the passing train blows by and sends my hair flying in every direction and I know then how close I came to being cut in half.
I can feel a sharp, stabbing pain in my thigh and the warmth I can feel there tells me I’m bleeding.
I suddenly remember Torque. I’d forgotten him in the face of a more immediate danger.
He’s only a couple of feet away from me, and as I watch, he closes the gap. I try to run but my leg will barely hold me. At the exact moment he reaches for me, I see what’s hurting my thigh.
There’s a five-inch wood stake sticking straight out of my thigh. As Torque’s fingers grab my left arm, I pull the stake from my leg. With a scream born partly from agony and partly from the adrenaline that surges through me, I thrust the pointy, bloody end of the stake hard in Torque’s face.
The universe has taken pity on me and I have my first stroke of good luck. The makeshift stake goes into Torque’s eye with an audible popping sound. I feel a rush of warm liquid burst over my hand.
Torque’s face is twisted in an expression of shock. He lets go of me, reaching up in slow motion to pull the wooden stake free as his knees buckle. He goes down hard. His hands go limp and fall back to his sides as his body tumbles forward.
He lands facedown with an awful squelch as the stake is forced further into his head. I retch at the sound, and again when I see the black stream of demon blood running down my arm as I bring my hand to my mouth. I swallow hard once. Twice. When the worst of the sick feeling has passed, and the wave of dizziness is over, I turn and hurry back to Parker, ready to take on the Nukes.
I get back to the end of the tunnel I was just in. The Nukes are different now. Less threatening. Two of them roll around, seemingly play fighting while the others lie lazily off to one side, leaving Parker as close to unguarded as I could hope for.
I walk towards her, eyeing the Nukes warily. The one closest to me whimpers slightly. It rolls onto its back, its legs in the air, looking at me with a pleading glance.
I remember Ryder saying that Nukes are essentially pets and I think that now Torque is dead, his influence over them must have broken. They seem harmless now, almost docile, but I’m not quite ready to start handing out belly rubs just yet. Especially not when their fur burns. I reach down and with an effort, I ignore the pain in my thigh and arm and drag Parker over my shoulder. I’m glad she’s so small.
I walk away from the Nukes. Just as I’m pondering how on Earth I’m going to walk through a crowded New York underground station with blood soaking my jeans and an unconscious girl in my arms, I feel a strange tingling sensation around my arm. I look and there’s a series of markings that suddenly appear wrapped around my upper arm. The twins told me about this: it’s the symbol that means that I am the First Toren.
Suddenly, I feel like something is trying to force itself out of my shoulder blades, but there’s no pain. I hear a flapping noise, and a rush of air passes by my face. I catch a glimpse of something purple from the side of my eye. I turn my head and my mouth drops open in shock. I have my wings! I’m officially an angel now. They are magnificent. Silver, shimmery feathers... I roll my eyes and smile to myself, thinking how entirely beautiful, which is not something I have ever thought in relation to myself before.
Suddenly, getting home seems easier. I turn away from the station and head for the light at the other end of the tunnel. I step out into the fresh air, and have a moment’s panic when I realize I have no idea how to take off.
Worried and unsteady, I think really hard about flying. I only have to think about it, and I’m up in the air. I think back to the first time I met Pryor, I mean, my mom.
My mom. Still takes some getting used to for me.
When she took me flying, I felt the exhilaration. The rush. I feel it again now. Only this time, I feel it more deeply as I’m doing it on my own. The crazy thing is it feels natural. It feels like something I’ve been doing my whole life but somehow forgot about.
***
I arrive through Death’s sitting room window and land with a loud crash. I run two steps and manage to regain my balance, keeping a tight grip on Parker.
Even in flight grace isn’t my strong suit, but I did it. I did it!
“That was some entrance,” Lucas comments, kind of bitter.
I register then that the whole team is here, plus my parents, Dylann, Death, Parker’s parents and some others who I assume are the parents of the rest of the team. Not the best timing to make my grand entrance.
Hands gently pull Parker away from me and I get defensive until I see East taking her weight. I let her go. Before I’ve even had a chance to breathe, I’m locked in an embrace so tight I can barely breathe.
“Thank you,” Ryder says, his face close to my ear.
I can hear the emotion in his voice and I hug him back. He holds me a little too long. He doesn’t want the rest of the team to see him losing control. I make no effort to free myself from his grasp and even hug him back, although I’m struggling to breathe.
“That’s enough,” Silver says.
The room descends into silence at the cold anger in his voice. An anger he makes no effort to conceal. Ryder steps back and gives me a quick grin. I turn to face Silver.
“What were you thinking going off on your own like that? You could have gotten yourself killed. And if you have no respect for your own life, you should at the very least have considered that you could well have gotten Parker killed too.”
I glance at Pryor. She usually steps in to calm Silver down, but I see from the stony look on her face that I’m on my own with this one.
Except I’m not. I have one ally left.
“Let it go, Dad,” Dylann says. “You and Mom wanted her to act like an angel and now she is. She has her wings.”
She glances at me with a grin. “Although I think you could use some yoga classes judging by that landing.”
I laugh. I can’t help it. Parker is fine. I’m fine. And my sister just defended me.
“Hey, I’ll have you know that landing would have scored a perfect ten in the Olympics.”
“More like a two for effort.” Dylann laughs back.
The room is still filled with tension, but I feel good about what I did. I decide it’s time to answer Silver.
My dad. Ha! My dad is yelling at me. Why does that make me feel good? It’s like a scene out of a TV show. A dad who yells and grounds his kid. I’m someone’s kid!
“What I thought I was doing was saving my friend’s life. You know, doing the angel thing, and obviously, the universe agreed because I got my wings.”
“Do you know how dangerous this was? How stupid? You never go off without your team. Never.”
“Parker is one of the team,” I shoot back. “And I couldn’t just sit there and let her get hurt. I thought you’d be...” I can’t bring myself to say it out loud because it sounds lame.
I thought you’d be proud of me...
I guess he knows what I was about to say because the anger drains out of him as quickly as it appeared.
“Summit, I love that your first thought is to help, but you need to be safe. Just be more careful in the future. Stick together. Don’t go off alone. Because this quest is going to be more dangerous than anything you’ve ever imagined. And we won’t be there to remind you of that.”
“What, so I do one thing you don’t like and that’s it, you’re out?” I ask, incredulous.
Pryor steps forward. “It’s nothing like that,” she reassures me. “It’s a stipulation of the quest. We were going to tell you after school, but with everything that happened...”
She trails off as a large shimmering circle appears at the window. As I watch, fascinated, the center of the circle seems to solidify, spreading outwards until the circle becomes a whirling ball of plasma.
“What is that?” Dylann asks. I’m glad I’m not the only one who doesn’t know.
“It’s a gateway,” Mel says. “It leads to the limbo state between this world and the next.”
That doesn’t sound good. I don’t want to know, but I have to ask.
“And it’s here because?” I say.
“It’s here for us,” Pryor says sadly. She touches my cheek lightly.
“I’m so sorry, Summit; we have to leave you.”