Sky Ghosts: The Night Before
by Alexandra Engellmann
Sky Ghosts: The Night Before
(Book 0.5 of the Sky Ghosts series)
Copyright ? 2016 by Alexandra Engellmann
All rights reserved
This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and events are products of the author's imagination, or have been used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental.
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Published by Alexandra Engellmann
[email protected] https://www.engellmann.com
Cover artwork by the author
Contents
Author's note
Sky Ghosts: The Night Before
Acknowledgements
About the author
Author's note
The short story that you're about to read is only a glimpse of the Sky Ghosts' world and the characters' lives before the events of Sky Ghosts: All for One. It's the most violent and dark-humored book in the series so far, and the reason is simple - when it comes to Marco and Pain, there's no such thing as too much bloodshed. But don't be misled, action and comedy is not all there is to it. The series is a huge genre-crossover: Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller, Romance, and Adventure, you'll find it all in Sky Ghosts.
Aside from the free preview, the series will include a trilogy and at least three side stories. Each book of the trilogy will be followed by a side story about one of the characters. While the side stories won't be part of the main storyline, they will give the reader more insight into the character development and plot. All Sky Ghosts books will be available in ebook and paperback at Amazon.
Thank you for downloading Sky Ghosts: The Night Before, and happy reading!
Sky Ghosts: The Night Before
"Your brother was a fine swordsman, Benji." Pain nodded her head, finishing up the milkshake. "I mean, he wasn't very bright, attacking me like that with Marco around and everything. But the two minutes that we shared were epic, I'll give him that."
She sat down on the rooftop with a contented sigh, looking over the glowing Manhattan. With its seventy-two floors, Trump World Tower provided the best view. She liked her mealtime to have a view.
"I almost wish Marco didn't kill him so fast. It could've been a fantastic battle." She rummaged in her Happy Meal for the fries, picking one and gesturing with it as she spoke. "Unfortunately, Marco doesn't like it when people have their sword at my neck. And I don't like it when you folk assault civilians right outside my doorstep. You two almost killed an innocent woman. You didn't really expect me to look the other way, did you?"
Dangling her feet off the ledge, she leaned back on her hands. Her back sheath stabbed into her shoulder blade, so she unbuckled it and laid the katana down behind her. The steel gleamed softly in the moonlight, and she reached out to wipe a bloody smudge off the hilt with a gentle touch.
"Now, if you just left after what happened, I probably would've let you go. But no, you had to threaten my friend with the promise of vengeance and all that horseshit? Ain't nobody got time for that." She stuffed the last of the fries into her mouth. "And Marco can get really reckless sometimes. I can't allow people like you around him."
She looked at the bloodied head that sat in a duffel bag at her side.
"And this is why you had to die. I hope there's no hard feelings, Benji."
Benji didn't reply, and she shrugged her shoulders, packing up the leftovers of her meal. Her watch showed ten o'clock, and she was miles away from her destination. Scratching random Beasts off her list was great, but the real work was waiting, something she had been dying to do for months. Chuck and his squad were finally within her reach, and that meant Eugene and his Beasts were about to lose significant support down on the streets. The fact that raiding their hideouts wasn't even her job never really bothered her.
She gathered her long black hair up into a ponytail, put the sword back on, zipped up her gear jacket, and raised her mask, covering her face up to her eyes. Then she grabbed the bag and stepped off the roof.
The gravity did its job, bringing her to the tenth floor level in a matter of seconds. There, she stopped the fall and darted in Brooklyn's direction, the wind howling around her as she flew. It only took her a few minutes to reach Greenpoint Terminal Market, pass its charred ruins, and spot the right building - a low, black warehouse that sprawled among the smaller ones like a spider. She flew past it and landed in a dark corner, hiding the bag under a dumpster to free her hands.
As she walked through the smelly gap between two low buildings, she heard muffled voices and paused. Her senses were dulled by the flight, the noise of the wind still loud in her head, and her eyes watery. So she stood there for a minute, motionless, getting used to the dark and quiet surroundings. Some of the streetlight filtered down the narrow alley before her, but not too much, so she could go and look around.
She stepped forward and felt her skin prickle - someone was behind her. Her katana left its sheath just as her attacker slammed into her, making her lose balance. She rolled over and jumped to her feet, parrying his blow and cringing at the clatter their swords made. In a few seconds, all the Beasts in the area would be here.
"Sneaky," she praised the man whose blade kept trying to reach her, only to fail again and again.
To make it even more hopeless for him, she reached into the well of energy inside her and let some of it spill out into a shield, allowing the shimmering cocoon to envelop her whole body. Using it felt too much like cheating, with most Beasts not having developed any abilities aside from flying, but there was no such thing as too much practice.
Her attacker panted, desperately trying to keep up with her moves. He wore a nondescript set of black clothes, standing just a little taller than she.
"Too slow for your size," she kept distracting him while driving him farther and farther back into the darkness. Her sword was there to meet his before he even made a move.
"And you're too cocksure for yours," he spat. "I know who you are."
She found an opening and kicked him flat in the ribs, fueling her move with more energy than she should have, so the Beast slammed into a wall a few yards away. By the time she got to him, he was already on his feet.
"Then you should've stayed in your smelly corner," she whispered with a grin and swung her sword one more time just as he opened his mouth for a reply.
A thin red line crossed his neck, and his eyes fluttered wide open. A heartbeat later, his body hit the ground.
She let out a relieved breath, standing at the edge of light, and wiped the blood off her split eyebrow. Healing it was a matter of minutes: the sharp pain receded the moment she focused on it, and she opened her eyes, letting it heal while she worked.
Behind her, someone cleared his throat.
"Oh, for crap's sake?"
She turned around at the sound of four swords leaving their scabbards at once, while the fifth man stepped forward with a growl.
"The girl is mine!" He drew his sword with a wild look in his eyes. "She's the one who killed Billy," he said, and the others nodded.
"Aye, it's her."
She grimaced with feigned sympathy
as they began to circle each other in the pool of light. "Sorry if I don't remember. Killed an awful lot of Billies lately."
"You bitch!"
He lunged at her with a snarl, taking big, awkward swings. It only took her three seconds to find an opening in his defense, and with the others waiting, she didn't want to waste any more energy.
Her elbow slammed into his jaw, and her katana buried itself deep between his ribs.
"I think this was how I killed Billy," she stage-whispered, looking into the man's terrified eyes. "Or was it Bobby? Oh, wait. I don't care."
She freed her sword with a vicious shove, letting him fall. The others froze in place, and she smiled, raising the big katana.
"Oh, don't be shy! There's enough sword for all of you!"
Three sets of frowned eyes stared back at her, and when she realized something was amiss it was already too late.
Someone moved behind her back and grabbed her arms just as she darted upward, only to land jerkily on her feet. She stilled, but kept a firm grip on her sword and prepared to flare the shield any second. Letting them think they were in control was the game she would never grow tired of playing.
"Wait!" One of the others said when the big man behind her whipped out what had to be a knife. "She's worth more alive than dead. We could sell her to Eugene!"
"Yeah, right!" his friend supported him, coming closer.
"Yeah, right," she repeated derisively, slewing around to look up at her captor just as another black