Shadows (Ultrahumans Book 2) by Niall Teasdale Page B

yours and they said the two of you were being really hard on the Tonaldos, and there was the sword, but they never said anything about…’ He waved a hand vaguely toward Andrea’s face.
    ‘Well, no, this is new. I could keep it a secret before. Then… I got gassed along with Jacob. It’s a drug the Tonaldos are shipping in. He’s in hospital. I’m fine, but… different.’
    ‘You were trying to catch the people who killed Andrew?’ Audrey asked, her voice hushed.
    Andrea nodded. ‘And it turned out to be more complicated than we thought. But one of them is dead. Ghostfire, the man Cygnus killed before Christmas, he was one of them. The other one got away, but we’ll get him. He wants Cygnus for something and when he comes back we’re going to nail him.’
    ‘I thought the Tonaldos–’
    ‘Andy shouldn’t have got involved with them. They put him on the wrong road, but it was Ghostfire who killed him, Mom. Set him up, set the whole gang up, and killed them.’
    ‘Well, I hope you’ll bring Cygnus up to see us sometime,’ Marcus said. ‘We should thank her for getting some justice for our son.’
    ‘I’m not sure she wants to be thanked. She didn’t have much choice about killing him, but it took her weeks to get over it. I’ll see what I can do though. Might do her some good to know she brought a little closure.’
    ‘So…’ Audrey said, visibly trying to look happy and not quite managing it. ‘Uh, what can you do?’
    ‘I’m not really sure yet. It seems to be related to darkness and shadows, but beyond that… I haven’t had time to find out.’
    Audrey’s brow furrowed for a second. ‘Darkness and shadows, well, that’s appropriate if you call yourself Twilight.’ The brightness was a little forced, and Andrea did not think it was simply to do with the discovery that her daughter was an Ultra.
    New Millennium City, MD.
    Cygnus soared above Chesapeake Bay, her eyes scanning for signs of water traffic. It was a clear, cool night, the wind was in her hair, and she was feeling pretty good, if a little frustrated. So far there was no sign of a drug ship.
    She was beginning to wonder whether her information was wrong when she spotted the shadow. Something was moving under the water of the bay, something large and dark. She considered the possibility that it was a lost whale, but decided it was worth following up on because the shape seemed too unnatural for a sea mammal.
    As she followed the shape as best she could, she pulled a slim, hook-shaped device from the top of one boot and slipped the short end into her right ear.
    ‘Call Red Huntress.’
    The sound of the Den was loud in the background of the call. ‘Cygnus?’ Red’s voice had a question in it.
    ‘Hi, Red. Sorry to interrupt, but I was wondering whether you knew if people used submarines to ship in drugs?’
    ‘Not in this area, but… I think I recall hearing about it being done into Miami.’
    ‘Huh… Shame Twilight’s not in town. She would have loved to see this one. I’ll try to drop in there before closing time.’
    ‘See you later then.’
    Tucking the mini-phone back into her boot, Cygnus checked the position of the shadow under the water. It was maybe two miles away from Deale Harbour and not travelling very quickly. She figured she had a good ten minutes before it got to shore and, as yet, she could not be sure where it was headed. The deep water around the docks probably meant that the thing would not need to surface until it was actually at the unloading point.
    Keeping an eye on the path of the supposed sub, she flew on ahead, checking the docks for signs of anyone waiting for the incoming shipment. She found them on Pier Four: two vans parked up at the end of the pier and a group of men standing around looking as though they were trying very hard to appear as if they were just hanging. To Cygnus they were not doing a very convincing job. She figured they could afford to wait until the last moment to arrive for