The Shadow Boy and the City of Glass

The Girl in the Street

The steering wheel felt freezing under my hands as I stared through the windshield.

Elena stood ten feet away in the middle of the empty street. Her hospital gown fluttered in the night wind, but she did not shiver. Her skin looked smooth and healthy, completely free of the pale sickness that had kept her in bed for years. Her eyes glowed with a bright, violet light that cut through the darkness of the city.

Elena? I said, my voice catching in my throat as I reached for the door handle.

Beside me, Evelyn moved with blinding speed. She grabbed my arm in a hard grip, stopping me from pushing the door open. Her blue eyes were wide, scanning the street with sudden panic.

Do not step out of this van, Arthur, Evelyn said, her voice sharp and tight. Look at her eyes. That is not a sick girl. That is a vessel.

She is my sister, I snapped back, trying to pull my arm away. Let me go!

If you go out there right now, she will kill you, Evelyn said, her tone dropping into a hard warning. I have seen what happens when the council's anchors wake up. They do not remember their families. They only want to break the world.

Before I could answer, Elena raised her right hand.

A sharp bolt of dark energy shot from her fingertips, striking the hood of our van with a loud crash. The metal crumpled inward, and the engine died instantly with a puff of thick gray smoke. The impact pushed the heavy vehicle backward across the asphalt, shaking us violently inside.

Hold on! Evelyn shouted, kicking her door open and rolling out onto the street.

I did not wait. I pushed my door open and scrambled out on the passenger side, keeping low as another wave of violet energy blasted over our heads, shattering the streetlights above us. Glass rained down on the pavement like glittering diamonds.

Evelyn crouched behind the side of the van, her hands glowing with bright yellow sparks. She looked at me with cold determination.

We need to take her down, Arthur, Evelyn said. "If she finishes whatever she is doing, that dome above us will crush every single person in this city.

I am not going to hurt my sister! I yelled, anger flaring hot in my chest.

Then she is going to kill both of us! Evelyn fired back, standing up and throwing a bolt of lightning straight past Elena to force her to move.

Elena did not even flinch. She lowered her hand, and the violet light in her eyes grew brighter. A strange, heavy wind began to blow around her, lifting her hair into the air.

Arthur, Elena spoke again. Her voice still sounded wrong, too deep, too loud, like multiple people talking at the same time. You were built to keep me safe. You were built to take the hits so I could wake up. Why are you fighting the plan?

My chest tightened. The words hit harder than any knife my uncle had thrown at me. You were built. Those were the exact words Uncle Marcus had shouted before he tried to kill me. My whole life, my memories of taking care of Elena in the hospital, the long nights studying by her bedside, the quiet promises we made, was it all a lie? Was I just a shield made in a lab?

You are lying, I whispered, stepping out from behind the smoking van.

Ask your uncle, Elena laughed, a cold, empty sound that did not belong to a teenager. Ask him who paid for the hospital. Ask him whose blood is really inside your veins."

Evelyn stepped up beside me, her lightning crackling louder now. She did not look at me with pity. She looked at me like a soldier ready for a fight.

Every elite family in the council plays dirty games, Arthur, Evelyn said quietly, keeping her eyes fixed on Elena. Your whole life was structured to keep that girl asleep. Now that she is awake, you do not matter to them anymore.I matter to her," I said, though my voice shook.

I raised my hands, letting my shadow and ice powers swirl around my fingers. The air around us dropped ten degrees in a single second. Frost covered the broken glass on the street, and thick black shadows rose from the pavement like living snakes.

Elena smiled. It was not a sweet smile. It was the smile of a predator looking at easy prey.

Let us see how strong your shield really is, brother, Elena said.

She slammed both hands down onto the pavement.

The ground beneath us cracked open with a deafening roar. A wall of violet fire erupted from the asphalt, racing straight toward us at terrifying speed, burning away the night and leaving nothing but ash in its wake.