Page 74 of Spears and Shadows (Defenders of the Light)
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As Nora madeher way through the streets of Chicago, she suddenly understood the practice of warriors wearing capes on a new level. She had tried to put on her puffy winter jacket over her clothes and armor, and it had turned out to be obnoxiously bulky and restrictive. She was unable to zip her coat over the added bulk of the breastplate, so she was forced to use one hand to hold it around her as the other carried her spear.
The storm had intensified even further since she and Adam had exited the portal the first time. Nora bowed her head and pressed forward into the frigid wind, which threated to tug the edges of her coat from her numb fingers yet again. This blizzard was of epic proportions for it not being fully winter yet, but Nora could sense the malice in the wind that told her this was not a natural storm.
Knowing the Shadow would want Nora’s journey to Odelle to be as hard and demoralizing as possible, Nora turned and walked directly into the wind, towards where the air seemed the coldest and the swirling snow felt the densest.
So far, it had led her away from the lakefront and among the towering skyscrapers of the loop. Nora had hoped the shelter of the buildings would give her some relief from the biting wind, but it only served to tunnel the air, whistling through the streets so loudly that Nora could hear little else. There wasn’t much to hear anyway, with the streets as empty as Nora had ever seen them, the only cars in sight blanketed in snow.
Nora tried to think positively as the last of the feeling left her frigid face. At least the abandoned streets meant there would be minimal collateral damage from the coming confrontation.
As Nora approached the L tracks, any ability to think positively was lost as the howling wind became impossibly loud. The snowfall was so dense that Nora had to squint to make out the poles holding up the tracks for the elevated train.
The howling of the wind began to take on a groaning quality, and Nora paused before she realized it was not the wind at all, but a voice. She followed the sound towards one of the square metal poles buried in the street.
Through the haze of snow, Nora could just make out a huddled form propped up against the painted yellow column. She did her best to run towards it, slipping on the accumulating snow and gritting her teeth against the stinging in her still tender foot until she skidded to a halt in front of the bundled figure and clattered to her knees.
As she had suspected, the figure was Odelle. Nora was relieved to find her still bundled in the excessively large puffer jacket with the fur lined hood that the newscasters were issued when they broadcasted in extreme weather. Odelle herself appeared to not be aware of Nora’s approach, masked by the whistling of the wind. Odelle buried her face in her coat so that it was completely obscured, and a fresh rush of rage filled her blood as she saw that one of her hands was bound to the pole at her back. The rage almost immediately gave way to puzzlement when she saw that one of Odelle’s prosthetic legs was no longer strapped on, but instead clutched tightly in her free hand.
Nora touched Odelle’s shoulder, and her sister flinched away as she pulled her head out of her coat. Her eyes widened before becoming narrow and hard.
“You.” Odelle’s voice was as angry as it was broken. “This is all your fault.”
The words twisted like a knife in Nora’s heart even though they were an exact echo of what Nora had thought when she’d heard Odelle’s capture. Just a few more hours and Nora would have been at dinner with Odelle, telling her the truth about everything. Now Odelle had had the truth thrust upon her in the cruelest way possible.
Nora distracted herself from the pain by reaching for Odelle’s still bound hand to untie her.
“I know, zaika, and you can be mad at me once we get you out of here,” Nora said, struggling with her numb fingers to untie the cord that held Odelle’s wrist. She did her best to hurry when Odelle shivered violently against her arm.
She didn’t manage to loosen the knot at all before a voice colder than the raging storm sounded behind her.
“I would call this a touching family reunion, but I think you are the last person Odelle wants to see right now.”
Nora whirled around and jumped to her feet in the same motion, snatching up her spear as she rose.
“Not after I’ve told her how you lied to her,” the Agent continued, unperturbed by Nora being substantially more well-armed than she had been at their last meeting. He looked exactly the same as he had then, dressed in an impeccable suit without a coat, despite the temperature. He still bore Leo’s face, but Nora knew that Leo was gone, and this twisted creature of darkness wore him like a mask by his own admission.
“You need to work on your human disguise,” Nora spat at him. “Normal people need to wear winter coats in a blizzard.”
He cocked his head and looked down at his clothing. The snow around his feet melted from the heat that she knew radiated from his body. Her foot still ached slightly from kicking him a few days ago.
“I was human once, you know,” the agent said in a tone that would have been conversational had his voice been capable of any sort of warmth. “I haven’t missed the condition.”
“Then why don’t you just show yourself as the monster you really are?” The feelings from Nora’s last meeting with the Agent crept up her spine and she gripped her spear tighter until her fingers ached. She couldn’t let him keep talking and get inside her head again, as much as she needed to buy more time. She would rather goad him into a fair fight. Running him through with her spear felt like a fantastic idea when she thought about the pain in Odelle’s eyes.
“If memory serves, taking a human form hasn’t stopped me from being a monster before,” the agent continued with a shrug. “In fact, I think I do some of my best work when I wear a human face.”
Nora responded by tugging off her bulky winter coat. “You aren’t going to do any more work at all if I have anything to say about it.”
“Fiesty after our last meeting, aren’t we? I must say, I’m surprised that you and Adam reconciled so quickly. Shame that you abandoned him so soon after reuniting. I can feel the guilt rolling off you for running away without explanation.”
Nora tried desperately not to worry about where Adam might be at that moment, only sparing the barest thought to hope that Seraphina had given him her message. Then she distracted herself by swinging her spear into its ready position. Held in her left hand with her arm bent, the long blade pointed to the ground to her left and the butt pointed up behind her right shoulder.
The agent smiled at her unspoken challenge, but the smile grew and grew like a rip across his face to reveal the fiery blackness beneath. His skin continued to peel back as it had last time, his form growing until it was a seven-foot monster of darkness with whip like arms and red coals where eyes should be. When the gash where the mouth should be parted, Nora saw the harsh glow of white fire within and the heat of it scraped across her numbed cheeks. Odelle began whimpering behind her, but Nora didn’t spare her a look, keeping the whole of her focus on the adversary before her.
Nora swung her spear first, and the force when the Shadow blocked it with one of its arms was enough to make her eyeballs hurt. As they began exchanging blows, Nora became grateful that her spear was longer than her usual practice weapon. The extra reach allowed her to stay away from the Shadow’s disproportionately long arms, which swung out faster than her eyes could follow. Still, Ezra’s training had managed to work its way under her skin, and she blocked a blow without having to give it conscious thought.
As the Shadow feinted one way, Nora fell for its maneuver and was forced to dodge narrowly as it swerved the other direction, ducking into a quick roll. She was suddenly much more grateful for the afternoon she had spent collecting bruises while practicing rolling with a weapon as she managed to regain her feet without impaling herself.
