Shadows (Ultrahumans Book 2) by Niall Teasdale Page A

first,’ Andrea replied.
    ‘Yeah, but it grows on you, doesn’t it?’
    Andrea smiled. ‘It was pretty good. Mom asked what I’d done to them and I hadn’t really got a clue.’
    ‘Fear of the dark is one of the most basic instincts. You develop it young and then most people grow out of it, more or less. But it’s not the darkness itself; it’s what might be in the darkness. We can just… let people feel that primal fear again.’
    ‘It seems to be effective.’
    ‘Oh, baby, you ain’t seen half of what we can do.’
    Andrea was silent for a second. ‘I think… I think I’ll be watching from wherever you are. I’m not the fighter I was. I think you got the courage.’
    ‘Maybe. But you’re more level-headed. You won’t let your confidence override your common sense. We’re a team.’ There was a slight pause and then she added, ‘I don’t think we’re alone in here though. Have you felt her?’
    ‘Maybe. When I first came to. Sometimes when it’s really dark. I think I’m kind of glad she’s not talking to us. Who do you think she is?’
    ‘I think… she is darkness.’
    30 th March.
    ‘I still can’t believe someone tried to rob us,’ Audrey said over breakfast.
    ‘I can,’ Andrea replied, ‘but I have to admit that being Twilight may have given me a jaundiced view of humanity.’
    ‘Well,’ Marcus said as he walked in from the lounge, ‘it turns out it was sort of an inside job. That was the police on the phone. The two you captured talked and they’re bringing in the third, and also Jilly. Seems she was the one who told them when we took the cash to the bank and when the biggest haul would be going. They’re charging her as an accessory.’
    ‘Well… It saves you firing her,’ Andrea commented.
    ‘At least your jaundiced view of society hasn’t dulled your sense of humour.’
    Andrea held up her hand, finger and thumb held half an inch apart. ‘Little bit. I do find some things funny that I probably shouldn’t, but it’s laugh or cry. Like Cygnus dropping a submarine on drug smugglers. I think that’s hilarious.’
    ‘No,’ Marcus replied, grinning, ‘that actually is pretty funny.’
    ~~~
    Andrea stood on the roof, her eyes on the night sky. It was clear and there was no moon; the stars were bright and not even twinkling much. It would be a cool night, dark and cold in fact.
    ‘Perfect,’ Twilight commented.
    ‘You’re seeing this?’
    ‘I experience what you do, assuming I want to. We’re in the same brain.’
    ‘Good to know for when I’m back there. How… I mean, what does it take to get you out here?’
    ‘You know,’ Twilight replied.
    The sound of a door opening stopped Andrea from asking what her other self meant. She glanced back and saw her mother walking over to stand beside her.
    ‘Careful,’ Audrey said, ‘you’re very close to the edge.’
    Andrea grinned. ‘I stand on rooftops for a living, Mom. Well, a really serious hobby.’
    ‘I’m glad to hear you take it seriously. Looking at the stars or communing with the night?’
    ‘That sounded really pretentious. I’ll say stars. Cygnus actually knows what they’re called. She was into astronomy when she was a kid.’
    ‘Hence the name, I assume. Cygnus is a constellation. “The Swan,” I believe.’
    ‘Yeah, and you might get to find out why sometime.’
    ‘Not just the white costume… If you can call that a costume.’
    ‘Her friend designed it for her so you can’t entirely blame her for looking like a stripper. She does look incredible in it.’
    ‘Perhaps, but it seems like she’s trying to grab attention.’
    Andrea shook her head. ‘No. Be memorable maybe, but she’s no glory hound. I make her handle the press because I don’t like doing it.’
    ‘You prefer being in the shadows.’
    ‘Uh-huh.’
    There was a second or two of silence as both women stared up into the sky. Then Audrey said, ‘There was a tale my grandmother used to tell about a place in Italy, a castle