Chapter 17 #2
Cotton twisted at the waist, cracks rippling down his spine as he did, followed by the angling of his neck to rid it of loud pops.
After observing the surrounding area, he climbed up on the ledge and peered down at the drop, then ahead at the jump.
He hopped down and strolled to the end of the rooftop.
Giving his thighs a quick stretch, he dropped into a runner’s lunge, focus hardening his eyes.
The white hair in his sleek haircut stood stark against the inked night.
“You think he’ll make it?” Hazel asked me in a low voice over her shoulder from my side as we stood, bracing to watch him.
Cotton was training to become the next Inquisitor, not a Warrior, but he seemed pretty confident in his skills.
“It’s hard to say,” I murmured. “But I wouldn’t bet against him.”
Cotton took off, sprinting toward the end of the rooftop and then doing what Chrome and I had done many times. He leaped onto the flat ledge and bound himself off the rooftop as he sailed through the air in a lunge.
We all stared as we held our breaths, waiting to see where he landed. As time seemed to slow, and he seemed to stall out, he managed to drop onto the flat roof of the building beside us.
Cotton’s white hair disappeared beneath us and blended into the shadows as we collectively rushed to the ledge and peered down.
Once Cotton’s head emerged in the distant light being cast down on him, we all cheered and clapped for his success.
Without a smile or any sort of celebration, Cotton walked several feet on the roof and sat cross-legged while he waited for the next jumper.
“Hell, yeah. That’s one person down. Who’s next?” Onyx shifted his gaze back and forth between Chrome and me.
Chrome shrugged. “I’ll go.” He didn’t bother checking the distance or making any judgments of what the jump would require from him as he confidently strolled to the spot Cotton had previously been occupying for his launch location.
Without a stretch, he bolted into a sprint, his chromatic hair streaking past us at a speed none of us could ever hope to attain.
With his royal hybrid nature, it made sense why he was so gifted, but no one else knew about that except for Peri and me, leaving the others in awe of his speed and agility.
Chrome leaped onto the ledge of the roof and effortlessly soared the wide gap separating the two buildings. He always made it look so simple, like it was merely a hop to him.
After several seconds, he dropped to the rooftop Cotton sat waiting on. Chrome rolled and popped back to his feet without a hitch in his step before taking a seat beside our friend.
Like with Cotton, we all clapped, although no one was surprised by Chrome’s accomplishment in the slightest.
“Okay, Slate. Your turn!” Onyx called, a grin beaming wide and bright.
Hazel nudged me with her elbow, and Peri offered a grin, holding her phone up, facing me as she filmed the entire thing.
I rolled my eyes and tossed up the middle finger toward the camera with an exaggerated smile before I spun around, making my way to the starting point.
Like Chrome, I didn’t get into a runner’s lunge.
I pulled in a few deep breaths to get oxygen flowing through my bloodstream and popped my neck from side to side.
I zeroed my focus on the ledge and then the rooftop beyond it. I exhaled slowly, absorbing any light emitted from the streetlights surrounding us. They flickered and dimmed as I topped off my magic and took off at a sprint like Chrome had.
Obviously, I wasn’t nearly as fast as him, but I pushed myself to a high enough speed to leap onto the ledge. Pushing off in a single move, I used my magic to increase my inhuman strengths to help me clear the space with ease.
I soared over the alleyway below, and once the flat rooftop came into view below me, I dropped down, bending my knee, ready to land in a body roll to prevent a painful landing.
The impact was harsh, as always, but I rolled through it to my feet.
“You lacked the air you usually do, Slate,” Chrome said with a bemused grin.
Cotton furrowed his brows and shook his head as he began to pick at the small pebbles on the ground at his feet.
I rolled my eyes. “Oh, fuck off, over-achiever,” I grumbled as I moved to sit beside him.
Chrome chuckled and bumped me with his shoulder. “So, do you think Onyx is gonna make it?”
I snorted, and the grin on Cotton’s face told me he shared the same thoughts. “I think he’ll be lucky to make the first one.”
“I don’t think he’ll make even that. What the hell was he thinking challenging us to this?” Chrome asked, genuinely confused. “He has literally no training for this.”
“Why does Onyx ever do any of the shit he does?” I questioned dryly, although my fondness for Onyx shone in my tone. Everyone needed a friend like Onyx Valor in their lives.
“Shall we go watch the carnage?” Chrome mused with a smirk and a raised brow.
“Obviously,” I retorted, rising to my feet. “One of us will need to save his ass at some point tonight. You know that, right?”
Cotton was the one who answered with a firm shake of his head and a grin.
“No?”
Cotton’s face soured playfully into a look that said “Are you crazy?”
“Ah,” Chrome realized, nodding in agreement. “Onyx brought this shit on himself.”
We laughed as we made our way to the rooftop ledge, tilting our heads upward at the roof we’d just vacated, waiting to either see or hear Onyx’s jump.
“I can’t wait to see the footage from Peri after this is over,” I muttered to Chrome.
We waited for several moments while nothing happened. I grew impatient, assuming Onyx finally came to his senses and backed out. I honestly hoped he would for his own well-being.
“Fuck it. Let’s jump back. I don’t think he’s…
” I started but stopped as I heard a fearful battle cry reverberating off the surrounding buildings.
I searched the darkened skies through my heightened vision for a body.
And, sure enough, a shadow kicked and flailed as a panicked yell seemed to propel him forward.
“Shit! Fuck! Shit! Oh, my gods! Fuck me!”
The three of us stood by with open mouths as Onyx dropped from the sky, right on the ledge, his midsection catching him.
My drunkenly overconfident friend hugged the building tight against his body.
“Fuck…” he wheezed at last, his torso folded over it like a taco.
“Help,” he squeaked, his amber eyes bulging from his head helplessly.
Chrome, Cotton, and I looked at each other, trying to determine whether we should or make him suffer for a bit. With a sigh, Chrome rolled his eyes. “Fuck it. Let’s help him over.”
When we reached Onyx, he grunted. “I almost died. You guys almost let me die! Why did you let me do that?”
“Are…are you serious right now?” I asked in open shock. “You…this was all your idea!”
“But it was a terrible idea that you fuckers let me charge headfirst into! I had no business doing that!”
The booming laughter coming from Chrome’s chest was a very rare sound, but it was great to see him out of his head. “I really needed the laugh, Onyx,” he managed to say. “Thank you, man.” Chrome leaned down, scooping our friend up from underneath his arms.
I stepped up to Onyx’s left side, as did Cotton on the right. We all heaved Onyx over the ledge where he plopped down on his stomach onto the rooftop with a grunt.
Looking down at Onyx’s sprawled body, I asked him, “You good to jump back, dude?”
“Fuck that,” he said and rolled over, slowly rising to his feet.
The three of us shared in the humor before agreeing to walk back to the previous rooftop where our sisters waited.
We found the ladder leading to the alleyway and descended to the uneven concrete in the pitch night. The four of us didn’t speak as we just as swiftly ascended the ladder to the rooftop of our secret spot, Onyx leading the way, and Chrome taking up the rear.
Once we reached the surface to join the girls, another presence immediately slammed into me.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Royal,” Onyx cursed. “What are you doing here?”
“Hi, baby! I missed you and needed to find you.” Her blue hair was curled to perfection, and she donned a plastered grin.
Reluctantly, Onyx pulled her into a hug and kissed her forehead.
Cotton coughed from behind, and the look of disgust on his face said everything we all felt about the couple.
“Would you like a shot, babyface?” Onyx asked into her hair, his tone softening on her behalf.
Royal gazed up at him with glazed eyes and a wide smile. “Of course, my sweet.”