The Stelter City Saga: Ultranatural Read online

  The Stelter City Saga: Ultranatural

  By Stefany Valentine

  Copyright 2013 Stefany Valentine

  Smashwords Edition

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  Chapter 1 Déjà vu

  ~The earsplitting bang of a gunshot traveled along the vacant beach. At the foamy waterline, a man’s body went limp as Ithaca set the gun down by her side. After all, death was the consequence for not joining in her uprising. The body toppled over, the man’s face plummeting into the sandy shore just as an eerie midnight wave crashed. Ithaca took a seat on the beach and watched as the black ocean pooled up around the corpse, slowly dragging it away.

  “Well done,” August praised from behind.

  Ithaca watched as her finger traced the shape of a heart in the damp sand. “You know I hate taking lives.”

  Through the still night, August’s laughter echoed across the empty beach. “You are a horrible liar.”

  Slowly a wicked grin spread across Ithaca’s face. Her fingers dug into the sand until she was able to rip out the tracing and fling it into an oncoming wave. “Oh, darling August.” She beamed falling back on the shore, “you know me far too well.”

  ~Sometime in the middle of all the kissing, Ace managed to whisper, “I love you.”

  Lee gazed into his sapphire eyes. They always looked like this; so serious and yet somewhat untroubled. It didn’t help that the arching of his perfect brows contributed to this expression. Even when his inky black hair swept across his forehead to hide them.

  But with Lee’s long pale fingers matted through his hair, she could clearly see every detail of his flawless face. From the long thick lashes to the tightness in his jaw. Even his nose was perfect. But that hardly compared to his body. He was always so firm and muscular, during their embraces, Lee’s arms would tell her she had them wrapped around a tree.

  “I love you, Lee.” He said again. Even his voice was perfection which made the way his lips trace her name even more delectable.

  Lee’s stomach flipped and goose-bumps sprang up her fare slender arms. She knew he loved her, and that he had for months now. But she could never grow tired of hearing it. “I love you too.” She whispered back.

  Even with her emerald eyes shut tight, she managed to find his lips and even with her back pressed flat against the stone wall of the front porch, she pulled him in closer.

  His hands slid from the side of her silvery hair and gripped onto her slender waist and Lee let out a faint gasp when he dug his fingers against her fragile core. Ace tried to be a gentle kisser, especially in moments like these. Even though he controlled his strength perfectly in a boxing ring, he hadn’t quite mastered his touch on Lee. He was a supernatural. An above human being who was stronger than a lion, faster than a car, and- for Ace- had the power to be untouchable.

  But at that moment, he wanted to be touched. Especially by Lee. He wanted nothing more than to surround himself with her ambiance and so in the mix of all the romance, he dared himself to pull her legs around his hips. Ace had expected her to wrap her legs round him and cling onto his shoulders so that she could have more of him, but what she did was the exact opposite.

  Lee had known their kissing was getting out of hand. But when Ace lifted her up by the waste, a wave of embarrassment washed over her. She muttered something against his lips as she tried to pull away, but Ace mistook her moan as a desire for more. Finally, Lee was just about to remind him that their romance was getting out of hand when an electric zap zinged over their lips. Ace pulled back immediately with a faint cry of pain.

  “Ouch,” Lee muttered. When she had snapped her head back, it collided with the wall and for a moment she saw stars.

  Ace chuckled as he gazed at her with a numb spot on the tip of his tongue. Her usually ivory face was flushed all over, hiding every single one of her small adorable freckles. She had just gotten a haircut for the first time ever, so now her face was framed by a silvery line of hair that sat over her wide lily pad eyes. It made her look adorable and innocent which was the way he loved her. Not sexy and fierce like the way he had pinned her to the wall.

  He hated himself for not being gentler with her. He knew they were in a funny place in their relationship. It was as if his body ached for her physically while his heart and mind stopped him from going too far. Sometimes, the mixed signals were so confusing that even a peck on the cheek felt too strong. Either way, Ace felt silly for even pulling her up there and set her down gently.

  “Sorry,” he muttered faintly turning to face the front door of their North Side hideout. He was grateful for the late time of day because in the shadows, his faint blush was hidden.

  “Yeah,” Lee answered, “Well, that was… you know… yup.” Lee didn’t know what she was trying to say. They had only started dating seriously a month ago and she still hadn’t figured out how she honestly felt about all the romance. Every time they had a passionate embrace similar to that one, they had always pulled away and let an awkward silence settle in rather than discus the boundaries.

  This time an extremely awkward atmosphere was brought in with her remark. The cold night air was so silent that every car horn honking in Tarrllian City could be heard from where they stood. If the night air had been warm enough to let the bugs out, the cliché chirping of crickets would have only added to their awkward situation.

  “Sometimes I wonder.” Ace finally muttered to break the silence, “If you’re a supernatural too.”

  Lee scoffed, but she was grateful that he had said something before she could make the situation more nerve-wracking. For as far back as she could remember- which wasn’t really even all that long ago- funny things happened around her and electricity. Sometimes they were small like she always managed to shock herself while climbing out of a car. Other times they were more noticeable. For example she always had a gift for predicting thunderstorms, and one time a manmade lightning bolt jumped seven feet just to hit her.

  “That would be cool.” Lee mentioned, “But my scenes aren’t as keen as yours. And I’m not strong, and I’m not fast.”

  “You are fast.” Ace objected.

  Lee laughed dryly, “Ha, ha. Well not as fast as you. I have yet to sprint faster than a Stelter on my bare feet.”

  Lee hadn’t realized she had talked herself into a yet another unpleasent zone until after she finished speaking. Just mentioning the word Stelter sparked a touchy subject because instead of thinking about the billion dollar corporation, Ace and Lee thought about the cars.

  Cars were like bread and butter to the ginger twins Cherry and Rose Dare. And the reason why this was such a sensitive subject was because Cherry had passed away almost two months ago. She, along with Ace and Lee’s other gang member Ditto had died from bullets fired by Tarrillian City police officers last year. Friends who weren’t gang members also had their lives stripped. Shadow, a particularly powerful supernatural, and Mirage; another amazingly gifted supernatural who gave her life to save Lee. But Ace was the only one who knew her sacrifice.

  At that time, Ace had no idea why Mirage would take a bullet for Lee. Even though she left a letter for him before she was murdered, it never mentioned why she felt Lee’s life was more valuable than her own. If anything, reading the letter only made Ace realize that he had so many questions. Questions that had never cross
ed his mind. In the letter Mirage had never answered any of them directly, but she did tell him where he could go to find answers: Heleow Hawaii. A Stelter city.

  Ace would have left Tarrillian a long time ago. But he needed to know that Lee was secure. He couldn’t just leave her after all of her friends practically died before her eyes. In the note, Mirage had left many predictions: villains, wars, fires… but nothing too terribly specific. Nothing indicated who this mysterious villain was or what the war was going to be over. There wasn’t even a hint as to how he would play a part in any of this.

  That’s why he needed to go to Heleow.

  Lee shivered in the cold late winter. Not knowing what else to say, she tugged anxiously on the silver locket around her neck. I was a gift Ace had given her their first Christmas together and she hadn’t taken it off since. “We should probably go inside now.” she said weaving her fingers in with his.

  Once inside, Lee flipped a switch and the grand front entrance lit up. Paintings and fancy furniture scattered throughout the three floored home. Even though the place was appealing to the eye, it lacked the lively vibe it once had when the whole gang lived there. Now it was just Lee.

  “Have you seen Rose or DH lately?” she asked as she continued to ignore the uneasy feeling lingering in the air.

  Ace leaned against the wall and glanced down the wide tile hall into the huge chandelier filled living room. “Not since last week.” He replied.

  “Where are they now?”

  Ever since the deaths, the remaining gang members had split up. Lee hadn’t seen either of the two in about a month.

  “South Side.” Ace answered, “Doing some Krome work I believe.”

  “So what have you been doing this week?” Lee asked leaning against the wall beside him.

  Ace didn’t answer. Instead he rested his head back on the wall and stared at the chandelier three floors up.

  “What’s wrong?” Lee asked.

  Ace shook his head, the dark loops of hair bounced around his narrow midnight eyes. “Nothing. I’m just tired.” He finally said.

  Lee eyed him doubtfully. He had always been a bad liar. “Ace,” she grumbled, “Don’t even. What’s on your mind?”

  The boy sighed; his eyes finally fell on Lee. “I love you.” He said again and Lee saw the truth of it in his eyes.

  Her skin tingled when she heard him utter those words and she slid her arms around his waist. “And I love you, Ace.” She replied, “So you’ve got to tell me what’s going on.”

  Ace stroked her rosy cheeks as he studied her with that unreadable expression and Lee waited for him to answer. Finally with a sigh he said, “I need to leave Tarrillian.”

  Lee failed to hide her stunned expression. “What do you mean?”

  “I… I need to figure some things out, and I think I should be leaving before the week is out.” He answered as calmly as he could.

  “Where?” Lee asked trying to keep her voice level, but she could feel the tears bubbling up. He couldn’t be leaving her. She had just lost two of her good friends. Losing Ace would be more than detrimental.

  “Heleow.”

  “That’s what Mirage told you to do?” Lee guessed piecing things together, “In that letter she left behind?”

  Ace nodded. His expression still hadn’t changed and Lee could guess what he was going to say next. “And you need me to stay here?” she asked trying to keep the hurt from her tone.

  His hand stopped tracing circles on her cheek only so that he could cup her face and hold his lips to her brow.

  “Ace,” she whimpered clutching his wrists, “but…” her voice began to tremor and tears swelled to her eyes. She felt like a baby crying in front of him, but this wasn’t the first time.

  “I can’t risk letting you get hurt.”

  “You were planning this weren’t you?” she asked trying to contain her tears, “Ever since that morning on the balcony. Is the reason why you haven’t left yet because you wanted to make sure I was stable enough to take care of myself while you were gone?”

  “Lee,” he cooed, “Angel, don’t cry.”

  Lee sucked in a big breath of air as an attempt to regain her composure, “No you’re right.” She finally said though her lip quivered. “You need to go to Heleow. I- I’m just being selfish.”

  “You’re the least selfish person I know.” whispered Ace wiping her last tear. “That’s why I love you.” He leaned down to peck her lips but she pulled away.

  “Could you…” But Lee’s voice faded before she could choke out the words. It had been somewhat lonely having a large empty house to herself. Even Ace had decided to live elsewhere since the gang had split up. She had grown so used to having his touch on hers in the day time that she felt vulnerable when she laid down in bed. But she couldn’t ask that of him. It would upset the boundaries they hadn’t even drawn out yet.

  “I’ll come over for breakfast.” Ace answered for Lee. “We’ll go meet up with Rose and DH tomorrow so I can tell them what I have planned.”

  Lee glanced down at the tile ground and nodded without a word.

  “Hey,” Ace cooed, tilting her face up by the chin. “Look at me angel.”

  Lee frowned but looked up at him just like he had asked. He was so beautiful to her, it was a wonder he was even in love with her dull, washed out features.

  “You look so much prettier when you smile.” He said after they held eyes for a moment.

  Lee couldn’t resist. A lopsided grin spread over her lips before she stood on her toes and pressed her lips to his for the last time that evening. “I’m in love with you, Ace.” She whispered as she pulled away.

  Ace didn’t let her get too far before he pulled her back and kissed her gently on the forehead. “I will never stop loving you, Lee.”

  ~Lee’s hair was still wet from a shower when she climbed into bed. The lights in her room turned off the moment her head hit the pillow. That was one thing she liked about the North Side hideout. It was so revolutionary, the house did a lot of the things she had hated doing in the orphanage. For a moment she watched as the glass wall let in the city light. Slowly, as time went on, the glass began to tint itself until her room was nearly pitch-black.

  Sleep was just around the corner. In her dream she was teleported back in time. She was with her best friends, sitting in their dusty attic of a bedroom crouched beside the narrow sliver of window longing for freedom. Larissa lay supine on the dirty mattress and as usual, tossed the red ball up in the air. Zach sat on the floor doodling in the splintering wood. The sight was so real; she knew it wasn’t a dream. She was reliving a moment in the past.

  “Let’s go bother Delilah,” suggested the gorgeous Latino Larissa.

  “Larissa, do you want to lose all your food privileges?” Lee asked playing with the thick chrome tracking device on her wrist. In the memory, Lee lay on her bed, right across from Larissa.

  “But I’m so bored!” Larissa bellowed clenching the ball so tightly it might burst. “I want to go on an adventure. Que quires Zach?”

  The brown haired boy glanced up from the floor, his hand-me-down shirt covered in dirt and a tired look sat over his green eyes. “I’m all adventured out Larissa. I just saved a koala bear from wrestling a woolly mammoth. So, yeah… pretty tuckered out over here. ”

  “And you did that with your eyes closed no doubt.” Larissa added.

  “Eyes closed, wearing mittens, shoelaces tied together, and crowning you the Queen of Sarcasm.” The boy sprung to his feet so that he could give Larissa a low bow. “Your highness.”

  Though Larissa was stubborn enough to want to peg him with the ball, she laughed along with Lee. Leave it to Zach to make everyone giggle. It had forever been his dream to be an actor and Lee always figured he’d do well as a comedian.

  The setting remained the same, but in Lee’s dream, time spun backwards. It was the day Larissa arrived at the orphanage. They were around thirteen years old and Lee had hurried Larissa into the attic to
avoid being teased because at that time, Larissa spoke nothing but Spanish.

  “Are you okay?” Lee asked patting Larissa’s thin shoulder as she curled up on the dirty floor weeping.

  At that time Larissa’s dark auburn hair was short and more tangled than a field of weeds. Lee had hurried over to the box under her bed, pulled out her three pronged comb and began untangling. Ever since then, Larissa’s hair had been the radiant envy of the orphanage. Lee combed for a moment until she heard the pounding of approaching steps. Moments later, the door was thrown open. Instead of seeing Zach with his wild brown hair and energetic green eyes, it was Jacob.

  “I heard we got a new friend.” He announced smirking.

  Larissa had glanced up. Her large almond shaped eyes wide with both curiosity and fear.

  “I’m not gunna hurt you.” Jacob grinned flopping down cross-legged in front of her. “I’m just here to say hi.” He extended one of his slender pale hands and waited for Larissa to shake back, but all she did was stare.

  “You’re scaring her, Jacob!” Lee wailed.

  The boy had shrugged and tossed his oily dark hair over his long face. At the time Lee had though he looked like a pirate with the way he wore his hair over his eye like an eye patch. It wasn’t his fault he never got a haircut and because they all lived in the slimiest orphanage, they all appeared mal-nutritional by default. But for some reason, Jacob set a record. He was the shortest of them all and his skin was sickly pale- so pale it almost looked blue and the places in his cheeks where there was no bone sank in like a bowl. Lee always thought he looked like a lizard when he pulled his thin white lips back in a smile. It was the way his cheeks dimpled combined with the fact that his blue eyes seemed to pop out of his skull that made it so.

  For the most part his eyes were almost the same midnight as Ace’s- except Ace didn’t have specks of brown in his eyes like Jacob had. Sometimes during one of their more lengthy conversations, Lee would find herself staring at the largest one. It was in his right eye just over his two o’clock. Sometimes, he would get upset at his friends for staring at it and Lee could never understand why he didn’t just part his hair to the other side. But as Lee stared at her old friend in her dream, Lee found herself staring at that spot again.