Nightfall (Pact Arcanum Integrated Serial Edition) Read Online Free PDF

“I am a Child of the Twilight,” he thought.
    “I hold the line against the Darkness, from the setting of the sun to the dawning of a new day,” Ana’s voice came to him.
    “I live for the Light,” said Take. “I die for the Light.”
    “My eyes are open, and I am not afraid,” thought Rory, finishing the words that echoed in his memory, although he had never heard them before. He unlocked the side door of the garage and walked out into the night, then through the wrought-iron gate onto the street. Looking up at the stars, he spoke out loud. “We’re Sentinels.”
    Take, from the other side of the city, followed his gaze heavenward. “And those two guys Antonio killed were vampires.”
    “This is what we were born to do,” thought Ana. “We kill them before they kill anyone else. That’s why we inherited the Gift.”
    “Bullshit,” Rory snarled. “This isn’t a gift. It’s a fucking curse. It’s an inherited disease like any other. Just because we’re descended from her people doesn’t mean we have to play along with Narissa’s game and become soldiers. There’s no such thing as destiny.”
    “What are you doing, Rory?” asked Takeshi, feeling the computational power of Rory’s Gift of Air come fully awake.
    “Calculating stellar drift,” answered Rory, his enhanced sight easily identifying the constellations and matching them to the knowledge he had inherited. “I want to know how long our ancestors have been trapped in this cycle of … oh my God.”
    “What is it?” Ana asked.
    “Thirty-two thousand years,” Rory said, stunned. “That’s how long it’s been since the Gift was imposed.”
    For once, even Ana was speechless.
    “We have to find Antonio,” Takeshi said after a pause. “After all that time, for them still to be fighting—”
    “It means neither side has been able to gain an advantage,” Ana finally said. “What have we signed up for?”
     

CHAPTER 3
     
    In the orange light of early morning, Rory set out at a brisk run, exhilarated momentarily by the speed that accompanied his increased agility and endurance. He seemed to fly down the empty streets of Portrero Hill in a blur, without being the slightest bit winded. A few minutes later, he reached the park. Take sat alone on a swing, feeding the pigeons and silently conversing with Ana over their psychic link. The silence was interrupted only by the warbling birds, which scrabbled for the sunflower seeds he tossed on the ground. Rory pulled open the gate in the chain-link fence and then stopped dead as Take turned at the sound.
    Take frowned, concerned by Rory’s shock, which ricocheted through the link. “What? Do I have something on my face?”
    Rory swallowed, maintaining eye contact. “Take, what do you see when you look at me?”
    Take smiled and rocked slightly on the swing. “Only the Gift of Air can let you pick out an active Sentinel on sight, Rory. Why would I see anything other than you?”
    “Humor me. It’s important.”
    Take shrugged. Relinquishing his swing, he moved closer to stare deeply into his friend’s eyes. “Oh my God,” he whispered. “The Wind of Air.”
    “Do you know what I see when I look at you?”
    Take shook his head wordlessly.
    “The Wind of Earth.”
    Takeshi’s eyes widened. “That’s impossible. I would have known.”
    Rory shook his head. “I can see it in your eyes. You’re the one—first among the Four Winds, the leader of the entire Sentinel Race. That’s why Antonio called you ‘Lord.’ He could see it, too.”
    Tired of eavesdropping, Ana triangulated coordinates through their eyes and cast a spell to teleport directly to their location. Appearing in a flash of white light, she swung around and looked critically at Takeshi. “He’s right, Take. You’re the Big Cheese.”
    Takeshi’s laugh was tinged with hysteria. “You sound awfully jaded, seeing as you’re the Wind of Fire.”
    Ana looked surprised until Rory nodded wordlessly.
    She grinned