Nightingale Read Online Free PDF

get out of here!” one of the men said. “The cops are coming!”
    I cranked up the volume, trying to add to the illusion.
    Bandit kept staring in my direction, probably looking for the red and blue flash of the oncoming police cars. A small click rang out above the roar of my cell phone. Somehow, during the commotion, Talon had managed to straighten up—and he now had his crossbow gun pointed at Bandit’s back.
    The ubervillain looked over his shoulder, then back in my direction. I turned up the volume on the phone as loud as it would go, hoping it would be enough to save Talon.
    “This isn’t over, Talon,” Bandit snarled. “Tycoon wants you dead. We’ll be back for what you took.”
    Bandit spat on the snow, swiveled on his booted heel, and stomped through the right side of the alley. The other men limped along behind him. Talon held on until they left. Then, he let out a low groan and fell to one knee. Blood dripped from the wound on his shoulder, staining the white powder a harsh crimson.  
    I waited to be sure Bandit and his men weren’t coming back before I scurried to the end of the alley. “Are you all right?”  
    Talon paid no attention to me. Instead, he clawed off his visor and scooped handfuls of snow onto his eyes. The superhero had his back to me, so I couldn’t see his face.
    “It burns,” he said to no one in particular. “Damn, that burns.”
    I assumed he was talking about the gas that had erupted from the bullet Bandit shot him with. My foot snagged on something in the snow, and I grunted and yanked it free. Talon froze. Then, he sprang into action, searching the ground around him. His fingers closed over his visor, and he slipped it on his face before turning toward me.  
    “Is someone there?” he asked.
    I opened my mouth to respond when I realized Talon wasn’t looking in my direction. I was less than six feet away, but his head was pointed off to the right, as if I was standing over there. But there was no way he could have avoided seeing me. Even I wasn’t that invisible.
    Unless … he couldn’t see me.
    Maybe he couldn’t. The gas must have penetrated his visor, gotten into his eyes, and blinded him. I wondered if the effect was temporary—or permanent.
    “Is someone there?” Talon repeated, moving into a low crouch, his hand tightening on his crossbow gun.
    I could tell by the sharpness in his voice that he was worried I’d seen him—that I knew who he was. I didn’t know what to do, so I played dumb. I waited a beat, then scuffled around in the snow as if I’d just arrived.
    “What happened?” I asked, playing the part of the upstanding citizen.
    Talon gestured at the blood trickling down his shoulder. “I got shot.”
    I started to open my mouth to respond but thought better of it. From the way I was stating the obvious, you would have thought I was the one who was blind.
    “That. Right. Let me call the police.”  
    He frowned. “They’re almost here, aren’t they?”
    I looked down and realized my phone was still on and still blaring out the sound of sirens.
    “Oh no,” I said, shutting it off. “That’s just one of my cell phone ring tones. I heard a strange noise and clicked it on. It’s something I do whenever I’m nervous.”
    Talon cocked his head to one side as if I was spouting nonsense. Maybe I was. So much had happened in the past few minutes. It was a lot to process.
    “But you’re hurt. Let me call the cops for real. They’ll bring an ambulance and take you to the hospital—”
    “No!” he said. “No cops, no ambulance, no hospital. I’ll be all right. Just give me a minute.”
    “All right? You have a bullet wound in your shoulder. How is that all right ?”  
    The wet, coppery stench of his blood made my stomach twist. That was the bad thing about having supersenses—I heard and felt and smelled bad things that much more . These days, being exposed to even a bit of blood was more than enough to make me light-headed.  
    Talon