Blackfall: No More Restraint

Chapter 1 Ashfall City never truly slept. It merely changed the kind of noise it made. During the day, the city belonged to traffic, impatient pedestrians, delivery drones, office workers spilling from glass towers with coffee in their hands, and the endless electronic chatter of advertisements promising better lives to people who had forgotten what a better life was supposed to look like. At night, however, Ashfall became something else entirely. Neon signs reflected off rain-slick streets. Elevated trains screamed between buildings high above the avenues. Clubs poured music into alleyways, while police sirens drifted through districts that never quite learned the meaning of quiet. Giant screens mounted to skyscrapers displayed the latest Vanguard Authority rankings, hero endorsements, public safety announcements, and warnings about unregistered Anomalies. Every few minutes, another face appeared beneath a bright white designation, another reminder that in Ashfall City, being extraordinary had become less of a gift and more of a government classification. Elara Finch had lived here long enough to know that there were only two kinds of people when an Anomaly appeared. The first kind ran. The second kind pulled out their phones and started recording. She belonged to neither. She had learned a long time ago that panic was exhausting and curiosity was expensive, so when the café windows rattled beneath the distant boom of an explosion, she merely looked up from the cup she was wiping and sighed. "Please don't be another one." Across the counter, Daniel stared at her. "Another what?" Elara pointed toward the window. "The city exploding." Daniel glanced outside. Three blocks away, a column of black smoke was climbing into the evening sky between two apartment towers. Emergency lights painted the surrounding buildings in flashes of red and blue, and somewhere beyond the traffic, a siren wailed with the sort of urgency that suggested someone, somewhere, was having a significantly worse evening than either of them. Daniel slowly looked back at her. "That's not technically the city exploding." "It has smoke." "Lots of things have smoke." "There was an explosion." "Probably." "So the city exploded." "That's not how that works." Elara put the cup down. "You're being very technical about this." Daniel opened his mouth, thought about it, then decided he didn't have the energy to argue. The café had been quiet only moments earlier. Now every customer was looking toward the windows. A couple near the door had already started whispering. Someone had their phone pressed against the glass, trying to get a better view of whatever was happening downtown. The television mounted above the pastry display had automatically switched from some meaningless celebrity interview to a Vanguard emergency broadcast. The screen showed a familiar symbol: a silver shield surrounded by a circle of blue light. VANGUARD AUTHORITY — EMERGENCY RESPONSE IN PROGRESS. Elara groaned. "Wonderful." Daniel leaned against the counter. "Could be worse." "How?" "It could be Blackfall." Elara looked at him. "That is a terrible thing to say in a room full of people." Daniel lowered his voice. "Why? He's not here." A woman sitting nearby immediately turned around. "Don't say his name." Daniel blinked. Elara covered her mouth to hide a laugh. The woman looked genuinely offended by their amusement. "I'm serious. People like him hear things." Elara glanced toward the windows. "People like him?" "Blackfall." The name seemed to change the atmosphere of the room. Even the people who had been watching the television went quiet. Elara knew the name, of course. Everyone did. Blackfall. The name had appeared on the news so often over the last few years that it had become less a name and more a warning. There were grainy videos of him standing in the middle of shattered streets. Reports of vehicles lifted from the ground and crushed against buildings. Stories about entire squads of Vanguard agents being thrown through the air without a single physical touch. There were rumors that he could make gravity itself bend around him, that he could increase the weight of a person until they couldn't breathe or reduce it enough to send them floating helplessly into the sky. Some reports called him a terrorist. Others called him an extremist. A few, usually buried beneath the more sensational headlines, described him as an Anomaly who had refused Vanguard registration and spent years sabotaging government operations involving mandatory tracking. Elara had never known which version was true. She suspected the truth was probably somewhere between all of them. The television changed. A reporter stood in front of a street filled with flashing emergency vehicles, rain streaking across the camera lens. "We are receiving preliminary reports that the incident in the eastern financial district involved an unidentified unregistered Anomaly. Vanguard response teams are currently securing the area. Authorities have not yet confirmed whether Blackfall is responsible, though witnesses claim to have seen—" The television suddenly cut to static. Everyone stared at it. Then the broadcast returned. The reporter was gone. Instead, the Vanguard emblem filled the screen. PLEASE REMAIN INDOORS. AVOID ALL UNREGISTERED ANOMALIES. REPORT SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY TO THE VANGUARD AUTHORITY. Elara stared at the screen for several seconds before returning to work. "See?" Daniel said. "Could be worse." She picked up another cup. "You're not very good at comforting people." "I'm excellent at it." "You're terrible." "You're still talking to me." "Unfortunately." He grinned. For a few minutes, they returned to normal. That was the strange thing about Ashfall City. The world could be ending three streets away and people would still finish their coffee. Elara had always found something comforting about that. Maybe because she was ordinary. Painfully, gloriously ordinary. No glowing eyes. No telekinesis. No superhuman strength. No ability to read minds or manipulate electricity or turn into something with considerably more teeth than a human being should possess. Nothing. In a city where roughly sixty percent of the population possessed some form of Anomaly, Elara belonged to the minority who had simply been born without one. She had been tested three times growing up. Nothing. Retested at eighteen. Nothing. A more advanced examination at twenty-one because her mother had insisted that the first two must have missed something. Still nothing. The final report had been almost comically blunt. NO ANOMALOUS ACTIVITY DETECTED. Elara had framed the result. Not because she was proud of being ordinary. Because the look on her mother's face when she finally accepted it had been priceless. Now, at twenty-six, Elara had made peace with it. She had a small apartment, a job she actually liked, enough money to pay her bills, and a very unhealthy relationship with caffeine. Her biggest current problem was that her landlord had decided the building's heating system was apparently an optional feature. That was enough. She didn't need powers. She certainly didn't need trouble. And she absolutely didn't need Blackfall. Which was unfortunate. Because Blackfall had been watching her for three weeks. Elara didn't know that yet. She only knew that sometimes, when she looked through the café windows late in the evening, she had the strange sensation that someone was watching her. She had blamed the feeling on exhaustion. Or paranoia. Or the fact that Ashfall had taught everyone to be suspicious of shadows. She had no idea that on the opposite side of the street, standing beneath the broken glow of a streetlamp, a man dressed entirely in black had spent several evenings watching the café without ever once stepping inside. She didn't know that he had memorized her schedule. Didn't know he knew she arrived at six forty-three every morning, usually with her hair still slightly messy because she hated waking up early. Didn't know he knew she always drank her first coffee too quickly and burned her tongue at least twice a week. Didn't know that he had noticed she hummed when she was concentrating. Didn't know that he had once watched her spend fifteen minutes helping an elderly customer connect to the café's Wi-Fi while pretending not to notice that the woman had already asked the same question three times. And most importantly, she didn't know why. Because Kael Arden had no business being interested in her. Blackfall didn't care about ordinary people. At least, that was what everyone believed. And for a long time, it had been true. Until Elara. The café closed at ten. By ten fifteen, Elara was walking home beneath a light rain, one hand wrapped around the strap of her bag and the other holding the umbrella she had forgotten to properly open twice before giving up and simply letting the rain hit her coat. Ashfall looked beautiful at night. Dangerous, but beautiful. The skyscrapers disappeared into the clouds, their upper floors glowing like distant stars. Neon advertisements reflected in puddles beneath her feet. Somewhere above her, a train passed with a metallic shriek, briefly illuminating the street with a rush of white light. Elara walked faster. Not because she was afraid. Because she was tired. There was a difference. She passed a Vanguard patrol vehicle parked outside a convenience store. Two agents stood beside it, speaking quietly while their armor reflected the streetlights. One of them looked at her. Elara looked back. The agent immediately looked away. She frowned. Probably nothing. She continued walking. Five minutes later, she reached her apartment building. She climbed the stairs, unlocked her door, kicked off her shoes, and immediately dropped her bag onto the floor. "Home." The apartment remained silent. "Excellent." She changed into comfortable clothes, made herself something resembling dinner, and collapsed onto the couch. Her phone buzzed. Mum: You coming Sunday? Elara smiled. Elara: If you promise not to ask whether I've met anyone. The reply came almost instantly. Mum: I wasn't going to. Elara stared at the message. Another appeared. Mum: But now that you mention it... Elara laughed. "Traitor." She tossed the phone onto the couch beside her. Outside, thunder rolled over the city. Then came another sound. Not thunder. Something heavier. A deep, distant boom. Elara sat up. The lights flickered. Once. Twice. Then went out. "Oh, come on." She remained still. The apartment was suddenly filled with darkness and rain. Somewhere outside, car alarms began screaming. Then the lights returned. Elara exhaled. "Okay." She stood. Her phone buzzed again. This time it wasn't her mother. It was an emergency alert. VANGUARD AUTHORITY NOTICE: REMAIN INDOORS. ANOMALOUS ACTIVITY DETECTED WITHIN YOUR DISTRICT. Elara stared at the screen. "Of course." Another alert arrived. Then another. She walked toward the window. The street below was strangely empty. That was wrong. Ashfall City was never empty. Not this street. Not at this hour. Elara slowly pulled the curtain aside. Nothing. Just rain. Buildings. Streetlights. Then she noticed something. A car parked across the road. Black. Completely unremarkable. Except the driver's side window was lowered. And there was someone sitting inside. Elara couldn't see his face. She stared for several seconds. The figure didn't move. A chill ran down her spine. She let the curtain fall. "Nope." She stepped away from the window. Her phone rang. Unknown number. Elara stared at it. It stopped. Then rang again. She answered. "Hello?" Silence. "Hello?" A man's voice finally came through. Low. Calm. Almost impossibly controlled. "Elara Finch?" Her stomach tightened. "Who is this?" "We need to talk." She immediately regretted answering. "About?" Another pause. "You." Her grip tightened around the phone. "I'm sorry?" "We'll be there shortly." The call ended. Elara stared at the screen. "That was incredibly creepy." A knock came at her door. She nearly jumped out of her skin. "No." Another knock. Three measured taps. Elara slowly approached the door. "Who is it?" A woman's voice answered. "Vanguard Authority." Elara closed her eyes. Of course. Of course this was happening. She opened the door only after checking through the peephole. Two Vanguard agents stood in the hallway. Neither looked particularly friendly. The woman held up an identification badge. "Miss Finch?" "Yes." "We need to ask you some questions." "Am I in trouble?" "No." The man beside her looked at his tablet. Then looked at Elara. "We don't know yet." Elara stared at him. "That's reassuring." The woman gave him a look. He shrugged. Elara stepped aside. "Come in." The agents entered. The woman immediately scanned the apartment. "Are you alone?" "Yes." "Have you noticed anything unusual tonight?" Elara hesitated. She thought about the man across the street. The phone call. The blackout. The feeling that someone had been watching her for weeks. "No." The answer came too quickly. The woman noticed. "Miss Finch." "I said no." "Have you had any recent contact with an unregistered Anomaly?" "No." "Any unusual visitors?" "No." "Anyone following you?" Elara's mouth went dry. "No." The agent studied her. Elara suddenly hated how quiet the apartment was. "Why are you asking me these questions?" The woman looked at her partner. Then back at Elara. "There was an incident earlier tonight." "I saw it on television." "We believe Blackfall may have been involved." Elara swallowed. "Okay." "We also believe he may have been monitoring you." The room seemed to become smaller. Elara laughed once. It wasn't a happy laugh. "I'm sorry?" The agent turned the tablet toward her. On the screen was a photograph. It showed the café. Taken from across the street. Elara recognized herself through the window. She was laughing. Someone had clearly taken the photograph from a distance. Her stomach dropped. "When was that?" "Three days ago." Another photograph appeared. Then another. Different days. Different angles. The café. The street. Her apartment building. Elara's face went pale. "How long?" The agent hesitated. "Approximately three weeks." Three weeks. Elara remembered the feeling of being watched. The shadows. The black car. The occasional silhouette at the end of the street. She had been right. Someone had been watching her. The agent lowered the tablet. "We don't know why." Elara looked toward the window. The curtain was still closed. "Then find out." "We're trying." "Who is he?" Neither agent answered. Elara looked between them. "You know." The woman finally spoke. "Kael Arden." The name landed differently than Blackfall. Somehow, hearing the man's actual name made the whole thing more frightening. Kael Arden. She had heard it before. Everyone had. Usually alongside words like dangerous, unstable, hostile, wanted. But she had never expected the name to have anything to do with her. Until tonight. "Why me?" "We don't know." "That's becoming a theme." The male agent stepped toward the window. Elara watched him pull the curtain aside. He looked outside. Then froze. "What?" He didn't answer. The woman moved beside him. Elara followed. The street below was empty. The black car was gone. Her heart began beating faster. "Where did it go?" Neither agent answered. Then the lights flickered again. Once. Twice. The room grew heavy. Not metaphorically. Actually heavy. The air itself seemed to press against Elara's skin. The glass in the window began to tremble. The agents immediately reached for their weapons. "Move away from the window." Elara didn't move. She couldn't. Something was outside. She could feel it. A pressure. A presence. The kind of sensation that made every instinct inside her scream that something powerful had entered the room without actually entering it. The woman shouted into her radio. "Possible Blackfall manifestation. Request immediate—" The radio died. The lights went out. This time they didn't return. Elara heard something. A soft sound. A shoe against pavement. Then another. Slow. Unhurried. Coming from the street below. She stared through the glass. At first she saw nothing. Then a figure stepped from the darkness. Tall. Broad-shouldered. Dressed in black. He walked beneath the streetlamp. The light above him flickered. For one impossible second, Elara saw his face. Dark hair. Sharp features. Eyes she couldn't quite make out from the distance. He stopped. And looked directly at her window. Her breath caught. He was too far away. He shouldn't have been able to see her. But somehow she knew. He was looking at her. The Vanguard agents raised their weapons. The figure didn't move. Then gravity changed. The street beneath him cracked. The parked cars around him lifted several inches from the ground. Elara's heart slammed against her ribs. The man slowly raised his head. And although the distance between them was enormous, she could have sworn she heard his voice. Not through the phone. Not through the radio. Somehow, impossibly, directly inside the silence. "Go inside, Elara." Her eyes widened. The agents turned toward her. "What did he say?" Elara couldn't answer. The man across the street disappeared into the darkness. The cars dropped. The pressure vanished. And just like that, the city began breathing again. Elara stood frozen at the window. She didn't know why he had warned her. She didn't know why he had been watching her. She didn't know why the most feared man in Ashfall City knew her name. But one thought refused to leave her mind. The man everyone called Blackfall had been watching her for three weeks. And tonight— for the first time— he had finally spoken to her. Elara slowly touched her fingertips to the glass. "Who are you?" Outside, somewhere beyond the rain and neon, a distant voice seemed to answer. Not aloud. Not really. But she heard it anyway. Blackfall.