I shrugged, facing her directly again. Over my shoulder I had no doubt that Brace was leveling a warning glare on the female.
Chrissie shrank back, which must have been enough for Brace to decide it was okay to leave me with her. He crossed to Colton, the pair of them moving around the docks, checking on the other girls. Golden Girl was also crouching down with the others.
As Brace moved closer, I had to say she definitely spent a few too many moments checking him out. A very mild flare of jealousy jagged through me. It wasn’t strong because I was secure in my bond, but still, I was always going to be territorial about Brace.
I pulled my focus from them and back to Chrissie.
“It’s a big city,” I said, giving a half-answer to her previous question. “Plus, there’ve been other things going on. And my marks … well, they’re a long story. One which I’ll share with you later – but I’m not in a gang.” There was no doubt she’d wondered that. “What’s going on here, Chrissie?”
Footsteps sounded behind us, and I realized that Golden Girl was approaching. She no longer held her lethal red blade, although I could see the hilt of it over her shoulder. She must wear a sheath along her spine. That was pretty advanced weaponry she had.
“Her name is not Chrissie … it’s Kata,” she said, sounding a combination of wary and monotonous.
Golden Girl had a strong, husky voice, the lilt of it sending tingles down my spine. Much more interesting and varied than the high-pitched princess voice I’d expected.
“Kata …” I trailed off, tipping my head to the side to meet Chrissie’s gaze.
She ran a hand over her face, before pushing it through the brown curls. “After that night in the warehouse, I … I changed myself.” She straightened, strength infusing her spine. “I took back the power which had been stolen from me and … my friend.” Her voice broke; she recovered quickly.
Golden Girl spoke again. “Kata is the leader of an all-female vigilante group which keeps the streets of New York ganger-free.”
Now I understood why Chrissie was surprised that she had never run into me. She’d apparently been running the streets a lot.
A smile creased my face. “That’s wicked, Chris … something to be proud of,” I said. “I know … she would be proud of you.”
She didn’t want to hear Chandra’s name, and I wasn’t going to cause her more pain if I could help it. The sound of moans drew the attention of Chrissie and her side-kick. Both of them moved away from me and strode over to check on their friends. With a bit of help – and probably a boost of power from Brace and Colton – most of the girls were standing now. I followed across and stepped in close to Brace’s side.
“We need to move them,” Chrissie said, turning to me. “Can you help us?”
I hadn’t seen her look in Lucy’s direction yet. I wondered if she had a beef with the pixie too. They’d never been great friends, but my recollection was that they got along pretty well. Although, as I caught sight of my best friend, with her waist-length green-blond curls, and that glitter dusting her skin, I realized Chrissie probably didn’t even recognize her any longer.
“I’ll scout around for a vehicle,” Brace said. “They’re not going to be able to walk far; they’re too weak.”
He took off then, moving fast enough to blur in the darkness. The silence after he had left was pretty uncomfortable. No one knew what to say. Most of us were occupied holding up the battered females. I had one under each arm, their frail bodies dangerously malnourished.
Brace appeared again in the darkness. He was so swift and silent that I didn’t see him until he was right beside me.
“This entire area is deserted and I couldn’t even find an exit. It’s cut off on all sides by a large electrified fence. And there’s no gate.”
“So the only way in and out is via the water?” I confirmed.
“We arrived by boat,” Chrissie said as she hefted one of the weaker females over her shoulder. “A car first, then boat.”
All of our eyes were drawn out into the blackness, to where the gangers had vanished.
“Looks like we need a boat.” Colton grinned and jogged off into the night.
I was sure that he was going to use his instant transmission power, and was moving out of sight so as not to freak out a bunch of humans. I hoped his ability worked the same on Earth.
The roar of an engine cut across the silence, and all of us stepped closer to the edge of the docks. Cautiously at first, in case it was the gangers returning.