The soft rumble of thunder blended with the rattle of car engines far below as Astrid wandered closer to the center of the city. The buildings were packed even tighter, scarcely a breath away from one another, and those that were, were connected by a set of two cables; one lower cable, for your feet, and one above it, slightly off to one side, for your hands.

Her eyes darted around the corners of every roof, searching the shadows cast by pipes and electrical units for signs of life. Steel cables didn't hang themselves.

And it was becoming increasingly difficult to concentrate with the overwhelming flood of noise—every raindrop was like a clap, each whisper of wind through tree leaves a roar. Her ears twitched for the hundredth time, her brain unable to decide which direction they should point.

"I don't have an umbrella, Mia!" The gleeful shout pulled Astrid toward the edge.

"If you want it, you have to catch me first!"

She placed her elbows on the smooth metal and peered down. A few cars dotted the highway, and on the wide sidewalk, a little blonde head chased after a pink polka-dotted umbrella.

"Miaaaaaaaaaa!" he hollered, stumbling over his untied shoes, arms outstretched.

The umbrella bobbed faster, pulling away from the child. He struggled to keep up, but, realizing it was futile, started crying.

"Jake-y, don't cry!"

As a small smile tugged at Astrid's mouth, she turned away, taking in a deep breath. She rolled her shoulders and brushed the water-logged hood back. A few stars were starting to shine through as the wind pulled the clouds to the west, revealing the pink underbelly of the sky.

I wonder if they know I'm gone yet. She dropped onto the skyway a story below, landing in a crouch. What will they do when they find out?

Astrid hunched over against the wind, shivers traveling down her body. After she crossed the fifty-yard span, she had to tilt her head back to see the top of the building, which was several stories higher than its companion.

Behind her, the other building stood against the ever-brightening horizon, offering her an escape. You can go back, its darkened windows whispered through the mist.

"What a stupid idea," she muttered, turning around to once again study the wall in front of her. "It's just a big ladder."

The windows of both buildings were arranged into five rows, separated from one another by a stretch of metal. At a regular interval of every three or four feet, rectangles had been placed to form a sleek pattern that could serve as hand or footholds. The panes themselves were set a few inches into their frames.

Astrid wiped her sweaty palms against the tower's cool side, then took a deep breath. She stretched as far as she could, grabbing onto the second windowsill with her left hand, pushing up from the first rectangle with her right foot. Gasping, she grabbed the second rectangle in the pattern and swung her foot into the first windowsill.

Only when her muscles began to tremble and burn did she finally move again, spider-like. For every bit of distance she covered, the wall seemed to stretch higher, mocking her efforts; but when she looked down, the skyway was pencil sized and the streets appeared to have come from a train table.

"Oh, dear God..." But her quivering lips couldn't complete the prayer.

You don't want to die, do you?

"Of course not!"

Then keep climbing! If you tried to climb down, you'd slip and fall, and there doesn't appear to be a net to catch you.

"Shut up, shut up!" she gasped, shaking her head.

She started climbing again, mentally counting down the number of windows she had left. Five... four... three... Already, she was starting to breathe easier, fear being drowned out by giddy relief. Two... one...

Astrid didn't hesitate, scrambling up and over the top of the roof and landing unceremoniously in a heap.

"Agh, agh, ouch!" she moaned, rubbing her elbow.

With a sigh, she rolled onto her back. She closed her eyes. What if she never moved again, just stayed here, close to the endless expanse of stars and sky? Was it possible to live off air that hinted of wide meadows and the sea?

Astrid sighed again, wincing at the pain in her shoulder as the adrenaline drained away. There was no music to distract her, either; she'd probably stopped it with her headshakes while climbing, too focused to notice its absence.

Reluctantly, she sat up, holding her shoulder. She needed to start thinking about a place to sleep as well as where to get food and water. And money.

She could always try and find a street murder—her small amount of mods would work in her favor.

Her chin started to fall, and Astrid shook herself fully awake. This wouldn't be a good place to sleep. It didn't take a genius to figure out that a series of buildings connected by various methods to form a road of sorts meant someone traveled them.

Astrid got to her feet. She started walking again, becoming more alert as her blood started flowing. The sounds weren't so overwhelming now that she was up high. An occasional piece of an early bird's song or the growl of a car engine, or...

What was that noise?

She frowned. A clanking of a sort, like metal, followed by another unidentifiable noise. She picked up the pace to an almost jog, ears straining.

That was a voice, she was certain of it.

"Stay away!" Or at least that's what it sounded like.

Astrid was running now. She stuttered to a halt, eyes scanning for the source. There weren't any buildings close enough and there were no cables. But that couldn't be! That voice hadn't come from the streets.

"Lucifer!"

There was that name again! Her head swung to the right, and at first, she saw nothing. Roughly a hundred yards away was another building about ten stories shorter with a helicopter pad. Six people, all dressed in dark clothes, stalked around one another.

Astrid blinked and the figures became clearer. They were all male, and the two in the center standing back to back were obviously the targets of the other four.

Which one is Lucifer, and what's going on?

And if this was the same Lucifer that Cass and the other girl had mentioned, shouldn't they be close by? What would they do if they discovered she was here?

Her heart stampeded through her chest as her skin prickled from unseen eyes.

"Stay back!" the taller of the two guys yelled, but the guy with blonde hair ignored the warning.

He lunged forward, blades from who knew where suddenly appearing in his hands. He swung them in a sweeping motion, driving the two back. One of his accomplices counter-attacked the retreat with blades of his own, forcing them to squeeze even closer together. The remaining two guys circled the group a little more loosely. It didn't seem like they had weapons, but considering how fast the others had drawn theirs, Astrid wasn't jumping to conclusions.

The guy who had just shouted slipped out of his jacket, which dropped to the ground to reveal a fitted grey hoodie. He rolled his shoulders and the other guy dropped to the ground. That made no sense.

Black billowed out from his back, stretching up and out in a graceful arc, causing the attackers to reflexively draw back.

Wings. He has wings! She had to be dreaming. Astrid blinked rapidly, but they stayed the same, cobalt teal edges glimmering, almost glowing, in the grayish light. Almost too fast to follow, they snapped forward, tips connecting with a thunderous clap.

It was fascinating how they moved. Jutting out from below the boy's shoulder blades, they swept in a "u" pattern forward, brushing against the rough concrete before pulling back up to avoid the swipes of his attackers' blades. Totally effortless.

Three of the four men circled. The other hung back, face contorted in concentration.

"Don't let him through!" he roared.

But the boy was already charging past, wings fanning out to form a wall between himself and his attackers.

Astrid sucked in a breath. He's going to jump!

The other boy was following close behind, twisting to avoid getting cut in half. But their pursuers weren't about to let them off easy. A glint of sun on steel told Astrid what was going to happen before one knife and then a second slammed into his back with a sickening thwack.

It all happened so fast after that. An inhuman scream of pure agony shattered Astrid's ears, followed by incoherent yelling. Smoky black and red wings belonging to the guy who had hung back unfolded, blade-like tips scraping the sky.

"Lu-Lucifer!" the boy cried. The red changed hue as the light danced off the feathers, metallic blades shimmering like a still pond of glass. The right-wing slashed across his right side and reversed direction, deepening the cut.

Astrid lurched forward in unison with the boy. He was on his knees now, blood pouring through his fingers.

Roses. It's like roses. Her stomach twisted as the ground beneath her fell away. She clung to the wall, bile rising in her throat.

Lucifer spun around at the last second; the two pairs of wings collided and he stumbled backward. The boy with the blonde hair leaped, pulling his blade back, preparing to deal the fatal blow.

It was over.

Time didn't slow down as Lucifer hurtled off the roof, screaming, "Tommy!"

No, God! No! Astrid screamed in her head.

The blade fell and she shut her eyes, but all she could see was the boy's ashen skin soaked in blood and the terror on his young face.