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thing. Something I’d never asked before, but might work. “Tink, I need your help!”
    If you’re asking what I think you’re asking, I can only do this every so often and you’ll be too late, she murmured. Do you want to waste this chance?
    “When we were in Amsterdam, you said if I ever wanted to fly, just to ask. Well, I’m asking! No fair if you helped that witch fly and won’t help me now!”
    So be it.
    A whining filled my ears and my skin started to itch all over. My limbs shook as I fought to control the pain and stay focused. Then my feet rose from the ground. Holy crap, I was flying! This was amazing—and extremely weird. But I was flying!
    “What the hell?” Will said, backing away. “You’re floating!”
    I’d have to explain later. For now, I needed to get our man back.
    Flying wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. I pointed my body in the direction I wanted it to go, and willed myself to move. And I did, closing in on the pack of Freaks like a rocket.
    It was almost too easy to stab the wounded monsters. They were hurt and couldn’t bank or change altitude fast enough. I was quick, praying the big one didn’t drop Parker before I got there.
    Once they were out of the way, I hovered over to the last Freak. Parker squirmed in its talons, turning his head so he could see me.
    His face was white as plaster. “Help.”
    God, he sounded so weak. The monster must be slowly squeezing the life out of him. I shot over the Freak, trying to get its attention, not sure what I’d even do. If I killed it without being in exactly the right place, Parker would drop. If I missed and didn’t kill it right off, it might crush my wielder.
    I had to force it to fly lower. Then if it dropped Parker, he might survive the fall.
    I circled back and dove straight at its head. It swooped beneath me and I swerved to cut a jagged line through its wing.
    “Just like Afghanistan, sir,” I said, hoping he could hear me. “We know how to deal with winged monsters. We got this.”
    No answer. The monster turned and flew at me. I went low and swiped at the other wing. Finally, it faltered, gliding toward the ground and the rest of the team. It was going to drag its load before crash landing right on top of him and half the men below.
    I zoomed underneath it and slashed at its talons. With a startled cry, it released Parker and wheeled away. I caught him as the Freak crash landed in the Potomac. The tanks immediately opened fire, blowing it to pieces.
    What a hand-held rocket launcher couldn’t do, heavy artillery could. If only we’d had this kind of support in Africa and Australia. But by then, Congress was already suspicious and moving a tank to a foreign country without a U.S. military installation nearby would’ve been the last nail. Too bad we had to get their attention by destroying half the capital and suffering civilian casualties.
    I carried Parker down and set him on the grass near the closest Humvee. Ramirez dashed over and fell to his knees next to me.
    Parker’s eyes fluttered open. “Get them all?”
    “Yeah,” I said. “That was the last one.”
    His smile was faint. “Good, then I’m done. The last flight.”
    “Hey, none of that, okay?” Ramirez said. “Help’s on the way.”
    “Not this time,” Parker whispered. He lifted a hand from his abdomen, revealing a bloodied Class A shirt. “My job’s finished. This was it for me.”
     “You aren’t finished,” I said, desperate to keep him talking until the paramedics came, but knowing they wouldn’t arrive in time. “Hang on.”
    He took a breath and wheezed. “Dark’s coming. Stay strong. And don’t let … your brother give you … any more … shiners.”
    I managed a laugh despite the film of tears covering my eyes. “I can’t believe you remember that.”
    “I remember.”
    Parker’s back arched and his eyes rolled back in his head. Blood saturated the ground beneath him. He jerked twice, then went limp.
    Ramirez reached