Kissing Magic

by Day Leitao

  Breakfast at Alessa’s house was a lot simpler than at Malena’s hostel or at the Darloom castle. They had just tea and some kind of bread with a weird spread. Karina ate as much as she could, thankful for their hospitality, and trying to make food go through her knotted throat, knowing she’d need her strength. They left early in the morning, while the sun was still rising, as they couldn’t risk making to the bridge too late, and they weren’t sure at which speed kyons moved, or even if they had to rest.

  Walking through the streets of Siphoria towards a small lift field as the sun rose gave Karina a horrible sense of déjà-vu. Last time she also thought she would be fighting something dangerous, but she had no idea that the real danger was the one she was following. And yet, despite it all, she still had a tinge of regret that she hadn’t flown with him. Sweet Sian would have liked that—if sweet Sian existed.

  Sometimes she considered those two different people, and felt as if her beloved had died because no matter how much she hated what he was doing, she missed Sian horribly, and the only way to reconcile the feeling was to separate them both; the Sian she loved, and the Sian she hated. That way she could always tell herself that sweet Sian had never betrayed her and never meant to hurt her.

  Oh, what nonsense. She should rather focus on kicking his ass on that bridge. Sweet or not, he deserved it. If ever she saw him. Maybe that was another reason for her rising nerves; the prospect of seeing him again, in such different circumstances.

  Soon they reached the field. Karina took a deep breath and embarked on the lift. Sian’s lift, the one he’d complained was old, was luxurious compared to this one. The girls were squeezed on the back while Alessa’s sister, Diane, piloted the lift in the front, together with her boyfriend.

  They got to the bridge in less than half an hour. As with everything, it was quite different than what Karina had imagined, even if she’d seen it on a map and even flown above it. They landed on a plateau, with mountains on their right. The ocean could be seen far on the left. The river was really wide. The bridge was quite wide also. It could fit two trucks crossing it at the same time. Not that Whyland had trucks, at least that Karina knew of. The issue was how long they could hold the kyons there. It wasn’t like the door to the tower where Sian had held them off. Hypocrite. Fighting against creatures under his control. And Karina had been insanely oblivious.

  They got out, and Cayla said, “We’ll start preparing our defense here.” She then looked up. “Oh, no.”

  There was a red lift flying very fast in their direction. “Is that Sian?”

  “That’s his lift,” Cayla said.

  Alessa turned to her sister. “Go back to your lift. Hide.”

  “It’s too late. He saw us,” her sister said.

  There was nothing to be done as the lift landed right in front of them and Sian came out of it. He wore the same thick black overcoat she’d seen last time. She wondered if the constant change in outfit had been a part of his performance. He was alone, which was a relief. No way he could do anything against the six of them.

  He walked towards them and smiled. “What a nice gathering!” He turned to Karina. “Come to check my kyons in person? Great initiative. Just watch out; there’s a storm coming, and I’d hate for you to get wet.”

  Karina didn’t feel like replying.

  Sian walked towards Alessa. “How dedicated! You want to protect her even when you don’t have to. Impressive. I’ll warn you, though, I’m not paying overtime.”

  The girl was quiet. Sian turned to Alessa’s sister and her boyfriend. “Diane, Mael, are you going to play for them?”

  Alessa said, “They just gave us a ride. They have nothing to do with this.”

  Sian pretended to be surprised. “This what? Aren’t you just taking a stroll?”

  He turned to Cayla, but before he said anything, she said, “You’re lucky you’re Darian’s brother or else I’d split your skull in half.”

  Sian showed his empty hands. “Of course. You’d kill someone unarmed who’s posing no danger to you. I wish I could say I’m surprised by your lack of honor.”

  “You’re a danger to my kingdom!” Cayla said.

  “Not yours. And I’ll tell you something; unlike you believe, you’re beneath even my pathetic little brother.”

  Cayla spat at his direction.

  Sian blocked the spit with his hand. “Good aim, at least.”

  Alessa held Cayla, whispering something on her ear, and the girls argued in whispers.

  Sian approached Karina. He opened his mouth to say something, but then suddenly turned around and walked back to his lift.

  There was something Karina had to know, though, and she didn’t care how stupid it looked for her to ask it. She followed him. “Sian!”

  He turned. “Yes?”

  “Is it true that Whyland has a new queen?”

  He looked away, then looked at her. “Yes.” His chest moved up and down, as in a deep breath. “I know I should have talked to you, but, like I told you, Whyland is special, it needs—”

  “It’s fine.” She just wanted him to shut up. Her throat was closed, and it was surprising she could even form words. She focused on holding back the tears and not giving him the pleasure of seeing her humiliation.

  “Fine?” He seemed surprised. “Are you sure you don’t have a problem with it?”

  Karina crossed her arms and made an effort to speak without crying. “No. Why?”

  Sian shrugged. “I don’t know, I thought… No problem then?”

  Did he expect her to break down? Disappointing him was her only source of comfort. “No.”

  He had a glimmer in his eyes and his lips curved up as if ready for a genuine smile. “That’s great.”

  His happy face made her insides knot. She blurted, “Is she pretty?”

  What a blunder. Why can’t people take back words? Karina regretted having asked that. Now, what kind of idiot asks such a question?

  Sian seemed to be wondering the exact same thing, as he stared at her in confusion. “You want to hear it?”

  She shook her head. “No. I—”

  “Fine. Hear it then.” He sounded angry. “My queen’s so much more than pretty that her looks don’t even matter. But yes, she’s stunning. Every time I see her I’m awestruck. There. Happy?”

  Karina struggled to find her voice, but she eventually did. “I’ll be happy when I defeat you.”

  He looked away, then looked back at her. “See for yourself the kyons, see for yourself what’s happening in Whyland. See for yourself. You might change your mind. And watch out for the storm.”

  Sian turned, embarked on his lift, and left. Karina felt dizzy. Somehow, getting the confirmation from his mouth made everything worse.

  “What was that about?” Alessa asked.

  Karina wasn’t even sure she could talk and hoped nobody noticed she was shaking. She mumbled, “A storm. A new queen. Nonsense.”

  “He wants to get under your skin. If you let him, he wins.”

  “I still think we should have captured him!” Cayla said.

  “He came to talk. It wouldn’t have been honorable.”

  Cayla gesticulated her arms. “Screw honorable! He wanted to mess with us. He came out unarmed to spite us, to show he didn’t care.”

  Diane then said, “If you want us to check how far the kyons are, we’d better do it soon, and we can’t fly for too long, so if we don’t see them—”

  “We’ll at least know they are not close,” Cayla said. She turned to Karina. “Go with them, since you know what they look like.”

  Karina nodded. She didn’t think they’d need someone to know what kyons looked like, but she was glad to sit for some time. She was still trying to come to terms with Sian with his fantastic, super-duper amazing and gorgeous queen. Tears were forming in her eyes, but he didn’t deserve them. She wasn’t going to cry. Not for Sian. Perhaps she should cry for having been so stupid, but her time would be better spent fighting his army. />
  The lift shook a little as it ascended. Karina’s throat was closed, and she was happy neither Diane nor Mael wanted to have a conversation. A pity this lift didn’t have weapons, or they could just shoot the kyons. Wait, no, Whyland weapons shot energy, and it didn’t affect kyons. This area had plains so it would be easier to spot them from the air than if they’d been in an area with more trees. Karina stood close to the window, looking down, trying to find any sign of Sian’s advancing force. Her heart pounded furiously in her chest. At least she was doing the right thing, and she and her friends would prevent those horrible creatures from reaching Siphoria and the castle. Her reverie was interrupted by Diane’s boyfriend, Mael.

  “What’s that?”

  Karina looked up. There were some birds in the distance. Quite large birds. Of course she didn’t know what they were, though, without having had any Whyland zoology class. She was then thrown against the side window, as Diane was making a turn, but it was a slow turn, like an airplane.

  “Karina.” Diane’s voice was tense. “Are those kyons supposed to fly?”

  No. Wait. Karina looked back. They were dark, like dark brown or black, not grey, like kyons.

  “Are they?” Diane repeated.

  “No,” Karina said. “Aren’t these just birds?”

  “They aren’t!” Diane said.

  Even before finishing her question Karina had realized the stupidity of it, as the “birds” were approaching and not only were they huge, they had huge bodies, like some giant-sized bats. But that didn’t mean they weren’t native giant bats or whatever, did it? Then Karina heard the screeches, and her mind took her back to that horrible moment, behind the mirror, when she was in that desolate place with the tower. Those were the creatures who’d attacked her then. But how could they be here?

  Darian didn’t trust the guy in front of him, but he had no choice. “I’ll take your offer.”

  Liam nodded. “Great. But there’s a storm coming. No lifts can fly in that weather.”

  “I know someone who can.”

  25

  Storm

  “Diane, turn!” Mael yelled.

  “I’m trying! Do you want to pilot it?”

  “I’m trying to help.”

  Diane shook her head. “Karina.” Some of Diane’s panic was gone, replaced by a purposeful calm. “Do you know what those things are? Do you think they’ll attack us?”

  “They will. But they shouldn’t be here, they’re from another dimension. They were locked. I had no idea. I didn’t know. But can they do anything against the lift? I mean, this is metal, right?”

  Diane sighed. “We’ll see. They could block the engine, or, I don’t know, hit us.”

  Karina asked, “Could they bring us down?”

  “I don’t know! Flying school didn’t have any lesson on freaky giant birds, you see?”

  Karina didn’t say anything. The girl was right to be angry.

  They were almost finishing their 180-degree curve, but the things were very, very close. Sian’s voice came to Karina, sounding as if it came from a different era, answering her question as to how they moved: propeller on the back. And if that was unprotected… The curve had also slowed them down, and Karina could no longer lie to herself, at the speed they were approaching, they’d reach them.

  “Diane, land!” Karina pleaded.

  Mael said, “No, we need to escape.”

  “They’re going to reach us, though.” Karina pleaded. “And I’d rather not risk crashing.”

  Diane shook her head. “We’ll gain speed and lose them.”

  They finally had their back to the things pursuing them, and Karina realized it was too late. Hopefully nothing would happen. Hopefully. And then, impact. A creature reached them on the side, and the lift was jerked sideways.

  Diane looked straight ahead. “We just need speed.”

  Another impact, on the opposite side. It was as if they were trying to destabilize them, not that those creatures knew how a lift moved. Then, on their back, a deafening sound like an explosion. The lift moved sideways and ahead like a car skidding on ice, then stopped moving forward. At least it was still floating. A fall from that height would kill them, and Karina hoped it didn’t come to that.

  Five or six creatures reached them, and the lift shook. Diane stared ahead as if frozen in shock.

  Karina didn’t want to ask, but she had to “Did they… Did they destroy the propeller?”

  “Sounded like it. And feels like it.” Mael replied.

  Karina ignored the creature tapping on her window with huge claws, and turned to Diane. “Is there a way to land without it?”

  The girl screamed and jumped backward as a creature dashed towards the windshield, which cracked.

  “Is there?” Karina pleaded.

  “Yes!” Diane moved to the pilot seat.

  The creature was now tapping against the window. Thankfully the material wasn’t glass and didn’t shatter completely; it was just cracking slowly. But with four or five creatures clashing against all windows, at some point one of them would break through.

  Diane took a deep breath, despite her trembling. “I’m landing. Karina, you’re the only fighter here. If they come through—”

  “I’ll take care of them. Don’t worry.”

  What a lie. But what was she going to say? That they were screwed, and that Karina had never fought against anything in her entire life? It wouldn’t help them. She tried to think. Teleport. Her mind went back to teleporting. But then, could she teleport with two more people? Probably not, and she couldn’t leave them on their own when it had been her fault they were here in the first place. Karina had no weapons whatsoever, and from the looks of it, neither of her companions had any either.

  The lift was descending, but so slowly that they’d probably be torn to pieces before they got anywhere near the ground. She wondered if Mael couldn’t fight, though.

  Karina turned to him. “What about you?”

  “We’re musicians! But I’ll do my best.”

  Karina nodded. Some luck. Up until then, she had only flown in Whyland in army lifts, or at least together with people in the army or rebellious groups. She had this weird notion that everyone there could fight, or that army was the only career in Whyland. Turns out no. And, of course, the one time she really needed help, she was with two musicians. Karina had to hold it together, one, because she’d asked them to come, two, because she was likely the one who had freed those things, and three, because they were counting on her.

  The window by her cracked, and an ugly claw entered the lift. Mael looked back, broke the headrest from his the seat, and hit that claw. The creature went away, but another creature came in, putting its beak in the opening. Mael hit it, then gave the piece to Karina. He moved back and snapped another seat. Turns out it was a good thing that the lift was old and could be broken apart.

  Another hole was opened in the front, and Mael hit the thing with a piece of the seat. Karina hoped they could land before anything worse happened, but she wasn’t sure how much better they’d be on the ground when there would be no place where they could run to.

  “Does this lift have a radio, I mean, a communicator or something?” Karina asked. “We need to ask for help!”

  “It doesn’t!” Diane yelled.

  Karina’s stomach was sinking while she was hitting whatever came through the little hole in the side window. Another hole was about to be opened on the other side. She also heard the creatures doing something on top. Focus. Think. Explode! The answer was in exploding something. But what, though? She couldn’t explode their flying craft. Not in mid-air. Would they be able to land, though? Karina’s question was soon answered in the worst possible way, as the lift started to spin very fast while descending.

  “Prepare for impact!” Diane yelled.

  Like what? Karina sat and hugged her knees, the way she’d seen in airplane instructions. There was no time to wonder if it was the right thing to do or not. At least
there were no claws coming through, since the spinning had probably thrown the creatures away.

  They crashed with a thud. Karina sat up, amazed that nothing had happened to her, until she saw with dismay that part of the ceiling had collapsed in the front. On the back, it was just lower than normal. The window on her side was now completely shattered.

  “Are you alright?” Karina asked.

  “Physically? Yeah.” Diane said.

  “My leg,” Mael complained. “Something hit it.”

  “I’m fine,” Karina said. “I’ll try to hold them back.”

  Try was the operative word here. Oh, dear. She hoped maybe someone was flying in the area, someone saw them, someone came to help. She didn’t even care who it was. At this point, she’d be delighted to see Sian walking hand in hand with his gorgeous queen if he came to save them. If he knew what was happening, she didn’t think he’d let her die like that. Not his style. But the fact that he’d let these creatures lose was horrible and reminded Karina why she’d walked away and was now fighting, or better, trying to fight him—and failing miserably. Loud screeches.

  Karina closed her eyes. Explode. That was the only thing she knew how to do, and the only thing that could maybe help them at this point, but it had to explode out, not in.

  She said, “Don’t hit them. Wait. Don’t go near the windows.”

  “I can’t move,” Mael said.

  “Hang on,” Karina insisted.

  Eyes closed, she felt the creatures approaching. Part of her even felt sad because she felt no evil or malice in them. They were animals following their instinct. Well, so was Karina, following her survival instinct. Let them all come close. Close, as close as they could. This was no time to doubt herself or wonder if she could really explode anything. She knew she could. She had to find a place in her mind for quiet concentration, from where she could take the focus. Diane was yelling something, but it was lost, as Karina got immersed in her thoughts. Using emotion was bad, Sian had said, but she had no other choice. His face came in her mind, and his words: of course I don’t want you.