Thin Hope

by Holly Hook

  "Even if you did," Patrick finished, "You couldn't kill me."

  "I just shot you," Kiki said. "Are you saying I won't do it again?"

  "But why would you want to kill me?" Patrick asked. "I am giving you the chance to become the most powerful creature in the world. Nobody could stand in your way…in our way. Wouldn't you like that?"

  She drew closer to Damon. "You don't know me well at all...I'm not like that."

  Kiki fired a shell into Patrick, this time hitting him in the stomach. He doubled over for a split second, torso blurring, and recovered just as quickly.

  “If I need to fight you, so be it,” Patrick said, the smug look on his face morphing into a growl. “You will realize you’re meant to be with me when you turn.”

  “Stay the hell back.” Damon rushed in front of her, pistol raised. “I mean it, you sick bastard.”

  Alexander reached out to hold him back, but too late.

  “Damon—” Kiki started, heart racing as Alexander’s shield drained away. Patrick would tear him apart to get to her.

  Two blurs raced around in front of her vision as Patrick, Alexander, and even Damon seemed to disappear. A second later, Patrick reappeared, grasping for air, and Damon struggled in Alexander’s grasp by the meeting table.

  Kiki scrambled to pump the shotgun, panic racing through her veins. Alexander had lost his focus. He couldn’t protect her now. Patrick could—

  A blast of wind screamed through the room, knocking her off her feet. The shotgun fell from her grasp as her back hit the wall and glass crunched under her. Kiki blinked the spots out of her vision, pain screaming through the back of her head as she struggled to stand. A winged figure drew closer, casting a shadow over her.

  “No!” Damon yelled from somewhere on the other side of the room. Footfalls thudded as he and Alexander drew closer.

  "Go, get out of here!" she yelled. "Damon—he’ll kill you!”

  Her fiancé appeared in front of Patrick, pistol in hand. Another shot rang out, this time rewarded with a spray of purple from the side of Patrick’s head. The monster lurched back, arms flailing uselessly, growling with rage.

  “I'm not leaving you behind!” Damon seized her arm. “Let’s go!”

  Another blur rushed across the room, smacking into the lounge door and nearly taking it off its hinges. They had Patrick stunned. Would he heal? Emoshis could from almost any injury that didn’t separate the heart from the body.

  “You take the wings. I’ll go for the heart.” Kiki broke away from him and seized her shotgun. This may be the only chance to stop her uncle before he spread his condition. If he created even one more of himself, this might be unstoppable.

  Alexander rushed at Patrick, becoming a blur himself as he launched across the room. Patrick ducked and reappeared for a second, fully healed, than vanished again, slipping from her aim. Her emotions were safe as long as Patrick was distracted, but that wouldn’t last long. They needed to take him down, and quickly.

  A blur raced for Damon, and a thump echoed through the room.

  Patrick held Damon against the wall by the front of his uniform. Damon dropped his pistol, trembling as Patrick stared him down. Her fiancé’s gaze dropped to the floor as if he were giving up, as if despair were overwhelming him. Patrick was altering his emotions.

  Kiki aimed the gun at his back, unable to fire. Paralysis stole over her limbs. If she shot Patrick, the bullet could go through and kill Damon. Would go through. If she didn’t—

  “She’s mine,” Patrick growled, raising his free fist.

  Alexander leapt onto Patrick’s back, seizing a wing.

  Patrick twisted around, growling, trying to throw the Emoshi off. Damon leapt to the side, out of the way as Alexander tore at his wing with his bare hands, ripping as blood rained to the floor.

  A scream of agony pierced the air as the elevator door burst open and green-uniformed soldiers poured in, weapons raised. Jacob ran in behind them, shouting something. The two blurs rushed over towards the window, twisting around each other as another scream of agony erupted.

  “Hold your fire!” Kiki ordered.

  A black-and-red blur fell from the window as the second slowed and solidified, holding something red and leathery. A wing. Alexander dropped it from his grasp, rushing over to the window.

  Soldiers rushed forward, guns raised. Kiki couldn’t help but join her distant relative at the window.

  Alexander peered down the stark drop of the building, onto the dimly lit street far below and a pair of cars moving like bugs far down on the street. Kiki backed away, dizzy, straight into Damon’s arms. Wind blew through the window, bringing with it cool night air that felt devoid of life. She settled into Damon’s grasp, taking in his warmth. Tremors racked her body, and no amount of training could keep them back.

  Patrick had become the most powerful being alive. Four of them couldn’t take him out. “He’s gone,” Alexander said, backing away from the window. “He’s still very much alive, I’m sure. I don’t understand this. I truly don’t.”

  Damon kissed her on the forehead as her body racked with sobs. Kiki couldn’t hold the cold exterior anymore. Even the soldiers asking if she was all right seemed far away, in another dimension. “I’m so sorry, Damon. If I shot, I would have killed you.”

  “It’s okay.” Her fiancé gasped for air as if he’d been underwater for a long time. “It wouldn’t have killed him, anyway. Kiki, don’t ever tell me to leave you in danger.” He held her face in his hands and planted a kiss on her lips this time, a deep, passionate kiss, enough to send fuzzies down to her toes for a split second. “You’re all I have left in this world, and neither Patrick nor Lateine is going to take that away.”

  “What did you see, sir?” a soldier asked from behind her.

  Damon straightened up. “We need to change locations immediately. Do not ask questions. Where are the King and Queen?”

  “Down in the lobby, sir, answering a phone call from Delainia. Darren and Gracie Storm are requesting an immediate meeting.”

  Kiki lifted her head from Damon’s chest, remembering Darren’s attempted call right before the window had shattered. Unable to get through, he must have tried another phone line. Could this be about Patrick? Maybe Darren had been trying to warn them about this monster on the loose.

  Blinking the tears from her vision, Kiki turned to face the guards. “Everyone downstairs," she ordered. “I’ve been waiting almost two weeks for this meeting.”

  * * * * *

  “It's seems like something the devil himself created,” Alexander said as the armored van rolled over a rare pothole. Without the road crews in town, Frelladon’s streets were already beginning to fall apart. “I have never seen something more powerful in my life. Four people couldn't even take it down. Just imagine if there was an entire race of these things?”

  Kiki's heart sank. If Patrick made even one more of himself, let alone a race—she didn’t want to imagine it. Even Emperor Ivan would have a hard time standing up against such a creature. He was still out there, possibly fully healed already, flying around the city to evade the military and waiting for the next chance to strike. It made the upcoming meeting with Darren and Gracie Storm sound like a picnic in the park.

  Damon’s radio crackled as he spoke into it. “Yes, the paper factory will work. We must be allowed to bring in forces if Delainia is going to bring in theirs. That’s the deal. Twenty troops allowed in for each side.” The beginnings of stress lines started to form on Damon’s forehead. “No weapons for the negotiators. Also, Riley, Ryan, and Jacob need to be moved to a secure location. Ashley has requested to take Amber to an obscure cottage out in the country. Open the fallout bunker at the University.”

  Kiki breathed a sigh of relief for her siblings. They were no longer safe in the National Bank, or anywhere in the air, for that matter.

  The van rolled to a stop with a squeak. Kiki faced her parents, who sat opposite her on the bench. Her father gave a weak smile, but t
he wrinkles around his eyes told another story. They might only be feet from the dividing line between them and Delainia’s new territory, but neither side would venture into the other. Hopefully, the truce would be more than temporary, and the Delainian scientists would have some method of disposing of their failed experiment.

  Lights shined down on her as she exited the back of the van, surrounded by soldiers in green uniforms. Some in black uniforms—Delainians—stood behind them, guns at the ready in case there were any disagreements. Kiki tensed, hands automatically going to her holsters. The barrier on this street had been temporarily lifted for the emergency meeting, leaving them open to attack.

  “Your weapons, please,” a Keilaran soldier commanded.

  Kiki could barely move to part with her pistols. She felt so naked without them, but it was a risk they had to take. Next to them, Damon surrendered his own pistol as another soldier patted down Alexander. Fortunately, the Storms had agreed to let the Emoshi stand in on the meeting, to balance out the fact that they had the power of CDV on their side.

  Keilaran troops surrounded them from all sides as they walked towards the warehouse, protecting them from any snipers that might be in the area. Kiki tensed, ready to hit the ground at the sound of a gunshot, but none came. A Delainian soldier held the warehouse door open as the approached, nodding.

  The inside of the warehouse smelled like mold and dust, like it hadn’t been used in weeks. That was probably the case. Boxes had been cleared out on both sides and lights blared down on a table in the middle of the room. Soldiers, both Keilaran and Delainian, lined the walls on opposite sides, ready for any disagreements to pop up.

  Darren and Gracie Storm sat on the opposite side of the table, silent and staring at them with those black eyes. Both wore suits that were wrinkled, as if they’d put them on in a hurry. Kiki shook her head. She was used to seeing images of them in lab jackets, walking around their labs and shaking hands with scientists on television.

  Damon spoke first, breaking the concrete silence. “Your creation found us.”

  Chairs scraped against the floor as Kiki joined her family at the bargaining table. It took all of her restraint to avoid going over the table and choking the leaders of Delainia.

  “First off, I didn't inject Patrick with the hybrid blood. He injected himself.” Darren put his hands down on the table, folding them. “When we attempted to inject a test subject—a convicted murderer, I might add—” he said quickly as Damon shot him a glare—“we deemed the effects of the hybridization too dangerous to use on anyone, and I ordered the experiment destroyed. We are merely looking for a way to defend ourselves against Emperor Ivan, something you must understand. I am not the diabolical man many paint me as.”

  Silence hung over the table. Kiki could understand the fear of Ivan. “This is why you invaded us. To make your country stronger at our expense. Why, Darren, did you not ask for an allegiance?”

  “You would not have been open to the idea at the time,” Gracie put in. “Weeks ago, an invasion was the only feasible choice, as Ivan was preparing his own march across your country. Your uncle gave us this information. However, we were not aware of his true plans. He is working for a third party, and merely wanted to be our Commander to access our experiments.” Gracie shot her what looked like a fleeting look of sympathy. Did the Storms know about Patrick’s obsession with her? The thought made her feel oddly exposed.

  Her father put his chin in his hand, thinking. “I must give you that. A few weeks ago, I would not have considered an alliance with Delainia. I have never approved of your experimentation.” He faced Kiki, then her mother. “However, things have changed. We have a bigger enemy now.”

  Kiki tensed in her seat. An alliance with Delainia? Only pure desperation would push her parents to this point. But, with Ivan preparing a bigger strike on Frelladon, they may not have another choice.

  “I agree,” Darren said. “Neither of us can fight Ivan’s forces alone. If we become allies, I will withdraw forces from the Industrial District and help defend the north end of the city against Ivan’s troops. In return, Keilara will help defend Delainia against any invasions.”

  “I want another condition to the deal,” the Queen said, her expression hard. “You must agree to end all of this human experimentation. I will prepare a document for both of you to sign tomorrow, to seal the deal. Then, we will be more than happy to ally with Delainia.”

  Kiki had nothing to add. Her father’s eyes had worry lines around them, etched there in the past few weeks. The Storms sat opposite them, bags of exhaustion under their eyes. The war had taken as much from them as it had her parents. For a second, she nearly felt sorry for them.

  “We agree to the terms,” Gracie said, brushing hair from her face. She spoke as if she and her husband had expected this. “After this last experiment, we are certainly leaning away from this arena of science, and plan to focus our studies elsewhere.”

  It felt as if a mountain of tension had lifted from the bargaining table. Even the soldiers, both Keilaran and Delainian, lowered their weapons. The deliberations had gone more quickly than Kiki had ever expected. Exhaustion and fear of Ivan had hurried the process along. Both sides were tired of fighting.

  “We agree as well,” her father stated, after a long glance with her mother. “We will work out the fine details later.” The tone of his voice said that he meant the experiments for sure. “Keilara and Delainia are now allies, and will fight alongside one another against Emperor Ivan.”

  The words hung in the air, surreal. Kiki shared a look with Damon as the memory of the Delainian soldiers with their creepy black eyes crept into her mind. Her mother’s stooped posture, like she wanted to get up, showed that she felt the same way. Perhaps this was necessary.

  Her father shook hands with Darren and Gracie, solidifying his words. Kiki’s mind had gone numb by time it was her turn to shake hands. She had to tell herself not to pull away as Darren took her hand in a strong, almost inhuman grip and shook. “I am sorry, Your Highness,” he said, black eyes trained on her.

  A trace of warmth had crept into them now, which had been absent from the soldiers’ eyes during the first invasion. He didn’t just mean the war when he spoke.

  “Patrick,” Kiki said once Damon had shook hands with the Storms. “We need to discuss him next.” She tried not to stare too hard at her mother, who suddenly seemed to collapse again, putting her face in her hands. This wouldn’t be easy for her, or any of them. The fact that he had a child made this far worse than it needed to be.

  “Yes. That’s the second order of business tonight,” Gracie said. Her eyes rolled down, carrying her gaze to the table. “I am sorry Patrick found you before we could make contact. Had we known how this operation would have ended, we never would have tried the injection.”

  “Do you know how to kill him?” Damon asked. He reached out and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close. “Alexander here says you need to remove the heart, like in an Emoshi, but the four of us were unable to succeed.”

  The Queen rose from her chair, brown hair flying away as if static electricity were building inside of her. “I need to be excused from this meeting.” Her words were ice and fire at the same time as she rushed for the door, skirts swishing, five or six soldiers trailing behind her.

  Darren stared at her father, a confused look coming over his face.

  “Patrick is her brother,” the King explained in a low voice. “She understands that he is a danger to us all, but this is not easy for her to cope with.”

  “Understandable.” Darren nodded. He turned to Damon. “Yes, removing the heart is the way to do it. It worked on our test subject, though it took several Delainian soldiers to hold him down while Gracie and myself cut it out.”

  Gracie made a face as the memory washed over her.

  “The test subject, however, healed at the same rate as an Emoshi and sprouted wings, a trait that neither Delainians or Emoshis have. He was able to control the ai
r around him as well as manipulate my emotions. Patrick now has all the strengths of both races.”

  “Why the wings?” Alexander asked. “Do you have a theory for that? No being of any species has ever been known to possess them.”

  “We cannot be sure,” Gracie said. The tired lines on her face seemed much deeper now. “I have speculated, however. The first people able to control the air around them were found in a town named Central Delainia Villa seven years ago, in a couple of families who had lived there for a long time. We suspected the trait was a sudden mutation in their genetic code. After studying their blood samples and DNA samples, we discovered that a rare virus was the cause of the mutation, which we appropriately named CDV. As tensions increased with Lateine, we introduced the virus into the water supply, after rigorous testing on human subjects to ensure it was safe. Now, over ninety-eight percent of the Delainian population has acquired the mutation.”

  Kiki leaned forward, listening intently. She had always wondered where CDV had come from, as Delainia had kept the secret under tight wraps until now.

  “Continue,” the King said.

  Gracie swallowed. “We wished to gain a further edge over Ivan’s magic users by combining our ability to control air with the ability to control emotions. However, not only did the hybrid blood deliver the normal CDV mutation to Patrick, it caused a mutation in the Emoshi genetic code as well. What we are seeing, I believe, is accelerated evolution caused by both the virus and the Emoshi ability to heal and grow quickly.”

  “Has Patrick given anyone his blood yet?” Darren pulled at his collar, clearly dreading the answer.

  “No.” Kiki’s own voice sounded flat to her ears. “Patrick won't transform anybody until he transforms me. He said that to me when he came to us. Unless he gets very impatient or desperate, I believe we are safe from that for now.”

  Darren scratched his arm. “I have already ordered my military to shoot him down if he is spotted.” His gaze sank to the table. “I will have a task force dedicated to hunting him together by morning, if you would allow them to access your city.”