Thin Hope

by Holly Hook

  The vision nodded, wavering again.

  "Why are you here?"

  The false Patrick turned around, pointed to the north, then turned back to look at Kiki.

  It was the direction of the Lateinian occupation. His pointing could mean anything. "You're warning me about those soldiers?"

  The glass door came open, sending the vision away in a puff of smoke. Kiki jumped, nearly pulling out her guns as the figure of Alexander strode into the building.

  His wide, purple-eyed stare landed on her. “Is something wrong, Kiki?” He looked so much like Patrick with his brown hair.

  “No. No.” What was she supposed to make of those visions? Alexander should have seen it coming through the door, but he hadn't. Did that mean she was going insane? “Nothing. I'm jumpy about moving through the open.” That part, at least, was true. “Thanks for coming, Alexander.”

  If he'd had a hat, he would have tipped it. “It was no problem.”

  Footsteps approached behind her. “We need to move. Damon has troops meeting us at the campus gates,” Jacob said, brushing past Kiki to the door. “We need to do this before Ivan gets up the magic to watch Riley again.”

  * * * * *

  Kiki watched Jacob exit the armored van and signal to someone in the air. Ahead of them, the new barrier stretched across the road, separating the Lateinian occupation from the rest of the city. Houses stood dark around them, empty of their rescued inhabitants. Trash from the enemy troops littered the yards: chip bags, drink bottles, bits of paper. Wires hung from a busted streetlight nearby. No one had been sent in the clean up the territory they'd taken back from Lateine last week.

  Beyond the concrete barrier and the barbed wire ahead, colorful tents still lined the sides of the road and the parking lot of the sports arena ahead. The bronze Emperor Ivan still stood near the edge of the parking lot, surrounded by coins, purses, and even mobile phones. The sight of it made Kiki bristle. She eyed her sister, who sat huddled in the back seat. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes,” Riley said. Her face had grown pale even in the gloom of the van.

  “Just keep out of sight as much as you can,” she ordered. “We need to make sure this isn't a trap before--”

  “I know, Kiki.”

  “She's right,” Damon said. “We don't know. I wouldn't put a trap past Ivan.”

  Figures in gray moved around on the other side of the barricade. Wires descended from the sky, under the shadow of a Keilaran helicopter, as another armored van pulled up beside them. The Lateinian troops set to work connecting the cables, and within a minute, the section of barrier began to lift.

  Kiki tensed as their driver tightened his hands on the wheel, not daring to turn off the engine. Her neck prickled as if Ivan were watching them again. “I don't feel right about this.”

  “Neither do I,” Damon said. “This isn't Delainia. We don't know what those people are thinking.”

  Jacob backed away a few steps, nearly stumbling backwards, as a figure in a dark gray uniform and military hat barged through the opening in the barricade, flanked by five ordinary Lateinian soldiers. None held guns. They didn't need them. Lateine had managed to hold back two opposing armies, and now that the section of concrete was lifted, Kiki could truly see how many there were now. Ivan had no doubt tripled the forces behind the barricade in the past few days. Figures in gray crowded around, so thick they blocked out the street behind them.

  None rushed forward, not with the helicopters flying overhead. As soon as the general and his five troops cleared the opening, the section of barricade came back down, blocking the massive Lateinian army from view.

  “This could be very good or very bad,” Damon said, shaking his head. He raised his radio to his mouth. “Exiting the van. Copy.”

  Soldiers poured out of the van next to them, ready to serve as their bodyguards. Kiki slid open the van door and jumped down, Damon right behind her. Green-uniformed soldiers surrounded her on all sides, forming a protective ring. Alexander pushed through them and joined her, shooting her a reassuring glance. The sky seemed so expansive overhead, without a protective cloud over her head.

  General Avens raised a hand in greeting. It was weaponless, at least. Jacob returned with a salute that Kiki couldn't quite see. Behind him, the five soldiers waited. One shifted nervously, eyeing the sky and the helicopters over his head.

  “Pleased to meet you, Jacob Ortiz,” the general said, shaking his hand. He faced Kiki. “Thank you for treating our captives humanely, and allowing them to speak with us.”

  Jacob didn't waste time getting to business. “How many troops do you have behind the barricade?”

  “Approximately nine thousand, sir. I estimate that slightly over half are with our cause now. Another twenty percent I believe can be swayed, and the rest, I think, are still loyal to Ivan. Those tend to be the new arrivals. I have been placing them in their own section of the camp and denying them access to communications. Ivan is sending more troops every day, and is demanding that we push forward and take more territory after sundown tomorrow.”

  Kiki shuddered, thinking of the wall of Lateinian soldiers behind the barricade. With nine thousand magic users ready to push forward, even Keilara and Delainia combined likely couldn't stop it.

  “We should move soon,” Jacob said, voice cracking again. “It's only a matter of time before Ivan sees what we're doing. He has been distracted by...other things, but that won't last long. It takes only one loyalist to tip him off. I know the inside of the palace, and the Emperor's potential escape routes. How many troops inside Lateine do you think we could get to join our cause?”

  Kiki glanced back to make sure Riley remained in the van for the time being. She did. General Avens stared into the air, thinking hard. “What—” he started.

  All of Kiki's muscles coiled like springs. The General was staring out past the helicopters, mouth falling open. He wasn't thinking at all.

  Kiki's bodyguards turned as well, and her gaze went with them. The perfect blue sky was marred by a spot, a spot growing larger and larger as it descended towards them.

  “Shit!” Damon raised his radio with one hand and pulled Kiki close with the other. “Incoming aerial threat from the south. Open fire!”

  Within seconds, machine guns exploded into deafening noise above them. Slugs rained from the helicopter above them as the object dove to the side in a blur, dodging the fire. Kiki scrambled for her own weapons as the gunfire died. She shouldn't have come. She'd endangered the mission.

  “Get down!” Damon raised his pistol and fired on the approaching blur, now banking to the right over their heads. The noise rang in Kiki's ears as her bodyguards followed suit. The stench of hot metal filled her nostrils as Alexander took her arm.

  The blur vanished behind a cluster of trees. Gunfire stopped, leaving Kiki's ears ringing. She raised her pistols, keeping them trained on the trees. Patrick would burst out in a second, diving straight for her.

  “I said get down!” Damon ordered.

  No. She'd stand here and fight right beside him. The bastard wouldn't hesitate to kill Damon. They all knew that.

  “Urr...” someone started behind her.

  Nothing moved on the other side of the tree. Kiki glanced around at the surrounding yards. Her soldiers fanned out in a ring around her, doing the same, as the nervous Lateinian trembled on the spot, face turning red with pure rage.

  She realized what was happening too late. Patrick was emotion manipulating him. No one noticed except her.

  The Lateinian raised his hands towards her, face twisted into anger he couldn't control, and a blue-white fireball shot straight at her shoulder.

  The stench of ozone and burning flesh filled the air as searing, white-hot pain filled her shoulder. Kiki dropped her pistols and fell to the ground, only dimly aware that she was screaming in agony. The world faded to gray and tilted around her. The fireball faded, leaving only the searing pain in its place. When she reached over to feel the injury with her o
ther hand, it came away wet. Blood.

  “No!” Damon yelled, his voice a mixture of rage and agony. A shot rang out, and a gray-uniformed figure fell to her left. Cries rang out everywhere as more shots rang out, and Keilaran troops scattered as the blur rushed through them like bowling pins. Jacob threw himself to the ground, pulling General Avens with him.

  My shoulder, Kiki thought as the world dissolved into distant chaos around her. This was what her vision meant. Damon, if I die, I'm sorry.

  * * * * *

  “You killed my wife!” Damon screamed as Patrick landed on the other side of the street, folding his wings against his back. Behind him, the dead Lateinian soldier bled out onto the pavement. Patrick had planned this, his pain. He was once again that teenager, pounding a hole into the wall, cursing Lateine for taking his parents from him.

  “Feel familiar?” Patrick asked, folding his arms.

  Rage consumed every piece of his being. He fired, again and again and again, screaming with every ounce of his strength as the bullets formed holes in Patrick's flesh and barely made him flinch. It didn't matter if he died now. He had nothing left.

  The pistol clicked, spent. Damon stared down at it and let it fall to the ground. The helicopter formed a shadow overhead, unable to fire without hitting anyone else. Keilaran troops staggered to their feet, stunned. Kiki remained still on the pavement, a red puddle expanding around her shoulder.

  “I told you that I would win,” Patrick said to Damon, slowly walking toward him. “She's not even your wife yet, you stupid man. And she is not dead. Not yet, anyway. My blood will heal her, make her like me, but don't worry. You won't live to see it.”

  His hand shot under Damon's throat, lifting him high, crushing his windpipe. Damon struggled to take a breath. Spots danced in his vision, marring the insane grin crossing Patrick's features. A pop ripped through his neck as numbness filled his limbs.

  Suddenly, another shot rang out behind Patrick.

  The monster jerked, loosening his grip on Damon and crying out in pain. Patrick clutched at his chest as purple blood trickled out. The heart. His one vulnerable spot.

  Damon fell to the ground like a rag doll, unable to feel anything except his head hitting the concrete. Behind Patrick, Kiki sat up, her jacket soaked with red and her arm hanging limply at her side. Her face had taken on a gray pallor, but the fire in her green eyes was still there, shining with all the brilliance it ever had.

  “You can kill Damon, when you kill me first,” Kiki gasped, falling back to the ground.

  Patrick smiled and stepped out of Damon's field of vision.

  * * * * *

  Patrick stepped away from Damon, advancing on Kiki as more shots rang out from the soldiers. Bullets tore through him uselessly, missing the heart completely.

  Patrick laughed, a horrible sound, as lines appeared around the corners of his eyes. “Don't worry, Kiki. You won't die. I won't let you.”

  Kiki tried to roll away, but her body was growing cold. Her heart fluttered in her chest. A terrible thirst gripped her, as if a desert had invaded her throat. She'd give anything for a glass of water, even her life...

  A figure in gray dodged in front of her. Jacob.

  "You will fight me first!" Jacob said.

  “Jacob! No!” Riley cried out somewhere.

  Kiki's vision began to dim. Jacob's hands glowed with white-blue fire, but it didn't matter anymore. She wanted to close her eyes and go to sleep.

  * * * * *

  Riley dodged across the pavement, jumping over the body of a fallen soldier. Tears blurred her entire field of vision, turning the battlefield into a splash of color with gunshots, shouts, and grunting in the background.

  Jacob's hands glowed a bright white as the monster that was once her uncle advanced on him. His arms trembled with the effort as he lifted them. Patrick rose in the air, trembling against an invisible wall and gritting his teeth. His wings seemed to spasm, frozen in place. Jacob squeezed his eyes shut and thrust his arms forward, magically tossing Patrick back into a tree. Bark split with the impact.

  “Riley! Your sister.” Alexander appeared at her side and took her arm with his superhuman strength. “I fear she won't last much longer.”

  She blinked. Kiki lay on her back, a red puddle surrounding her shoulder. Her eyes rolled around slowly in her head, not quite focused. Somewhere nearby, a soldier sent a call for an ambulance.

  Jacob grunted again with the effort of controlling Patrick. He could hold him off, had to hold him off. Riley turned away from him, as much as it pained her, and rushed over to Kiki, pulling her jacket off without thinking.

  “No! You're not going to die!” Riley pressed the jacket against the oozing mess that was her sister's shoulder, arms trembling, barely able to control her movement.

  Kiki groaned. It was her only response.

  “What do we do?” Riley asked. A sob escaped her throat. The ambulance would never make it here in time. Even if it did, they wouldn't get her to the hospital fast enough. “She's dying!”

  “She'll be dead within a few minutes at this rate,” Alexander said. “There's only one thing we can do.” He put his hand on Kiki's cheek. "Kiki, stay awake. Stay with me."

  Riley looked at her distant relative, confused, but then she looked into the violet of his eyes and remembered what Alexander was. She looked down at Kiki as soldiers gathered around. Wind snapped down from the helicopter above. Blood now soaked the jacket she was holding to the wound. Only the blood of an Emoshi could save her now.

  Alexander nodded to Riley, face calm and smooth. “Hold the wound closed until I say so.” He fumbled through his pockets and produced a pocketknife. With a grimace, he slashed it across his palm. “Now, Riley. Let me take over.”

  "Sir, what are you--" a soldier started.

  Alexander stared him down, and he went quiet.

  Riley gulped and removed the jacket. Fresh blood spurted out of the wound, making nausea well up through her. Alexander pressed his hand, now dripping his own purplish blood, onto Kiki's wound.

  Jacob cried out again, and another crash sounded through the air as his magic tossed Patrick yet again. More gunshots rang out, but they sounded very far away.

  Kiki groaned again as Alexander pressed his hand deeper into her wound. Her breath came, slowly, and then again, chest rising a little higher each time. Blood didn't gush from her wound as quickly as before, but subsided to an ooze, and then nothing at all. Skin began to pull together under Alexander's hand, and the bright green in Kiki's eyes slowly morphed into a brilliant violet.

  Alexander pulled his hand away. “This may not be what you want, but it's the only way you can live.”

  Kiki sat up, shaky at first. Riley stood back as her sister looked around and spoke her first word of her new existence. “Damon!”

  * * * * *

  Damon looked like an oversize doll lying on the street, not far from where Patrick struggled against a white-blue cloud of magic swirling around him. His eyes blinked, but nothing else moved. His head lay at a funny angle.

  Paralyzed. Her fiancé had lost all movement from the neck down.

  At that moment, it didn't matter that Kiki's humanity was gone forever. Strength flowed through her limbs as the last of the burning pain vanished from her shoulder. Patrick advanced slowly against the stream of magic Jacob was shooting, which was starting to falter. General Avens joined in, firing his own stream of magic, but Patrick buckled and stayed upright, holding back both onslaughts. Jacob's face contorted with effort. He couldn't hold on much longer.

  Kiki seized a piece of wood from the fallen telephone pole, twisting it off with strength she hadn't thought possible. Damon would never walk again. She would make Patrick suffer. She brought the makeshift stake back, bellowed out a war cry, and let it fly.

  The splintered wood flew through the air in a blur, so fast that Kiki could barely make it out. Less than a second later, Patrick bellowed out in pain and stared down at his leg.

  At
the same time, Jacob and the general stopped firing magic, and the air turned eerily still.

  The stake stuck out from Patrick's calf, purple blood seeping out from the wound. His mouth gaped open as he turned his gaze down to look. The monster closed his hand around the wood and pulled it out with a sickening squelching sound.

  At the same time, Kiki stared down at her hands. She had done this. She was no longer human.

  No.

  Her uncle's gaze met hers as she looked up, his near-black eyes locking with hers. The stake fell from his hands, rolling away on the pavement towards her. Behind him, Damon struggled to lift his head. Jacob joined them in the staring

  A growling sound issued from Patrick's throat as he studied her. He turned his stare to Alexander, eyes rolling with black rage. “She was mine to turn!”

  That's right, you bastard, Kiki thought. I'm alive and stronger.

  Something like a roar escaped Patrick as he rushed Alexander, wings unfurling.

  Her legs pumped before she could stop them. The world blurred around her as she moved—she was moving much faster than she should have—but Patrick, her target, remained clear. She leaped, her legs launching her well over Patrick's spread wings. With a thud, she landed on his back and the world snapped back into place around her.

  Kiki barely noticed. Her uncle growled again, thrashing like a bull. She held on, wrapping both hands around his neck, squeezing. Skin gave way under the pressure as he gasped for breath. Alexander dodged to the side as Patrick swung at him, struggling, nothing more than a blur himself.

  “Go to Damon!” she shouted. Her fiancé might not hold on much longer.

  * * * * *

  When Damon tried to lift his head again, only Alexander filled his view. Behind him, Kiki held onto Patrick's neck with superhuman strength, holding her own. She was no longer human...but she didn't sprout wings, either. Damon wanted to laugh with relief. Patrick hadn't turned her. Alexander—