Hope (6 page)

The early morning light subdued the bright colors of their hats. Like rainbow prairie dogs, they popped up and pelted each other with snowballs, then dropped back behind their forts. The kids’ battle raged in front of the Harrington Elementary School sign in defiance of school still being open after a nor'easter dumped a foot of snow on the small Pennsylvania town. Exaggerated sounds of pain changed in pitch and intensity.

The black shapes of the Daemons stood out against the white ground, soon a sickening shade of red. The Daemons tore through their bodies like tissue paper. Little blonde pigtails, sticky with blood, clung to the Daemon’s claws as it held a girl’s head. The smell of the blood defiled the clean scent of the fresh snow. Snow banks muffled the grunts of the Daemons, but couldn’t suppress the screaming.

Kathryn’s vision cleared and she again stared at the ceiling, but gripped the sheet with white knuckles. No longer able to suppress her sobs, she crossed her arms in an attempt to ease the pain. The detailed images from the Sight raced through her mind and she rubbed her temples in frustration. She longed for the comfort of family. Someone to tell her everything would be all right. Her mother would know what to do. Kathryn had been so close to her mom, she felt like a part of her had died with her.

A part of her had died. Kathryn grabbed a pillow and squeezed it against her, remembering Rachel’s lanky 6-year-old frame and mischievous smile. She had loved putting her hair into pigtails and running around singing Katy Perry songs. Her CDs and hair ties lay trapped in a box, and even her favorite stuffed animal, Ella, was out of reach. Kathryn had nothing but memories of Rachel. Now she was alone, on an alien world, losing her mind with images of dead children.

No friends. No family. Just herself. Why was she still here? Maybe she shouldn’t be.

A soft scuffling to her left drew her eye to the mouse on her bed. The fire behind it outlined its alien profile. It just sat there, shivering and staring at her. Kathryn rolled onto her side, expecting the mouse to bolt. The little guy took a hesitant step toward her.

In awe, she watched the mouse walk over and snuggle between her chest and the bed. He shivered and she realized the nights weren’t as warm as when she arrived a few weeks ago. She extended a gentle finger and stroked his scaly back. He made a low thrumming sound, similar to a cat’s purr, but more like the sound of a cricket. The edge of her loneliness dulled just a little.

You have to
use
the Sights, not fall into despair whenever you have one.

"What? Who said that?" She looked at the mouse in wonder.

I’m not a damn mouse. Unbelievable, you
are
an idiot
.

She looked around the room in alarm and the mouse bolted off the bed.

An airy sigh filled her mind.
I’m in your head. I’m the one who saved your ass when you first got here. Twice. My name’s Jakob. Pleased to meet ya
.

"Who the hell are you and why are you in my head?" Kathryn should admit herself to a mental hospital and get it over with.

Just calm down. No, you’re not insane, so pull yourself together and suck it up
.

Easy for him to say. She had some nasty old man inside her head probably drooling when she looked at herself in the mirror.

That’s not true. I’m not nasty
. Dry laughter tickled her mind.
In all seriousness, we should be able to have a conversation without you dragging in your insecurities or fearing for your sanity
.

Says the voice inside her head.

No sarcasm. We need to talk while there’s still time. You’re not insane; you just have a passenger is all. It happens quite often on this world. I’ve been around for centuries and most people find it an honor to...how should I say it so you’d understand...Let me drive?

"You are definitely not going to drive my body. It’s like the damn Exorcist." Kathryn massaged her temples. Perhaps she had fallen asleep after all. She should have known doing that much reading before bed was a bad idea.

Perhaps drive wasn’t the right word. Think of me as someone with centuries of experience who’s offering to share my knowledge with you
.

"You make it sound so innocent. It’s like those movies where the bad guy used to be a good guy until the demon tricked him." Kathryn threw off the blankets and sat on the edge of the bed.

I’m no demon. I’m an idiot who offered myself to the dragons to carry on the knowledge of our ancestors. Death on this world doesn’t always have the same meaning as on Earth. It’s not my intention to take over your mind and body, although I’ve had to do that a few times before with others. I’ll be honest and say this could end badly if you don’t consider your options
.

"Great, now I’m being threatened by the voice inside my head." Kathryn thumped backward spreading her arms along the wrinkled blanket. "What are my options?"

I’ve studied your knowledge of computers. Fascinating things. You’re stubborn and your mind is very strong, so my greatest fear if you continue to fight me is you
will
go crazy. I can’t act like a computer virus and take over your mind or your internal firewall will nuke us both. Your brain will crash if I just upload all of my memories to it, so that’s not an option either. The only thing I can think of is partitioning your memories with an interface into your subconscious.

"I’m not a damn computer and my brain isn’t a hard drive."

You’d be surprised how similar they are. A slow stream of knowledge wouldn’t overload your mind and I could pass on what I need to. I wouldn’t be in the forefront of your mind...looking at you in the mirror for instance.

"So, let me guess. I’m the
chosen one
and I have to save the world. I have to find the ‘one ring’ to rule them all and everyone will live happily ever after?"

Sorry to disappoint you, but no. My last host died in the Barrens and you were the first to show up. I would have preferred a strong male warrior, but now I’m stuck with you. If I had waited a while longer, then I could have had Hal. There’s no magic talisman to save the world and I doubt you will single-handedly save Av’lor. Happy is not a word I associate with this place. Life expectancy on this world isn’t very long, so you need all the help you can get.

"You’re so inspiring." She lay in silence for a while, forcing herself not to think of anything. "Are you the source of the Sights?"

I’m not the source, but the conduit. I suffered through them as well when I was still alive. Scared the hell out of me.

"I don’t understand. Who’s the source then?"

When I was alive, I wasn’t alone in my head either.

"Great, now we’re talking not one, but two people in my head."

She’s not a person.

"Not a person. Are we talking a demon or a fluffy bunny with horns? You gotta give me more than that." She swallowed the lump in her throat. "Is she evil?"

I’m not sure what she is, but I don’t think she’s evil. I don’t think there’s such a thing as good and evil here. We’re on one side and the Daemons are on the other. The Daemons aren’t exactly evil, they just view us as sheep with weapons. They come from a dying world and our enemies promised them food, or so the histories say. Whoever’s in charge of our side pulled a bunch of humans from Earth and gave them the option to fight as well. Of course, the option to fight or die isn’t really a choice, but I’d say we’ve made the best of it.

"We’re slaves."

We’re survivors. We don’t have masters driving us to fight; we fight for our families to survive. Our masters left a long time ago. I think the Sights are the residue of their guidance.

Her mind struggled to understand, but her body’s exhaustion dragged her into a dreamless sleep.

The next morning, she awoke to the dawn light shining through her window. She struggled with the decision to stay beneath the warm blankets or to give in to her need to relieve her bladder. The more she tried to relax her body, the more her mind focused on having to get up. Images of last night’s Sight intruded into her thoughts.

Instead of blonde pigtails, she saw brown ones instead. Her guilt rose to the surface and she remembered the coffins descending into the ground. With a shaking hand, she had thrown the earth atop her mother’s coffin, and then another upon Rachel’s. Kathryn would never feel Rachel’s little hand clutch hers again.

Snap out of it!

"Jakob?"

Do you have any other old men in here?

"I thought you were just a dream."

Wake up and smell the horse shit. You need to accept that some things are beyond your control. The Sights offer guidance. They’re not just sent to you so you can bitch and moan about your situation and lay in bed with your regrets. If one Sight doesn’t provide answers, try relaxing your mind and waiting for the next one. They tend to come in pairs if your mind makes the first one end prematurely.

"You want me to lay here and wait for another one? Are you insane? The first one was bad enough." She threw back the blankets and walked to the toilet, too disgusted to care about the cold stone against her feet or the old man watching her squat over the bucket. "Besides, how am I supposed to stop the Daemons from getting to Earth and killing those kids."

Well, if you’d get your ass back into bed, you might find out.

She finished washing her hands in the ice cold basin, shivering as she dried her hands and stepped from foot to foot. With a sigh, she walked back and slid under the covers. "I’m only under here because I need to thaw out."

Right.
His laugh echoed inside her head
.

Rubbing her feet together, she eventually calmed as the blankets trapped what little warmth she had left. Yawning, she figured she would at least be able to get a little extra sleep if nothing else. She stiffened when the white haze moved across her vision, then relaxed in defeat. The Sight would play out no matter how rigid she held herself.

She stood upon the battlements and gazed upon the splendor of the setting sun. The sunsets on Av'lor were beautiful. The purples and reds almost hurt the eye with their intensity. She glanced to her left and smiled at Hal. He gave her a sad smile and placed his armored hand upon her shoulder. Her guilt lightened, but didn’t fade. Forgiveness needed time. He leapt off the wall and glided to the courtyard below. The colors drew her eyes back to the sunset. She wrapped her wings around herself against the approaching chill.

The white haze lifted and Kathryn blinked in the silence. The knights’ imperfections should have made it obvious that they were human, but in Kathryn’s mind, she thought they were...something else.

Of course they’re human, girl. Don’t be an idiot.

"I’m supposed to become a knight? That’s ridiculous. I’m not exactly large enough to wear armor and swing a sword hard enough to do much damage. I can hardly chew gum and walk at the same time, so how am I supposed to fly and fight monsters without killing myself?"

You’d be surprised. Some of the greatest knights in history were smallish, but their knowledge of magic made them a force to be reckoned with. It’s not your strength with a blade that will help, it’s your knowledge of magic.

"I have no knowledge of magic. I didn’t even believe magic was possible before I came here." She remembered the fire ripping through the bodies of the Daemons and felt her stomach churn.

Well, if you surrender yourself to me, then I can help you in that department.