by Holly Hook
Sweat beaded on Ivan's forward as the spiral staircase seemed to spin around him. He gasped for breath as he reached the top and pulled open his bedroom door. One look at the hole in his concrete wall had sent him scrambling. He knew that only an order from Jacob would send thousands pouring through and into his palace. What were they waiting for?
It didn't matter. It was perfect timing. Power strummed through his arms and his crown, coursing down through his body. He pushed open his bedroom window, pausing to look at the protesters below. They molded together in semidarkness, some holding signs now, but their roar wasn't as loud from up here.
He breathed in, allowing the power of Lateine to rise up in him once again as it drained from the protestors below. The tone of the crowd changed as the sea of people toiled, with screams piercing through the night at the Lateinian members of the opposition realized what was happening. White-blue light snaked around his entire body as--
His door opened softly behind him.
It was enough distraction to make the energy around him vanish.
“I know what you're here for,” Ivan said, not turning to face his former Commander gone traitor. “I never thought I'd see this day, Jacob, at least not so soon. I thought you were my friend, but you betrayed me. I should have kept a better eye on you, but that was my mistake. Why the hell did you have to steal her from me? Why, I should--”
“I'm not here to kill you,” a soft voice said.
* * * * *
Riley sucked in a breath before Ivan turned, trying to shove her fear down somewhere below. She sent a mental call to Jacob, who was somewhere near.
Ivan's jaw fell as the energy fizzling around his body died. “R…Riley!”
Jacob's sneaking around. Kiki's coming. Damon's coming. Riley repeated the mantra to herself as Ivan stared at her, probably unable to believe it. Jacob would be coming in through the secret passage in Ivan's closet, the one he had to escape from assassins. If anyone knew the layout of the palace, it was Jacob.
“I can't believe that you are here!" Ivan said. "How did you escape? I saw you trapped in that dark room so many times with that traitor. How did you make it through the crowds?"
Riley remembered all the times she'd turned off the lights at the radio station to Ivan couldn't see what they were doing. It had worked, too. "It…it was easy with everyone focused on coming here. I paid a guard to give me the keys." Her voice came out flat, but her heart raced as if trying to warn her about something. The crown still rested on Ivan's head, squashed down like he'd been holding onto it all night. Maybe she could pretend to hug him, to distract him while Jacob came in through Ivan's secret passage and removed it, and he'd never have time to fire off magic at his former Commander.
"Riley, I had no idea you were here." He stared down at his hands. "I could have hurt you. I could have--" he stopped, staring at her neck.
She took a step back as Ivan's stare intensified. His mouth closed, drawing into a scowl. He'd noticed something, and didn’t like what he was seeing.
Riley had forgotten to remove the lizard necklace Jacob had given her. It hung out in the open, no longer concealed by her shirt. It must have bounced out while she was running up the stairs. The tail still had the distinct bend from when Jacob said Ivan had stepped on it.
Something wet shined at the corner of Ivan's eye as his face reddened. "So that's how it is, isn't it?" He glared into Riley's eyes while white-blue light snaked around his hands. "You went with Jacob out of your own free will. Why, Riley? I could have given you everything you wanted." He slammed his fist down on his night stand. Something rattled on it. Gold coins. A watch. An ornamented dagger.
All the words locked up in her throat. She was that meek, silent girl again. But nothing she could say could change this. Ivan would never let her near him now.
Ivan's hand slammed down on the night table again, this time closing around the dagger.
"A fast death is too good for you," he said as the last of his sanity slipped from his eyes. "I'm going to make it slow as I rip out your heart, the way you did mine!"
Riley didn't dare peek down the stairs, but instead backed out of the room. She raised her voice and forced out the words, hoping they'd signal Jacob. "I didn't want to be here in the first place, Ivan," Riley said. "You don't realize, do you? You've ignored what I said multiple times."
With a growl, Ivan looked lifted the dagger and brandished it in front of him. "I loved you. I loved you! You aren't any different from anyone else. You have betrayed me, too. I could have given you anything you desired. Together, we could have protected the world! Why, Riley, why? Someday Jacob could betray you as well!"
Jacob, this is about to get really bad, she thought. Where the hell are you?
"I loved you...I loved you...I loved you." Ivan's voice grew eerily quiet. "You've taken everything from me. For that, you can die, too!"
Ivan lunged at Riley with the dagger raised above his head, ready to strike.
Chapter Twenty
"Jacob!" he heard Riley screaming. The sound echoed sharp down the tunnel. "Jacob! Where are you?"
"Jacob won't save you. I'll kill him too, right after I kill you!" Ivan's yells echoed after her.
Footfalls raced away as Jacob pumped his legs down the tunnel, ramming into the secret door at the back of Ivan's closet.
The bedroom stood empty. Coins lay on the floor, and Ivan's ceremonial dagger was missing.
"No!" He felt as if that dagger had stabbed him in the ribs. He never should have let Riley do this. Throw the body in the river. He couldn't lose someone again.
Another scream pierced the air, from below. They were headed downstairs, towards the throne room.
He couldn't remember tearing down the staircase, or anything before he reached the main throne room, where Kiki and Damon were climbing over the balcony.
"I can't find Riley!" Jacob searched the room, but saw no one. "Ivan and Riley are gone!"
"Split up!" Kiki yelled, dragging Damon towards the spiral staircase. Both turned into blurs as they ran down. Jacob prayed their speed would be enough to save Riley. He hadn't. What if she was already dead? Dying? He'd never forgive himself.
Suddenly, Jacob heard what he was listening for.
"Please, anybody!" Riley screamed. "Help me!"
"Nobody is here to help you!" Ivan yelled.
Somewhere, Damon shouted an order into his radio as Jacob bolted down the stairs. A moment later, a cheer erupted from outside and thunderous footfalls rushed into the palace.
* * * * *
Riley knew she didn't have much time left, even with the crowd outside that was pouring in. She’d seen what Ivan could do. He’d have no problem holding back the crowd, with the crown still on his head.
Her feet nearly slid on the kitchen floor as she bolted through, her arm brushing against a pot of soup that slid to the floor with a loud bang. Ivan seemed to have heard, because the double doors banged open a second later.
"You can't run away from me forever," Ivan said, voice filled with rage and pain. “I’ll rip your limbs off piece by piece and show them to Jacob before I kill him!”
Footfalls thudded somewhere and shouting filled the hallway outside the kitchen. Riley dared peek behind her. Ivan staggered through the double doors, one hand on the wall and one still grasping the dagger. White-blue light fizzled on the floor where he walked, charring the walls around him to black. One memory of what that magic had done to Kiki’s arm sent her scrambling back through the kitchen again.
The door to the dining room stood open just down a short hallway. Riley ran for it, lungs screaming at her to stop, and reached it just in time for it to slam in her face. A white-blue glow surrounded the polished wood as she pounded on it. Screams filled the air. Riley realized they were her own.
There was nowhere left to run. She’d be dead before the crowd reached her. Riley whirled around, facing down Ivan as he closed in on her, dagger ready, a twisted smile coming over his face.
"Just kill me.�
�� Riley collapsed against the door that might as well be a steel wall. "Just kill me, you worthless bastard."
Ivan smiled wider, and moved closer.
"Stop."
The voice cut through the air as the shouting grew louder.
Ivan turned around and moved to the side just enough for Riley to see who stood behind him.
Jacob. And coming up behind him, Kiki and Damon.
He nodded at the door, and then at her. “Hide, Riley.”
The door fell away behind her as Ivan lost control of the magic—or became distracted—and Riley fell through, into the same dining room where she’d had dinner with Ivan so many weeks ago. It stood empty now, the chandelier dark, as the door closed behind her.
* * * * *
"You..." Ivan said, drawing closer to him and dropping his dagger. "I trusted you. I thought of you as my own son, even."
Behind him, the dining room door closed, concealing Riley. He could only hope that they could take care of Ivan before he could go back after her. The thought made his heart clench, just like it had on that night a few years ago.
Throw the body in the river.
"I wouldn't ever want to be your son." Jacob said. His skin crawled at the thought. "I would be ashamed. And you never trusted me, Ivan. You just thought you had control of me, like you did with everyone else.”
Ivan had no defense. He growled, pulling his hand back and letting a white-blue ball of light form in his hand. But an instant later, Ivan dropped his hand, staring down at the floor…in shame? The Emperor slumped, sliding down the wall until he was sitting on the linoleum.
Jacob took a step back, then realized what was happening. Kiki and Damon were manipulating his emotions. Here stood one of the most powerful beings in the world, crumbling under the common power of the Emoshis. This was amazing. He’d never seen this power used before, but it was nothing like anything in all of Lateine.
"How does it feel to be controlled?" Damon said. "You are our puppet now."
“No!” Ivan cried, burying his face in his hands. He made no effort to rise from the floor. His emotions were crushing him, and there was nothing he could do.
The Emperor of Lateine began to cry.
All Jacob could do was stare at the foreign sight in front of him. He’d seen Ivan laugh, scowl, and yell, but never cry. He’d never shown any signs of remorse, not when he'd destroyed the village of Salvatore, not when he'd stood on his balcony after roasting civilians tonight, not after ordering the death of his sister. Ivan’s sobs came so hard his back lurched up and down and the sound of them cut over the roar of the approaching crowd.
Somewhere behind him, the kitchen door flew open and feet thudded closer.
Ivan started to curl up into a ball on the floor, still sobbing as Kiki and Damon stared hard at him. He clasped his hands over his ears, shaking as if voices were tormenting him. Maybe they were. "N…no! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
Kiki scowled and pushed past Jacob, kneeling down to Ivan and pulling one of his hands away from his ear. The Emperor did nothing to fight back.
"You tried to kill my sister," she said in a low voice. "How could you try to take a pure and innocent life like that away?"
Ivan babbled something, squeezing his eyes shut as Jacob took a step closer. Behind him, rebel Lateinian troops stopped and watched, going silent at the sight in front of them. They might as well not be there. Only his sister's face filled Jacob's memory as his fists balled.
Kiki beat him to it. She raised her hand and quickly smacked it across Ivan's face. The Emperor groaned in pain and curled up tighter, his crown nearly slipping off his head.
"I...I...I'm sorry..." Ivan stammered again. He reached up, seized his crown, and threw it to the floor with a clatter. He slumped, as if something inside of him had left. His ponytail hung in his face as he continued to sob.
Jacob's arm reached out and took the crown without his thinking about it. White-blue tendrils of light fizzled to life and filled his arms with a strange tingling. The crown seemed to brighten in response to his touch. His heart sped up, pumping adrenaline through his body. It was sealed, then.
Kiki grabbed Ivan by the shirt, lifting him from the floor like a giant doll, and tossed him into the wall. Jacob backed away, letting Kiki take the reigns. She was determined. He clearly wasn't going to prevent her, no matter what he tried.
"You are not sorry!" Kiki said. "You are only saying that because we're making you." She seized the dagger from Ivan and held it to his cheek as he slumped to the floor.
Damon stepped forward, staring Ivan down as the Emperor started to shiver. Fear. He whimpered as terror replaced his remorse. Kiki took the front of his shirt with one hand to keep him up against the wall. Jacob was only dimly aware of the soldiers behind him as he watched.
"Have you ever been afraid of death?" Kiki asked.
"Y-yes," Ivan said.
"Really?" Kiki said. "Have you ever been so close to facing it? Have you ever felt the hopelessness that these will be the last few minutes of your life?"
"No," Ivan said quietly.
"Now you're feeling the same hopelessness of your people," Kiki said, smiling. "Now you are mortal." Kiki said smiling. "Mortal like the rest of us are. You can get hurt, but you won't heal quickly."
As if to make her point, she swiped the dagger across Ivan's face. Blood was quick to come out of the new wound, a wound that would not have to heal instantly. Ivan screamed out at this pain that he hadn't experienced in a long time, hundreds of years perhaps. No magic fizzled around the wound, healing it.
"Stop! Please!" Ivan cried out.
"No," Kiki said. "We won't stop.” She turned to Jacob, handing the dagger to him. “This is your revolution."
Jacob looked at the bloody dagger, and after a few short moments took it away from Kiki, handing her the crown in exchange. The energy around it faded as she took hold of it. It wasn't for her. It was for him.
Kiki moved away from Ivan as Jacob drew closer to him.
"Please...don't kill me," Ivan said to Jacob.
"I have to." Jacob told him, staring down at the dagger. His eyes watered, but he felt numb inside, He could feel the crowd behind him tensing. "Or else you'll try coming back for the crown. I promised Lateine better than that.”
"No, I won't! You have my word!"
There was nothing left to be said. Jacob took both of his hands and plunged the bloody blade into Ivan's chest before a single thought could race through his mind.
Ivan's eyes widened, revealing the blackness within. It was a different black than the Delainians' eyes--it was hate. The pure lack of remorse. Kiki and Damon had controlled him for a few minutes, but nothing had changed inside of him.
Ivan's breathing slowly stopped as he slipped into death. His eyes emptied of their hate, leaving only a void in its place. Jacob stood up and backed away from the lifeless body as the world fell away. He should feel elated that he'd avenged his sister and freed Lateine…but he felt nothing but the urge to throw up. He wasn't a killer. Ivan was.
Jacob leaned over and gagged. He stood to see Damon pressing his fingers against Ivan's neck, feeling for a pulse.
"He's gone," Damon said. "It's done. It's really done."
Hands clapped Jacob on the back as cheering erupted through the kitchen, straining his ears. Gray-uniformed soldiers hugged him from all sides, blocking the view of the Emperor. Jacob struggled for breath. "Where's Riley?" he cried over the noise.
It was no use fighting it. Hands lifted him into the air and the cheering went to a solid scream. Lateinian soldiers, mixed with civilians and even a few Delainians and Keilarans, stared up at him, some with tears of joy and relief in their eyes. He could barely see over the sea of heads that had filled the kitchen, and the hallway beyond it. To the side of him, Kiki and Damon were being hoisted in the air, too, and some soldiers raced into the dining room where Riley was hiding. Within seconds they produced her, red-eyed with her hair disheveled, and led her through the crowd
towards him.
"Riley!" He was so relieved to see her alive that he almost started crying. He wouldn't need the Emoshis' help with that. The crown, raised in the air by a soldier at that moment, looked dull next to Riley's form. They could crown Kiki and Damon for all he cared. As long as he had Riley, that would be fine by him.
Another cheer came up from the crowd, and the bodies below him started to move in the direction of the exit. He tried to turn to find Riley again, but it was no use. The bodies were too thick around and under him. In no time, he was drifting through the double doors of the kitchen as the living river rushed forward to join a larger one out in the main hall.
It seemed the entire crowd from outside had rushed in at Damon's order. Jacob swallowed as hands passed him along, Kiki and Damon behind him, followed by the crown itself. Chandeliers shined down on him as Riley rose from the crowd as well, carried by dozens of hands and drifting in his direction. She looked unhurt. Jacob gave a silent thanks to whatever forces in the universe there were. Perhaps he'd learn someday, with Ivan gone and Lateine once again free to take its own path.
He didn't realize the crowd was taking him up to the throne room until he reached the stairs, which were empty of rebels--and anyone else. Hands set him down and people, hundreds and hundreds of them, watched him expectantly. The crown floated through the air towards him, carried by those same hands until it reached Kiki, who was being lowered next to him. She took it, nodded to Damon, and glanced up the stairs. "Looks like I get to do the honors."
Damon understood in a rush of emotion. It was time. All of Lateine was waiting for him.
Riley landed on her feet as the crowd brought her in front of him. She squealed and threw herself in his arms. He barely caught a glance of her bloodshot eyes before she did, both exhausted and so alive at the same time.
She hugged him, and he hugged back. Riley seemed so warm, so fragile. "I am so sorry," he muttered, running his hand through her hair. "I should have been closer when it happened. I should have stayed right behind you instead of going down that passage."