Salvation

by Caryn Lix

  And in their midst, it appeared: a shimmering mix of black and green with dots of gold that, for whatever reason, brought Liam vividly to mind. I saw him as if he were standing in front of me, his ridiculous pirate outfit billowing around him, his quirky grin mocking me. “Hey, Kenzie,” he said.

  I blinked. It really was him. We were suddenly standing in the hidden space on Obsidian where he’d stored his stash. “Hey, Liam,” I said softly. “You’re not actually here, are you?”

  He shrugged. “How should I know? Maybe we’re all part of these creatures. Maybe once you destroy it, you’ll destroy the last bits of us.”

  Well, that sounded like him, at least. “Would you really want to live on like this?” I pressed. “As part of Karoch?”

  “I wouldn’t, as a matter of fact. But if you’re going to do something, you’d better do it fast.”

  “What do you mean?”

  He smiled slightly, that sardonic, self-serving smile I remembered so well. I hadn’t understood Liam when I met him. I didn’t understand him now. But I did understand what drove him: the all-encompassing fear of the aliens that made him abandon his family to their clutches and leap across dimensions in search of safety. “Did you know?” I asked. “That you moved through dimensions?”

  “I don’t think so. I think I legitimately believed I was moving through space.”

  “Even when you heard them talking about Earth, talking about Mars?”

  “We called our planet Wreithe. I probably noted the similarities, but … I guess I wasn’t ready to accept the truth.”

  “Probably?”

  “I’m not here, remember?”

  “Then what’s going on?”

  “Your mind’s conjuring someone who has experience with jumping dimensions. It was me or Karoch, I guess. I was probably the right choice.”

  “So you’re a fancy hallucination.” I laughed. “And I’m chatting with you.”

  “Right. Which means I can’t give you any information you don’t already have.” He smiled and stepped forward, extending his hand. “Except this.”

  I blinked. There was nothing in his hand. “Except what?”

  “Look closer.”

  I did, and there it was: a shimmering stone of gold, black, and green swirling in his hand. “Take it,” he said. “Take it and make things right. Make up for my cowardice. Make up for the deaths of your friends and family. Make up for everything, Kenzie. I’m counting on you.”

  I swallowed. I didn’t care if he wasn’t real. “Liam, I’m sorry. I’m sorry you died, and that you had to face those things again after all. I wish we’d met differently.”

  “Who knows?” Liam gave a rueful smile. “Maybe some version of us will someday.” He gestured lazily. “If you hurry.”

  I grabbed his hand.

  The power slammed through me with violent force, utterly unlike any other ability I’d absorbed in the past. It filled every crevice, seeming to burn my blood, to thrum in time with my heartbeat. My entire body vibrated with it. I’d used Liam’s power before. It hadn’t been like this.

  Because this wasn’t from Liam.

  It was from Karoch.

  At the thought of the name, a cacophony descended on me: screams and shouts and gunfire and crashing and howling and screaming. My eyes flew open.

  “She’s awake!” Imani screamed.

  “Thank God.” Jasper appeared above me, terror etched in the lines of his face. “Kenzie, tell me you’ve got something.”

  I leveraged myself onto my elbow. Somehow I’d wound up lying on the floor behind a rack of missiles. There was no disorientation, though. I went from whatever I’d just been through to full wakefulness in a heartbeat, Karoch’s power—Liam’s power—thrumming through me. “Oh yes,” I said softly. “I’ve got something. I can get us out of here. We just need to draw the aliens in and make sure Karoch follows.”

  Jasper snorted. “Yeah, somehow I don’t think that’s going to be a problem.” He met my gaze and shook his head. “Kenzie, have you looked around ?”

  I stared at him as the sounds around me solidified into the noise of combat. I pivoted, scrambling to the edge of the row and peering out.

  A battle raged around me. Dozens, maybe hundreds, of alien creatures leaping around the room and my friends scattered, using the missiles as cover, firing at the creatures. In one corner Rune stood stock-still, pressed between a row of missiles and a computer console, with aliens slithering around her. They clearly knew she was nearby, but they couldn’t find her, not with the weapons sheltering her. Cage was on top of the weapons working his way toward her, but a creature leaped into his path and they faced off, balancing on the rack.

  And then a roar split the air—something more inhuman, more horrifying, than anything we’d heard so far. The ceiling had been torn to shreds, presumably from the alien incursion. Now the wall shattered with the force of tons of dirt behind it, sand and clay and muck spilling into the room alongside brick and mortar and stone.

  And behind it all, Karoch, its bulk shouldering into the room, here to devour at last.

  FORTY-FOUR

  MY FIRST THOUGHT WAS OF Robo Mecha Dream Girl. Of Yumiko, standing in the center of a parking lot as a mech ten times her height advanced, its red eyes flaming, its massive arms clutching a weapon capable of shattering her into dozens of pieces.

  Karoch held no weapon.

  It didn’t need one.

  It was at least twenty feet tall and embodied the worst of the aliens: the slimy, glistening skin, the monstrous claws, the razor-sharp fangs. But whereas they had white, unseeing eyes, Karoch’s glimmered with inhuman intelligence. Its pupils dilated against the electric light, and its gaze flickered around the room, absorbing the situation.

  Coming to rest on me.

  Strangely, for the first time, I felt no fear.

  The others stifled their gasps, and the creatures halted their assault as their leader approached. The room was deathly silent.

  I stepped around the corner and became Robo Mecha Dream Girl. I faced off against the creature, me and my nothingness, only the gaping void separating me from sixteen-inch lethal claws and a jaw that could snap me in half.

  But when our eyes met, it was Karoch’s that flickered in fear.

  I reached inside myself and found Liam’s power, and I drew.

  Karoch snarled. It reared its head and lumbered forward, unsteady and clumsy but big and tenacious and powerful enough to crush any of us with a single blow. As if its movement was a signal, the other creatures roared, howled, a deafening cry swallowing us in its fury.

  Jasper leaped to my side and slammed his left hand forward. The creatures staggered back as missiles rolled from their racks, crashing into them and sending them flying. Apparently, we’d abandoned all notion of treating the explosives with care.

  It didn’t matter. We didn’t need them much longer.

  “Get everyone together!” I shouted. “At the side of the room where Cage and Rune are! Now, go, move!”

  Everyone lunged into action, and the room, which had lulled momentarily with Karoch’s dramatic appearance, erupted into chaos. Screams and shouts and gunfire. Powers bursting, from my friends and the creatures. Howls. Shouts. Orders.

  But in the midst of it all, two figures stood silent and still: Karoch and me, staring at each other. I knew instinctively that when I moved, it would too. And this time I didn’t dare let go of its power and try to grab Cage’s. I couldn’t barrel across the room with lightning speed.

  We faced off, and I had never felt so small and helpless—but also so determined, so completely sure of what I was doing. Karoch was afraid of me. I sensed it radiating from the hive mind, no matter how hard it tried to hide it.

  And fear was not an emotion it was used to. That, and that alone, probably kept us alive. With the creatures off balance, my friends slowly but surely gained ground, stealing their way toward Rune.

  Someone screamed, and I swear to God it was Mia. That girl
had managed to put herself in the path of every danger we’d encountered even before she developed her sparkly new death wish. I didn’t dare turn my head to check, though. It felt like my gaze was keeping Karoch locked in place. It was doing the same to me. Its jaws parted and a trail of something oozed from one of its fangs, pooling on the ground by an impossibly large foot, a curved claw capable of separating my head from my body in a single swipe.

  I swallowed, and my resolve faltered.

  As if my fear had somehow freed it, Karoch took a thundering step toward me. The ground shuddered and I staggered, my heart hammering against my ribs. It snarled, and I got the distinct sense I’d lost a battle I didn’t know I was fighting. Somehow I had to steel myself, face it, but now the other creatures were closing in around me, snarling and swiping and screeching. Shudders racked my body, and I didn’t know what to do. I was alone and helpless and so goddamn afraid.

  A burst of wind struck me, almost toppling me, and then hands had me and I was in Cage’s arms. His eyes glimmered above me, blood dripping from a cut on the side of his head, sweat plastering his hair flat, but then he grinned, and he was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. “I thought I’d save you one last time,” he said, “before you save all of us. If, of course, you don’t mind.”

  Karoch threw its head back and roared, and I grabbed on to Cage’s arms in answer. He hoisted me up and drove through the aliens, tilting me against him, protecting me from the swarm as he carried me to safety, exactly like he had on Sanctuary. I curled into his chest, and for one blissful second it wasn’t my responsibility to keep us safe, not my job to carry out our crazy plan. I was safe and hidden and could be as weak as I damn well chose and there was no one to lecture me about it.

  All too soon Cage was setting me on my feet and the moment was over. The weight of our lives rebounded onto my shoulders. But somehow it seemed a bit lighter with everyone together and Cage’s arms still around me.

  My eyes met Karoch’s, and it screamed in fury. The creatures lunged toward us, but even as they moved, Jasper threw a twisted heap of metal between us, creating an elaborate barrier. “Kenzie!” he shouted, his muscles jackknifing with effort. “If you’re going to get us out of here, now’s the time!”

  I closed my eyes, letting Karoch’s power envelop me, and I reached further than ever before, into the depths of space itself. I didn’t know how to control this ability now any more than I had before. But back on the Omnistellar ship, I’d wished to go somewhere we could beat the aliens, and that seemed to be where I’d taken us. So now, with all my strength, I wished to go home.

  There wasn’t the sickening lurch of using Liam’s power. Karoch was stronger. More controlled. Space and time shifted at my command, molecules aligning beneath my will. Something jolted against me—Karoch, trying to seize the power. But I was in too deep. I imagined Liam, his mocking face, and Alexei, and Tyler, and my parents, and everyone who’d died, and I drew strength from them as I pulled.

  Suddenly, a blue shimmer of light erupted in front of me. I staggered, almost stumbling into it. “What is it?” Mia asked, so close she made me jump even here and now. I pivoted to find her clutching her torn side, blood oozing through her shirt, her face pale.

  “A portal?” I guessed. “At least that’s what I hope it is.”

  She made a face. “Great. So do we go through it?”

  “Someone do something!” Jasper shouted. “Before—”

  His barrier slammed toward us with sudden violence. Jasper braced himself and shoved both arms forward. The metal disintegrated, but a shock wave of power swept from it, staggering all of us—and dropping Jasper, who collapsed into a heap at my feet. “No!” I screamed.

  Karoch roared.

  The aliens charged.

  “No time to wait!” Cage shouted. “Let’s go! Matt, Hallam, grab Jasper. Everyone move!”

  Cage, Matt, and I shoved the others through the portal until only we and Rune remained. She grabbed Matt’s arm. “Hey,” she said, and she stood on her toes to kiss him.

  Cage groaned. “Now?” he demanded incredulously.

  Rune pulled back, and Matt staggered, his eyes wide. “Rune …”

  “Go,” she urged.

  Karoch roared behind us, and Matt smiled. “Later,” he promised.

  “Later,” Rune agreed, sadness shadowing her eyes. Matt leaped through the portal.

  “Come on!” Cage ordered his sister. “Set off the missiles and let’s go!”

  Rune, her hand laid against the computer console, shook her head, giving us a small smile. “I can’t go.”

  “Rune!” I screamed. The aliens had surrounded us and were awaiting Karoch. It twisted toward us and lumbered a step forward, its mouth splitting in a hideous snarl. “We don’t have time for this.”

  “I can’t,” she repeated. “There’s no way to activate a timer on the missiles. I have to be in contact with the system to set them off.”

  Cage’s face went dark and ugly. “Screw that.”

  “Gege. This has to end. There’s no point in me going through a portal only to die in a few hours when the aliens chase us home.”

  “Then I’ll do it!” He grabbed her arm and yanked her out of the crevice, shoving her aside. “Just tell me what to do.”

  “You can’t do it.” Rune turned her big dark eyes on me. “Tell him, Kenzie.”

  “No.” I spun from her to Karoch, drawing closer by the second. We had to go. “I’ll do it. I can use your power. I can—”

  “Not when I’m a dimension away from you, you can’t. It has to be me.” A tear formed at the corner of her eye and spilled over her cheek, but she was smiling. “Tell the others I love them.”

  Cage tightened his grip on her shoulders, physically barring her from the computer console. “You’re crazy if you think I’ll let you do this.”

  “It’s me or everyone, Cage. Not even that. Me now, or me and everyone in a few hours. You’d agree if you were thinking clearly.” She put her hands on his arms and yanked him in, hugging him until he let go of her shoulders and slid his hands around her, pulling her close.

  At the same time, she was maneuvering him. Turning his back to the portal. Our eyes met over Cage’s shoulder, and Rune nodded.

  I couldn’t. I couldn’t.

  But what other choice was there?

  Biting my lip so hard the pain echoed through my skull, I stepped out of the way.

  “I love you, gege,” she said, and she shoved him.

  Cage stumbled, arms pinwheeling, eyes wide in surprise. For a second he looked like he’d right himself …

  But then he fell through the portal and disappeared.

  “Go,” said Rune. “Before he comes back.”

  Karoch thundered toward me. I didn’t even have time to say good-bye. I met Rune’s eyes and saw the same serene resignation I’d seen earlier, but this time I understood.

  Once I’d thought I’d have to sacrifice myself to save my friends. And while I hadn’t wanted to die, I’d been willing to take that risk. Now, staring into Rune’s face, I saw my own conviction gazing back at me. I wanted to hug her and reassure her and thank her and save her and just have one more minute to say anything, do anything, give her the farewell she deserved.

  But instead, as Karoch’s massive claw swiped at my head, I leaped into the portal and yanked it shut behind me.

  FORTY-FIVE

  WE WERE ARRESTED ABOUT THREE minutes later.

  Apparently, in my desire to go home, my subconscious latched on to the place it most associated with my family: the house where we’d most recently lived on Earth. Unfortunately, that was on an Omnistellar training base, so it didn’t exactly take them long to find us. I supposed I should be grateful my brain didn’t decide Sanctuary was home and dump me in the middle of space.

  But three minutes was more than enough time for things to go to hell.

  The gateway rippled shut behind me as I staggered into my old living room. Fortunately, the new resi
dents weren’t there to welcome us, but what I did see resembled a refugee camp: Reed and Imani crouched on the floor, splitting their attention among Mia, Hallam, and Jasper, all of whom had taken injuries, and everyone else gaping at me in openmouthed disbelief.

  “Rune,” said Matt. He stepped forward, his hands shaking. “Kenzie. Where’s Rune?”

  I shook my head helplessly, tears brimming in my eyes. Matt might have forgiven me for killing him. He wasn’t going to forgive me for this.

  Speaking of which.

  Cage hadn’t moved. He was just staring at me—no, not at me. At the place behind me where the portal had disappeared. “Cage,” I whispered. I stepped forward, hesitant, not sure what he was going to do, what he would say. “Cage.”

  He shook his head, seeming to notice me for the first time. “She pushed me away,” he whispered.

  “Yeah.”

  “And she …” He swallowed. “Kenzie. Where’s my sister?”

  Now the tears spilled over my lashes and something in my heart tore with a sickening wrench. My knees gave out, and I tumbled to the ground, bracing my hands on the familiar smooth flooring covered with unfamiliar furniture where my family would never live again because they were dead, dead like Alexei and Liam and now Rune.

  I couldn’t stop myself any longer, not from crying, not from shaking, not from collapsing into a pathetic, sniveling mess. And that’s what I was still doing when the Omnistellar guards stormed the house, when they forced me to my feet and yanked my arms behind me, when they dragged me out the front door and toward the main facility in full view of all the people who had once been my friends and neighbors and colleagues.

  And I didn’t care, not even a bit.

  Because what did it matter anyway?

  * * *

  For a prisoner—and not merely a prisoner but a traitor, the lowest of the low in Omnistellar’s rankings—I was treated surprisingly well. I was taken to the medical facility and sedated, and when I woke up, I was in a cramped but functional guest room: a small bed, a desk, a shuttle-size bathroom with a toilet and sonic shower. I was dressed in an Omnistellar jumpsuit and my wounds had been cleaned and bandaged, but there was a tender spot on my upper arm. I prodded it, and my face twisted in disgust.