Thin Air

He’d been afraid. Too afraid.

It’s useless anyway. I always lose. I lose everything.

The Demon stood over him with her cheap doll eyes and cheap doll skin and cheap doll hair, and smiled.

And then she looked up and smiled directly at me.

I took a step back. Easy, I told myself. It’s just a memory. It’s the past. It can’t hurt you.

“Yes it can,” she said. “I knew you’d come. I knew you’d try.”

Oh, shit.

I backed up. It felt as if I were backing into mud, into tar, into sticky spiderwebs.

“This isn’t the past,” she said, and stepped through Kevin to come toward me. “This isn’t safety. There’s no safety for you.”

I stopped. Not because I couldn’t back up, but because I knew she wanted me to be afraid. To run. And I was tired of ru

“You know what?” I said. “Works both ways, bitch. No safety for you, either. So if you want to do it, go on. I’m here.”

She stood there. The doll persona of the Demon didn’t move like a human, didn’t act like one; it was just a shape, not even as lifelike as a Disney animatronic.

“Yo! Fembot! I’m talking to you!” I taunted, and took a step forward.

It took a step back. Around us, Kevin’s memories continued to unspool like a broken movie reel, steeped in hopelessness and fury. Cherise was dying, and he was doing nothing because he knew he couldn’t win.

My doppelgänger had helped create that world for him.

And I was going to fix it if it was the last thing I did.

“I’m coming,” I told her. “I know what you’re trying to do. You won’t get the Wardens now. You won’t be able to use them to open the rift. So what are you going to do instead?”

“Do you really think I’ll tell you?”

“I think you already have. See, you think you’re being original, but remember, you’re just my memories pasted onto a phony doll, run by a smart but cold eating machine. You’re predictable.”

It blinked slowly. It probably couldn’t do expressions, or didn’t want to, but the net effect was scary as hell. I tried not to let it get to me.

“What?” I demanded. “No threats? No I’m-go

“You’re trying to trick me,” it said.

“Not really. I don’t have to trick you. You’re going to trick yourself right out of existence; you can count on that.”

“I’m going to destroy you.”

“News flash: You made me. When you consumed my memory you created an imbalance of energy, and we know that energy has to go somewhere. Right? It’s all balance. And what you gave me back was a chance to survive.” I’d figured that out a while ago, but it still hurt to say it; the last thing I wanted to do was owe my existence to this creature. This land shark. “If you want to get rid of me, you’re going to have to work a hell of a lot harder.”

That pushed a button. A big, red, nuclear launch button. “I will!” it screamed, and there was nothing human about that sound, or about the raw will behind it.

I rolled my eyes. “Whatever. Is that why you keep using people to do your dirty work? Kevin? Cherise? David? And believe me, you’re going to pay for putting your dirty little hands on David. Big-time.” I made a show of checking a watch I didn’t actually have on my wrist. “You know what? Drama period’s over. See you around the schoolyard, E.T.”

It was a risk, but I thought I could do it, and I did… I turned around and zipped along the path of lights, through the dilapidated, sad halls of Kevin’s mind, all the way to the light at the end of the tu

Out.

When I opened my eyes, I was standing right where I’d been, and Kevin had his head down on the table. He was breathing, but unconscious.

I put my hand on his head again, this time just to gently stroke his greasy, matted hair. “Not everything is a tragedy, Kev,” I said. “Come on. Wake up now. Nightmare’s over.”

He did, lifting his head and blinking like a kid coming out of a long, difficult sleep. He stared blankly for a few seconds, then focused on my face.

“Did you get it?” he asked. He didn’t seem bothered by the fact that I was stroking his hair. I didn’t stop.

“Got it,” I said. “Good job, man. Thank you.”

He ducked his head, and I saw a dull flush build in his sallow cheeks.

“Kevin,” I said. “What happened to Cherise wasn’t your fault.”

Cherise looked startled, and mouthed, Me?

She didn’t remember.

Ah, the beauty of the human mind; I wasn’t sure if that was her own doing or Lewis’s; maybe he’d taken the bad memories away. Either way, I was glad.

“You know what I remember?” I asked. “I remember you going after the first enemy you found back in the forest. I remember you risking your life to even the score when you thought Cherise was dead, and Lewis and I had killed her. I remember the look on your face when you realized she was still alive.” I looked straight at Cherise, who was a little flushed now, too. “He needs you,” I said. “And you need him, too, right?” She nodded. “Better tell him, then,” I said. “And Kevin? In case you’re wondering, that’s the reason you’re going to want to live through this.”

I pushed through the kitchen door and went through the empty library, back into the large common room where the fire blazed. My own reasons for living were gathered near the warmth. David looked up, smiling. Lewis raised the coffee cup to his lips without comment. The rest of them, including Paul, waited for me to speak.

“The Demon wants to go home, or at least reach home,” I said. “Lewis. If I were going to choose a place where the veil that separates our world from hers is the thi

He put his coffee down, leaned forward, and thought about it for a second. He exchanged a look with David, who frowned, and together they both said, “Seacasket.”

I blinked. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

If I’d hated the helicopter flight, I loathed the plane ride cross-country. But, given the time ticking away, not to mention the stakes, I thought I’d better suck it up, take the Dramamine, and try to avoid wincing every time the plane hit a wind shear, which was about, oh, every thirty seconds, give or take.

The Wardens had a corporate jet. Who knew? Apparently I now had the authority to commandeer it, or so Lewis told me once we were strapped in. “Shouldn’t there be, like, paperwork?” I asked, and snugged my seat belt tight. “At least a signature card for that sort of thing? For security?”

Lewis had his eyes shut even before takeoff. “Trust me. If we live through this, you’ll have enough paperwork to keep you in ink stains for the rest of your life.” He paused for a few seconds, then said, “How sure are you about this?”

“Any of it? On a scale of one to ten? About a three.” That was probably more honesty than he was looking for, I was guessing, from the pained expression that flickered over his face. “Look, when I was taking on Kevin’s memories, I took on some of hers, too. More than that, I felt her…well, I can’t really call them emotions. But there’s a sense to it I really can’t describe. I know that in the begi

“Then why do you think she was wasting her time with trying to take over your life?” he asked, and then looked instantly sorry he’d said that. “Not that your life isn’t important or valuable…”

“Yeah, nice save. The thing is, I don’t think becoming me was an end in itself. It was all about the Wardens. Think about it: Get enough Wardens together, set them to one common task, and you can get a massive buildup of power. Something she could use to rip a hole from this world into her own.”