The Hope Collection

No Hope Left in This World (unedited)

"Leave, and you won't be hurt," Thomas warned Rylin and I.

"We aren't going anywhere till you leave Nadia alone!," Rylin yelled.

"Have it your way," Thomas sighed.

Thomas knelt down towards the ground and a small smirk played on his lips. Pushing himself up from the ground he launched himself up into the air, his black wings folded neatly against his back. Rylin and I gasped and stared, but Nadia didn't look surprised in the least. Lunging forward she caught Thomas's ankle with the tip of her dagger, just enough of a wound to throw Thomas of track and gain an advantage over him. Thomas let out an angry roar and lands behind us with a thud. One of his ankles had a little red gash in it where the dagger had cut him.

Using his wings he was able to create a whirlwind of grey clouds, it was starting to look like my dream. Everything around us began to blur until it was just the four of us, the green grass, the blue sky straight up, and the deadly cliff behind us. Panicking, I lunged at Thomas and bit down hard on his arm. He had let out another angry roar and with unnatural strength for even a Powerholder he ripped my jaw from around his arm and threw me in front of Nadia, who was lunging at the same time he threw me back. Nadia stumbled back and her hand slipped from the dagger's handle.

She tried grabbing it, but it fell over the edge of the cliff. Out of energy I shifted back into my real, human, form and stood up. Thomas laughed gleefully, that laugh, it sounded just like it had in my vision. Flicking my wrist I created a single short sword to try to help defend Nadia. My vision was starting to blur from the overwhelming need to sleep. I couldn't pass out now, not while Nadia was in danger. I stepped in front of Nadia, placing my body in-between Thomas's and Nadia's.

"Get out of there, both of you," Rylin yelled from behind Thomas.

Thomas's eyes flashed with anger and he spinned around to face Rylin. In a flash of sudden dark light Rylin is launched out of the whirlwind. I screamed his name and he doesn't respond. Hatred hit me like a boulder and I screamed and launched myself at Thomas. He hit me away with one arm and snapped my short sword with his other hand. My short sword's metal blade splintered like it was made of only thin, flimsy wood. Metal flew in all directions and Thomas's hand didn't even have a scratch or cut on it. I stumbled back towards Nadia stunned. No one should be able to break a created object. My sword should have either dematerialized or cut his hand at least a little bit.

Thomas grinned evilly and stepped toward Nadia and myself. I could feel the cliff's edge getting closer with every step we took backwards. Panicking, I looked over at Nadia. She wore the same expression she had had in my vision of her falling off the cliff. I had failed my fate, I hadn't been able to save her. Tears stung my eyes as I gave up all hope of ever getting out of this alive.

That's when it hit me, I could use my shapeshifting powers to turn into a griffon or a dragon before we hit the ground. That way I could catch Nadia and land safely before passing out and hopefully Thomas left before checking is we were really dead. I was risking our lives, but we were already going to die if I didn't even try to save her and myself. It's now or never, I breathed calmly.

"Thank you for your energy Nadia, I'll make sure to use it to kill the next Seeker quickly," Thomas laughed and rushed towards us.

He pulled his shining greatsword off his back and swung in upward diagonally at Nadia. She jumped back and teetered on the edge of the cliff. Thomas laughed and pushed Nadia over the edge of the cliff with a hard shove. Screaming I looked over the cliff and, just like in my vision, I felt someone shove me over after her.

The air rushed past me as I tried to make my body move faster towards the ground, towards Nadia's plummeting body. Gritting my teeth I closed my eyes and shifted into a flying ice dragon. My pure, crystal white body sparkled and I flapped my giant wings harder than I ever have before. Only yards above the ground I grabbed Nadia's body in my tail and pulled upwards, landing narrowly on the ground.

I immediately shifted back into a human so not to gain any unwanted attention and Nadia and I went tumbling across the plains quite a ways from the bottom of the cliff. I crawled over to Nadia's limp body and I check for her pulse, it's beating, but only faintly. Her eyes are closed, there's a lump on the back of her head. She must have hit it while we were rolling across the ground. She was alive, that's all that mattered at the moment.

I couldn't stand up, I had landed roughly and my legs hurt. They were numb and I couldn't feel them at all, it was like they weren't even there. My head was starting to pound from a headache and, feeling the back of my head, realized I had hit my head too. I couldn't fight in this state, I needed a doctor, at least medicine. All our medicine was on the horses, though, and our Rylin horse and Haven were still up on the cliff.

Rylin. He hadn't answered me back when I screamed his name. If he had been fine he would have called to me, signaled me, done something to make sure I knew he was alright. But he didn't. He was silent. I was holding out and hoping he was alive, that he was fine. If he was still on that cliff I'm sure Thomas had found him after pushing Nadia and I off. He was probably already dead.

There was nothing left for any of us. Nadia was going to die without medical help and I was useless to help her without Healing powers, and of course I didn't have those when I needed them. Rylin was still on that cliff probably dead by Thomas's hand. And me? I had given up my place as a spy, my place as a good companion, and my own horse was alone and gone. My parents dead and my dog gone. I had failed everyone I have ever known. There's no point in me living when there's no one and nothing to live for except regret and guilt. With that I allowed my heavy eyelids to close over my once bright now dull crystal blue eyes.