by Lola StVil
Suddenly, he stops moving, and I feel excitement bubbling inside of me. I’ve done it. I’ve beaten him.
My excitement doesn’t last long as I feel a sharp stinging on my left thigh followed by a rush of warmth. Talon’s face twists into a nasty smile as he bucks his hips one more time and I go tumbling off him.
I jump to my feet at the same time he does. The small, wicked blade he shoved into my thigh glints in the electric light. I can see the coating of blood on it. My blood.
He slips the knife back out of sight. Now he doesn’t look defeated. He looks like he’s found his second wind, and with the adrenaline gone from me as quickly as it came, I’m not so sure I can beat him.
My burnt arm is hurting and the cut in my leg is starting to sting. I can taste old pennies in my mouth, and I hope it’s just the spent adrenaline, not more blood.
I find myself backing up again and I edge around the countertop as Talon moves closer to me.
I reach out towards the stacks of clean plates, cups, and saucers that sit on top of the counter. I throw the first plate. It breaks as it makes contact with Talon’s chest, but it doesn’t even register with him.
He’s wearing that creepy smile again as he walks towards me. There’s nowhere for me to go. I’ve got myself trapped at the end of the serving area. Talon blocks the hatch that could lead me back into the main store, and the door to the storage area is closer to him than me. I know I’d never reach it in time.
I’m desperately trying to come up with a plan as I continue to throw the dishes at Talon. Some hit him, some he bats away with his hand before they reach him. The smashing sound as they hit the floor reminds me of the sound my trinkets made in my room when I released my anger at Kane.
I search myself for that anger, but it’s gone now. I’m afraid, and that fear is all that’s left. I have to use it, turn it to my advantage somehow, but I can’t seem to think. All I can focus on is Talon walking towards me. He’s in no hurry. I think he’s enjoying this.
He stops when he’s a couple of feet in front of me.
“I was going to do this slowly, Atlas. I wanted to enjoy peeling your skin off piece by piece and hearing you scream.”
He says it in the casual tone a person might use to tell you their plans for an evening.
“But you ruined it,” he goes on.
He sounds agitated.
“Look what you did to me,” he adds, pointing to his blistered face.
“That’s alright. The blisters hide how ugly you are,” I shoot back.
It was a mistake. I shouldn’t have riled him that way, but the words were out before I could stop them.
He lunges. My stack of dishes is long gone, and all I can do is throw my hands up to try and stop him.
He bats my hands aside and grabs me roughly around my waist. He heaves me into the air, and in one almost graceful movement, he spins me and lets go of me.
I fly through the air and come to land, hard, on my back. The crash landing knocks all the wind out of my body, and I can feel the shards of broken dishes digging into my skin.
This is it… I’m going to die. Nyten put his faith in the wrong person.
Time seems to slow down as I think of the chaos being unleashed on the world, everything being destroyed. My mind shows me scenes of such utter despair and destruction that I want to shut down. People lay dead everywhere, buildings destroyed. Everywhere, there is smoke, fire, and cries of desolation and agony.
No!! I won’t die. I can’t let everyone down.
Talon stands over me, his palms raised. Sparks fly from them. The sparks take shape, and soon his hands are alive with fire.
“Burn in hell, bitch,” Talon says as he rains the flames down towards me.
I throw my hands up. I think of how Langston can form a shield and I desperately try to copy her.
The flames stop half an inch from my body and I feel a laugh bubbling up inside of me. I did it. I made a shield. It should have been impossible, but I did it.
Talon suddenly flies over me, his feet grazing my chest lightly.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Kane says.
Kane. He made the shield, not me. He saved me from Talon.
The warmth I feel at the thought of him saving me is quickly replaced by a cold emptiness as I remember what he’s done.
I scoot around, getting myself into a sitting position where I can see Kane and Talon.
Kane punches Talon in the face. Talon’s head snaps back. He gives Kane a look of surprise and anger in equal measure.
“What was that for? I was doing you a favor,” Talon snaps as he rubs his jaw.
“I told you to leave her alone,” Kane says.
Talon grins. “You want to do it yourself. I get it.”
He raises his hands in mock surrender.
“Go for it. She’s nice and subdued.”
I can see the anger cross Kane’s face. It clouds his eyes, turning them darker than I have ever seen. I wince despite myself as he punches Talon again.
The realization hits Talon at the same moment Kane’s fist hits him. He grins.
“You still love her, don’t you? You’re going soft.”
“Enough,” Kane says with authority.
Talon ignores him. His grin is gone, replaced by a serious look.
“You know you’re the Keysu, don’t you? It’s your sole purpose to kill her.”
Kane raises his fist again, but this time, Talon is ready. He moves to the side and throws a punch of his own, catching Kane across his forehead. A small split opens up above his eyebrow and a thin trickle of blood runs down his face.
Kane reaches up and wipes at the trail of blood. He looks at his hand, seeing the blood there with almost comical surprise.
“This is how you want to play it?” he says to Talon.
His voice is cold and emotionless. A chill runs down my spine, covering my body in goosebumps.
It has the same effect on Talon, who backs up a couple of steps, desperately trying to rectify the situation.
“I… I just… You were coming for me, bro.”
“Leave,” Kane says.
He drops his raised fists back down to his side and Talon relaxes.
“You know you have to kill her,” Talon says again.
Kane’s face hardens and Talon raises his hands.
“Okay, okay, I’m going,” he says as he backs away.
He launches himself into the air and flies in the direction of the door. He reaches it and hovers there, turning back to me.
He blows me a kiss.
“Until we meet again,” he mocks.
Kane’s fists bunch at his sides, his face contorted with anger.
“Talon, I’ve warned you once. Go. Now.”
Talon shrugs and disappears through the door. It slams shut behind him, and I can’t help but wonder who will suffer the consequences of his humiliation.
Kane turns to me and his face instantly softens. Our eyes lock, and I can feel myself getting lost in them. I force myself to look away.
Kane steps closer, concern on his face.
“Atlas, your leg… your arm,” he says as he examines me.
His voice is soft and I can hear the pain in it as he sees my wounds. I can’t let myself respond to him.
He reaches down a hand to help me to my feet. I brush it aside and get up myself. It hurts like all hell, but I won’t let Kane help me.
I can’t stop the moan that escapes me as I put my weight on my sliced leg. Kane steps closer and reaches out a hand to steady me as I sway a little.
I’m not sure if the wave of dizziness that washes over me is from the pain in my leg as I stand on it or a reaction to Kane’s touch. I blink a couple of times and take a deep breath and the dizziness passes. I take a step back so I’m away from Kane’s touch.
I can still feel the warmth on my waist where he touched me, and I hate myself for wishing he would wrap me in his arms and kiss me.
Kane looks closer at my le
g.
“Your leg doesn’t look too good. Let me get a better look at it,” Kane says.
He crouches slightly and reaches out towards my leg.
“Don’t you dare fucking touch me,” I say.
I raise my hands towards him, ready to strike if he ignores my warning. The moment I wanted him to hold me has passed, and I all I feel when I look at him is anger. All I can see is my father’s blood running from his body as he died.
Kane looks hurt at the venom in my voice, and he backs up a little.
“I just want to make sure… ”
His hurt expression annoys me more than anything else. How dare he look hurt that I’ve rejected his touch after everything he’s done to me?
“That I’m what? Okay?” I snap.
I hate the fact I can hear the hurt and the bitterness in my voice, but I’m not done.
“Yeah, Kane, I’m just fucking great. Amazing. Never been better in fact. Ever since you killed my father, I’ve been on cloud nine. It’s been a real party over here.”
I use sarcasm to cover my hurt, and it seems to work, so I roll with it. I want to push him further, anger him, and make him stop looking at me in that pained way.
I lift my top up, exposing my stomach.
“Why don’t you add to the fun and cut me open? Get it over with. Your buddy was right. It’s your job to end me. So do it.”
My words hit home, but instead of anger, he winces at the thought of hurting me. I allow my top to fall back down, but I keep glaring at him.
“You shouldn’t be working alone,” he says.
His words catch me off guard. That’s how he chooses to change the tone of the conversation? By being worried that I’m alone here?
I roll my eyes and snort out another bitter laugh.
“You are fucking unbelievable,” I say with disbelief. “After everything, you think you can tell me what I should and shouldn’t be doing? And you really think working alone is the problem here?”
He goes to say something else but I don’t give him the chance.
“Let me make this clear for you, Kane. I don’t want anything to do with you or your twisted demon BFF Talon. And just so that we’re clear, the next time I see either of you around here, I will kill you or die trying.”
To his credit, he doesn’t laugh even though I’ve just proved that it would most likely be the latter.
“Atlas, please,” he says.
“Please what? Forgive you? Pretend like everything’s fine?”
“I’m so sorry about… everything,” he says.
He takes a step towards me, his arms reaching for me. I can see the hurt on his face, hurt I’m causing, and part of me wants to step into his embrace and tell him everything will be okay. That we’ll get through this.
Instead, I look through him, my rage barely concealed. He thinks saying sorry makes up for what he’s done?
The rage in my eyes stops him short, and he stays where he is, dropping his arms back to his sides, where they hang uselessly, his shoulders slumped.
I hate seeing him this way, but at the same time, I revel in the fact that he is feeling even a fraction of my pain.
It’s like I’m split into two people. One who loves Kane and believes there’s good in him somewhere and one who is hardened to love and feels nothing but anger.
I only hope I listen to the right voice.
“Just leave, Kane,” I say.
“But I… ” he says.
I’m done. I’m done feeling torn, and I’m done with his fake-ass apologies. It’s much easier to listen to the right voice when Kane isn’t standing in front of me.
“Get out. Go,” I shout.
He studies me for another couple of seconds. I use every ounce of willpower I have to keep my face impassive. His shoulders slump even further and he nods sadly. He turns and leaves without another word.
I feel a stab of pain when he doesn’t even look back.
I can feel tears building behind my eyes, but I refuse to give in to them.
I force my back to straighten, and I look around for the first time since Talon came in. I sigh when I see the mountain of mess.
I walk over to the biggest pile of books and bend down and pick one up. I place it back on its shelf and reach for the next one.
As much as I try, I can’t stop the tears from falling, and my vision is blurry as I place the next few books back on the shelf.
My knees buckle and I let myself fall to the ground. I perch on my knees in the center of a sea of destruction and allow the silent tears to come.
The door to the store opens again and I tense, ready to jump to my feet. I relax when I recognize the voice that calls out to me as Regal’s.
“Hey, Atlas,” Regal calls, “have you seen Quinn? She said… ”
He turns the corner and sees me sitting in the middle of the mess, me as much of a mess as the store. I reach up, trying to wipe away the tears as he stops, his mouth hanging open.
He gets himself under control, snapping out of his shock. He looks me over, and I know he sees the blood on me.
“Atlas, what happened? Who did this to you?” he demands, coming to my side and kneeling in front of me.
“Talon came. We fought. I thought I could take him, but he almost killed me. The Keysu came… Kane saved me.” I barely get the last part out in a whisper.
Regal interrupts me.
“It’s okay. You’re safe now,” he says softly.
I realize how hysterical I must have sounded as the story of what happened poured out of me.
“Let’s get you taken care of,” Regal says as he looks me over again. “That burn on your arm looks nasty.”
He stands up and reaches down to help me up. I look down at the floor, ignoring his outstretched hand.
“Please don’t be nice to me right now, Regal. I’m failing at everything. I couldn’t put being a leader ahead of my love life. I couldn’t see Kane for what he really was, and even now, I can’t get myself to hate him one hundred percent. What the hell is wrong with me?”
Regal sits back down in front of me. He gently pushes on my chin, forcing me to look up.
“There’s nothing wrong with you. Nothing at all,” he says.
“You’re just saying that to be nice,” I say, still not meeting his eyes.
“Atlas—”
“The truth is I let my heart dictate all my decisions for me, and that makes me weak.”
I can hear the smile in Regal’s voice as he goes on.
“No, it’s quite the opposite. Your heart is the reason you’re the right person for this quest,” he says.
“You really believe that?” I ask in a quiet voice.
I finally meet his eyes as he nods his head.
“I do,” Regal whispers.
I look into his eyes and see that he’s serious. He caresses my cheek with the pad of his thumb. I’m not sure how it happened but I feel warm lips against mine. He kisses me gently and I kiss him back. I cling to him like I’m about to drown and only he can save me…
Was I dreaming? I think back as I walk down the stairs, and I see it again in my mind. Regal moving towards me, his lips meeting mine. Me kissing him back. His hand pushing gently into my hair. Me clutching at him as the kiss got more passionate.
I smile to myself and shake my head.
It didn’t happen, it was just a dream. I wish my battle with Talon had been just a nightmare.
Talon was no dream. The pain in my leg reminds me how dangerous he really is. Quinn gave me a mixture that took away the burn on my arm, but for the cut I’ll just have to wait for it to heal over.
I open the door to the kitchen before I can start thinking about Kane showing up last night. I have no doubt that I’d be dead now if he hadn’t turned up when he did, but I refuse to be grateful to him, even for a second.
I must have slept in later than I thought. Everyone except Quinn is already sitting around the table eating breakfast.
“Morning,” I
say as I make my way over to the counter to grab some cereal.
The varying replies of good morning and how are you always make me smile. Regal catches my eye and blushes. He looks back down at his toast, suddenly studying it as though it’s the most interesting thing in the world.
Oh my goodness! That kiss was no dream. It happened. Regal and I kissed. Shit. I kissed Quinn’s boyfriend, or he kissed me. What the hell was I thinking? What was he thinking!
I wasn’t thinking. At least not rationally. That was the problem.
I pour the cereal into a bowl and douse it in milk. I turn back to the table. There are two empty seats. One is beside Regal and the other is on the opposite side of the table. I start towards the seat opposite and then change my mind and sit down beside Regal. It would look weird if I passed an empty chair to get to another one.
This is way more awkward than I wanted it to be. We have to talk about what happened, clear the air, and find a way to just be normal again. I turn to Regal to tell him this.
He beats me to it.
“Can we talk after breakfast?” he mouths to me.
I nod and look down into my bowl. I’ve just put the first spoonful into my mouth when the door opens and Quinn breezes in. She looks happier than I’ve seen her in a long time. I can tell by the quizzical looks from the others that everyone is surprised to see Quinn looking so relaxed.
She nods to Langston, who instantly beams.
“So,” Quinn says as she makes her way over to Regal.
She stands behind him and bends down, wrapping her arms around him from behind. She kisses the top of his head then straightens back up, leaving one hand resting lightly on his shoulder.
I try my best to avoid looking at either of them, but it’s hard when Quinn addresses the group.
“Langston and I have been working on a new mixture. We’re calling it the ‘Zent’ mixture.” She beams again, looking proud of herself.
“The what?” Regal says.
“The Zent mixture. It means awake.”
She pauses and looks around at us all, happiness radiating out of her. She goes on.
“It’s taken a while, but I’ve finally perfected it, and I’m confident it’ll work now.”