by Ali House
“How’s he doing, by the way? I’ll bet his head hurts like hell.”
She’d expected him to be cruel to her and she was determined to stay strong. If Vaughn could forgive her for hurting him, then she could forgive herself.
“He’s fine,” she replied.
Nathan sighed. “Are you visiting me to brag or what? I doubt you’re here for one last quickie before I die.”
He didn’t get the reaction he wanted. Instead she stepped closer to the door of his cell, wrapped her hands around the cold metal bars, and took a deep breath.
“Was there a point where you actually liked me?” she asked softly. “When we were together. Was there even one second where you didn’t hate me?”
Nathan finally looked at her. He stared at the sad expression on her face for a while before standing up and walking over to the bars. When Vaughn saw this, he tensed and stepped forward, but Naydir held him back.
“We should leave,” Naydir whispered.
“But-”
“She can handle this.” Naydir held onto Vaughn’s arm and the two of them walked down the hall and out the door.
Nathan made sure that they were out of the room before speaking.
“What would you say if the answer was no?” he asked her, standing next to the bars.
“I would say that you’re a great actor,” she replied.
He placed his hands over hers. “And what would you say if the answer was yes?” he said quietly.
“I don’t know.”
They stayed there, silent for a moment. Nathan reached his hand through the bars and laid it on the side of her face. She didn’t pull away, so he let his hand rest there. The last time he’d touched her, she had thought that he felt something for her, but now she wasn’t so sure. The touch was the same, the warmth of his hand on her face, but everything else was different.
He was looking at her now with a confused, angry expression. She wished she knew what was going on in his mind, but he wasn’t saying anything. His hand slid down to the side of her neck. She felt him apply pressure, squeezing her neck slightly before pulling her closer to the bars, meeting her in the middle.
He pressed his lips to her, kissing her and knowing that it was the last time he’d ever do so. God damn, he hadn’t wanted to love her. He’d only wanted her to fall for him so that he could make her feel like a fool, but she was so damn innocent and trusting that he couldn’t help feeling something for her. He hated himself for being weak. He hated himself for loving her.
The kiss ended, but neither of them moved away. He kept his hand on her neck and rested his forehead on hers, unable to get closer to her because of the metal bars.
“I hate you,” he said softly.
“I know,” she replied, but she knew the truth. “I’m sorry.”
He let go of her and walked back to the bed. Sitting down, he stared at the wall again.
“You can go now,” he said.
“Nathan…”
“I said go!” he shouted, unable to look at her.
She stepped back from the bars and walked down the long, empty hallway. Naydir and Vaughn were waiting for her outside the door.
“I’m done,” she said.
“You’re not going to stay?” Naydir asked. “It’s going to happen in twenty minutes.”
Kit shook her head. “I can’t. I’m sorry, but I can’t.”
Naydir nodded. Vaughn put his arm around Kit’s shoulders and led her out of the police station.
The execution took place exactly at three pm. Dressed in a black jumpsuit, Nathan was led by two police officers to the execution chamber. They seated him in a metal chair, securing his arms, legs and head to the chair. When they were satisfied that he couldn’t move they exited the chamber.
Nathan could just make out an audience out of the corner of his eye, watching him through the glass. He had expected an audience, but he couldn’t make out who was out there. Was she out there? He hoped that she wasn’t.
The door opened again and the Stanton police chief and Akola walked into the room. The chief stayed by the door, while Akola stood in front of Nathan, holding his gun in her right hand.
He couldn’t help laughing. “I always thought you’d be the one to end me.”
“Considering all the stupid shit you’ve done in your life and all the people you’ve pissed off, I’m glad to have the honor,” she replied. “I’m surprised you didn’t go with the hood.”
“And miss watching you do this? Never.”
She looked over at the Stanton police chief.
He nodded at her. “Akola Allen, Leader of Tecken, you may proceed.”
She raised the gun and pointed it at the center of Nathan’s forehead.
“Nathan Roane: for owning an illegal weapon and using that weapon to harm civilians, you are hereby sentenced to death.”
Nathan blinked slowly, letting her know that it was okay.
She pulled the trigger.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Kit was sitting on the couch in the living room, watching TV. Tomorrow she would be working with the ISS, so she was trying to spend the night relaxing. Every time she worked with the ISS, they spent most of their time trying to convince her to join the Forces. It took a lot of effort to keep refusing them, especially since they didn’t want to listen to her refusals.
She couldn’t wait until she was finished with the ISS and finally got back to work at Skyline. Hopefully the other employees wouldn’t treat her differently. Well, they probably would, but as long as none of them were Followers of Six she’d probably be able to handle it. She had yet to experience her first Sixer interaction and she was not looking forward to it.
Zenyth walked down the stairs and turned to go into the kitchen, but when she realized Kit was in the living room she stopped. After hesitating a moment, she walked into the living room and sat down in a chair opposite Kit.
Kit kept her eyes on the television. She hadn’t spoken to Zenyth since her breakdown. Everyone else had forgiven her for what she’d done, but Zenyth had remained silent and out of sight. Kit didn’t want to deal with another screaming match, so she was happy for the avoidance. Unfortunately that peace was probably going to end soon.
“So,” Zenyth finally said after a few minutes of awkward silence, “do you have much rebuilding left to do?”
“Yeah,” Kit replied. “There’s still the bridge from Drakkar to Tecken.”
Zenyth nodded. She paused and tried to think of something else to say, but there was only one thing on her mind. Finally she decided to just come out with it.
“I want you to know that I was monitoring Nathan when you came to visit him.”
Kit had been told that someone was monitoring his cell at all times when she first inquired about the visit, but when she’d finally come face to face with Nathan, it had been the last thing on her mind.
“And?” Kit said. She waited for Zenyth to accuse her of still being with Tecken, but Zenyth simply leaned forward in her chair, resting her elbows on her knees.
“Did you love him?” she asked in a low voice.
Kit didn’t know what to make of the question. It was the last thing she’d ever expect Zenyth to say to her, but she sounded sincere.
“I love Vaughn,” she replied, “and after all that’s happened, I never want to hurt him again. But Nathan…” She thought carefully about how to say what she was thinking. “Even though it wasn’t really me, I guess that in some way I did love him.”
“But you didn’t stay with him.”
“I couldn’t be there to watch…” She stopped. It had been two days since Nathan’s execution, but it still hurt her to think about it. “He deserved it, but I couldn’t....”
“I won’t tell Vaughn about what I saw,” Zenyth said. “He doesn’t need to know.”
Kit smiled. “Thanks. It’s hard enough for me to deal with those two lives. I’d hate to think of what it’s doing to the people around me.”
“It affect
s some more than others…”
Kit took in a deep breath. “I’m sorry for what I said, Zenyth. I know that I wasn’t kind, but I needed Erikson to think that I was with him. And, honestly, I was really angry at you for all the things you’d said to me. But you’re not the only person I hurt. I never expected anyone in this house to forgive me for what I’ve done, but they all have. Everyone except you…”
Zenyth looked down at her hands. “I’m the one who should apologize. You had every right to yell at me. Some of the things I said to you...” She paused. “I really thought that I had pushed you over to Tecken, and that the Forces were going to lose the war because of me. I don’t like to admit when I’ve messed up, and I really messed up. A lot.”
“At least we have that in common.”
Zenyth gave a bitter laugh. She looked up at Kit. “I’m sorry. I know it’s too late, but...”
“Better late than never,” Kit finished.
Zenyth smiled at her before turning back to the television. Kit couldn’t help smiling to herself. There were times when she wondered if she should have just disappeared into the mist like the last Six-Elemental, but then there were moments like this that made her glad she was sticking around.
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Author Bio
Alison House is a compulsive writer, traveler, and reader. She is also a fan of the Oxford comma. A native Newfoundlander, Alison is a graduate of the Fine Arts program at Sir Wilfred Grenfell College (MUN). She currently resides in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where she works in arts administration and spends more time than a person should in and around theatres.
The Six Elemental is her first novel.