The morning rolled in like a flash, piercing Kat's barely open eyes in the form of blue skies and yellow-spattered tree lines. Along with this she heard the distant roar of cars and muffled murmurs, the sign of a place coming to life.
There was a weight of an arm around her waist, and she was highly glad to know that it was Calix's.
His name alone was enough to paint a small smile on her lips. She turned, careful not to move his arm, and opened her eyes enough to see him sleeping peacefully next to her. His other arm was under her head, serving as her pillow. While their position wasn't entirely comfortable, she wanted nothing more but to sink back to sleep with him, but the sunlight had already stung her eyes.
However, her sticky eyelids weren't the only things hurting.
The familiar sting in her chest was back in full swing and with even more power than before. She knew instantly that it was her pendant cuts, only this time they gave her the sensation of
Freezing. Cold. That was what Calix had said he'd noticed, even though Kat hadn't. Could this mean that it was her way of healing, or was this only an introduction to something worse?This question kept Kat awake that night. Her body felt almost jelly-like with exhaustion, but her mind was as active as ever. Even with Calix's warmth beside her, she had very little comfort. Sleep eluded her. She kept coming back to the past. She remembered the suffocating sensation brought upon by removing the medallion, the fragile layer of ice forming on her skin, the heavy suspicion settling on her gut that told her everything was just a prelude—"Kat?"
"No, go lower," Kat instructed. "There. Yeah, that's it. Now rub it.""What?" Calix's head shot up, his eyes dazed but still conveying confusion. "Like . . . like this?"She almost cackled with joy. "Yes! Exactly like that."With that, he waddled back to the brass Buddha statue and put a hand on its shiny belly before proceeding to move his palm in big, circular motions. Meanwhile, she took out her phone and began filming him.They were at The California Hotel and Casino, lingering at the posh registration area to rub the Happy Buddha statue. The practice was said to bring luck, but so far it had only brought them a bunch of people eyeing Calix with interest.To be fair, Kat couldn't blame them. If she were one of them, a passerby in the area stumbling across an extremely attractive man awkwardly patting the Buddha, she'd be pretty keen to linger too.Lucky for her, the aforementioned man was all hers to ogle, tease, and make fun of. Emphasis on the ogle, since he'd just gotten a neat
Kat had always liked snow. When she was a child, she'd always gotten envious of her classmates who'd traveled to New York, Washington, or other places that experienced four seasons.Gregor, who'd never been a fan of fancy travels, had taken her to Mount Charleston once with Aunt Therese. Kat remembered how much she'd resented it, the fact that they could only afford to go there and not anywhere outside the state. She'd thrown a tantrum at the lodge they'd stayed in, refusing point-blank to go out and discover the place for herself."Honey, don't do this," Gregor had pleaded, holding up the parka he'd purchased from Walmart. "Don't you think you're too old
Kat set the mug on the coaster on top of the wooden table, blinking rapidly. She snuck a pinch on her arm to get herself to snap out of this state, but nothing changed. Nothing disappeared. As casually as she could muster, she touched the pendant of the medallion through the fabric of her sweater, trying to pull it away from her skin. It didn't budge. It stayed there, even as she moved, stuck to her like a leech sapping out the last bit of blood. Her heart began to thrum faster and faster, her hands shaking along with it. "Um, where's Calix?"Mrs. Lawrence frowned because of her question, but she smiled nonetheless, waving her hand as though Kat had just asked a stupid question. "He went for a walk around the woods with the boys, remember? He asked if you wanted to come, but you politely refused. Now you're with me and my little angels."She leaned over to kiss the two kids, who giggled and tried to wriggle free from their grandma's embrace. One of them, a young boy with fluffy blond
Kat's entire system shot into overdrive. She hurriedly reached for the brass candle stand beside the pedestal to use it as a weapon, ready to swing at the Punisher as soon as it got close enough. But of course, Calix jumped to his feet, dropped the candles with dull thuds, and met the Hellborn halfway.Faster than a flash of lightning, he seized it by its collar, pushing it against the wall with his elbow while taking its mask off with his free hand. The Hellborn was struggling, trying to push him off with its gloved hands, saying something inaudible under its mask. Kat slowly approached with her impromptu weapon in case it gets off Calix's grip, but it seemed that he himself was determined not to let it slip. He shoved it harder and stood his ground, finding a firm gripping point to completely tear the mask off the Hellborn.And staring at them from behind the head covering was no other than Thisbe.She was as beautiful as Kat remembered, with her dark skin and startling gold eyes, b
The group was headed by a tall beefy man, who Kat deduced was Halvar the general, with his bronze mask pushed up his shaved head. He had dark skin and a shaved beard, and his voice was smooth, deep, and chilling. “Have you searched the area I assigned to you?”“I did not find anyone.” Thisbe was surprisingly calm. “How about you? Any sign of the traitor, at least?”
"Calix, that's dumb," Kat had said before she'd left with Amicus, and at that moment, Calix had believed perfectly that splitting up was the best thing to do.Why? Well, the situation called it. Kat was the clear target of the four the King had sent. The chances of them escaping and protecting her while also subduing their enemies were pretty slim. It was better to spread their resources.But now, as Kat and Amicus disappeared into the entrance of the hallway, Calix began to see her point. Maybe splitting up really was dumb.
Kat never thought she'd ever say this, but falling asleep sucked.Granted, the state she was in now probably wasn't real sleep, but it was still the worst experience she had ever gone through. That was saying a lot, since she had a pretty long list of terrible experiences under her belt. However, this weightless, blown-up sensation took the cake.