For a moment Kat's world stopped. Aunt Therese's words dug into her ears like knives, eliciting the greatest wave of denial and utmost refusal in her chest.
This can't be true, she tried to assure herself. Surely something was amiss. Surely something as terrible as this couldn't be true. This must just be her aunt's way to get a rise out of her. A comeback, an attempt for a revenge—
"I can't believe I had to lie and pretend to spare
Calix just stared at Kat, a little wary of her Eureka! expression. She must've realized how bizarre it was, because she winced."Okay, I don't know why I said it like it's a good thing," she muttered, shaking her head with an uneasy laugh. "I'm not crazy, I swear."He didn't answer immediately. He couldn't. He was too fixated on the small smile playing on her lips, something that he hadn't seen in what felt like forever. Seeing it now was like witnessing the first rays of sun peeking through thinning storm clouds. And it felt just as warm.This would've been the perfect time for him to mention the recent events, to get her to share a bit of the pain she was undoubtedly still battling inside. But of course, he stayed mum and chose to do what she'd done for him before. Stay and wait.Kat's shoulders sagged when she saw the bemused glint in his eyes. "You definitely think I'm crazy, don't you""I do not think you will appreciate my answer to that," Calix said dismissively, suppressing a
The first thing that Kat and Calix met upon being let in by the buff men at the main entrance was the music.Calix expected something fast, brash, and ear-splitting, but to his surprise, the song being played was slow and dark, featuring a piano and a woman's light breathy voice. It contrasted artistically with the wash of red in the circular area of the club, illuminating the black bar counter, the glittery curtains on the stage, and the barely-dressed humans with stiff fake wings and halos."Angels?" he spluttered, facing Kat. "But last time, they were not dressed—or stripped down—like this.""Well, they're going to open in half an hour," she said knowledgeably. "Also, it's Friday. They do themes on Fridays, according to the taste of the highest tipper of the previous week."Calix nodded in understanding, then he paused, eyes narrowed. "Wait. How do you know all that?" Kat shifted uncomfortably. "Let's just say I'm a semi-regular customer."As though to prove that, a couple of men d
Calix was the first one to burst out of the room, and he did so like a ninja-action star hybrid, complete with the determined face and swift moves.Naturally this made Quinn's eyes turn into big red hearts.Kat found Calix's move to be impressive, even rendering her motionless, but she also found Quinn's gaping to be rather . . . annoying.Which was weird. And inappropriate. And really, really out of character.Shaking her head to get rid of this sudden feeling, Kat shot out of the room, only to be met with the most bizarre situation to beat all the bizarre situations.Cramped in the hallway were six strippers, three males and three females, all clad in the slinkiest, most revealing angel costumes Kat had ever laid eyes on. Andy was in the middle of the chaos, holding an absolute monster of a party popper. Gold and white confetti were scattered on the floor, and Calix was staring at them with an unreadable expression."I told you I didn't know how this works!" Andy was hissing at the b
A kiss. Calix was going in for a kiss. Something that he'd never done and never felt like doing with anyone before.Until now.His heart was racing. His cheeks were flushed. He continued to lean closer, nervous as all hell, while Kat's hand trailed down his cheek. This was it, he told himself. This was really happening. . . .Then she pressed her thumb right below his eye and beamed. "Look! A lash."She withdrew her hand and pulled back, leaving him speechless. His brain took a long while to recover, but even after the slow process he couldn't quite tell what had just happened. Had she really said lash? Had he misheard? Was this a human slang he was yet to discover?As though to answer his thoughts, Kat held up the barely visible strand of hair. "When someone, like, sheds a lash, we get it and blow it like this." She puffed out some air through her puckered lips. "It makes wishes come true. Or so they say."Calix let that sink in. And in return he wanted to sink into the mattress and n
Kat's first instinct was to scream and run, but her entire body was paralyzed in fear. Her stomach was as stiff as a board, her fingers deathly cold.Because of this, the creature managed to grab her arm with its dripping hand, pulling her upright as it rose. Calix swerved in to break them apart, but he barely even pried the thing's grip on her when they suddenly got engulfed in a swirl of dense darkness.
It was acid. Idris's feathers could turn into a potent acid, thick and black, filling the air with smoke and a sharp smell that seemed capable of eroding the nasal cavity.And because Kat looked back to see it in action, she got a full splatter on her left shoulder.It would have been her entire head if Calix hadn't pulled her behind a concrete antenna base just in time.They crumpled to the floor just as the pain started to kick in. She inhaled sharply, forcing herself to glance at the raw, blistered, and bleeding bit of exposed skin peeking through her singed shirt. The wind blowing on her fresh burns was as torturous as a bed of nails piercing through her flesh. The smarting sensation on her palm from her unexpected trick from earlier felt like a minor boo-boo in comparison to this splotch of peeling skin.But of course, she couldn't exactly call time-out with Idris.Speaking of the ruthless Hellborn, Idris flew over the antenna and landed gracefully a few feet in front of them. His
A dark cloud of whirling tendrils enveloped Kat and Idris like a small explosion.The smoke was as sharp and as acrid as burning plastic, descending over the rooftop with the intensity of a nuclear blast's aftermath.Amidst the fog, Idris's anguished face rose in Kat's sight. His lips were pulled back in a snarl, his nostrils flaring. Rivulets of gold trickled rapidly from the protruding metal stick on his forehead. He tried to swing at her, to grab her arm, but he ended up staggering forward and releasing Calix in the process.This should be the part where Kat celebrated her victory. However, as she avoided Idris's outstretched hand and his uneven steps, the heat she'd been feeling in her insides began to grow more intense. It was pressing from under her skin now, as insistent as magma pushing from under the earth, as scratchy as the Nevada summer heat.Despite this and the growing pain in her shoulder and elbow, Kat squared up to Idris, putting herself between him and Calix.Idris sc
The sound of her full name coming from Landon's lips gave Kat serious Idris flashbacks, but it was nothing compared to Calix's reaction.With his fists clenched, he stepped forward and almost growled, "I knew it."And apparently, Calix's sudden outburst gave Landon some getting-knocked-out-by-one-punch flashbacks too. He backed against the pillows fluffed behind him, one hand on his chest. "Kat, please tell your boyfriend to stay away. I am this close to calling the cops.""He's not my . . . never mind. Calix, it's not Idris," she tol