Five hundred bucks. That's how much Ulysses charged access to the VIP lounge. Five hundred bucks. Per person.Paying that not only made Kat a thousand dollars poorer, it also caused some delay, which allowed Damien to waltz inside undisturbed. Now she and Calix had no idea where that turd went.The layout of the lounge didn't help, either.First off, it shouldn't even be a lounge. In Kat's eyes, this area of the club was more an entire hotel floor. It was a series of hallways with private rooms, made extremely fancy with crystal chandeliers, plushy red carpets, cream-colored walls gilded with gold, and a mirror ceiling that did nothing to help them navigate.Now Kat and Calix were strolling around aimlessly, clueless on where to start, trying to use the lights as a guide. However, the tiny orange sparks were scattered around the place, as directionless as they were.When she asked him about this, he just said, "The lights are guides, not pointers. There are many factors that affect th
The vase clattered onto the floor, right from Kat's trembling hand. The mirror showed that the spot Damien was standing in was empty, which meant that she was alone here.So who was this person in front of her, smiling and watching her coldly?Kat's composure crumbled altogether. Her knees were going weak, threatening to give way any second. As though relishing her broken bravado, Damien—or whatever this thing was—smirked. It contorted his handsome features, making them look . . . wrong.There was a very tense pause.Her heartbeat echoed in her ears. She inhaled slowly, gathering every bit of courage she possessed. Before she could chicken out, she spun around and ran for her life.In an unbelievable speed, Fake-Damien leapt towards Kat. To avoid his outstretched hand, she let gravity take hold and allowed herself to fall forward, propping her arms in front of her. However, before she could land on the floor, he managed to touch t
Kat should've known that when her delusions started with her college dating fails, it would all be downhill from there.And she was right. The whole business of getting stood up in a date was the mildest. Right after it, she was thrown back to the scene that started it all: the day of her death.Only this time, she was as close to death than she ever had been.The asphalt was cold against her cheek, sleek with the blood flowing from her busted temple. Her arm was bent at an awkward angle. People began to crowd around her, but only their feet were visible. She tried to lift her head, to see beyond them and the front of the Range Rover, but what she saw made her regret it.The cloaked figure. The Punisher.Kat expected it to be Calix. She knew it was him originally, and she'd taken comfort in it. However, the face under the mask was Auric Johnson's, pale and smirking. Then, it changed to Rita Arellano's. In a dizzying flicker it shifted again, morphing into the beautiful features of Nave
Kat's spontaneous road trip with Calix to Moapa Valley wasn't so spontaneous anymore, as they had to postpone it for a day.While she no longer felt like absolute trash, a little bit of that nausea was still sitting at the back of her throat like a bitter aftertaste. Maybe it was because of what lied ahead of them, or the fact that half of her bodily functions had stopped for a week.Either way, Calix was the witness to it all, and for this reason alone, she couldn't quite look him in the eye.
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