It was radio silence as we walked through the woods. Katana walked in front, as Kai walked with me a couple feet behind. Our breathing and crunching of snow under us were the only sounds being made.
The tension between Katana and I was still in place, there were some moments when she would look back at me, the emotions that pooled in her eyes, I couldn't figure it out. There was no way I would apologize, not because I'm stubborn, but for her being wrong.
All of this is happening to me, Fallon came after me. And the fact she got mad at me for asking such a simple question was absurd, and her blaming me for all of this. That part was kind of true, but I had no choice. It was either kill those girls and wake up The First Power, or stand idle by while Alexander bled to death all over the marble floor. She wasn't there, she didn't have to make the difficult decision I did.
Yount and The First Power haven't striked yet, but everyone's on edge for not knowing when they will. The first person trying to kill me was Fallon Chase and the old witches. I highly doubt that's where it's going to stop.
I lean my head up to the sky, the sun is out, shining bright and present. The hot sun rays hone on me, creating a warmth so I'm not so cold. The snow stopped falling, but the coldness still lingers. According to Katana, we'll be on the edge of Nygaard in roughly 2 hours. She was mostly talking to Kai, but said it loud enough so I would hear. I asked Kai why they both couldn't shift and run us there, but they would sense them coming by and catch us within minutes, so were stuck walking.
My legs are starting to get sore and we've only been walked for at least an hour. I would ask to stop, but don't want to appear weak or have to conversate with Katana. We'll talk eventually, just not now.
Kai, who looks like he could run up a mountain, walks closer to me and says, "Do you need a break?"
"No, I'll be fine wouldn't want to slow us down." I give him a tight smile and look ahead.
"You wouldn't be slowing us down Quinn, have you talked to Katana yet?" He asked.
"No, she's the one who needs to apologize, I did nothing wrong." I say the last part loud so she could hear me. I just see her tilt her head to the side and no noise comes out. But I know I heard her snicker.
He puts a hand around my shoulder and pulls me close to his side, I sink into his warmth. Sometimes I wish I was a werewolf, mostly for the thermal heat they radiate. "I'm not defending my sister or anything, but you have to understand where she's coming from. It's scary to know that people want to assassinate you, she just wanted to keep you from knowing that, for your pr-." He starts to say the word protection, but I give him a look of don't. "Anyway, whatever."
I nudge him, "Why is she like this? Keeping information and acting in secret."
He looks off into the distance, as if the silent trees hold the answers. He comes back to reality, "I assume it's because of what happened with you know who, but I don't have an official answer. She just- doesn't like to tell people bad new, or to fail someone. And back there, when Fallon almost killed you, she DID fail to protect you." He pats my shoulder and walks up ahead to Katana. All he does is pinch her cheek, she swats his hand away and pushes him into a tree. He laughs.
As they play around, I reflect on his words. Fail, she thought she failed me. There was no way of her knowing that something deadly would happen to me. Why is she so hard on herself? And telling me things won't hurt or scare me, but make me alert of what's going on. Maybe I should-
"Stop." Katana voice booms. I stop dead in my tracks, the only sound being the wind and birds. Up ahead is a large gate. On either side of it are two large men with swords on their backs. So, there's no way we can walk up and ask if they could let us in.
"Where do we go now?" For the first time in hours, Katana looks at me.
"We head to our pickup location."
"And where is that?"
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I thought my legs hurt before, now they're aching with pain. Turns out we had to walk 2 more miles to an old cabin on the outskirts of Nygaard. From what she said as we made the trip, someone was going to sneak us into the Kingdom and we were going to stay in town until we can get inside the castle.
The rustic cabin looks like no one has lived here for years; snow coats the porch, dead leaf vines line the cabin. An old rocking chair sits next to the farmhouse door, while a sign that says 'welcome home' hangs on it. "Watch your step." Before I could register his words, my foot slips from under me and I fall backwards. Strong arms catch me, I hold on for dear life.
"Oh my god." I breathed. He holds me up, I regain my footing and walk up the steps, making sure I'm holding onto the railing. "Thank you, you're like a guardian angel." He just shrugs his shoulders.
"What can I say, I love saving your life." I just roll my eyes at him.
He opens up the door as Katana goes around back to do something, what that is I have no idea. The door opens easily, it creaks as tiny dusk flicks off it. From this cabin being so old, it doesn't look so bad. To the left is the living room, an old flower couch with a two throw pillows sitting to the side of it. In front is a tan fireplace with old fake plants sitting on top. Some family pictures decorate the walls, this must belong to a family.
Kai walks over to the kitchen on the right and fills up his water bottle. Old magazines and newspapers sit on the counter next to an old box of cereal. I blow the dust off it. "Kai, how long has it been since someone's been here?"
He turns around, takes another gulp of his water and leans up against the sink. "I'm assuming 10 years since this newspaper is dated November of 2011. Want some water?" I shake my head; I'm too scared the water will be coated with dust. Instead, I sit on the stool and take a bite of my granola bar. The oats and chocolate melt in my mouth.
"Wanna bite?" I hold it out for Kai, he takes a huge bite of it, a few oats falling on the dusty counter. "Hey! I said a bite."
He only laughs, "I was hungry Quinn, don't shame me." He plays it off like he's hurt, I just pat his hand. I turn around once I hear the creaking of the door. A flustered Katana comes in, her tan skin is now pink from being outside. Her jacket hugs her front while she dusts off her boots on the rug.
"What were you doing out there?" asked Kai.
"Getting logs so we can start a fire, can't have Quinn dying on us, then it would have been a waste of time coming out here." She shows the eight logs in her arms, how she carried that on her own and didn't drop them baffles me. Walking over to the fireplace, she chucks them in it.
She takes out a match and tries to lit a fire, but it doesn't work. Three matches later and she's still struggling. Kai puts his hand on my back, pushing me to go help her out. I shake my head at him, "Go." Was all he said, then gives me another push, but it's harder this time.
I sigh and roll my eyes; in a matter of minutes, I shoot fire into the fireplace. Fire starts to crackle, and so does Katana once her eyes land on me. "I could have done it." Her voice hard as rocks,
"You could just say your welcome." She huffs and walks down the hall to where I'm assuming is the bathroom. Before heading down the hall she says to Kai, "Get comfortable, we won't be leaving here for a while."
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She wasn't lying.
The sun is now gone and was replaced by darkness. The only thing to be seen are the stars and half of the room. I sit by the window, staring into the midnight dusk while Kai tries to whip up something to eat. He's been in there for over an hour trying to work the stove, I told him it may not work since it hasn't been used in years, but he just huffed and kept fiddling around with it.
Looking to the living room, Katana lays out on the couch with a book on her chest. She fell asleep over an hour ago, she didn't look tired when we first came up here, but she's good at hiding things. I've had time to think about what happened in the woods yesterday, remembering her words lingering in my mind.
How it's my fault for all this happening and how I was selfish for saving Alexander and putting millions of lives in jeopardy. I didn't think about anyone, all I could see was the blood spurting from his abdomen, his hand clutched to his side trying to push the blood in. Him telling me not to kill those girls, to let him die.
Was I selfish? Of course, I was, and I will regret killing those girls for the rest of my life. But, something inside tells me that if I don't get that cure, and he dies on that bed, then the death of the girls was for nothing. And resurrecting thousand year old witches on the world was a bad decision.
I never let myself think of these things, how everything could have been for naught. My head looks to the sleeping girl on the couch, the open book rising up and down on her chest. Silent snores leave her nose. A small smile comes across my lips, she's all I got.
I was mad at her for trying to keep information from me, but she's the only one that has ever kept it real with me, something I've always wanted for a while now. I wonder if they know I'm gone, does my grandpa know and if so, is he freaking out? They honestly couldn't expect me to sit there and watch Alexander fade away into oblivion.
"Quinn, come here." says Kai. I gather my strength and meet him in the kitchen. "Does this look good to you?" In the pot sits some macaroni and cheese with chunks of meat in it. I swish my face up, it looks. . .alright but smells fairly good. "You like it don't you?"
"Maybe it's because I'm starving to death, but this looks delicious. Make me a plate, please." He ruffles my hair; I get comfy on the stool and wait for him to put me some of his masterpiece in a bowl.
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After finishing our bowl of mac and meat, Kai and I sit on a loveseat as we stare out the window. The moon reflects on his necklace, I never knew he was wearing one. It's the shape of earth, the color of blue. He sees me looking at it. "Wondering about my necklace?"
"I never noticed you wore one, where did you get it it's pretty." A swirl of blue, purple and black sit in the middle. It's like looking into a starry night.
"My mother gave it to me before I pledge the creed." He smooths the necklace around with his fingers, I can tell it means a lot to him.
"It's beautiful. Where is she?" All I know is of their father, Vet Khan, The King of the Khans. Katanas never mentioned her at all.
"She's back at her home, Almeeria with my other relatives. When Katana disappeared, she couldn't deal so she went back home. My father was sad, but understood."
"Do you miss her?" His eyes upon me linger.
"A lot. Katana looks so much like her, from the jet-black hair, tan skin and doe green eyes. If you saw my mother and Katana side by side you would think they were twins." He changes the subject. "Enough about me, what about your parents?"
"Dead." Was all I said as I play with the hem of my shirt. The cotton material rubs hard against my fingers.
"I'm sorry." He pats my thigh.
I shrug off his apology, "It's ok, you know most people miss their parents when they die, but I don't." He gives me an incredulous look. "I know, it's weird but. . .I wasn't old enough to make memories with them I could remember. My grandma and grandpa were more parents to me than they were. If my grandpa died I don't-." I couldn't even finish my sentence, my throat chocked up on me. Kai just rubs my arm; I lean into his touch. "Sometimes I feel bad, not telling him where I am. But if I told him he would fly down here and chain me to my bed."
"Once you get this cure for Alexander, which I know you will, all will be forgiven." He assured me.
"I guess, but I lied to them. Will they forgive that?"
Kai and I look off into the distance, contemplating my question.
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