Chapter 22
Chapter twenty-two
Kai
Istomp down the rickety wooden stairs, my blood reaching temperatures not even my purple flames could match.
‘Vidar!’ I scream that bellend’s name in my head like a curse.
That absolute bastard. Vidar finally says he wants to turn me into a vampire, but not because we’re soulmates.
In his dumb caveman brain, I’m just another person he gets to boss around.
Not that I should listen to most of what comes out of his mouth, it’s too muffled by the foot he’s got rammed in there.
I squeeze the spray bottle I forgot to leave upstairs. Better that than wrapping my hands around Vidar’s stupid, thick, annoyingly sexy neck.
“You alright, babe?”
I jolt back to find Summer in her paint-covered overalls, an air filtration mask hanging around her neck and blond hair twisted into a messy bun. The bleached light from the cheap overhead bulbs catches a few loose strands, making her hair shine silver.
Near the colour of Vidar’s eyes.
Inwardly, I groan at thinking of him again, but outwardly shake my head when I realise I haven’t answered. “I keep getting stuck in my own head,”
“It’s okay, you look like you’ve got a lotta stuff on your mind,” Summer says while using an old rag to clean paint off her hands.
She’s thrown white sheets over the three broken chairs we were too lazy to move out, and opened the rectangular windows close to the ceilings as wide as possible. The cold might make me hug my leather jacket closer, but at least I’m not breathing in paint fumes.
“Lotta someone,” I correct on a scoff.
With the fresh coat of white paint and empty of the ever-present cobwebs, the basement appears massive.
“Looks good,” I say. “Very Robert Rauschenberg.”
“I have no idea who that is,” Summer replies with a smile, tucking the rag into her pocket. “But I’ll take it as a compliment.”
I shove my hands in my jacket and rock absentmindedly on my heels. “He did a white-on-white minimalism painting thing. Sold for a real nice bit of change, like millions.”
She raises an eyebrow. “I don’t think I understand art.”
“No one does, mate,” I snort, then scan Summer over while she packs away tools.
Summer appears her usual bubbly self, but something in her movements seems slower. Distracted.
“Let me help you,” I say, then pick up her paint brushes and take them to the sink. I take off my leather jacket, grateful I’m wearing a hoodie, and hang it up behind me before turning the water on.
“Thanks, Kai,” she replies, taking the mask off and dumping it next to her bags.
Summer’s about to pick up her paints, but I stop her by saying, “Nah, leave them. Come keep me company for a bit.”
She shakes her head as if she sees right through me, but drags her feet over and hops up on the counter beside the sink, resting back on the wall. Twisting the black rings on her fingers.
“You’ve been working really hard to get this done.” I drop her brushes in the warm water and add a healthy dollop of liquid soap.
“Wanted to get it done for Apollo,” Summer says between a yawn.
“I know you said you needed money for make-up, but if you need it for anything else…” I drop my hands into the warm water to grab one of her brushes.
Summer chuckles softly. “Thanks, but I’m good.
Honestly, I took this job because I needed something to keep my mind busy.
It's…” She takes a moment to find the words she’s searching for.
“I’ve never shared this with you guys because it’s difficult to explain, but now you know about the supernatural crap. ..”
I let her gather her thoughts while she stares at the wall, her palm rising to lay over her chest and rubbing at it like she’s got an itch that won’t go away.
“I wanna say what you’ve seen of the supernatural world isn’t always this dark and bloody, but that’d be a lie.”
Warm water runs across my skin as I rub the coarse bristles between my fingers to get the paint out. “Does seem like one big shit show.”
“You have no idea.” Summer drops her hands into her lap. “Thirty years ago, my family home was raided by demons, and nearly everyone inside was murdered. Only two of my cousins survived. Barely.”
I whip around to look at her. “Holy shit, Summer, that’s awful. I can’t even imagine…”
She smiles weakly. “It’s the anniversary today.”
Immediately, I move to hug her, but halt when I notice my dripping hands. Summer laughs and grabs hold of the front of my hoodie, tugging me forward and wrapping me into a warm hug.
“It’s been a while since I’ve talked about it,” she says into my braids.
I hold her tight, wanting to take some of the pain away that I’m so familiar with. “I…I understand, your family, I mean…”
Gently, Summer pulls back. “I know about your parents, Kai. I’m sorry what happened to them.”
I want to tell her that I’m what happened to them, but I decide that isn’t what she needs to hear right now.
“Thanks. My ears are open, by the way, if you wanna chat. Any time or day.”
In my line of work, I find that people open up when no eyes are on them, a kind of confessional with ink and pain. So when I turn back to the sink and pick up a brush, watching as clumps of thick paint turn the water opaque, and a moment later, Summer starts speaking, I know I made the right call.
“Mages are organised into Mage Towers. But these aren’t actually big, stupid buildings, more like a vampire family, but way bigger, with branching off families, and we stay in one place.
Some of the families will have power, some don’t.
Mine had a bit, but the only thing my parents ruled over was my five siblings and me. ”
Summer smiles at some memory, her eyes becoming wet. I keep my mouth shut to give her whatever space she needs.
“The one thing my parents were really vocal about was the land they wanted returned.”
“Your land?” I put the clean brush aside to dry, then grab another.
Her chest rises with a deep inhale. “Mages, we always gotta hold onto a fucking grudge…”
A blast of wind rattles the windows, and while the water manages to keep some of the chill away, Summer doesn’t even seem to notice it.
“A few hundred years ago, the shadow mages and the demons got into a fight,” she explains, like she’s complaining about mice getting into her flat.
“Mostly it was a dick swinging contest between two sons who thought they were more powerful than the other. Turns out my shadow mage ancestor was nowhere near as powerful, and it resulted in us losing the land. My Mother always talked about it like it was some great tragedy because of the magic there. But we had other land, and I didn’t care. ”
Summer trails off, more hair falling from her bun as her gaze burns holes into the wall.
While she’s distracted, my own mind trails off. Before all this, my life could’ve been reduced to a little corner in the city with a handful of friends, family, and a bit of magic I was too scared to touch.
Now vampires, mages, demons—I don’t know how to keep it all straight in my head. But then what’s the point of freaking out again? Been there, done that and got the fucking spellbook to prove it.
I used to be able to delude myself into thinking I could keep everyone protected and happy if I just slapped on a brave face. But every day I learn that’s less and less likely.
“Mum and Dad wanted it back so badly they became obsessed.” Her fists clench, and gone is her flippant tone; now her words are coated in pain.
“They talked a big game on how they were going to get our land back. But it was only talk. But demons? Demons don’t talk, Kai.
” She turns to stare at me, glare intense, mouth open to continue speaking—but she blinks, attention locked somewhere over my shoulder and brow creased.
“Summer?” I ask. I turn to look, half expecting to find Emma behind me. But it’s just my jacket hanging on the hook. When I glance back, Summer’s still frowning.
“Demons aren’t like us, Kai…” She seems to let go of whatever thought held her, face smoothing. “Demons take what they want, and crush what they don’t.”
Her palm comes back up to her chest, as if she had no control over her actions. It makes my own fingers twitch to grab at my hair, but I keep washing the brushes.
“My parents were too loud, and because of that, the Demon King and his fucking son killed every single member of my family as punishment.”
I pull my hands from the water and step towards her, grabbing hold of her palms. “Fuck, that’s awful.”
“I never cared before about that shitty plot of land or the magic on it,” she says, gripping back. “The day I held my siblings in my arms was the day I started to care.”
Even the idea of losing my little brothers could bring tears to my eyes. So for Summer to have to live that reality? My heart breaks for my friend.
“What about the other shadow mages? Surely they couldn’t let that shit stand.”
“The tower didn’t care. Even my Sovereign said they got what they deserved,” she snarls.
Summer then tugs her hands out of mine and pulls her shirt to the side to show an odd symbol carved into her flesh. Like a figure eight stamped with an upside-down capital ‘R’
“Instead of being with my family, I was with my Sovereign, cutting the spell into my body that’d make me immortal and becoming a full-fledged shadow mage. I’d been so proud that day, teasing my sisters and brother before I left, yet now, when I look at this thing, all I feel is ashamed.”
I wish I knew the right words to soothe Summer’s pain, but sometimes all that can be done is letting them know you’re there, so I squeeze her tighter.
She chuckles and slips off the counter to give me a full hug. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to dump all this shit on your shoulders. Especially when you’re dealing with the soulmate stuff.”
“You knew?”
She pulls back to raise an eyebrow. “Yeah, babe, it’s really obvious.”
I shove her gently, snorting. “Listen, ignore all my mess. It’s okay to open up if you need to. They were your family, Summer. There’s no time limit on that shit. Be upset, scream, destroy stuff. Hell, I’ll help you.”
A part of me wants to ignore what Vidar said and tell Summer everything—the book, Emma, my fire. But the last thing I want to do after she shared the horrifying story of her family is hand over an armful of magical bullshit drama.
“Know what I really need?” Summer grins. “A big drink and some dancing.”
“Fuck yeah! Let’s go out tonight, have a bit of fun.” I wink. “Maybe even relax a little.”
“Vidar won’t like you ‘relaxing’,” Summer teases.
“Vidar and I are…friends. Nothing else. He’s straight.”
“Suuuure.”
Instead of telling her to go screw herself, I ask, “Do you know many soulmates?”
Summer chews on her lip as she thinks. “Golden and Lucero are the first I’ve met in years. Soulmates are really rare, Kai. Like, so rare it’s crazy there are two in such close proximity. Most immortals never even meet their soulmates.”
I go back to the sink and tug the plug out. “Well, Fate fucked up on this one.”
“Or did she?” Summer leans in close, a devilish glint in her eyes.
“What does that mean?” I ask as I dry my hands on a towel.
“No idea. But Fate squashed you two together, so kiss already.”
“Listen, none of that shit matters, alright? Me and him, we'll figure it out. Or not, who fucking knows. What really matters is if you ever need me I’m here. Especially if it’s to chat about your family or anything. No one should have to go through that alone.”
“Thanks, Kai.” Summer’s attention seems drawn back to a spot behind me, but she quickly pulls her focus back with a small shake of her head. “You, too.”