Chapter 31 Kai
Chapter thirty-one
Kai
I’m seated at the light-wood rectangular table in the kitchen, swimming in Vidar’s shirt and a pair of Ramy’s black sweats.
Bitter rain pit-pats against the wall-length window. The heavy dark clouds perfectly fit my mood as I retell the room how I, like a prize fucking idiot, let Emma slice me open and take my soul.
The only other sound in the warmly lit room is Vidar’s knife hitting the chopping board with a chonk as he quarters crispy red apples. A sweet, fresh scent melding with the melting butter from the thick, toasted sandwiches and large marshmallows he’s piled in front of me.
“Why do you only have animal blood?” Sen interrupts my re-telling from where he leans against the kitchen island, cradling a cup.
Which is fine with me, I’m tired of hearing my own voice.
“Do you expect we keep human blood at hand?” Rurik snarks from beside him.
Sen glances my way, the tip of his fang glinting in the warm light. “I was hoping after giving Kai so much of mine to heal him, he’d return the favour.”
“Or—” Vidar moves around the kitchen island, growling low at Sen. “—I could remove your head, offspring?” Vidar gently places the massive bowl of quartered apples in front of me, his hand stroking my braids as he draws back. Eat,” he orders gently.
Golden, who’s as subtle as a kitten on cocaine and ignoring his own cup of blood, bolts upright in his chair next to mine. Wide eyes darting between Vidar and me. Ramy, on his opposite side, watches us curiously.
I snort at my friends, then push the bowl into the middle of the table. “I can’t eat all of this. Share with me.”
Lucero takes a handful of apples from where he stands behind Golden, placing them in front of his mate. My friend bristles, still annoyed Lucero wouldn’t let him race into the night to fight Emma and get killed in the process.
Apollo, where he’s perched cross-legged beside Golden, snickers at Lucero and loudly crunches on an apple slice.
“So Emma promised she could remove your soulmate connection with Vidar.” Summer brings us back to the topic at hand. “Then Sen, who no one has seen in well over ten years, comes out of nowhere and saves the day?”
“I try not to be the hero in every story, and yet…” Sen’s tongue flicks out to capture a drop of blood from his devilish lips. “I guess I’m just that good, honey.”
Rurik’s nose scrunches. “God, you’re an asshole.”
“And why exactly were you there?” Summer crosses her arms, scrutinising him.
“I was hired to. Someone was very desperate to get their hands on the First Tome. How could I, saviour of pretty boys, possibly turn away from one in need?”
“And?” Lucero questions, sounding bored.
The corner of Sen’s lip twitches. “And the staggering amount of money they offered helped.”
“Who’s stupid enough to hire an asshole like you?” Rurik retorts.
“I’m incredibly sought after, even if I don’t use my real name.” Sen ruffles Rurik’s hair, who shoves him off.
Rurik swipes Sen’s glass and chugs back the blood with loud, exaggerated gulps.
A beat of silence passes when Rurik slams the glass down.
“I spat in that, by the way.” Sen’s mouth stretches into a grin.
Rurik scowls.
“Sen. Rurik.” The way Vidar lets out a long suffering sigh, like he’s talking to two naughty children who happen to be hundreds of years old, makes me think this isn’t the first—or hundredth—time he’s had to stop their antics.
And from the quirk of his mouth, I know Vidar’s happy to have all his offspring in one room after so long.
“The person who hired me didn’t supply a name,” Sen announces. “Just a handful of clues on where the spellbook might be, and where to drop it off once I find it.”
“So confident in your abilities, brother,” Lucero says, voice tight.
“Well, I did, didn’t I?” Sen’s reply is smooth, yet with a tartness he seems to save for Lucero. “I was hunting Emma down when I saw her sneak into Kai’s little hovel.”
“Mate, what the fuck? My flat is fine.” Kind of.
Ramy makes a sympathetic noise and pats my hand. Huffing, I slump into my chair.
“I hadn’t expected to find Emma fist-deep inside our lovely Kai’s chest,” Sen adds.
“Kai isn’t your lovely anything,” Vidar throws at Sen, yet without any heat.
“How about Apollo?” Sen chuckles, undeterred by Vidar. “Wanna be my something?”
“I don’t know you, and I don’t wanna,” Apollo scowls.
I expect Sen to reply with sarcasm or more flirting. Instead, he bumps Rurik’s side. Rurik’s face remains unchanged, and it isn’t until Vidar brushes his arm on the way to the fridge that a flicker of emotion finally breaks through.
But it vanishes with the flash of lightning from the brewing storm.
I can’t help but feel pity for Rurik, even if it was a night similar to this one when he aimed a punch at my face.
“Who cares right now who hired him?” Summer waves the subject away, turning expectant eyes on me. “Kai, show me your fire powers, that’s way more important.”
Uncomfortable under everyone's sudden interest, I have to force my hand still, so I don’t tug at my hair. Even the room seems to inhale, waiting for me to perform the thing I’ve kept hidden most of my life.
“Kai.” Vidar lays a hand on my back as he sets a bottle of chilled water down. “Do you want me to kick everyone out again?”
A laugh leaves me, the narrowing tension rubber-banding back.
“I’m okay,” I promise. “Thank you.”
Vidar inclines to brush a kiss on my crown. “Anytime.” Then he steps back, his grip not once dropping. Giving me strength.
Golden gives me a thumbs up. “You got this, dude. Set fire to the fucking table, I believe in you.”
“Maybe not that far, but thanks, mate.”
Not wanting to waste my surge of confidence, I slap my palm on the piece of white paper Ramy provided. Heart-warming when I spy the little smiley face he drew as I slide it closer.
Unicorn pencil between my fingers, I tap it against the paper and…breathe out. Then the scratch of a pencil on paper pulls my subconscious to the surface.
A nostalgia settles over me. The same kind of nostalgia I feel looking at Archibald John Motley’s paintings—all bright colours and movement—and so much life the humidity of the people’s breath pushes against my skin.
I wasn’t there to inspire him to paint beautiful dancers, musicians, or a crowd at a BBQ. But maybe a swing-dancing, trumpet-playing, bikini-wearing ancestor hung out just outta frame.
I create something only my bones and my blood—and even my soul, though it’s not with me—remembers. And I wonder if someone, somewhere, once felt this too. Like they belong to something bigger than themselves.
The pencil drops with a clatter, and I find the stark white page full of symbols which dance together. Then, like an exhale or unclenching my hands, I simply allow it to happen. As if I’m releasing pieces of myself outwards.
Purple flame flicks up from the middle, a small fluttering fire like I’ve made a candle out of the paper.
Summer gasps. Vidar murmurs a ‘I knew you could, little prince.’
Since I stupidly gave my soul away, there’s been something uncomfortable lingering inside me, something…hollow. Yet my purple flame fills that emptiness and makes me complete.
For a bit, anyway.
It vanishes the moment purple flames spread out on the paper, eating the page full of symbols away. Becoming red and outside of my control, becoming normal fire. I shoot back as Vidar darts forward, his large hand snuffing out the flame with an indifferent slap.
“Vidar!” I call out. “Would you stop letting your hands get fucked up by touching dangerous shit?”
He shrugs, pulling back to show me his unblemished skin.
Unlike the table, which has a big scorch mark. “Oh shit. Oops…”
“You really did it,” Ramy gasps.
“Fuck the table!” Golden beams. “That was amazing.”
“Well done, lad. You should start burning more stuff,” Apollo says, grinning wide and throwing up devil horns. “Hell yeah!”
Summer’s head bonks onto the table.
I jump. “Holy shit, Summer! Would you be careful, too?”
“THIS is what you were talking about at Kings,” she shouts, words muffled. Arms flapping. “How could I have been so stupid? I thought you were just chatting about mages!”
“Technically, Kai’s the idiot here for keeping it a secret,” Apollo chimes in.
“Thanks, mate.”
“Anytime, lad.”
Summer waves her arms like a giant, pissed off bird in her fluffy purple coat. “I KNEW the symbols on your leather jacket were familiar, but I didn’t connect the dots.”
“So you know what this is, Summer?” Vidar asks.
Summer ignores him and shoots up to peer at me. “Kai?”
“Er, Summer?”
“Can I move your braids?”
“My braids?”
She nods in a way that makes me think maybe the coffee and two sandwiches she scarfed didn’t soak up any alcohol.
“Okay?” I say, after a pause.
Summer sweeps my braids back with two fingers and leans in closer. Tilting my head this way and that with her other hand on my chin, inspecting the mottled skin on my left side.
I wonder what she thinks when she looks at it? And I realise with a start, I shy away from my scars so often, I can’t even visualise exactly how they look.
“Do you see something, Summer?” Rurik asks, moving closer.
She spits a curse and falls back into her chair.
“What is it?” Vidar demands.
“You—” Summer’s face becomes serious. “ —are a demon, Kai.”
“A what?” Heat creeps up my neck.
“Well, half-demon,” she corrects way too casually and plucks an apple slice.
I grasp for words. But I’m not even sure how I feel, or what it means.
“A demon?” Golden perks up. “Is that a good thing? It has to be right, if it’s Kai.”
“So you mated with a half-demon, Maker?” Sen remarks. “I had no idea you had such rare tastes.”
“Rare?” I blurt out, still trying to make sense of what I am. Does this change everything? Does it need to change anything? Why do I feel like I’m sweating so much?
“Demons don’t normally leave their realm,” Vidar tells me, stroking between my shoulder blades.
“A different realm?” My voice comes out too high and too loud.
“Yeah, demons live behind this realm. Think of it as a sorta mirror place.” Summer waves around her half-eaten apple, as if that even made sense, and it’s everyday knowledge.
At least Golden is also looking as confused as I feel.
“Demons also have Script that appears on the left side of their faces when they first touch magic. But your scars hide them.”
“Script?” I utter slowly.
“Yeah, it’s how demons channel their magic. Shadow mages have their obsidian—” She wiggles her fingers adorned with obsidian rings— “Demons have their Script.”
“How do you feel about this, Kai?” Vidar asks.
I open and close my mouth like a fish tossed out of the ocean, the conversation Summer and me had at Kings replaying on a loop.
“Does…” I blink. “Does this mean you hate me, Summer?” I whisper, shaking a little.
“She better not,” Vidar grumbles.
“What!” Summer reels back, her apple dropping to the floor. “Of course not! Why would I hate you?”
“Because you don’t like demons?” I sniff. I don't know what to focus on; all I know is I can’t lose my friend.
“I’m not some lunatic who hates all demons.
Especially not you,” Summer replies, sounding offended.
“I hate…listen, it’s a lot to go into, okay?
But it’s the Demon King who…” Her gaze dips before meeting mine again.
“The Demon King and his son, Prince Maddox. Their soldiers. Little you? No way, babe.”
“O-oh. Good. I’m glad.” I sniff again, relieved. A little lost.
“No one could hate you, Kai,” Vidar reassures.
“I’m sure someone could,” Sen adds.
“Then I would kill that someone.” Vidar’s smile is sharp enough to cut.
“Alright, so…I’m half-demon? And it’s not scary, which is good. Right? It’s…”
Summer nods enthusiastically. “Yeah, if you were a full demon, you’d have horns, too. Do you remember either of your parents having horns?”
“That would’ve been badass…” Apollo whispers in awe.
I tuck my hands between my thighs to stop them from going towards my hair. “I…I don’t remember what they look like.”
“It’s okay,” Summer replies. “I wonder if we’ll be able to find some family that you didn’t know about.”
“F-family?”
I’ve already got a family.
One who I love and took me in when I had nobody, all tears and ash-stained after the fire. And how the hell could I even face this new demon family knowing what I did? What I took from them?
“Yeah!” Summer beams. “You could have a whole other family.”
I stand up so quickly that the chair clatters to the ground. My hand, no longer trapped, grabs hold of my hair.
“Sorry. I just…”
Vidar calls my name, but it sounds like he’s underwater.
Golden reaches for me. But I can’t deal with all these racing thoughts and new feelings with so many eyes on me.
“I-I need a second.” And like a coward, I run out of the kitchen.