Runaway Mortal (7 page)

Anna nodded. “Right, that’s why you ran away; so you could find Madriel who is Valeska’s only contact.”

Misha leaned forward, an eager expression on her face. “So, did you find anything? Did you find Valeska?”

“Yes, I found her!” I burst out.

Taking a deep breath, I quickly filled them in on the prophecy—it was engraved in my mind like a mental tattoo.

Anna and Misha both gaped at me after I was done talking. I couldn’t blame them. I was still trying to process everything myself. Normal seventeen-year-old girls didn’t get into situations like this. My priorities should be finishing high school, cute boys, and wondering if my jeans made my butt look big.

“So, you’re supposed to find this Mortal Blade somewhere in the school? And this helps prove your innocence
how
exactly?” Misha demanded. “You know it’s a fairy tale about three magical objects, right?”

I nodded, feeling stupid that I’d returned to school with nothing but a prophecy. I conveniently left out the part about the purple feather because let’s face it, I already looked dumb enough.

“In the legend, the Mortal Blade was a sword, the Angel Glass was a magic mirror, and the Demon Stone was some sort of jewel,” Anna recited off the top of her head.

“I thought it was a rock with magical properties,” I said. “That’s what it was in the version my mom told me.”

The Legend of the Triad
was just one of the many supernatural fairy tales that existed in our world. It wasn’t even one of the popular ones, like
Lucreta and the Fire Demon
or
The Four Witches
.

“This could all be a load of bull created by this crazy witch!” Misha cut in.

“Mish, we both know what a big deal prophecies are in our world, and the way this prophecy is worded doesn’t sound like something this witch could just make up,” Anna argued back. “
Neither Hell nor Heaven born; that’s Kat right there! She’s not a demon or an angel; she’s a mortal! And what Valeska said about the Mortal Blade being here makes complete sense. This is where sky, earth, and pain meet. Sky is Heaven, and pain is Hell. This is where the children of the three worlds meet. Plus, that stuff about the Hierophant is pretty clear. Kat, this is all fated. You’re meant to be on this path.”

Anna was starting to sound eerily like Valeska—reasonable in a nonsensical way if that was even possible.

“I make my own choices,” I said, stubbornly.

“Sometimes you only have one choice,” Anna said, her blue eyes almost hypnotic as she studied me.

“You know what freaks me out in all this?” Misha said, breaking the weird mood. “The fact that you owe this witch some random favor.”

Another dumb move by me. Sure, I was making my own choices, but they didn’t seem to be very smart so far.

Anna tsked. “Yes, I don’t like that either. We have no idea what she could ask you to do. I need to do some research, but I’m pretty sure you can’t back out of a blood promise.”

The three of us were quiet for a few minutes, no doubt thinking up endless scenarios of things that Valeska might ask from me.

Finally, I broke the silence. “So, any other ideas on what the prophecy could mean? I guess figuring it out will lead us to the Mortal Blade. I mean, what is this Hallowed Scorn thing? Then this stuff about metal and flame; it’s all so confusing.”

“I think I’ve heard of Hallowed Scorn before, but I can’t remember the specifics of it. I’ll have to do some research into it.”

If you hadn’t noticed by now, “doing research” was Anna’s solution to everything.

“Ugh.” Misha made a face. “More books.”

“Well, it’s not like I can Google it,” Anna snapped before turning her attention back on me. “Could you write the prophecy down for us? Be careful not to do it around the SRECON agents.”

“Especially that telepath you were telling us about,” Misha added.

Anna was about to say something, but the door swung open just then and Loire and Tyrone walked in. Tyrone looked around and caught my eye, grinning.

“Did you miss me, Honey?”

Chapter Seven

My first week back at school was a blur.

It was a struggle getting back into the routine of attending classes and catching up on all the work I had missed. Anna was a great help and very enthusiastically offered to catch me up on all the classes we shared. Martial Arts, Stealth, Tactics, Weapons, and Mortal History were ones I would have to figure out on my own.

At the very least, I was glad that no teachers had pulled me aside and berated me for falling behind on my school work. In fact, the Stealth teacher, Professor Vella, seemed far more interested in how I had survived on my own for a month and if I’d used any of the methods he’d taught in class.

On top of all that, my friends and I hadn’t found any leads on the Triad object. Anna had more or less torn the library apart as she tried to find something on the Mortal Blade. Misha did her bit too, via Google, but with no luck. Our search was at a standstill for the time being, but I was adamant not to give up.

There was a theory formulating in my head that the object might be hidden in an ancient, undisturbed location, like a secret passageway. I mean, that’s what always happened in
Tomb Raider
. The only problem was that with my 24-hour guard not easing up, it was hard for me to go poking around the school. I had checked behind a bunch of paintings and pushed against a lot of walls in hopes that a secret entrance might open up, but so far I’d had no luck.

On the plus side, we’d discovered that Tyrone wasn’t as astute about guarding me as Loire and Veritas were. If we retreated to the library after dinner and studied for an hour, Tyrone eventually dozed off, giving us plenty of time to formulate theories about the legend. If we moved, he woke up though.

After dinner, when we had exhausted all possible leads for the object by writing each other notes, Misha broke the silence by steering the conversation in a more upbeat direction.

“So are either Loire or Tyrone single?” she asked, drumming her bright, blue nails on the table. “They’re both hot as hell. Trust you to luck out, Kat.”

I didn’t see how being guarded 24/7 counted as lucking out, but Misha had a weird way of looking at things, especially when it came to boys.

“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “Why?”

“Winter prom is coming up and options for a date are pretty limited.”

“You could take whoever you’re sleeping with at the time,” I said with a smirk and dodged her slap.

Misha frowned. “No, seriously. The best accessory is your date, but no one cute is single at the moment. Too bad Talon is-” She trailed off and promptly shut up when Anna shot her a scathing look.

I knew what she was going to say even though she’d stopped herself. Too bad Talon was my ex. Too bad he was dating Cedee. Too bad he had betrayed me. We did look hot together.

“How long have they been going out?” I asked in a quiet voice.

Anna reached out and touched my arm in a comforting way. “A week after you left Misha noticed them hanging out together.”

“Apparently, Cedee’s had a thing for him for ages,” Misha chimed in. “I guess she finally got her way with him.”

“There’s no way she knows about me and Talon, is there?” I couldn’t shake the feeling that every time I saw Cedee, she seemed awfully smug about being with him. I couldn’t understand why, unless Talon had told her about us which made no sense considering he was the one who had always been determined to keep our relationship a secret.

“I don’t think so,” Anna said in a hushed tone. “We haven’t said a word, right?” She looked over at Misha who nodded her affirmation.

I shouldn’t care who he was seeing or what he did with her, but there was a part of me that wasn’t willing to forget the guy I’d been in love with. That part of me was stupid. There was no point holding onto the past. It didn’t change anything. It didn’t change what he had done, or what he was still doing to me.

When I didn’t say anything further, Misha turned the topic back onto prom. “Who are you taking, Anna?”

The shyest member of our group shrugged her small shoulders. “I don’t really know. I guess I’ll just go by myself if no one asks me.”

The very thought seemed to horrify Misha and before she could say anything, I linked an arm through Anna’s, giving her a smile. “You know what? I think I like that idea. We’re single, confident, and independent. We don’t need a guy to make us look good.”

Misha rolled her eyes and was just about to say something when a timid voice spoke from somewhere behind us. “Hello.”

Looking around, I noticed Gregory Delling, Misha’s sixteen-year-old brother, standing by a bookshelf. Other than the brown hair and hazel-green eyes that the siblings shared, they looked nothing alike. Greggy, as we called him, was tall, pale, and gangly, and wore glasses with a thick, black frame. Misha, on the other hand, had tan skin, a rounder face and wasn’t as tall. Their differences didn’t end there. Misha was an extrovert and rebellious, while Greggy was quiet and studious.

Anna’s face lit up and she patted the seat beside her. “How are you, Greggy?” she asked as he obediently sat down.

Anna had always been a lot closer to Greggy than Misha was. As for me, well, we’d never really talked to each other much, but ever since I’d been accused of Melkane’s murder he had seemed to avoid me a lot more. I tried not to let it get to me too much, but it still hurt that he might think I was a cold-blooded killer.

“I’m okay,” he said in a dulcet tone, staring down at the table. “I just finished my lesson with Professor-”

“We don’t need to know about your boring life,” Misha cut in. “Unlike you, we actually have a social life to discuss.”

Misha always gave her little brother a hard time, but I still felt bad for him. “It’s not as if we were talking about life or death,” I said. “It’s only prom.”

“Still, who invited him to this conversation?”

Hurt flashed across Anna’s face, and she put a hand on Greggy’s shoulder. Maybe it was to comfort him or maybe it was so he wouldn’t leave, but his face turned red all the same.

“I want him to stay,” she said firmly.

“So do I,” I added.

“Well, I don’t really.”

“No, it’s fine.” Greggy’s face fell and I saw his fists curl up, but he didn’t bother responding. Years of being walked all over by his big sister had weakened him. He looked towards Anna briefly. “I’ll see you later.”

Anna nodded, and we watched as Greggy got up and hurried out of the library. It took me several seconds to realize that he hadn’t spoken a single word to me. I couldn’t help but take it personally. Greggy and I weren’t best friends, but we’d known each other for a long time. Maybe he didn’t want to associate himself with an alleged murderer.

“You are so horrible to him!” Anna burst out, turning on a startled Misha. “He only wants to feel like a part of our group and you’re always putting him down!”

“But he’s not part of our group. He’s my geeky, younger brother,” Misha said in a reasonable tone.

“Yes, but we’re the only friends he really has and you should be supporting him, not constantly demeaning him!”

I usually agreed with Anna on most things, but on this occasion my opinion differed. “Actually, I don’t believe that. He acted like I wasn’t even here. I mean, a simple hello would have sufficed.”

“You’re defending Greggy an awful lot,” Misha said in an accusatory tone. “It sounds like the two of you have been getting a bit too cozy during your late night library sessions.”

I winced, not needing to look at Anna’s face to know that it had turned a bright red. If she wasn’t so strict about abiding by proper angelic behavior, I was certain she would’ve thrown something at Misha.

“You have absolutely NO clue, do you? Everything has to be twisted in your little world. Just because I spend time with Greggy does not mean that I’m sleeping with him!” Anna grabbed her things in one smooth movement and pushed past us, leaving in a similar fashion to Greggy.

Yep, Misha definitely had a way with people.

“That was so out of line, it’s not even funny,” I said.

“Please don’t start on me too.” Misha looked exhausted. “I only said what everyone else says about them. You know how bad things could get if someone believed the rumors and reported it. People get killed over stuff like that. I’m trying to protect them.”

This serious side of Misha was rare. She really did care about Greggy and Anna, but sometimes she had a strange way of showing it. Misha was right though. Any reports of an angel and demon engaging in a sexual relationship could result in a severe punishment or death.

“That might be true, but I’m sure you could’ve found a better way to say it. She’s going to be offended for days.”

Misha’s seriousness faded and was replaced by a cheeky smile. She wriggled her fingers at me. “I’ll zap some sense into her.”

“Yeah, I’m sure she’d appreciate that,” I said with a roll of my eyes.

***

With Anna gone and Tyrone still asleep, I left Misha in the library to keep an eye on him while I snuck out to get some fresh air. Misha was under strict instructions to call me as soon as Tyrone woke up. He was a heavy sleeper though, so I didn’t think it would be any time soon.

A few minutes later, I entered the school garden—well, it was more of a labyrinth. I felt completely at peace as I wandered amongst the hedges that seemed to stretch for miles. There wasn’t a clear idea in my mind of where I was headed, but as my feet led me deeper and deeper into the maze, the serenity and solitude settled in around me, taking me away from the noise of the school.

The tranquility was mainly due to the time of night. Most of the students were either in their rooms, in the library, or training, so I knew I could stay here for a while undisturbed. I wasn’t really in the mood to run into any gawkers that stared at me like I was a three-legged sideshow act at the circus.

Several minutes later, I broke into a small clearing within the maze. A lone, marble statue of an angel formed the center of a fountain; water gushed from atop her head. Before I’d run away from school, this had always been my go-to place whenever something was weighing on my mind. The angel, who always looked calm and wise, usually gave me comfort, but today she looked just as lonely and forlorn as I felt.

With a sigh, I closed my eyes and let the silence descend upon me; the rushing water from the fountain was the only sound that filled my ears. I tried to clear my mind and focus on the task that Valeska had given me. She had been certain that I alone would be able to find the Triad object, so maybe being a mortal had some sort of role to play in that. The only problem was I didn’t know what that could be.

Crunch.

My eyes flew open at the sound of footsteps approaching in my direction. From the tread and the lack of accompanying voices, I could tell that the person was alone. As they drew closer, I flattened myself against the hedge, hoping that whoever it was would continue on their way and not see me. Unfortunately, the steps slowed as they broke into the clearing and stopped.

Dread settled around my stomach as I immediately recognized the tall frame, the broad shoulders, and the dark blonde hair. I didn’t need him to turn around to know that I would be met with handsome features and deep, blue eyes that haunted me.

It was Talon.

Trapped, and with nowhere to go, I could only watch in fascination as he studied the fountain for a few seconds. Finally, he raised a hand and sent a small ball of flame hurtling towards the pouring water where it danced around in circles before being quenched.

“Nice trick,” I said, before I could stop myself. “Did your new girlfriend teach you that?”

Talon’s body stiffened at the sound of my voice and when he eventually did turn around to face me, his fists were clenched tight. His eyes drank in every inch of me in a way that made my face heat up. He had no right to look at me that way. He’d thrown away that privilege when he’d ruined my life.

We continued to stare at each other for another minute before I broke the awkward silence. “Well, this has been fun, but I really must leave.” I made a move to turn and walk away, cursing the odds of running into him here.

“Kat, wait.” The sound of his voice triggered an aching in my chest that I’d been certain had disappeared a long time ago. I hated not having control of my emotions. I hated feeling weak.

Despite wanting to be as far away from him as possible, I stopped and waited for him to say something.

Relief filled his face and he half-smiled. “I, uh, it’s good to see you.”

“I wish I could say the same,” I said, my tone cold.

Talon flinched under my gaze and ran a hand through his hair nervously. He looking like he was trying to figure out what to say. Maybe in his head, things had played out differently. Maybe he’d expected me to get over what he’d done and forgive him. Did he think that just because I was a mortal my feelings were worthless? Well, he had another thing coming.

“Where’s your girlfriend? It must be a great feeling not having to hide her,” I said with a hint of malice in my voice. I knew it was petty of me, and I was getting far too drawn into the conversation, but I wanted to hurt him the way he’d hurt me.

“I never wanted to hide you.” Talon sounded pained and I wanted to drop the ice queen act, but I couldn’t. I didn’t want to let him in ever again, not after what he’d done to me.