Eliza had just finished speaking to Quentin, her heels clicking softly against the tiled corridor as she turned to leave only to stop short with a sharp gasp. Standing before her was Kai, gleaming with an unreadable expression.
"Hello, Professor," he said, the words rolling off his tongue in a tone so smooth it sent phantom shivers dancing down her spine.
Kai was standing right in front of her, hands in pockets.
"So you're just going to pop up and leave," he continued, voice soft, "without saying hello?"
Eliza straightened herself, She recovered quickly, tilting her chin. "Well," she said sharply, "I have more important things to do than wait around to greet everyone."
Kai took a single step forward. The space between them disappeared until she was forced to tilt her chin to meet his eyes.
"Ouch, Eliza. I'm hurt." His mouth curved in a humorless smile. "After the time we both had last time?"
Her eyes flicked to his lips. She swallowed, her thighs brushing together in a subtle, subconscious gesture before she caught herself. "You're a big boy, I'm sure you'll be just fine," she snapped, covering her own slip with a cutting tone.
Kai chuckled, a sound that made the air seem denser. "I see you've spoken to Quentin," he went on.
"I have," she replied, her tone more composed now. "I gave him a little advice."
"Regarding Penny? Or your brother currently squatting inside an innocent's body down in the Clean Room?"
That stopped her cold. Her eyes narrowed. "How did—"
"Oh, that doesn't matter, Jane," Kai interrupted coolly. "What matters is how I can safely sever your brother's hold off him."
Her gaze softened. Almost pitying. "Oh, you poor thing." She touched her fingers to her temple. "There isn't a way to do so."
Kai frowned, dangerous stillness creeping into him. "Why?"
Her lips curled into something like pity. "The spell Martin used on Mike burned off his shade. That body? It's just a husk now. Even if it were salvaged, it'd be nothing but an empty shell."
Kai's expression darkened. "So the only way to stop Martin in that body—"
"—is to kill the body," Eliza finished, her voice flat.
Kai exhaled sharply, as though the air had been punched from his lungs. Kai sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Oh." His eyes flicked over her shoulder, then back. "And if you're planning to go see him," he added, tone suddenly darker, "I suggest you don't."
Eliza's eyes twinkled, though her voice betrayed curiosity. "What are you talking about?"
"It might not end well for you," Kai warned, voice an edged hush.
Eliza's lips quirked in a sad, almost fond smile. "Oh, you mean that…," she said, cryptic as ever.
Kai gave her a side-eye. "What the hell does that mean?"
"There's always a price for everything we do, Kai," she whispered, stepping closer. She pressed a brief, lingering kiss against his lips. He reached to pull her in but she pulled away just as quickly.
"Always," she repeated, her gaze solemn now. "Everyone will be where they need to be, when they need to be. Goodbye."
Then she turned and walked away, leaving Kai staring after her, more unsettled than he liked to admit.
---
The Hospital Room
Professor Lipson stood quietly in a corner, clipboard in hand, as Quentin and Alice stood before a bowl. Between them, Quentin handed Alice a crumpled candy wrapper. She took it, set it alight with a quiet click of magic, then dropped the burning scrap into the bowl.
Kai leaned back against the wall, arms folded as the vine embedded in Penny's stomach began to smoke, hissing as if steam was rising straight from his soul.
'How original,' Kai thought acidly. 'Of course the curse wasn't tied to the blade. Fate was just snapping back into place.'
He looked again and noticed Alice's hand curling over Quentin's fingers. A thought crystallized.
'Is it because of that?' This was what fate wanted, the crucible to bring those two closer.
This ordeal wasn't just punishment. It was orchestration. It was about bringing them closer.
He sighed, eyes drifting shut for a moment.
"I hate fate."
Then his eyelids snapped open. 'Speaking of fate… now that Julia isn't with Richard, Who the hell is going to replace her? And if Richard's group still summons that fox god…'
He pressed his thumb to his forehead, thinking. 'How the hell do I stop them from summoning that damn fox spirit?'
'Maybe I can stop it,'he mused. 'Or maybe I should just prepare for when they do. Either way…'
"First things first."
Kai straightened and left the hospital room. There was another meeting he still needed to continue.
---
The hallway was mostly empty, he was halfway past the old conservatory when his vampiric hearing picked up something: a ragged, muffled struggle.
Kai's head turned sharply.
Without hesitation, he vanished in a blur.
But it was already too late.
By the time he reached the clean room, The first thing that hit him was the metallic stench and coppery tang of blood that was thick in the air. He stepped inside the clean room, eyes sweeping fast and saw Mike or rather, Martin whose face was caked in gore, grinning with feral calm.
Kai didn't wait to hear whatever was about to crawl out of that mouth. He surged forward, snatched him by the throat, and hurled him bodily back into the room. Mike slammed against the far wall, ribs cracking.
Kai stepped in after him
Kai's gaze snapped to the floor where Eliza's headless body lay in a widening pool of crimson.
He didn't speak. Not at first. He just stared. Then slowly turned to Martin staggered upright, lifting one blood-slick hand. His lips parted.
Kai's voice was low and even. "I thought I told you… don't bother pretending with me."
Martin then laughed with Mike's ruined voice, but it was cut short as Kai blurred forward again, his hand tightening around Mike's throat.
"You and I," Kai whispered, eyes glowing faintly, "we're going to pick up where we left off."
A sudden voice cut through the tension.
"Oh God…"
Professor Fogg stood at the door, staring at Eliza's remains.
"Kai… put him down."
Kai didn't turn. "This isn't your student anymore, Fogg. It's a meat puppet. The only mercy left is to end it."
He pulled Mike closer, their faces inches apart. "And as for you Martin…"
His vampire visage surfaced eyes dark, fangs bared.
"I will hunt you until there is nothing left of you but a burning corpse beneath my feet. If you think all the magic in the Wellspring can save you… you are sorely mistaken." He tightened his grip. Martin's eyes widened, his hand clawing at Kai's wrist.
Martin struggled but then, with a sharp CRACK, his neck snapped. The body crumpled to the floor like an empty sack.
Kai turned his ears catching the sound of a new arrival.
It was Eliot, standing frozen in the doorway, eyes fixed on the scene before him. His expression tight.
Kai gave him a long look as his gaze met his.
'Better me than you, buddy,' he thought grimly.
Read an advance of 10+ chapters on my Patreon🌚🌚🌚🌚
Patreon.com/Fredozy