Hours later
Kai stood with a lazy grin, hands in his pockets, watching Alice pace like a trapped rabbit. Her face was pale, her eyes darting, her breath shallow.
"You know," Kai drawled, tilting his head, "you look like a kid caught sneaking cookies before dinner." His tone dripped with sarcasm.
Alice shot him a glare, her voice trembling. "This is a terrible plan Kai. A very, very terrible plan."
Kai smirked. "Terrible plans are the best plans."
"That's not logical," Alice snapped, folding her arms and forcing herself to stop pacing. "Terrible plans fall apart immediately. They get people killed. They're fragile, unpredictable, and they crumble under the slightest pressure. A terrible plan isn't a good plan at all."
While she spoke, Kai simply stared at her with an exaggerated blank expression, his brows raised as though she were speaking another language. When she finally paused for breath, he shrugged.
"It's called a metaphor, Alice. You don't have to dissect it."
She flushed slightly, looking sheepish. "Oh… right. I… might have overthought that." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Why isn't he here yet?"
And that was the root of it, her panic. She wasn't just standing outside to enjoy the beautiful afternoon breeze. No, she was bait. They'd placed her in what used to be Brakebills' lush garden, now nothing but a scattered clearing and ruined hedges. Worse was she was beyond the wards thanks to Kai of course. The very line she'd sworn never to cross, the very condition the Beast had laid down that if she ever stepped outside the wards, he would come for her and he would kill her.
Kai's smile thinned. 'I'm counting on it.'
Alice's pacing grew frantic, muttering worst-case scenarios under her breath.
"Calm down," Kai said finally, his tone uncharacteristically soft. "I'm here with you."
She stopped only to shake her head. "A lot could go wrong, Kai! Too many variables with this plan and could collapse instantly…"
He rolled his eyes. "All the preparations are in place. Honestly, I don't see how this plan can go wrong at all."
The words had barely left his mouth before there was a wet, sickening squelch.
Alice's scream split the air as Kai's eyes widened and blood pooled in his mouth. He looked down and saw six dark skinned fingers had punched through his chest, slick with blood, missing his heart by mere inches.
'When did he—?'
Before the thought could finish, the hand ripped free, nearly tearing his heart with it. He collapsed to his knees, blood spilling down his shirt.
Standing behind him was Fogg, dressed immaculately in a white suit.
Kai's lips curled despite the pain. "Didn't know they made those in white."
Fogg tilted his head, examining him like a specimen. "Impressive. You're still alive."
With a flick of his finger, Kai's neck snapped. His body went limp as the light faded from his eyes.
Fogg stepped past the corpse, his eyes glowing faintly blue. His smile widened as he turned to Alice, who trembled violently.
"You've been a very naughty girl Alice," he crooned, voice dripping with mock gentleness. "So disobedient."
Alice stumbled back, shaking her head. "Please—wait—"
"You've forced my hand. Now I must… punish you." He stepped closer, savoring her terror and then suddenly he stopped. A low chuckle rumbled from his throat.
"Oh… you almost fooled me."
With a sharp swipe of his hand, an invisible blade sliced through the air. Alice unable to move fast enough was hit, but instead of blood and a bloody gash, the blade phased harmlessly through her form, carving a nearby tree in half. Her image then flickered
and vanished like a broken screen.
Fogg chuckled. "A mirage projection. Clever. I'm impressed."
He turned around only to find the spot where Kai's body should have been was empty. His smile faltered into a sigh. "Pests."
His voice reached through the halls as he strode into Brakebills, his words echoing off stone and glass. "Run, hide, deceive but it only delays the inevitable."
With barely an effort he teleported and appeared before a stunned Alice. She barely turned to flee before his blade slashed across her back, dropping her to the floor.
"Nice try." He ground his heel on her back only for her body to shimmer and vanish again.
Fogg scowled. "This illusion nonsense grows tiresome. Alice. And you guest of Brakebills. Alice why don't you be a dear and tell your visitor to step forward and introduce himself properly."
"Sure," came a sarcastic voice behind him.
Fogg whirled just as a spinning disc cut through the air with lethal speed. His telekinesis froze it mid-flight only for a second disc to bury itself deep into his shoulder. He snarled, wrenching it free.
Kai blurred out of sight again.
"Pointless," Fogg sneered, stalking forward. "And rude. Come out like a gentleman."
The floor trembled. Behind him, Kai shimmered into view, holding a beam poised at his head.
Fogg reacted instantly his spell obliterated the entire section of the hall where Kai had showed up in a thunderous blast.
But his victory lasted only a heartbeat. His leg snapped sideways with a sickening crunch.
Kai now stood at his right, smirking. "Renovation's a nightmare you know? Wonder if the insurance covers this."
Fogg's second leg shattered. Then his arms. He screamed in rage as Kai leaned closer.
"Oh right, of course… insurance isn't really an option, seeing as you killed the people funding this place and all." His voice was pure venom wrapped in sarcasm.
And then Fogg vanished.
Kai's smirk dropped, every muscle tensing. He scanned the shadows and then blurred out of sight in search for his more defenseless partner.
The classroom was silent, shadows stretching long across broken desks. Kai slipped inside, scanning the emptiness with sharp eyes and urgency. Moving to the front left corner, he reached out and pressed against the air. The shimmer broke, and Alice flickered into sight revealed from his cloaking spell.
"What happened?" she whispered urgently, her fear bleeding through her voice. "I thought you said you'd lure him here."
Kai turned, stepping instinctively in front of her, his arm shielding. "I did."
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