Melissa's fingers brushed his coat pocket lightly, so lightly that Kai almost didn't notice. But when he felt the weight of folded paper slip in, his eyes flicked toward her, curious.
'When the hell did she—?'
She caught his look and smiled, a soft curve that hinted she knew he'd caught on. "You could… call me sometime," she said quietly, her tone casual but eyes deliberate.
Kai tilted his head, reading her more than her words. "That sounds like a command, or maybe you want to invite me to stay" he said in his usual cool tone but there was something beneath it.
For a brief second, her smile faltered, her pupils dilated then she blinked hard and straightened. "Or maybe an invitation," she countered. "Actually, why don't you stay? Join us."
That earned a few startled looks from around the room. Dana's brows shot up, her slice of pizza forgotten halfway to her mouth.
Kai gave a polite chuckle and shook his head. "I'd love to, but I've still got a few deliveries left."
"Then what's one more delay?" Melissa chimed in. "Let him breathe, Melissa." Said Claire who rolled her eyes at her.
Sasha nodded in agreement, teasing, "Yeah, the poor guy looks like he's been running all day. Besides, he probably has other deliveries to get to."
Melissa waved a hand dismissively. "Surely he can spare a few minutes of his time."
Dana leaned in with a grin. "Yeah, come on, just a few minutes won't hurt."
Before Kai could respond, the sound of footsteps echoed from upstairs. Rose came down first, followed by Leah, both drawn by Sasha's call. Rose's eyes landed on Kai and for a fleeting second, her entire presence shifted. The air around her thickened, colder somehow.
"And who's this?" she asked lightly, tilting her head. "Didn't know we were having guests."
Melissa turned toward her. "This is Kai the delivery guy."
'Ouch, did she have to add that part.'
"Ohh," Rose said simply, descending the last few steps. She moved with quietly forward, grabbed a slice from the counter, and murmured something under her breath before taking a bite.
Leah smiled faintly. "Don't mind her, she has to 'bless' everything before she eats it."
Kai chuckled nervously. "Yeah uhh, I noticed that."
Rose raised a brow. "Something funny about that?"
Kai shrugged. "Not funny. Just… peculiar."
Melissa laughed lightly. "It's just a simple prayer. Nothing more."
"Oh, you lot are religious then?" Kai asked.
Dana snorted, folding her arms. "Religious? Not exactly. More like… connected."
"Connected, huh," Kai murmured, glancing around the room. "Guess that explains all the statues. You've got a lot of them."
Sasha leaned back on her chair. "Each one represents an aspect of the Lady. They're more than just symbols."
"The Lady?" Kai echoed, feigning curiosity as he sipped from his cup. "You mean the Lady Underground?"
The air froze.
Everyone went still. Even the hum of the fridge seemed to fade. Claire's voice was the first to break the silence. "How do you know about that?"
Kai looked around, acting nonchalant. "Heard about it from the store downtown. You know the one that sells antiques and all that. Hard to miss."
A faint creak echoed through the room. Kai turned his head just enough to see one of the statue's eyes… leaking. Not blood, but something dark, resin-like, oozing down the cheek.
His instincts flared at that moment as he looked back sensing a spike in magic.
Then he saw Rose lift her hand and a spinning white disc formed in her hands.
"Please," Kai said evenly, eyes locked on her. "Don't do that."
The spinning white disc of energy left her hand before he could finish. Kai's body twisted sharply, the projectile slicing clean through the air and embedding itself deep into the wall where he'd stood.
"Okay, okay let's all calm down," he said, straightening up. "I'm not here to hurt anyone—"
Another blast shot at him and he dodged it again as the room erupted into chaos.
"Who the hell are you?!" Leah shouted, pulling magic to her fingertips.
"I'm a magician!" Kai snapped, ducking behind the table as another surge of energy shattered a nearby lamp. "I came to warn you!"
"Warn us about what?!" Melissa shouted, her voice shaking between fury and confusion.
Kai's tone sharpened, his words calm but cutting through the noise. "There's a god killing worshippers of the Lady Underground."
The words struck them like a physical blow.
Sasha frowned. "Why?"
"Because," Kai said grimly, "he's her son. Raynard. And he's not exactly fond of restraint." His jaw tightened. "He's been… raping and murdering your people."
"You're lying!" Melissa screamed, magic crackling in her palm.
"Prove it!" Claire shouted next.
"I can't," Kai admitted, lowering his tone. "But I'm not your enemy. I don't have anything against you."
Rose's eyes narrowed. "Then what do you want with this god?"
Kai's voice was steady. "To make sure he doesn't hurt anyone again." A faint edge crept into his words. "Even if that means removing him permanently."
Immediately after Kai said that the air shifted and he felt the hair in his body all spike up in a jolt. Rose's expression hardened. "I can't let you do that."
Before Kai could react, he was thrown across the room by an unseen force, slamming against the wall.
"Hey! What are you doing?!" Dana shouted.
Kai groaned, rising to his feet. The aura around Rose pulsed and increased beyond what a normal person should have and it felt wrong in every sense. He felt something invasive in her.
"Shit," he muttered. "She's possessed."
Rose laughed, but it wasn't her voice. "I can't let you harm him."
Kai's tone darkened. "You're letting him do this to innocent people?"
"I'm not letting him," she snarled, her eyes flickering gold. "But I can't always intervene."
Kai scoffed, anger rising. "What the hell are you doing right now then, you stupid bitch—"
She raised her hand again and Kai blurred forward too fast for any of them to see, there was a weird tearing sound that followed.
And when they were finally able to comprehend what just happened, Rose was on the ground, lifeless with her throat torn out.
Kai stood over her with her throat in his hand dripping blood on the rug before he dropped it, his face unreadable. "Guess that's what happens when you interfere with your own intervention." His tone was laced with bitter sarcasm.
He didn't have time to breathe before another spell threw him through the table. He rolled, eyes snapping toward them and that's when he saw it.
Each of them from Melissa, Dana, Claire, Leah to Sasha. They all had their eyes glowed faintly with the same golden hue.
"Fucking bitch," Kai muttered under his breath, realizing the goddess had touched them all.
He exhaled, steadying himself. "I'm sorry," he said quietly and then he moved.
The next moments were a blur of motion and sound.
The spells they threw around crashed onto the Chairs as Kai dodged them all with his speed. Magic flared like lightning, bursting in waves that shook the walls due to the unstable nature of Magic now. Kai slipped through their attacks like smoke before lunging at Melissa and Leah and grabbed her next and in a quick succession he broke both their necks, Claire tried to attack from the bank but he caught her hand and pulled so hard he tore it off from her and smacked Sasha with it and Screams mixed with the crack of splintering wood and the thrum of unstable magic.
Dana lunged with a charm circle forming in her hand Kai twisted, her spell backfiring in a flash that dropped her to her knees. "Stay down," he growled.
But they didn't stop. None of them did.
One by one, he took them apart until the room was left in ruin and silence filled the air once more.
Kai stood among the carnage he had caused, breathing a little hard, surrounded by the aftermath of his own restraint and fury. His gaze swept the broken bodies, the overturned altar, the statue now weeping black tears onto the floor.
He dragged a hand down his face and whispered, "...Fuck."
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