CHAPTER 1 – Gasp and Breathe
Angel's wings were the first thing to fill Kai's line of sight, rotating above him like a mobile above a child's crib. He'd hit the ground with the force of what felt like a full-speed tractor trailer and his aching lungs were void of oxygen, the wind having been knocked out of him on the way down. Or back. Or whatever it was.
Admittedly, he couldn't say he had any frame of reference for what'd just happened to him except for the first day he'd arrived at the hellhole he'd called his home for the past almost 20 years:
There'd been the forest trees and the chanting. Then the indescribable pain – a combination of sizzling flesh and the continued, tight constriction of every muscle in his body. It warped him from the inside out and pulled at his limbs like rack torture, trying to separate him at the seams. He heard popping in the background, and with horror, thought it to be joints, cartilage and bone; the conclusion made him wonder if his punishment was to be a new twist on his family's specialty in disappearance – maybe they intended to dissolve him into a billion bloody drops and make him dissipate like mist until he was no more. And as frightened as he was, true to his macabre nature, even that threatened to make him laugh. Maybe he was the dark force King had in mind, found lurking in The Mist. Kai's throat was raw from his screams.
Mystery solved.
But just as that thought met its completion, a bright light blinded him, drowning out their voices with a woosh followed by a thick darkness as he was tossed like a rag doll into an alternate universe by a family that never wanted him. They'd excised him, malignant as he was, and undoubtedly gone on with their lives; in their absence, the physical darkness of his dimly-lit hometown was first. The emotional darkness of his solitude came with the sun.
And at the time, after coming to from the broken neck he'd received upon arrival (intended by the clan head to give him a taste of the immortality they'd "gifted" him with, he'd bet), Kai couldn't tell which hurt more – the abandonment or the landing. Now, he just didn't care.
But that wasn't because he was over it. Not by any means. The wounds were still painful and after 18 years, they'd nowhere near healed as well as many would have expected for them to. Especially, his father'd probably quip, for a bastard like him who deserved every bit of it. No. Although old, they'd only become septic, having festered, seeped and crusted over into the nearly persistent, throbbing flow of hate he now felt swelling through him again.
"Well that's one piece of luggage that didn't get lost on the trip over," he muttered. "Thank heavens."
He groaned, closing his eyes until his nausea subsided. Then, with a soft breath, his eyes opened to find the stone statue of an angel, sitting upon a tombstone. The sight made him blink again and sit up, looking around curiously (and very, very slowly).
A graveyard surrounded him and just behind his body, he discovered what'd put him in so much pain during the crash landing. Some part of him had gone body-first into one of the tombstones, knocking it over and cracking it to pieces. Kai winced, vaguely and unhappily made aware of how slowly healing went in the real world where the intention's most often to kill you off quickly instead of keep you around forever.
But gritting his teeth, he made it to his feet with some effort and brushed himself off slightly, finding his messenger bag and walking toward the direction of sound. He heard automobile noises and the sound of society living minute to minute, no more disturbed by his arrival than the tens of statues in the graveyard he'd not smashed into. He'd only bothered the existence of one of a hundred stones and likewise, as but one person in a population of many, he'd made it back in relative silence, all things considered.
Kai flexed his fingers and tried to stretch as a wind shook the trees around him and he followed the pathway to the street, traveling until he found something familiar. As far as he could gather, the forest they'd transported him from had been transformed into the graveyard that was now connected to a church with a park nearby. The sun, beginning to dip low behind the trees, stirred the children sitting on the swings in a park across the street.
They tugged at their backpacks and laughed gleefully, joking and making their way down the sidewalk to the houses a short ways off. The wind caught Kai from behind, making him shiver and blowing leaves into the hair of one of the girls present. Fairly young, she'd taken her little brother's hand to run toward an older sibling calling to them from the park's edge. But with the leave catching her hair, she stopped short to shake her head free of them.
Blond ringlets glittered in the fading sunlight, reminding Kai of his little sister, Olivia. As one of his three remaining siblings, he was forward to reuniting with her most. Because although she'd been born first and her twin brother, Lucas, was the runt of the two, as the first in line for leadership, Kai could sense how weak she was in comparison. And despite being the family leech, nature hadn't passed him up on the other qualities normally bestowed upon Gemini leaders.
Kai'd spent most of his time putting that of tactics to good use as he planned his revenge like a full course dinner, assembling and dissembling possibilities and evaluating them for accuracy and maximum, bloody satisfaction. Continuing down the path, Kai watched the children make it home with a slew of busy conversation but he heard not a word of it. Instead, the slightest trace of an order slipped into his brain, as if carried by the wind:
Weak prey means little resistance. Easy come, easy go.
Olivia and Lucas were the appetizers and Josette the entrée.
And he'd dine richly on the coven as his main course.
But his father would only be allowed for dessert.
He didn't expect the first two to be much of a threat as within the family hierarchy, with the progression of twins comes the diminishing in strength of power. Olivia was weaker than Lucas and Lucas weaker than Josette, even without the active presence of her power. From there, the question was which of the two is strongest – Kai or Josette.
With Bonnie's indirect help, he'd realized that Josette, hoping to keep her power away from him during their original attempt at a merge ceremony, hid it in the knife he'd stabbed her with. The trick is that the connection between that power and its source person is never completely severed – with the right persistence, it can always return just as Bonnie's did at the grocery store. And this is due to the master root source being the entirety of the planet which, of course, living humans are always actively present on in some way, shape or form and so, unless otherwise hindered, can access as needed.
But even with Josette possibly having her powers, Kai now had them, too, even if only for a limited time. He'd have to move quickly and intelligently, sure, but although the verdict was out on which of the two is strongest, Kai had his suspicions that if nothing else, a little nudge in the right direction would get her to fold as he needed.
She never wanted any part in family politics anyway and maybe, he mused, she has a life she'd rather live to old age as opposed to being cut down while still in her prime. Kai was a psychopath, but he was still human. And despite her participation in his capture, because of his memories of her, she was still, he begrudgingly admitted, his favorite. As before, he'd grant her that leniency if she stepped out of his way.
Kai found his mind racing with the possibility of that, trying to sort out what now to do with his newly-found freedom. He'd not realized, however, that he'd stopped in front of the church during his thoughts, and unsure how long he'd been standing there, he turned, grasping for the handle in an effort not to stand out like a suspicious sore thumb. The door budged with a slight turn of the knob and in Kai pushed, shoes squeaking on the waxed floor.
He flinched, not wanting to encounter another human so quickly without first having a good cover story to back himself up. But inching the door closed, he waited and felt relief wash over him as quickly as the building's silence did. The vaulted ceiling made his steps echo as he explored, looking for a phone or an address book. He found both and sat down in one of the pews closest to the front, searching through the pages until he found the number for a cab.
Getting one to agree to pick him up and take him to the nearest hotel (and tomorrow, the nearest Greyhound or train station) was easy enough, making him thankful for his bringing quite a bit of cash with him for the ride. But now, all Kai had was time to pass while waiting for it to arrive. So he stared, looking around and taking in the room in its entirety.
The church had its share of stained-glass windows illuminated by what looked to be electronic candles glittering beneath them. The surrounding lights made the walls glow in panels so that, while adequate for reading, they were dimmed in so strategically a sequence that the inside of the building felt ethereal and otherworldly. This room, with the pews, made up the main area of the building with the only other rooms being that of bathrooms, a small eating area with a kitchen and a type of office off to the side.
Lost in his thoughts, Kai jumped at the sound of one of the doors outside the room closing. Walking followed with heavy footsteps and the crinkle noises of bags that for a minute, brought Kai back into his memories, to the times he'd heard grocery bags being carried by Bonnie and Damon during their weekly shopping trips. Kai could only continue to stare, waiting for the "who, what, when, where and whys" of the situation to reveal themselves.
The person was a man, moderately tall, but hidden behind an assortment of bags and a box being carried in his hands. His face, moustache and higher, could be just seen over the box and having turned around to face him, the sight of Kai managed to startle him in return, inspiring a high pitched "whoa!" and a side step out of him. Kai grinned, genuinely humored and, to his surprise, slightly better since his tumultuous fall a short while ago.
"Well, hey there! Sorry to startle ya. And startle ya with my bein' startled mahself for that matter! Just came back from getting' these copies made and wantin' t'get an early start on puttin' them in place fer tomorrah-ahh…" Just then, the beginning of a sneeze broke the man's concentration and in a flurry of activity and heavy items, he backed further into the main room, circling around in the wrong direction for a table to stop his fall. Curious as to the man's identity, Kai eased up out of the seat, swiftly catching the man's bags before they dropped. He itched to use his powers to bring the table closer but thought better of it, quickly walking to the one off to the side and placing the items on it before stepping back to a safe distance.
He waited for the "choo!" but instead, the man simply hiccupped the smallest of "hic's" imaginable and blinked, bewildered. A belly laugh came out of his kind face. "Well there ya go! Just like the weather here – doesn't know what it wants ta' do nor when it wants ta' do'it!"
"Surely seems so," Kai answered with a smile, helping the man finish putting down his bags.
"Why thank ya kindly, sir. I'm mighty obliged." Reaching out to shake Kai's hand, he introduced himself. "The name's Paul. Nice to make yer acquaintance." Busying himself with unpacking the bags, he glanced up again. "Odd seeing anyone in ona weeknight though. What brought ya in tonight? The lights or the crazy wind out there?"
"Definitely the wind. I didn't expect it to be quite so cold out there. It's always Spring, going on Summer at my last house."
"I know what'cha mean. Coming from the Southeast's made for a shock. I've only been here 5 years, but haven't ever seen ya round. Are ya new here too or just visitin'?"
"Well… just testing the waters again, I guess. My parents live a little ways away but I've spent so much time away that I decided to give Portland a try for a while. I've read some good things about it."
"Ah, well, ya don't say? Good to hear! This isa nice community and we're always glad fer newcomers. Say, we're havin' a neighborhood barbecue soon, too. It's what the flyers're fer." Paul opened one of the boxes, pulling out a flyer and handing it to Kai with a kind smile. "Maybe ya can stop by and get to know yer possible neighbors. We're even starting a 'Big Brothers, Big Sisters' program."
It was tempting, if for no other reason than to make waves and find out if family was still as plentiful in the area as they used to be. But that'd go against the plan and so was an unnecessary addition to an itinerary he'd been planning too long to divert from now. And just the thought of his family was already beginning to sour his mood. So badly so that he was grateful to hear the honking of the cab outside just then. Kai pulled on his messenger and started to head for the door.
"Ah… thanks, but no thanks," he answered brusquely. "I don't really do get-togethers. They make me a little uncomfortable."
"No worries at all! But ya look pretty young yerself, actually… or at least around yer early twenties" He turned again, rustling through his package of materials, to tear open the plastic wrap covering another set of flyers. Rising, he walked closer, intending to hand Kai another flyer. "Would ya be interested in attendin' our father/son study breakfasts? This weekend we'll be doin' a study on our understandin' of God the Father and-…"
"I said no thanks." Kai growled over his shoulder, his hair bristling. "The one I had at birth was bad enough, okay?" The thirst for blood and retribution bubbled up into his belly again, making the strap of his bag shift on his squared shoulders. "I've had my fill of questionable father figures and the anger they encourage. Enough to last both my lifetime… and hopefully, soon his."
With that, Kai made his way out the building, slamming the church door with a thud before Paul could respond. Once in the backseat of the cab, he could feel his head clearing; making room as his plans reformed to perfection, etched into his memory. He could finally breathe again. And settling into that familiar, all-encompassing anticipation, he disappeared into the night.
A/N. Rated M for subject matter but likely very little profanity and while there's possibility for tastefully done love scenes, there will be no smut. Sorry. I can't comprehend what the appeal of literary smut is and can't bring myself to write it. It 'does not compute' for me. Because standards. (LOL It is what it is. I am what I am).
Hope Ch. 1 turned out well enough for consumption though for those not minding the lack of the aforementioned aspects. :) I'm not sure I want to continue this further so if you'd like the story continued, let me know. Let's just say I honestly didn't expect it to turn out as it does. Honestly. It's not how I originally planned this chapter. At all (and I may edit out the accent, ffr/fyi). Some might like the new ending. Some might not.
Also, numerous apologies for the cricket-filled silence. It amazes me how fast time passes (was sick again, work, school, blegh).
Ugh. But better late than never, yeah? lol.
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. No copyright infringement intended.