Katazyna's POV

I snap my head up and look towards the sound. A growl emits from low in my throat. The fool. I narrow my eyes and smile.

"Amar," I purr, "it has been too long."

"Not long enough," he says, his facial expression mirroring mine.

"Oh, come now," I pout, sticking my lower lip out. "You don't really mean that. We used to be so close." I see Gemma, the brat, give Amar a disgusted look.

"You're joking," she says flatly.

"Oh, no, darling. Dear Amar and I used to be inseparable. He was my dearest friend."

"I was your plaything," he corrects me. "You'll never have a friend.

"Tut, tut," I say. "Is that any way to speak to a lady?"

"You're no lady," Gemma snaps, glaring at me.

"Oh, my, if looks could kill!" I say, laughing lightly.

"Why are you laughing, you wretch?" I drop my carefree manner and saunter over to her dangerously. Quite the tongue she has.

"What did you just call me?" If my icy demeanor daunts her, she does not betray it. Those freakish green eyes stare back at me, shining with defiance.

"A wretch." I slap her hard across her freckled cheek and her mouth shapes an O of surprise. Satisfied that she will hold her silence, I turn to Amar.

"What can I do for you?" I ask, trailing a finger along his jaw line. I laugh when he jerks his head. "Oh, you and your brother are so alike," I sigh in his ear. "So easy to get a reaction out of."I walk around him, a panther stalking its prey. I see him cast a look over towards his brother, and Gemma follows his gaze. The look on her face amuses me. It is a mixture of horror, hatred, and love. Human emotions. They do not faze me. They never have. I bask in the joy it brings me to ruin other people's lives. Why let others be happy when it is so easy to take that away?

Amar, too, contorts his face as he takes in the sad sight of his little brother. Little baby Kartik, unconscious and bloody, almost like a corpse. Mmm, tragic. I wish I cared more.

Oh, I do not, who am I fooling? Watching these emotions…it is what fuels my fire, that insatiable urge to cause pain and cataclysm. It is what keeps me alive. Waiting, watching, until someone breaks, much like our Miss Doyle is about to do. I can see her bobbing on her toes, torn between staying near Amar and racing to her doomed love's side. The pain…the sadness…keep it coming, Gemma, it will only make me stronger.

"Tell me," I whisper to her, "what is it like to watch the one you love slowly slip away? To watch his breath become ragged, watch his heart slow? I say!" I exclaim as she pushes past me and races over to him. "Dreadful manners."

"Oh, shut UP, you hag!" Gemma screams, launching her shoes at me. I will have to take care of this one. She's far too bold for her own good.

Gemma's POV

"Kartik, Kartik," I whisper, holding his head in my lap. I rip a piece of cloth off of my skirts and wipe the blood that trails down his cheek. "What has she done to you?" I get no response. I rest my head against his chest, listening to his slow heartbeat. His heart reacts as I touch him. "Are you still with us?" I ask sadly, tracing a finger along his lips, along his cheeks, down to his heart.

"Our Gemma is in love," Katazyna croons, approaching. "How terribly sad this is, losing the only one who does not care that you are a freak…or is it because he is a freak, too?" Her whisper lingers in my ears and I look up at her, willing myself not to cry. Not in front of her.

"What is it you have against him, against anyone here?" I question, narrowing my eyes. "What has he done to you that has caused you to lash out against him? Or is it," I say, a challenge rising in my voice, "because you have no one to love? Because no one loves you? And rightly so, you evil hag. You push people away. You hurt them. You are poison."

"You little-,"

"Go ahead," I say, cutting her off. "Insult me all you want, but it will not change a thing. I will hate you, you will hate me, and all the while, my friends are dying because of you. So if you will excuse me, I have more important things to do than to argue with you."

Honestly, though, I have no clue what to do. I do not know how to save Kartik. I do not know how to revive Ann and Fee…I am clueless, and I have no way to change it.

A/N: I am very sorry that I have not updated in close to a year. College started, and I have come to a standstill in this stories. Suggestions? Read and review, please!