Allie stood there, practically face to face with Kal, frozen. She just…froze. "I…I…" she stammered, looking at Kal's calm face and hate-filled eyes. "I can't. Please, Kal…don't ask me to do anything like that again." In spite of herself, Allie felt tears prick at her eyes. "Please don't. Don't talk like you expect me to actually do them." She was pleading, and she couldn't help it. Suddenly overcome by all the death she had seen that day (both by herself and in memories), she covered her face with her hands. "Please don't."
Allie felt that Kal was about to say something, but if he was, she never found out; Robin came along that moment, just before Kal retracted his wings into his back and placed his almost-human illusion over himself.
It took a moment for Robin to realize that his best friend was lying dead on the path. It only took a second to piece together that and Kal's bloody hand, and Allie standing with her hands over her face, as if in terror of the odd-looking man in front of her.
"You bastard!" Robin spat, closing the distance in between them with long strides.
With Kal's words still in her head, Allie dropped her hands and positioned herself between the two. "Robin, don't."
Hurt flashed across Robin's tanned and attractive face, shortly followed by confusion, then anger, all in less than a second. "Allie?"
"He didn't kill Jake," Allie sighed heavily, lying right to his face and hating herself for it, hating herself for protecting Kal.
"What? His hand is covered in blood!" Robin's eyes searched her face, suspicious. "He killed Jake. I can tell that just by glancing at him!"
Kal, whose back was still turned, said nothing, in his defense or otherwise.
"Kalendrakk Raee, you can move," Allie whispered under her breath, but he remained where he was.
"What did you say?"
"He's innocent, Robin."
"Then who killed him?" Robin snapped, waving his hand at Jake's body. "And why is Kal's hand covered in blood, then? Explain that!"
Allie looked at her feet and chewed her bottom lip. "I can't. It's too complicated."
"It seems incredibly simple to me. Kal murdered Jake, and, for some reason I don't understand, you're protecting him." He lifted her head and mad her look at him. He was angry, but hurt was also in his expression. "Why are you protecting him? He's a murderer, and you know it. Why are you defending him?"
I don't know, Allie thought hopelessly. Why don't you tell me that, Kal? Is it because I'm a stupid weak-stomached bleeding-hearted human? Is that why?
Again, Kal offered nothing.
"Why are you defending that bastard?" Robin snapped, now more angry than hurt, sorrow for who had been his almost-brother being shelved for the moment. "He has blood on his hands, and you're lying anyways! Why the hell are you defending him?"
Allie felt tears threaten again, and forced them back angrily. "He didn't kill Jake," she repeated, she forced herself to repeat.
Robin's hands clenched, perhaps in frustration and anger. If he was intending on hitting her, he changed his mind when Kal turned around and laid a hand protectively on Allie's shoulder. "Don't even think about it, Sparrow." Looking directly into the angry gypsy's eyes, he pulled Allie back a step towards him. "She's a bitch, and you know, I can't even stand looking at her any more. But if you even lay a hand on her, things will turn out badly for you. And you don't want to join Jake, there, do you, Sparrow?"
"It's Robin, you filthy, murdering low-life," he growled, though his hands relaxed. "Robin."
"I don't give a fuck, Sparrow," Kal told him calmly, drawing a gasp from Allie. "Come on, Princess. We're leaving." Before she could protest, he grabbed her arm and dragged her away into the cover of the trees. When they were out of sight, he picked her up and flew off.
Allie laid unmoving in the circle of his arms, afraid that he might drop her if she moved. And, true to his word, Kal didn't look down once at her.
Kal landed in the centre of town not long after, though Allie had fallen asleep during the flight. He glanced down at her, annoyed to find that she was holding onto the front of his shirt, the material gathered in her fists.
Instead of finding an inn or hotel to dump her off at (his supply of money was starting to dwindle), he walked to the very edge of all of the houses and shops and found an old oak tree. Kal was intending on leaving her to sleep right there, but she wouldn't let go.
"Wake up," he said, shaking her.
"Hmmm?" Allie cracked her eyes open; they were bloodshot. "Wha…" At first there was nothing but sleepy confusion; he supposed that she had, for a moment, forgotten everything. Then they hardened. "You…"
"Just let go of me, Princess."
"You killed Jake." Her hands tightened instead of loosening. "You…killed him."
"Get over it and let go."
"You killed Jake, and you hate me."
"Huh, seems you're not completely dense."
"I hate you too," she said slowly, blue eyes icy. "I hate you, Kalendrakk Raee."
He felt another odd feeling in his chest, something akin to what he had felt when he saw Allie and Robin together, but at the same time, different. "Glad to see we're on the same page, Princess," he said evenly.
"Kalendrakk Raee…I command you to stay right here for the rest of the night." She wormed out of his arms and stood by the tree. "I forbid you to try and harm me, and I forbid you to move until I otherwise say so. Got it? I won't have you killing anyone else."
"Very well," he managed to say through clenched teeth, and sat down a few yards off. "Fine."
Kal sat still as Allie curled up cat-like at the base of the tree and dozed off. When he was sure she was in a deep sleep, he relaxed his neck muscles until his head hung down, and hunched his shoulders forward. Slowly, he entered his preferred state of semi-consciousness. He could hear the deep, even breathing of Allie across from him, and the wind blowing through the leaves on the tree…even a few crickets a while off. But they all seemed distant, as if filtering through a wall before reaching him. H e retreated away from the normal world until he was aware of nothing but his music: he played it over and over again in a loop, an old Raven demon song with no words, only notes, hundreds and hundreds of intricate, flowing notes.
And for a long time, he wasn't aware of any hate or death.
Allie awoke to the sound of every-day town life: conversation, footsteps, and horses. Her body was stiff, and her black outfit was muddy; ditto her hair. Her eyes traveled to Kal, who sat not far away, apparently dozing, and felt an odd mixture of hate and regret. He was only trying to help me after all…should I forgive him?
No. There shouldn't be any excuse for taking another person's life. I should have just broken off connection with him after he killed my parents and everybody else. What if my being around him just made him more violent?
Don't think about it, Allie, she told herself, moving into a sitting position. Don't think about it.
As if Kal had heard her (and maybe he did) he opened his mis-matched eyes, alert as if he had never been asleep. "Why haven't you left?"
"I just woke up!" she snapped, hunger and the emotional exhaustion form the night before making her irritable. "Don't worry, I will."
"Then let me go."
"No. Not until I've had some time to think about what to do with you."
"You, thinking?" A wry smile twisted his face. "There's an oxy-moron."
"You--you—kiiyen-drose-t're!" Allie spat, without even thinking about her choice of words.
Kal yawned. "Don't even try—your voice slaughters that language even more than mine does."
Allie clenched her hands and fumed silently a moment before coming to an idea. "Kalendrakk Raee, just shut up."
He regarded her silently, eyes burning.
Now we both have something in common.
We both hate each other.
A lot.
Allie stood up slowly, the bones in her spine cracking into place. "I'm going to get breakfast. Don't you move."
She turned around and walked away without looking back.
More than a few people threw odd looks at her muddy and (for a girl) improper clothes, but most just ignored her and went about their business. Feeling a decent amount of francs in her pocket, she followed her nose to the bakery.
"Bonjour!" she dais cheerfully to the baker, trying to mask the bad mood Kal had put her in. "Comment ca-va?"
"Fairly well." The baker, a heavily-set man with thick, light hair, nodded in her direction. "You look like you chose the wrong place to take a nap. With the caravan, are you?"
"Caravan? Oh, no," she replied, hiding the sudden wetness in her eyes by bending to inspect the baked goods. "Just a traveler. Those buns look good," she said changing the subject. "I think I'll have one of those…no, sorry, two."
"Alright." He put them in a small paper bag and handed them to her over the counter. "That'll be ten francs, Mademoiselle."
She put the money on the counter. "Thanks."
"Have a good day," he called as she left, letting the door close behind her.
Kal sat with his eyes closed, but he could feel the eyes of the humans as they cast uneasy glances at him when they walked by. Bored with their nervousness, he re-immersed himself in his music, taking himself to another place again.
He didn't hear the small group of people approaching until they were right in front of him.
He opened his eyes and tilted his head in an annoyed way, as if asking "yes?"
"Are you Kal?"
He examined the group: all men, all wearing uniform. Human police. What the hell… He met their eyes, and shook his head.
"What? You aren't, you say?"
He nodded.
"That's the exact description, sir," another told him.
"Are you positive?"
"Yes, sir."
"Kal, you are under arrest for murder," the one who had spoken first said, grabbing Kal's upper arm. "Come with us."
Kal narrowed his eyes dangerously, the words I don't think so forming in his head, along with how much blood would stain that man's uniform after he ripped out the kiiyen's beating heart.
Kal, no! He twitched at the Princess's voice, and noticed her standing behind a bailing, watching them. Don't! Just…go with them. Don't you dare hurt them either!
Kal stood up slowly, staring at her with an immeasurable amount of hate. How dare she do this! That little bitch!
He allowed himself to be led away, keeping his eyes on her until he was forced to look away.
Fine. I won't hurt them, he thought, sitting a while later in on the cold stone floor of his cell.
Stupid Princess. You didn't say anything about killing them.
Or even staying in jail.
Not one little thing.
He flexed his fingers, easing the stiffness out of them. You didn't say I couldn't kill them.
Kal got up and ripped the bars out of the stone as if they were kindling. The noise drew the guards, but that was fine. Saves me a lot less work.
The first went down easily; he had been the closest when Kal had swung his arm in a long arc. That guard's neck was now held onto his shoulders by a few scraps of flesh.
The next fell to his knees, his innards hanging to his knees like fat, pale snakes. Kal barely felt the bullet the third fired into his abdomen; and that one toppled over, a gaping hole in his chest. His heart was held in one of Kal's clawed hands, still beating for a few moments. As the fourth, remaining guard watched, Kal took a bite out of the pulsing, red thing. He fainted dead away.
Kal stood in the carnage, blood running down his chin and his stomach. He hadn't eaten in a good while, now, and relished the coppery taste as he took another bite out of the unfortunate guard's heart, his bloodstained fangs displayed in a smile. Halfway through his morbid meal, another man stumbled in.
"What's--" he started, then his face went gray with shock as he saw Kal…and what half-eaten object Kal held in his hand. "Dear Lord!" he pulled a pistol from his pocket, but his hands were shaking so hard he couldn't pull the trigger.
"Want some?" Kal asked calmly, offering the heart. "I'm full." Before the he could respond, Kal threw it at his face hard enough that the man stumbled backwards, exposing his throat…and then, there was no longer a throat.
Kal sneered down at the bodies. One of them, the one who had fainted, was staring to come to.
"Oh God…" he moaned, turning over. "Oh dear God..." He tried to scramble backwards, and slipped on the bloodstained floor. "P-please, w-wh-whatever you are," eh stammered, "d-don't kill m—!" His words were cut off as Kal launched a kick that caught him squarely in the forehead; bone cracked and shattered, blood flew…and a soft, gray matter seeped through the mess that had once been his forehead.
Kal began to laugh…softly at first, then so hard that he fell to his knees among the bodies. He laughed and laughed and laughed until he was gasping for air…then looked at his most recent kill's face. It was Xeth's face, his father's dead face, his father's brains showing though his skull, just as they had been that day fifteen years ago--!
Kal blinked hard, and then it was a human once more.
Laughter subsiding to giggles, he ripped the bullet from his abdomen and tossed it onto the floor.
Still giggling, he staggered out of the jail, knocking down the wall in front of him to do so.
Then he was on the street, swaying as if he was drunk, and giggling. People scurried out of his way as he passed, leaving a clear path for him.
And all the while, the sweet taste of the heart lingered in his mouth.