Runaway Mortal (24 page)

“I didn’t want to kill you, but you’re leaving me with no choice,” Delware said, still speaking in a pleasant tone. The guy was psychotic. “I will take the Mortal Blade from you, just like I took the Angel Glass from Ava Melkane.”

My breathing became shallow and the black dots increased as I struggled to remain conscious. Delware was going to kill me, and he was going to get away with it. There was nothing I could do.

“KAT!” The familiar voices of my friends filled my ears, and all of a sudden the rocks fell away from me.

Regaining my breath, my heart soared when I saw that Anna and Misha had entered the office and were with Loire, Tyrone, and Veritas.

“Stay down, Kat!”
Veritas’ voice said in my head.

Flattening my body to the ground, I watched as Loire took on an offensive stance just as Tyrone hurled a huge, flaming ball of fire right at Delware. Loire used the ball of flame as a cover, and immediately ran at Delware, sword raised.

Delware was too quick though—he used his wall of rocks to first shield Tyrone’s fire attack and then Loire’s physical blows. As he became distracted by Loire, he left himself with an opening on his side.

Quickly, I jumped to my feet and ran at him with the blade, knowing I only had seconds to take advantage of his weak spot. The blade’s magic burned through me, like it had fused itself to me.

“KAT! What did I just tell you?”
Veritas was yelling in my head.

Ignoring her, I raised the blade and a sudden burst of energy flooded through me as I plunged it into Delware’s side. Blood spilled from the wound as the blade hit its mark. Delware staggered and looked around in surprise as I pulled the blade free. The wall of rocks fell around him with numerous thuds and he dropped to his knees as blood pooled around him, his face twisting in pain.

“You’ve made a huge mistake, Katerina.” His hazel eyes—so like Misha’s—met mine as he clutched his side with a hand, reaching for something in his pocket. He pulled out an auburn strand of hair and closed his eyes. “Esthera, hurry!”

Before I could comprehend what was happening, a woman materialized beside Delware, grabbed him, and teleported out of there before I could even react.

I dropped to my knees, letting the Mortal Blade fall to the ground in front of me with a clatter. Delware was gone. I’d let him escape. I’d failed.

Loire was immediately by my side, pulling me into his arms, running his hands through my hair. He grabbed my face in his hands so that I was forced to look into his eyes. They were glistening as his thumbs pressed into my cheeks.

“You did good, Rookie,” he whispered, pressing his forehead against mine. “You did good.”

“Kat!” I heard Misha scream, and Loire released me as both she and Anna dropped to the floor and wrapped me up in their arms.

Letting myself go, I fell against them, drained and broken, but at the same time complete.

Chapter Twenty-Four

The only good that came out of our headmaster being a murderer was that the second week of exams was postponed—something only Anna complained about. Everyone else celebrated by getting drunk.

Misha in particular didn’t hold back on the alcohol, although her other reason for getting drunk was probably because her uncle had killed the headmistress, had tried to kill me, and was now trying to take over the world. Despite the fact that her beloved uncle had turned out to be a psycho, she was taking it pretty well. I had to give her props for that.

Loire, Veritas, and Tyrone had given their official reports to Parlum about Delware and his role in the death of Headmistress Melkane. All three of them had conveniently left out the part about me having the Mortal Blade in my possession.

That was a pretty big deal for Veritas since she was all about telling the truth, but since she was indebted to me for keeping her and Tyrone’s relationship a secret, she managed to leave that small detail out of her official report.

The week was almost over—I’d seen my parents the very next day after Delware had disappeared. They’d asked me if I wanted to go home, but I decided against it. I still had some unfinished business left at the school.

My mom had told me that Parlum was looking for Delware, but so far they’d had no luck. It wasn’t going to be easy to find him—he was obviously very resourceful and knew how to fly under the radar.

Yeah, I was worried he’d come after me and try to kill me again, but right now I was too exhausted to think on that. I just needed a break from all the craziness and wanted to spend time with my friends.

Anna and Misha sat beside me by the fountain in the main courtyard. Snow had fallen, covering the ground like a thick blanket. It was cold out, but it also nice to get some fresh air. I didn’t want to be cooped indoors, and the freezing temperature kept most people inside, so we weren’t very likely to run into anyone.

“What are you guys doing for Christmas break?” Anna asked.

“Greggy and I are going home,” Misha answered. “You?”

That would be an interesting Christmas at the Dellings, considering Delware was now a wanted fugitive in the supernatural world

“My parents want to go to Colorado to visit my grandparents,” Anna responded. “What about you, Kat?”

“I’ll be going home, too. My mom actually got Christmas off this year, so we’re going to spend it together like a real family.” I think, considering the year I’d had, Mom had really pushed to get some time off.

That meant more to me than I could even begin to express. It would be a nice change to spend time at home with my human father and mortal mother, where being normal and pretending the supernatural world didn’t exist was easy.

“Hey, Anna?” Misha said suddenly, twirling a strand of her curly hair around her finger. “The thing with you and my brother-”

Anna groaned, her cheeks flushing bright pink. “Really, Mish? Are you still giving me grief over that? I explained to you that we’re just friends.”

“I know, I know.” Misha actually sounded embarrassed, which was totally out of character for her. “That’s why I wanted to apologize. After all the crap that’s happened lately, I’ve realized how important family really is. And you’re like family.” Her hazel eyes flickered over to me. “You both are.”

“Oh, Misha!” Anna exclaimed, jumping up and wrapping her arms around her. “That means so much to me!”

“Wow,” I said, staring at the two of them in disbelief, “Misha actually has feelings.”

Misha stuck her tongue out at me. “I’m glad you didn’t die, Kat,” she said, before reaching for me and turning it into a sappy group hug.

And, honestly, I didn’t even mind the sappiness. What could I say? Sometimes Katerina Lyrille was a s’more—tough on the outside, but gooey in the center.

“Well, hey there, serial killer,” said a familiar voice.

My friends and I broke apart to find Tyrone, Veritas, and Loire standing a few feet away from us. Veritas looked super cute all bundled up in a fur coat and white jeans—I hated how effortlessly beautiful she was.

“How original. You’re out stalking me as usual,” I commented, shooting Tyrone an annoyed look.

His face broke out into a grin. “Well, when it comes to you, I just find it hard to stay away from your charming personality.”

I burst out laughing at that, my gaze falling on Loire who was studying me with an inscrutable look on his face. I wondered if you had to master that look to become SRECON. “So, what’s going on with you, guys?”

“We’ve been relieved of our duty here,” Veritas answered, pushing her perfect blonde waves off her face. “We leave today.”

It felt like someone had socked me in the gut. “W-what?” My eyes shot to Loire immediately, and it felt like something was clawing me from the inside out.

Was she kidding me right now?

Veritas’ expression was dead serious, plus I knew she didn’t know how to make a joke.  “Well, since you’ve been proven innocent, there’s no need for us to be stationed here any longer. We will be given a new assignment.”

“Unless you decide to kill someone else,” Tyrone said with a wink.

“Making jokes about killing someone is not funny.” Veritas shot Tyrone a look of disapproval.

Seeing the two of them together like that truly hurt my heart. The fact that they couldn’t ever be open about their relationship, in fear of death, made me sick to my stomach.

As though sensing my thoughts, Veritas’ gaze fell on me and she gave me a tight smile. “It was definitely an experience meeting you, Katerina Lyrille.” She approached me, extending her hand formally.

I reached out and shook it, an ache growing in my chest. “You too, Very Tassels.”

She cracked a smile at that before stepping back.

Tyrone bounded forward and wrapped his arms around me in a rib-shattering hug, lifting my feet off the ground in the process. “Don’t go running away again, little mortal.”

Trust him not to respect my personal bubble.

“If I do, will you come find me?” I asked with a grin.

“Always.” Releasing me, he took his place beside Veritas. The two of them glanced over at Loire. “We’re, uh, gonna grab our stuff before our ride gets here,” Tyrone said, elbowing Loire very obviously.

Wow. Real subtle.

“Um, yes.” Veritas cleared her throat awkwardly. “Goodbye, Katerina.”

As Tyrone and Veritas began walking away, Tyrone suddenly turned and ran back to me. “Oh, hey, I got you something.” He stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out a golden object. “I owed you one.”

Taking it from him, I starting laughing at his thoughtful, yet ridiculous, gesture. It was a corndog.

“Wow, you really care.” I placed a hand over my heart dramatically.

Tyrone ruffled my hair in response before returning to Veritas.

“I wouldn’t eat that if I were you,” Veritas warned. “He’s had stranger things than a corndog in that pocket.”

With that, the two of them walked away, and I stuck the corndog in my coat pocket. I wasn’t going to eat it—you know, just in case I got food poisoning—but it was the thought that counted. I was gonna miss that guy.

“Um, we have to go that way,” Misha said, pointing somewhere to her left.

“We do?” Anna asked, glancing around in confusion and clearly not taking the hint. “Why?”

“To look at snow!” Misha glared at her and threw her hands up in the air. “Who cares?” She grabbed Anna by the hand and dragged her away.

As they disappeared, my eyes fell on Loire who was studying me with that unreadable expression. I would give ten pennies for his thoughts.

“Come sit with me,” Loire eventually said, ambling over to the edge of the fountain.

My eyes followed his every move, trying to memorize the exact way he walked—he was always so graceful, and you know, he had a nice butt, too.

I sat down beside him, staring at the muscle that was working in his jaw. Clearly, he had a lot on his mind just like I did.

“So, Veritas and Tyrone are the reason you want to use the Mortal Blade to bring balance into the world,” I said finally. “They’re the loved ones you want to protect.”

“Yes.” He nodded, his slate blue eyes finding mine. “They told me you know everything and that you promised to keep their secret. Thank you.”

“I guess I should give this back to you, huh?”

I reached over to my side and pulled the Mortal Blade out from its sheath, reluctantly holding it out for Loire to take. At the same time, I could feel the blade’s magic coursing through me, like it was breathing life into my veins. The last thing I wanted to do was let it go.

He gave me a slow smile and placed his hand on the hilt. “Shit!” he swore, quickly pulling his hand away. There was a burn mark—exactly like the one Valeska had received—where his skin had touched the blade.

Loire quickly reached down and stuck his hand into snow, still cursing. “What the hell?” he said, standing up and shaking his hand.

I stood up too, putting the Mortal Blade back in the sheath as realization hit me. “When truth and lies break all the ties, only will the Mortal Blade choose a new ally.” The final two lines of the prophecy had come true.

Loire stared at me in surprise before releasing a sigh into the cold air as my words registered with him. “So the prophecy was about you this whole time.”

“Yes.” I bit my lip, worried that he’d get mad that the Mortal Blade had chosen me. “I didn’t ask for this; it just happened this way. I had every intention of returning it to you.”

“It’s okay, Kat, I know you did. Neither of us can control fate.” Loire reached out with his uninjured hand and grazed it against my cheek. His hand was warm against my cold skin, and I pressed into it, soaking in his touch. “It was yours all along. This was your fate, not mine. All I can do is be there for you like I said I would.”

“But you’re leaving,” I whispered.

The clawing in my chest was back again, ripping me apart from the inside. Loire had been a steady presence in my life the past two months; it hurt to think about him not being there anymore. I had grown to depend on him.

“I know, but I will come back if you need me. Always.” He lowered his face to mine until our noses were almost touching. He entangled his hand within my long hair. “You’re important to me.” He hesitated, like he wanted to say more, but stopped himself.

“You’re important to me, too,” I whispered back.

Maybe I wanted to say more as well, but for now this was enough. It was enough just knowing that I meant something to him.

His eyes searched mine before he pulled me into a kiss that I felt right down to my toes. My head swam, my skin tingled like it was on fire, and every single part of my body felt like it was alive. If I could have Loire’s lips pressed against mine for an eternity it still wouldn’t be long enough.

I wasn’t sure how long we stood there for, not wanting to let go—it felt like he was the only thing holding me together right now—but finally Loire broke away. “I don’t want to leave you, but Tyrone and Veritas are probably waiting for me.” He pressed his lips together, his forehead creasing. “And to think that I couldn’t wait to move onto my next assignment when I first had to guard you.”

I punched him lightly on the arm. “Hey, I wasn’t so hot about you either.”

“And now you are,” he said, a smile playing around his mouth. “I can’t blame you; I am pretty hard to resist.”

“Get out of here,” I said with a laugh.

His eyes crinkled. “I’ll talk to you soon, okay?”

I nodded, letting him kiss me one more time before he walked away. As soon as he was out of sight, I sat back down by the edge of the fountain again, letting my thoughts overtake me.

Losing Loire was a shock to my senses, but it was something I would have to overcome. I knew that this wouldn’t be the last time I’d see him or his triad.

It was amazing that I’d managed to do what I’d been trying to do from the beginning—prove my innocence and find Headmistress Melkane’s killer. I hadn’t expected my life to take the twists and turns that it had.

Fate may have a path set out for me, but I made my own choices.

Right now, I didn’t know what path the Mortal Blade would take me down or where I would end up.
All I knew was that now I was in possession of something that could bring about a change in my world, and I was not going to stop until I made that change a reality.

If I really was descended from the cast out children of Heaven like Delware had said, then Heaven better be prepared because this long-lost daughter was about to come a-knocking on their door. And if they didn’t let me in, there was always a back door.

What could I say? I never did things like a normal, seventeen-year-old should. That just wasn’t my style.

At least everyone could agree on one thing—Katerina Lyrille was consistent.