Runaway Mortal (22 page)

“
That’s insane! I wish I had power like that.”

“Power is a funny thing. You want what you don’t have.”

I tilted my head in thought. She sounded so wise—I’d never known how insightful she was, but I guess it came with the territory. Plus, I’d never really given her a chance.

“I guess you’re right,”
I mused.
“Are you always reading my mind?”

“No, of course not. Sometimes thoughts are projected louder if you are thinking of me, like you were today. It comes up like a red flag in my mind.”

I hesitated. I didn’t know how much I could ask before Veritas directed the conversation back to what I had seen last night. I wasn’t trying to stall her; I was more curious about how her telepathy worked.

“What’s it like? Being in someone’s head, I mean.”

She glanced over at Tyrone, who was watching us curiously, before speaking out loud—I guess she didn’t want Tyrone to feel left out of the conversation.

“Sometimes it’s exhausting, especially if the person doesn’t want me in their head. Other times, it’s harder to let go.”

“Let go?” I wondered.

Tyrone came up behind Veritas and placed an arm around her small shoulders. She glanced up at him gratefully before continuing. It was so weird seeing them together like this, not just because of the law, but also because they had such different personalities. I guess opposites really did attract.

“Sometimes you get so absorbed by someone’s mind that it’s hard to get out. You become lost, entrenched, like you might not escape, and sometimes you don’t want to.”

My eyes grew wide. It sounded like she was speaking from experience. “That sounds difficult.”

“It is,” she agreed with a nod. “But not as difficult as what you saw this morning.”

I felt embarrassed that I had walked in on such an intimate moment between them. I wished that I had never seen them together, or that I could forget what I’d seen.

“You try and have a tender moment with the person you love, but of course Katerina Lyrille ruins it,” Tyrone said, finally speaking.

His tone was light, but his expression was serious.

“You’re in love?” I asked, hardly believing it.

Considering all the times Tyrone had given Veritas attitude or complained about her, it was difficult to wrap my head around this one.

“You complain about me?” Veritas glared at him.

“In a loving way,” Tyrone said with a charming smile.

“To answer your question,” Veritas said, turning her attention back to me. “Yes, we’re in love. We have been for a long time.”

“What about the legislation?” I asked, as an unsettling feeling curled itself around the pit of my stomach.

“Fuck the legislation!” Tyrone growled, looking like he wanted to punch something.

Veritas shot him a look of disapproval, but I think it was more to do with his language rather than his views. “I know our world says it’s wrong, but how can loving someone be a bad thing?”

She was right. There was nothing wrong with their love—there was something wrong with our world when two people couldn’t be together because of who they were.

“Does Loire know?” I asked.

They both nodded in unison.

Now Loire’s actions made sense to me. This was why he’d wanted the Mortal Blade, why he wanted a change; the two people he was the closest to were forbidden to be together.

“Kat, you don’t owe us anything,” Tyrone said, “but if anyone finds out about us-”

“They’ll execute you,” I finished.

“I understand if you can’t keep this a secret for us. You could get into a lot of trouble for hiding this from Parlum.” There was a determined look in Veritas’ eyes, like she had been preparing herself for the worst. “I’m ready to face the consequences.”

“I won’t tell anyone,” I said suddenly. A part of me had already decided this a while ago. If I was going to tell anyone, I would have done it already.

“Do you really mean that?” Veritas seemed surprised. “You would do that for us?”

“I mean it.” I gave her a sad smile. “I’ve been with a demon, too. If I can be with one then I don’t see why you can’t. You should have the same rights that I do.”

“Yes, but humans and demons, humans and angels, although it’s discouraged, it’s not illegal. I don’t know why it’s like that, but I wish it wasn’t.” Her voice shook and she squeezed her eyes shut.

Tyrone pulled her into a hug and planted a kiss on her head. “It’s okay; we’re gonna figure this out.”

I walked over to them as they broke apart, and reached out for Veritas’ hand. She blinked away the tears from her azure eyes. “I promise you, Very Tassels, I won’t tell a soul.”

She cracked a smile at that. “Katerina, you have no idea what you’re doing for us. We are indebted to you. Forever.”

“Just don’t ask for our first born child,” Tyrone said, ruffling my hair, “because that’s just creepy as hell.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

The first week of exams nearly killed me.

I spent so much time cramming in last minute study sessions in the library with Anna and Misha that I didn’t get a chance to even begin to figure out how to use the Mortal Blade to find out who Melkane’s killer was.

I hadn’t breathed a word about Tyrone and Veritas to my friends. I was waiting to be completely alone with Loire so I could at least talk to him about it openly, but so far that hadn’t happened yet.

I was currently studying for my Tactics class and revising different ways I could use my abilities to beat demons in a fight. I’d already figured out fire, electric, and metal and was now onto earth. Which immediately took me back to my and Misha’s confrontation with Cedee. Misha knew her elements—she just wasn’t great at playing Nancy Drew.

“Good evening, ladies.”

The library was so silent that the voice startled me. Misha, who’d been falling asleep, bolted upright in her seat. We all stared in surprise at the headmaster.

“Hey, Uncle Troy,” Misha said, relaxing at the sight of him. “What’s up?”

As Delware approached our table, the Mortal Blade grew warm against my leg. “What’s up is that I have some news for Katerina. News that will probably make her day.”

Anna closed the book she had been reading and leaned forward with interest. It was extremely rare that the headmaster would go out of his way to track someone down, so whatever he had to say was probably a big deal.

“Spill already,” Misha prompted, tilting her chair back. “We need some good news.”

“Your friend, Talon Kinsley, came to see me a few days ago.” He paused, waiting for my reaction.

I was trying to follow along with the conversation, but the blade was growing so hot against my leg that it was hard to concentrate. Why was it doing that all of a sudden?

“He’s not her friend,” Misha said immediately, narrowing her eyes. “He’s a stupid, moronic, lying scumbag who deserves to-”

“That stupid, moronic, lying scumbag,” Delware continued, “wrote a statement that said Katerina was with him the night of Headmistress Melkane’s death.”

“No shit.” Misha’s jaw dropped.

“No shit,” Delware repeated, his lips twitching with a smile. “He even had a picture of him with Kat that he took the night of Headmistress Melkane’s death. It was easy enough to have the time stamp of the image checked.”

“He really did that?” I asked, finally finding my voice.

So that’s what he’d been trying to tell me after the Supernatural History exam. He had said he was going to fix things and he’d actually done it.

The heat from the Mortal Blade slammed against my leg, and it took all of my self-control not to scream out in pain. I shifted restlessly in my seat, trying to distribute the heat from the blade.

Anna shot me a questioning look, clearly noticing my discomfort, and I wished she was telepathic so I could tell her what was going on.

“Yes, he really did,” Delware said, his eyes crinkling with a smile. “I sent the evidence to Parlum right away to be reviewed, but thought it was best to notify you when they responded. They contacted me today.”

“What did they say?” I asked, realizing that I’d been holding my breath the entire time. I had to breathe through the scorching heat—I couldn’t give anything away while Delware was still here.

“The charges have been dropped.” Delware’s face broke out into a grin. “You are no longer a suspect. Considering Talon is from the distinguished Kinsley family, his testimony was highly credible.”

Wow. That’s all it had taken—a testimony from a demon. If only he’d done that, oh, three months ago. It might have been too little too late, but I’d send him a message later to thank him anyway.

Now, I just needed Delware to leave so I didn’t get a second degree burn on my leg.

“That’s, uh, great!” I was excited, but my excitement sounded so forced right now.

Delware shot me a strange look. “Are you okay, Katerina? You don’t look well.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I nodded, not wanting him to come any closer. “Just overwhelmed by everything.” Please go away.

“Well,” he said, looking concerned, “if you need to talk you know where to find me. Good luck with the remainder of your exams.”

“Bye, Headmaster,” Anna said, staring at me with wide eyes.

“See ya, Uncle Troy.” Misha was staring at me now, too.

As soon as Delware had disappeared, I reached down and grabbed the Mortal Blade, sheath and all, and threw it onto the table. It slid a little before stopping close to Anna.

“Kat, what’s going on?” Anna asked, her eyes landing on it. “Why did you just do that? You were acting so strange!”

“It was burning my leg! I don’t know why!” I’d only had it for a few days so I wasn’t sure if burning legs was a normal thing for the blade to do.

“Are you okay?” she asked, studying the blade as though it was about to burst into flames. “Has it done that before?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know what the hell to do with it. Valeska said it would lead me to Melkane’s killer-”

“Well, that’s not really an issue anymore, is it?” Misha pointed out. “Your name’s been cleared.”

“Yes, but the killer-”

“So what?” Misha cut me off again. “The whole point was to prove your innocence. Well, that’s done. Parlum can figure out the rest.”

Misha had a point. Why was I knocking myself over this? I could give the blade back to Loire and go on with my semi-normal teenage life. But a part of me wanted to see this out to the end. The prophecy had told me that the Mortal Blade would lead me to the killer, and I wanted to see it through.

“I need to do this, Misha,” I said. “I can’t explain why exactly, but it’s just a feeling.”

I needed more answers. I needed to go back to where this had all started; back to the beginning.

As though reading my mind, Anna touched my arm and studied me with her piercing, blue eyes. “You need to take the Mortal Blade to Valeska. She might be able to give you the answers that you need.”

“Can you teleport me?” I asked, reaching across the table for the blade and finding it surprisingly cool.

Anyone inside the school could teleport out, but there was a magical barrier that prevented you from teleporting back in. The closest you could get was outside the school walls.

“I’m not sure,” Anna said, absently flipping the pages of her book. “It’s hard when I don’t have a connection to the person I’m supposed to be teleporting to.”

An image flashed across my mind of the wrinkled up, purple feather that Valeska had given me.

This will help you when you are in need. You will know what to do with it when the time is right.

At the time, I had thought she was crazy and losing her mind, but now I knew that her parting gift to me served a purpose.

“I have something that will help,” I said, quickly grabbing my things and shoving them into my bag. “Come on, it’s in my room.”

“What is it?” Misha asked, following my lead as I weaved my way through the shelves and headed outside.

I didn’t respond; I just kept up my quick pace. I glanced back once to make sure they were still following me. Misha was right on my heels, and Anna wasn’t far behind.

There was no doubt in my mind that Valeska could tell me something that I was missing—something crucial. The knowledge was there in my mind, but it wasn’t clear, like it’d been smudged a little so I couldn’t quite make it out. Valeska could give me the clarity that I needed.

I hurried up the stairs to our room and unlocked the door, not waiting to hold it open. I strode towards my dresser and pulled open the third drawer where I kept all my miscellaneous items. The feather was squished underneath a bunch of photos of my family.

I pulled out the feather, hoping that this would work, and handed it to Anna who scrutinized it. “A feather? What on earth-”

“Valeska gave it to me,” I explained. “She was very vague about what I was supposed to do with it, but now I suspect that it will help form a connection to her. I think she knew I would want to see her again.”

Anna tilted her head to the side as she played with the feather in her hand, twirling it in between her fingers. Finally, she nodded. “Okay, I’ll give it a try. There’s something very strange about it though.”

“Like what?” Misha asked, staring at it in confusion.

Anna paused before answering. “Like I’m the plug and this is the outlet. It’s giving off a strong energy I’ve never felt before.”

“It must be her witch powers,” Misha breathed. “That feather must be covered by it.”

“So, do you think it’ll work?” I asked.

If it didn’t work, I’d have to take the long way to get to her, which would involve me running away again. And, really, who ran away after they’d been proven innocent of committing a murder? There was a first for everything.

“I’m pretty sure it will,” Anna confirmed, filling me with relief. “But I can only take you with me. My powers aren’t strong enough to travel long distances with three.”

“I’ll wait for you here,” Misha said immediately. “Call me if anything goes wrong, okay?”

We both nodded, and Anna held out her hand to me. “I need you to picture Valeska and focus on things you remember about her. Since I’ve never seen her before it’ll be harder for me to find her, so I need you to establish a connection with her as well, okay?”

I nodded, taking her hand and touching my side to make sure I still had the Mortal Blade. Closing my eyes, I tried to conjure up images of Valeska.

I recalled her short, stubby fingers with their numerous rings, and her ancient face which was creased with hundreds of lines. I remembered the way she squinted her electric, blue eyes when I gave her attitude, and the musky smell that came with her shop.

A feeling washed over me, like I wasn’t completely whole, and my body became light, like it was trying to leave me. Then all of a sudden, I was solid again.

Stumbling forward, I tried to get my bearings straight. Somewhere behind me, Anna was retching. I felt awful for her—this was happening because I needed her help and she was suffering for it.

“Are you alright?’ I asked, feeling queasy myself, as I approached her.

She looked up at me, her skin paler than usual, and managed a nod. “Let’s just go on.”

Glancing around, I saw that we were in the same town where I had first met Valeska. Anna had brought us right outside her shop. I was so glad that Anna had supernatural GPS; it made things a hell of a lot easier.

The street was deserted, so no one noticed two teenage girls walk inside. The bell on the door chimed to announce our arrival. We glanced around, but no one came to greet us, not even the cat. You would think Valeska would be a lot more hospitable than this.

Anna seemed nervous as her eyes took in the knick-knacks round the store. Naturally, she walked over to a stack of books and studied them. Gesturing for her to follow, I headed past the register and to the beaded curtain that separated the back room from the store.

Taking a deep breath, I pushed the beads aside and walked through with Anna close behind me. The room was dimly lit with the smell of burning incense hanging thick in the air. Nothing had changed since I’d been here last.

A violent cough drew our attention to the crumpled up woman sitting cross-legged on the floor. Valeska hadn’t changed either. She was still wrapped in her multitude of purple and black silks, with the same omniscient look about her. And crazy—she pulled off crazy like nobody’s business.

Her dark eyes flashed at our arrival. “It is good to see you again, Katerina Lyrille.” Her gaze moved over to Anna’s small frame. “And you brought a friend, too.” A smile curled at the corner of her mouth as if she’d told a great joke.

Feeling irritated, I took a few steps closer to her. “You knew Anna would bring me here. That’s why you gave me the feather.”

She gave me a non-committal shrug and gestured to the two cushions on the floor that were opposite her at the table. A piping hot kettle and three cups sat on top. She had been expecting us. “Take a seat. We have many things to discuss.”

Anna and I both hesitated, but there was nothing else we could do, so we sat down across from her and made ourselves comfortable.

Valeska seemed pleased by this and pushed two cups towards us. “Drink up; you need to replenish your energy.” Both cups were steaming hot and had brown liquid in them, although Anna’s was a lot lighter in color than mine.

Anna picked hers up and sniffed it curiously. “What is it?”

“Yours is an herbal remedy which will give you strength. I am sure you will need it after using your powers. And yours,” Valeska said, her eyes flickering over to me in amusement, “is your favourite, prune juice.”

Revolted, I hastily pushed the cup away as Anna hesitated, still eying the concoction with suspicion.

Valeska chuckled at our reactions. “Do not worry, it is not poisoned. I have no reason to harm the girls who bear the Mortal Blade.”

Her knowledge of the blade annoyed me even more. “Did you know this whole time that a person had it, not that it was hidden at the school?”