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Chapter Text

It is said that the runner knows something the rest of us don’t, that to get stronger one must go until they are uncomfortable, and then to go on a while longer. Most children are prepared for their first day of school, they get to play with their toys and become lost in a world of imagination.

In the Gemini Coven however, the children are taught the history of how their coven came to be, they are expected to know at least six spells in total, a mix of offensive and defensive.

They are taught to remain out of sight, in addition to learning the entire layout of their home as a means to have an advantage of potential enemies. They learn the art of camouflage and scent masking, along with hand-to-hand combat and weapons training.

As they get closer to adult age, they learn of a ritual known as The Merge and that it is a great honor only the strongest pair of fraternal twins can participate in for the good of their coven. It is a battle of wills, where only one can rise from it intact and brimming with newfound power which they will one day use to lead the coven.

Kai Parker never had the honor of preparing for The Merge, for he had an unfair advantage according to the council. The rumors that centered the child was that he was a siphoner, a magic thief that nearly drained his poor mother’s magical core while he was still in the womb. At the age of twelve, he made the mistake of grabbing his sister’s arm—the moment their parents saw the eerie crimson glow Kai’s hand, all hell had broken loose.

Kai had never heard his sister scream in such agony before and he’d tried to let go of her, but it was if they’d been glued together. It took their father knocking him across the living room floor for them to separate. His apologies and pleas fall on deaf ears when his father drags him down into the basement and leaves him there in the cold and black. Little hands bang against the hardwood door and Kai’s voice runs hoarse from screaming. His older brother Joey is the one who frees him come morning and Joey is the one who tells him that Josette can no longer perform magic.

It's been four years since Kai fled his childhood home. He'd abandoned his backpack and burner phone; he was out of cash and had taken to blending in with the homeless population of Avondale, Louisiana. Kai learns the routine quickly and keeps his head down; he strays from being too polite and adopts the speech pattern of the locals in order to keep a low profile.

It isn't long until his cover's blown, unfortunately, two members of the Gemini coven had managed to track him and they were currently on his heels. The chase leads him straight into the HCNF Pine Forest, which he prefers over the densely populated city.

Kai recognized his pursuers; they'd sent his fucking cousins Abel and Niylah after him. The twins were both blond haired, blue-eyed drones, both dressed in black leather jackets and faded blue jeans. "Give it up, Kai!" Abel yelled after him, his form flickering from behind Kai to in front of him and he sent a fist flying that Kai managed to barely dodge, twisting out of the way only for Niylah to knock him back with a spell, sending him flying into a tree.

Kai's vision swam, he was running on barely four hours of sleep and a half-eaten granola bar he'd found in the trash. The twins converged on him, but Kai managed to leap out of the way just in time, sweeping low to knock Abel off his feet, grabbing him by his collar and slamming him hard into his sister.

His hands pulsed bright crimson as he absorbed some of his cousin's magic after he released him and Kai performed a quick teleportation spell which hurtled him a few feet further into the forest. He didn't plan to hurt his cousins, nor to kill them--he just wanted to get away, and so that's what he did.

Kai kept running, but he could feel himself slowing down.

Moving slower was not the option here; a dagger was flying at him and he could sense cousins had managed to get on his trail again.

“𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘶𝘮 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰!" Kai chants quickly in desperation as he flings a hand forward, his palm blazing red as his magic bursts out and sends the dagger ricocheting back at warp speed.

It took him a moment to realize that Niylah in his line of sight, but Kai makes a strangled noise when he realizes the needle is aimed for her throat at the rate he's going and at the top of his lungs he screams, "𝘝𝘖𝘋𝘜𝘟!"

He skids to a stop from running as he wrenches his hand to the left, the dagger flies with an unnatural force to the left and impales the bark of a tree trunk. In inducing his telekinetic spell with the added flare of his magic, the tree itself is also flung back, the roots pulling out of the earth as it collides into several other trees and slams against the forest floor which rumbles. Kai and Niylah lock eyes for a moment, pure terror is on her face. Kai's chest rises and falls as he permits himself to stare in horror at the damage he's caused, but he barely has time to panic as Abel grabs him from behind, attempting to place him in a chokehold. "Fucking thief, I've got you now--!"

Kai chomps down on Abel's arm hard, which makes his cousin scream and Kai quickly sends his elbow back until he connects with Abel's nose.

"Ossox!" Niylah yells out and she twists her hand into a tight fist, her eyes trained on Kai's left leg which snaps like a twig, forcing him to land roughly on his knees. He grits his teeth to keep from screaming, his hands flat on the soil. Niylah chants the spell again and his left arm is the next to break and this time Kai cries out, collapsing on the ground.

Abel wipes his blood from his nose and hisses out a curse when he rises back up and he moves towards Kai, grabbing him by his neck length brown curls and slamming him face first into the earth. Kai scrambles helplessly on the ground, pulse racing as panic floods his very core. His hands pulse crimson as he absorbs magic from the very earth itself.

"Get the fuck off me!" He screams furiously, as his magic bursts out of him at every angle, Abel and Niylah are now suspended in the air as Kai barely manages to twist around. His blue-grey eyes are nearly pitch black in hue as he flings his uninjured arm forward and sends his cousin flying backwards at an unnatural speed.

With them finally out of the picture, Kai clamps his hand onto his injured leg and channels his magic into it, whimpering when he snaps the bone back into place, silently performing a pain reduction spell in the process. He does the same to his arm and pants heavily, his eyes blearing with tears as he forces himself to stand.

Kai can still feel about maybe ten percent of magic surging through his veins--but he can't afford to siphon anymore, he doesn't have the energy. Instead, he tries to move out of sight, keeping low to avoid another attack.

𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙧, 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦. 𝘎𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘢 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳. If he made a fire, it would only attract unwanted attention. He had a sinking feeling his cousins were either dead or badly injured and unconscious.

Part of him hoped that maybe they would be found, that the elements or the animals wouldn't have their way with them. 𝘎𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘢 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨.

Kai digs his hand into the wet soil of the earth and smears some of it on his neck and face, coating some of his clothes as well. Kai takes a breath and waves his hand over his body, his palm pulsing as he chants, "𝘐𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘦."

In an instant he disperses from reality as he cloaks himself with his magic, it's a temporary illusion spell and Kai figures he has maybe an hour tops that he can hold the spell. Now cloaked, Kai takes to finding rain water on tree and plant leaves, making sure to steer clear of the poisonous hemlock and the sagebrush.

He barely manages to get a few droplets on his tongue from the non-toxic, edible leaves he does find. He eats those leaves despite how bitter they taste.

𝘖𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘸𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘴. 𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘨𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘒𝘢𝘪. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘱𝘶𝘵.

Kai uses the hour he has to find shelter, though he keeps an ear out for the stranger--in case she tries to attack him again. Ultimately Kai settles for the collapsed trees his magic had knocked down--and his eyes catch the dagger that was meant for him in the tree. A shudder escaped him and he breathed through his nose as he pulled the sleeve of his hoodie over his hand and plucked the dagger from the bark, sap oozed from the small hole and Kai's eyes widened at the sight of it.

He was so tempted to taste it--but he wasn't sure if the dagger was poisoned, he didn't have enough magic for a purifying spell and he was 𝙩𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙙.

The witch settles in the dry space of the collapsed trees, curling uncomfortably in the space that wasn't damp. It felt more insulated than the cold ground and he exhaled slowly. Soon his spell sputtered out and his form was visible once more. Kai kept the dagger near in case he needed to use it and attempted to stay awake, but found himself quickly drifting off to sleep.

Chapter Text

A moment of peace, that's all Malachai J. Parker wanted. Naturally, the universe had other plans.

Debris and broken tree branches whipped him in the face and Kai jolted up out of fear. Adrenaline coiled hot and tight in his veins as he grabbed his dagger and leaped out of his makeshift nest. He hadn't gotten nearly enough sleep to draw magic, but that didn't matter right now--ensuring he doesn't die was his top priority, after all.

Kai narrowly missed getting crushed to death by another falling tree, tucking and rolling out of the way just in time. He keeps a low level and quickly moves to hide behind the nearest tree, keeping his back pressed against it. “No, let me go! Let go of me, stop it!” A young girl screams at the top of her lungs and Kai can see her thrashing and trying to rip away from a swarm of men that are keeping her hostage.

“Shut up!” One of them snaps angrily at her and they backhand her hard, a yelp of pain flees from her lips and something in Kai’s chest seized. It was anger, he realized. The way they dragged her about and roughed her up, it spiked a dark, bubbling feeling in his chest.

This was stupid, stupid, 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘥--

"𝘍𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘹𝘪𝘮𝘢," Kai created a series of localized lightning strikes when he raised up his glowing, pitch black-violet hands. The lightning projected from his palms like barbwires, ziplining at the offenders in bold, volatile and ridiculously large strikes as it lashed out the intended targets. The earth rumbles and cracks open as a few stray strikes hit the forest floor, soil flying upwards, craters being formed. The projection of his magic was stronger than it normally was, the magic was harder to control as a result--but the message was clear, the intent was to harm. The girl uses this opportunity to kick one of her assailants in the groin, while using her weight to knock another off balance. She scrambles at the ground for a moment before she quickly rises to her feet again, running--running straight to him.

His hand is outstretched to her before he has a chance to think about it and when she grabs onto him, Kai tries not to think about the smell of charred bodies, the harsh smoke that's sealed into his lungs as wildfire spreads across the forest where his magic struck. Instead he surges forward with his new accomplice, barely taking the time to register that he might have put another target on his back. Reality around them seems to blur and there is a sudden sharp, prickling sensation that consumes him--magic, but it wasn't his--and suddenly his surroundings take form in the shape of a church, rows of wooden pews trap him and the girl on both sides as they collapse in the center of the walkway, the crunch of grass and gravel replaced by smooth, cold concrete.

Just outside of the church, there is a muffled blare of jazz music that seeps through the walls. Kai tugs his hand away from the strange slip of a girl across from him, breathing shakily as he stares at her with wild, confused eyes. She stares back at him, her nervous hands claiming her wavy brown hair in need of something to do. Her blue eyes are suspiciously bright, her full pink lips curved downward. Her white dress is stained with mud and blood Kai secretly hopes isn't hers, the red handprint on her face practically shines radiantly as it's spotlighted by the light fixtures above them and it's then that Kai turns away, an arm clutching around his stomach as he dry heaves.

"Thank you," She whispers softly, "You saved me."

"Where--" His voice cracked and he cringed at the sound, licking at his lips, "Where are we right now?"

"St. Ann's Church in New Orleans."

That got him to look at her again, his lower lip caught between his teeth as his brain whirred with the information. "You brought us here on purpose." It wasn't a question, but the girl nodded her head anyway. She stood up and Kai rose as well, trailing after her as she silently beckoned him to follow her up a flight of stairs that soon led them to the upper level of the church, straight up to an attic. "This is my room, you can come in." She told him, sparing him a glance over her shoulder when she noticed he'd stopped by the doorway. The room was filled with paintings that were mostly faces of people, a canopy bed that was a few feet away from a wooden easel stand. Kai noted that the only other exit point here was a pair of window shutters, which meant the drop was potentially deadly if he attempted to escape from that height.

"Why did you bring us here? And those people--who were they?" Kai asked as he kept a respectable distance from the girl, choosing to stand by a white chair that was by a table of lit candles that was just a few feet from where her bed was, which she chose to sit on. It made his stomach roll, the way his thoughts turned to the ways he might have to kill the very girl he saved, if this proved to be unsafe for him after all.

The only thing that mattered was ensuring he didn't die before he could reunite with his family again.

"Those people were from my coven, they tried to kidnap me...so they could finish what they started. I brought us here because it's the safest place for us--no one can come in here unless I invited them in." She explained, meeting his gaze head on. Guilt colored her face immediately soon after. "I shouldn't have left, I should've stayed but I just--I wanted to feel the sun on my face again." The girl wrung her hands together nervously, her breathing was shaky and tears lined her eyelashes. Kai grimaced, suddenly wishing he hadn't asked--it was starting to hit a little too close to home.

"What's your name?" The girl asked, pulling Kai out of his own spiraling thoughts once more. "I'm Davina Claire."

"I'm Kai, just Kai, no last name." It would be better if she didn't know who he was, in case his coven tracked him here. "And if this is supposed to be a safe place--why invite me? You don't know who I am."

"But you saved me," Davina pouted at him and if Kai had been a normal boy, maybe he would find it adorable--but all he could think was that this girl was too trusting for her own good. "You could have let them take me away and kill me, but you didn't."

She had him there and it annoyed him. Part of him wished he'd minded his own business now, but he knew deep down he couldn't turn away from the injustice he saw. Davina was just a kid--why was it always children that got placed in such dangerous games? She didn't deserve any of this, neither did he. Kai opened his mouth to speak, but the sudden creaking of wood and heavy footfalls made him jolt up out of his seat and grab one of the burning candles from the candelabra, his hand pulsing bright red--

"Don't, it's just Marcel, he's my friend!" Davina cried out as she launched herself off the bed, her own magic flaring as it snuffed out all the flames of the candles once she was at his side.

"D? What the hell is going on?" Marcel asked once he crossed the threshold, his dark gaze raking over Kai suspiciously, noting his tightened grip on the candle Davina was not trying to pry out of his hands. "D, talk to me--your clothes--what happened?" His voice was dripping in concern, it reminded Kai of his big brother and suddenly the young witch felt sick for nearly trying to kill Davina's friend. He let the candle fall from his fingers so Davina could grab onto it, staring down at his shoes.

"I--I left the attic," Davina explained nervously, swallowing as she stood in front of Kai now, protectively. "The witches--you were right, they're not going to stop until they have me. I should've stayed put but I...I was going crazy in here, Marcel." She sighed heavily and ran a hand through her hair, "Kai came to my rescue, he was in the woods too--everything happened so fast, I'm sorry--"

"All that matters is that you're safe, D." Marcel said firmly, his arms outstretched to her which she quickly ran into, oh-so-trusting. Kai tried to think about how now would be the perfect opportunity to kill them both--especially since they were blocking the entrance. He tried not to think about going through the window shutters, he'd never survive the drop even if he used magic. He was trapped, he was trapped, he was--

"I suppose I have you to thank for this, huh?" Marcel's warm voice cut through his panic and Kai snapped his head up to gape at him. "You brought my girl back to me."

"She's a child," Kai's voice sounded hollow in his ears, "that's reason enough to help her."

"You're pretty young yourself," Marcel pointed out gently, "do you need a place to stay?"

"No I'll be fine on my own." Kai didn't want to be indebted to strangers, "I have somewhere to be anyways." He started to move forward and Marcel tugged Davina out of the way to give Kai a wide berth, taking note of the way the younger boy refused to keep his back to either of them, the sharp set of his jaw and the way his fists clenched tightly at his sides.

"If you change your mind,"

"I won't."

"But 𝘪𝘧 you do," Davina continued, "You can always come back here."

Kai swallowed thickly, barely sparing Davina a glance as he gave a sharp nod of his head and then promptly bolted out of the attic.

Chapter Text

Kai is a marionette pulled by the strings of his nightmare, which starts with a bloodcurdling scream from his sister as she runs up the stairs.

Jo's blood leaves a trail which Kai is forced to follow, and he can hear her whimper from beneath the bed, the sound of squelching flesh as she pulls the knife from her belly and finally, the clattering of the weapon when it hits the wooden floor.

Jo screams when Kai attempts to yank her from under the bed and she kicks him away from her, scrambling to get out on the other side. It’s always when he chases her until they’re outside of the house that he finally manages to wrench himself from the nightmare.

He awakes in a cold sweat, tucked beneath the space of a wooden staircase, where his only company is a feral orange tabby partially hidden in a cardboard box on the cusp of birthing her litter. It reminds him of a silly memory of all things, ( 𝘑𝘰𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘴. 𝘏𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘦𝘪𝘳𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘒𝘢𝘪 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥. "𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘝𝘏𝘚 𝘵𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 "𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘯" 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘬𝘪𝘥𝘴--𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴. 𝘎𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘣 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘶𝘱." ) and Kai can’t help himself, he laughs.

He savors this moment of joy, because Kai, like all the children of the Gemini coven had been made to live as though any day might be their last—for when it was time to perform the Merge, their lives would be nothing more than a noble sacrifice honored in the speech of the victor.

Kai knew he had to get up eventually, it was dangerous to be out in the open—especially at night where vampires were more likely to traverse the streets in search of something to eat—but allowed himself this moment of reprieve, he needed it. It took him a second to stand and get his bearings, but eventually he manages it and starts to slink out from behind the staircase. The sound of a metal door being tossed open and heavy footfalls made him pause and hold his breath, he could barely make out the silhouette of a woman as she stopped before a table littered with lit candles. He could hear her sniffling, her voice barely above a whisper, “You got me into this, Jane. Give me the strength to finish it.”

Before Kai could even wrap his head around what that could mean, the door slammed shut above him and the woman spun around—for a second he was sure she’d caught him out as she was moving in his direction, but another figure appeared just inches away from where Kai hid. He couldn’t see the newcomer’s face from where he was crouched beneath the stairs, just theirblack pants. “The doors work you know,” She hissed, Kai saw her spin around—did Black Pants have a partner? Shit—

“You’re doing magic?” Black Pants spoke from behind her and Kai sank his teeth into his lower lip to keep from making a sound.

“I’m praying to my dead sister! Go ahead, pay your respects--” The witch replied snottily and she turned away—why did she insist on turning her back so much?—only for the other newcomer to get in her way.

“Don’t make this a thing, Sophie.” Newcomer two said, his voice was raspier than Black Pants’, like he was trying to be menacing, “The Hybrid was looking for Jane-Anne, Marcel wants to know why.”

𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘭? 𝘞𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘋𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥? Witch. Sophie. Jane-Anne. Two men on opposite sides of her at Marcel’s behest in search of answers about a Hybrid—but where did Davina factor into all of this?

“I’d say ask her yourself, but I guess you can’t seeing as Marcel killed her.” Sophie either lacked self-preservation skills or she’d chosen to simply give up—Kai wasn’t sure, but when the snarls of the m̶e̶n̶ --vampires, flooded the air and the descended upon her, Kai took the opportunity to siphon magic, hand gripping the base of the stairs.

But suddenly everything seems to go completely quiet, just as Kai slinks out from beneath the stairs. Neither Black Pants nor Sophie is looking at him, too distracted by whatever apparition stole Newcomer Two—that is until a wet squelching sound floods the air and there on the ground between them is a human heart covered in blood.

They all stare at it for a moment, then at each other—Kai's hands are pulsing a vibrant red and already he wished he’d stayed hidden.

A new person enters the fray, a man in a two-piece suit and perfectly styled brown hair. Fancy Suit grabs Black Pants by his neck when he turns around, throws him into the air and suddenly he’s impaled to the wall, dead.

Fancy Suit barely acknowledges Kai, his focus is on Sophie. “I’m Elijah, have you heard of me?” He asks her.

“Y-Yes,” She’s quick to answer, it seems there’s no snarky words for this Elijah because she’s pale at the sight of him.

“So, why don’t you tell me what business your family has with my brother?” Elijah steps closer to Sophie, his back is fully turned to Kai, as if he doesn’t even factor into their conversation.

“Sure--but...what about him?” Sophie barely manages to jut her chin in Kai’s direction, gulping nervously as Elijah invades her personal space. Shit, shit—Kai doesn’t know what to do or even what to say, he’s frozen solid where he stands. The crimson glow of his hands disperses, and he jerkily steps back when Elijah cocks his head in his direction.

“I’m not in the habit of killing children,” He says plainly, a brow raised at the boy currently quaking in his boots. “But I may consider it, if he attempts to get in my way. You won’t get in my way, will you starchild?”

Kai hates the mocking tone Elijah uses when he addresses him, but he swallows his anger and simply nods his head. “No sir, I won’t.” He keeps his voice timid and unassuming, swallowing nervously.

“Let’s get going, shall we?” Elijah barely spares Kai a second glance as he gestures for Sophie get a move on and with one final, uneasy glance at Kai, she turns on her heel and starts walking with Elijah in tow.

Kai does the only thing that makes sense once they're gone—he uses his magic to teleport himself to the only place that he knows is safe: St. Ann’s Church.

He all but collapses at the floor once he’s there, the pitch darkness of the church is more staggering than the alley way he’d been in. When he looks up however, he can see the faint glow of candlelight coming from Davina’s door. Blood trickled down from his nose and his vision swam, as he curled in on himself on the floor, nausea and exhaustion keeping him from even attempting to crawl in between the nearest pew. Before he knew it, he gave in to the call of sleep as it dragged him further into the darkness.

“Kai? Please, please wake up--” A soft, lovely voice calls for him and he can feel something cool and damp touch his forehead. He cracks open one eye, then the other and slowly he starts to process Davina’s worried face that is just—to close to his own. He tries to sit up, only for Davina to ease him back down, “You’re still weak, don’t move so much.”

He fixes his lips to protest that he’s fine, but she hurriedly presses a mug to his lips to silence him. “It’s mountain tea, it should help with the pain and nausea.” She explains gently, her too-blue eyes begging him to trust her. He took hold of the cup in both hands and tipped it back, gulping down as much as he could when it realized it wasn’t too hot to drink.

He lowers the cup into his lap and let his eyes roam Davina’s room, then realizing he’s on her bed, shoeless and jacket-less, just down to his t-shirt and jeans that have seen better days. He knew he reeked of the outside, all but slathered in garbage at one point—but Davina doesn’t even seem to care that he’s ruining her sheets. He startles when he sees a sketch of his face on her easel of all things and he opens his mouth again, “What the heck is that?”

“Oh um--” Flushed with embarrassment, Davina laughs, “--it’s a long story, but whenever someone uses magic in the Quarter, I can see clearly who it is in my mind. I draw them almost all of the time, this time it was you...”

“Who was it before me?” Kai asked, unable to look away from sketch of himself. His face looked completely devoid of any spark; his eyes were so...empty. Was that what really what he looked like?

“Just a random witch, pretty sure she’s dead by now,” Davina said flippantly, as if she were discussing what she ate for lunch. “Magic’s not allowed in the Quarter.”

“Not allowed?” Kai was genuinely baffled by this, so much so that he finally looked at Davina—but she was moving towards her easel and flipping over the page to hide Kai’s portrait. “Why isn’t it allowed?”

“Because the witches here are evil.” Davina huffed petulantly, shooting an annoyed look at Kai. “Did you hit your head really hard on the way here? Those people were trying to kill me not that long ago, Kai!”

“I didn’t forget--” Kai said defensively, grimacing down into his cup. “--I was hiding out beneath some stairs and this witch got approached by some vamps. She said her sister died and blamed Marcel...”

“Marcel killed her sister because she broke the rules. Witches stopped being allowed to perform magic here because the nine covens liked murdering kids, okay? Can we drop this? I don’t want to talk about it anymore!” Davina covered her ears with both hands, as if she could drown Kai out. Kai noticed the way the flames of the candles grew bigger as Davina’s frustration build; he could feel an unnatural swell of magic envelope the entire room.

It was suffocating.

“Davina, I’m--”

The entire church seemed to groan in agony as it rumbled, a few hairline fractures formed on the cup in his hands and Davina began to cough up 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘵 of all things. Kai scrambled off the bed, mug clattering to the ground when he reached for the coughing girl and held her in his arms. He held back her hair as she continues to retch. “It’s okay, Davina, I’m right here—I'm here, I’m sorry.” He whispers as he rubs her back tentatively, he tried not to think of the little flecks of red sparks dancing from his fingertips with every touch between them, he can feel himself drawing her magic in with every touch.

Kai knew it was foolhardy, especially after the fact that he’d collapsed not that long ago—but he pressed his hand firmly against Davina’s back and siphoned more of her magic, her reserves were like endless streams. He didn’t plan to drain her, but he hoped that him taking some of it from her would stop the church from shaking and cracking from the inside out. Davina’s pulse began to steady out again, though her breathing was still unstable, and the retching had finally stopped.

“Does this hap—happen often?” Kai asked breathlessly, swallowing the lump in his throat as Davina’s magic practically burned him from the inside out. Davina peered up at him with red rimmed eyes, shaky hands cupping his face as she brushed away the blood that stained his upper lip.

“I-I’m so sorry, Kai—it just...became so much all at once and I just...I’m sorry.” She blubbered miserably; her face etched with guilt that reminded him too much of himself yet again.

“It’s not your fault, Davina.” Kai whispered softly, he kept his hands away from her, worried he might siphon from her, or worse, blast her with his unstable magic. There was too many unknown variables and the last thing he wanted was to cause this girl’s death. “It’s mine, I didn’t realize it at first, but...we’re the same.”

“Kai...” Davina’s eyes widened when she saw tears in his genuinely frightened eyes.

"I need you to step back, okay? Just like that, a little further--”

Once he was satisfied with the wide berth she gave him, Kai took a deep breath and let his magic swell, channeling it until once more, the room around him changed.

The last thing he heard was Davina crying out for him and the last thing he saw was her anguish when he disappeared.

He dropped into a thicket of cypress trees and rolled near the very edge of a swamp. A sickly purplish burst of magic expelled from his body when he collapsed, causing a large break in the earth beneath him. Water rippled and swell, crashing down upon him in a thin needle-like spray.

He curled in on himself, just as he had before, and he retched into the grass before promptly passing out.