Devil in Disguise (Kai Parker)

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Choosing and Losing

Comprehension dawned on Damon’s face and he cursed, “You little magic sucker. You sucked up all that magic from the Traveller spell.”

Kai stood up slowly, almost cautiously. Meg recognised the look in his eyes; it was the way she looked when she got her magic back. Utterly and completely submerged in power. He raised a hand, ignoring Damon and looking squarely at Alaric. The human began to rise into the air, kicking as if that might help him reach the ground. It wouldn’t. With a simple flick of his wrist, Kai sent him flying into a tree. A self-satisfied grin lit up his face and he said, “A lot of magic.”

Damon still hadn’t seemed to have learned his lesson about rushing Kai, because he did it again, pinning him against a tombstone and trying to snap his neck. Kai pushed him off easily, and as the vampire went to punch him, disappeared entirely. Damon swore and kicked the grave. “Agh! I really, really hate that move.”

“You should learn to stop rushing him like that.” Meg said irritably, but the vampire paid no attention to her. Alaric was moaning from where he lay, sprawled uncomfortably against the floor, every inch of him aching.

“Ric…” Damon muttered, crossing the line to go help him.

Meg blew out a puff of air, trying to dislodge a strand of hair from her eyes. The storm had passed, apparently disappearing when Kai harvested the last drop of magic from the town, and it had left the graveyard in a chaotic state. Saplings had been pulled out of the soil, leaves scattered over the crypts, decorative plastic flowers, hedgehogs, does and flamingos were poking their heads out from weathered bushes. It would have been comical if she wasn’t so disturbed.

“Nut-Meg…” the words were whispered in her ear and she nearly jumped out of her skin. There was only one person in the world who called her that.

She dared a glance to her left and saw Kai crouching by her, eyes wild. Her own eyes widened as she saw them. His irises were darker, more intense than ever before, each strand of blue writhing and crackling with electricity – or, more accurately, magic.

“Kai…” she gulped.

“Shh.” he grasped her wrist and the manacles began to melt. She winced, for a second feeling the heat of boiling metal, but with another word Kai made her impervious to the pain. In another moment, her wrists were blissfully light and free.

“Thanks.” she massaged them with a grim smile.

“Meg… what choice do you have to make?” his eyes held her’s, and she couldn’t keep it up. Guilt – that damned thing – made her turn away and look at her lap. “Meg…” he said warningly, grabbing her wrist. She was astounded to see the red glow start up where he touched her, signalling the return of her magic. She had barely even felt it return. By god, it must be weak now.

“It’s no big deal.” she insisted, feeling her cheeks turn crimson with the pressure as she took her wrist back.

“Then you should be able to tell me.” he tilted his head, “C’mon, Meg. What’s the choice?”

She took a deep breath, feeling oddly like she was just about to jump off a cliff. “I… have to choose between them… and you.”

He was silent, the only sound being Alaric and Damon bickering a little bit more. Then he took a deep breath, “They’re probably right.”

“Yeah, they – what?” she faltered. Those were the last words she ever expected to come out of his mouth.

“I can’t have a partner in crime if she changes side every time the tide turns.” he smirked, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “You have to choose one, Meg. The winning side… or the losing side. Oh, and a little spoiler for you…” he kneeled closer, so she could feel his breath against her cheek as he whispered in her ear, “I always win.”