Her First Mistake

Chapter Fifty-Two: You're Insufferable

    I'd slept to about mid-afternoon. Upon getting dressed, we decided to go wander the streets a bit. There was still a gentle snow falling. I pulled on my new jacket after getting dressed and grabbed the key card. The elevator dinged open and my head automatically turned to look for the girl at the desk. She was gone, having been replaced with a guy somewhere in his thirties.

   "So, what first?" I asked Tate as we stood on the street. "I can see two different cafes, three shops, a few official buildings, a bus station..."

   "Let's just wander," he suggested. "We've got nothing to do for once. When is the next time that that's going to happen?"

   He had a point. I looked up at the snow. It all fell in a mesmerizing dance, swirling towards the ground. Snowflakes had lives that lasted seconds, but I had to admit, they were beautiful. Something about how they drifted down weightlessly was fascinating to watch. It snowed sometimes in Memphis, but not often enough for me to enjoy it.

   "How about a hot drink?" I offered.

~

   We spent the majority of the afternoon wandering the street. I allowed myself to recharge. I'd been using magic extensively, multiple times a day for a long time. My energy levels were low. I couldn't quite relax, but it was the closest I'd come to relaxed in a while. Tate and I ended up wandering into every store, but we only ever bought coffee.

   The snow had continued to fall, leaving a steady three inches on the ground. Tate went off to throw away his empty cup. I looked down at the snow and got an idea. Jogging toward the nearby building, I rounded the corner. Tate would undoubtably follow my footsteps. I buried my hands into the snow and prepared as quickly as possible, knowing he'd be able to hear what I was doing as soon as he got near enough.

   His footsteps soon approached. I hid against the wall of the building, a stupid grin plastered on my face. "Roxie?" He peeked around the corner. His eyes found the army of hovering, red-tainted snowballs too late. He yelped as I clenched my fist and they pelted into him.

   Tate managed to duck and avoid some of them, but another hit his nose and exploded into pieces. I cackled and stepped around the corner. "Oldest trick in the book!"

   He wiped some of the snow off of his face and the expression he was wearing was one that promised consequences. My laugh died immediately. "Oh, shit." Tate was faster, stronger, and could probably pelt my face with a much faster snowball. A grin started to appear on his lips as he slowly dusted his shirt off, never breaking my gaze.

   I barely had time to turn around before a snowball was created and crashed into the back of my head. I shrieked and ducked, arms up around my skull. Another snowball hit my hands. I doubled over to protect myself as two more crashed into my back and sent me stumbling. I flicked my hand and Tate's own snowball flew out of his hand and smashed into his face. 

   "Playing dirty, are we?" He barreled forward. Just as I whipped around, we collided and I fell directly into the snow. Tate grabbed a handful and whacked it into my face. Sitting up, he reached for another handful. I kicked his hand away and my other hand smashed a lump into his eyes. Tate yelled and staggered upright. He wiped his eyes clean and his gaze seared brightly. My legs scrambled forward as I darted for fresh snow.

   Cold seared into my bare hands as I hastily formed a snowball. Jumping to my feet, I cocked my arm back and whipped around with a triumphant, "Ha!"

   Tate had his chin up and his eyes narrowed darkly. A few figure -- some woman -- had appeared behind him. A delicate knife was held in her thin hands and had already dug into Tate's throat enough to make some blood drip. I paused, my eyebrow arching. Tate didn't look worried, but instead annoyed.