Consumed » Kai Parker

Sixty Two

"Here's a pro tip," Alex says helpfully. "Pretend I'm Joshua and you want to blow my brains out–but not too hard, because I like my brains, and this is still just a training sesh."

Kai glares at the warlock, palm outstretched in front of him. "You realize I'm the teacher here, right? You–" He points at Alex. "Luke. Me?" He directs his index finger toward his own chest. "Yoda. No switcheroos."

Four days were left until the battle, an accepted fact since it became glaringly obvious that Kai wouldn't be swayed about his chosen date. I'd shared the rattling shock of his Gemini peers when he announced it after we returned from Portland. One week seemed so daunting in its absoluteness, a true elapsing of time to finally pinpoint the end that this grueling preparation had been leading to. The battle was no longer an unidentifiable point in the future, which I realized I'd been taking comfort in for a while. It veered me away from the magnitude of anxiety that soared in like a tidal wave when I thought of Kai and his coven eventually having to face off with our enemy.

Now, I have to see all of this for what it is. A means to an end, and that end can't be put off any longer. I couldn't even be upset with Kai for not discussing the date with me before springing it on the Geminis, just so I didn't have to stare at him jaw-dropped in a moment of paralysis. But I suppose it didn't make a difference, and really, it spoke to the short time frame we were working on these days. Plans had to be made quickly, while we still have the element of surprise in our favor. Joshua thinks Kai is dead, but who knows how long that will hold up? It's a gamble, and one we can't risk losing by stretching the prep time to extensive distances.

The coven took it well, much to my relief. Alex, Quinn, and Isaiah were a great bunch, a fact that I could appreciate even more when they recovered quickly after Kai's announcement. They knew, too, that we didn't have time to waste with so much hanging in the balance, and worry was something they masked well, if they felt it strongly at all. They'd discussed the details with Kai and gone back to training like it was another day, which comforted me more than I thought it would. It was easy to be able to see things in a tactical manner, to avoid the emotional distress, and I guess that's what they're all doing by immersing themselves in the gritty details. One thing a time.

The plan is to attack at a scheduled council meeting that Joshua routinely holds with his non-Gemini witches. It's an affair that the eldest Parker apparently likes to keep on the down-low, to avoid arising suspicions from the Concilio, but people around the compound aren't idiots. They know that he has begun to value outsiders more than his own and is pushing out the Concilio more and more.

Kai heard murmurs of one happening when he'd been sneaking around the compound to whisk me away from a meeting almost gone catastrophic. That's why he chose the day he did, figuring it would be the most opportune time to have Joshua and his witches all in one, convenient location. The Geminis will storm in first. Kai will come after, clinging to the surprise technique until it's most effective.

According to Isaiah, who claims he'd snooped a little around the compound for info, I wasn't a priority of Joshua's right now. He believed the guard that Kai put a memory-editing spell on, furious at the false story that I'd escaped his clutches, but there were no immediate plans to get me back. Yes, Joshua was in the business of breaking rules of his coven these days, but he didn't seem inclined to go through the efforts of traveling out to retrieve a rogue human girl for imprisonment. His best opportunity had been lost and we weren't going to give him any more.

Sitting in on training sessions had been a favorite pastime of mine lately...not only to get an eyeful of Kai in action either. I enjoyed the Geminis' company, even Isaiah's to some degree, and there's safety in the simple routine that I'm basking in so much more with the battle days away.