Devil in Disguise (Kai Parker)

Chapter Forty-Two: The Merge

Even though she told him nothing of Kai, Meg still felt better when Matt left a few hours later. I have a brother, she told herself happily, sitting on the bed and hugging her legs. I have a brother, and therefore I made the right choice. Family’s meant to come first, right? I don’t want to end up like Joshua Parker.

The house was quiet. Everyone had left, to look after Sheriff Forbes, who had taken a turn for the worst a few hours ago. Meg felt a pang in her chest whenever she heard it – her own aunt had died of cancer about twenty-eight years ago – but she had never met Sheriff Forbes. It would be awkward, sitting by her beside. But it was almost… unbearably silent in this house. Her brain was empty thanks to her magic depletion, and the tick, tock of the clock was reverberating in her skull like a drum. She had never been so bored, or restless. A side effect of choosing the good side, apparently.

Unable to lie down any longer, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and stalked out the door. The Boarding House was even bigger in its silence, and it seemed to take forever to walk out the door. Or maybe it was just her addled brain. It wasn’t too bad now, but she could feel it coming. One day soon, she was going to be so weak, she wouldn’t even be able to get out of bed.

But that day wasn’t today. She was still hanging on to her strength, though she did seem to walk into a lot of walls as she left the house. The misty air was cool on her flushed cheeks, and she smiled as she began to walk with no destination in mind. Seeing as she was living here now, she may as well get a look at Mystic Falls.

It was later than she expected, the sky a splash of indigo and steely grey. The sun was still there, casting pink across the horizon, but just barely. Meg ignored it, though, and traipsed through the Salvatore garden. Through a section of trees, she saw a garage, and she paused, severely tempted to search for that sports car Damon promised. But her magic, however tiny it may be, longed for fresh air and nature. Not cars and mechanics. For a moment, she considered rebelling – she had bowed to her magic’s wishes too often, and this time she actually had power of it – but still shook her head. It was her’s, after all, and if she did something nice to it, it might leave her alone when it inevitably repowered and came back.

The Mystic Falls Park was right at the town’s centre, and Meg figured that was a good place to start. Trying to watch out for the portly businessmen transporting coffee and occasionally something stronger, she walked through the wrought iron gates and felt the magic sigh with wistfulness as it felt the powerful buzz of nature all around it. There were peonies and lilies and magnolias and –

Kai?

***

Meg stared, dumbstruck, at the figure standing by the centre of the park, near a gigantic sculpture. He certainly looked like Kai. Dark hair, blue eyes, grungy clothes. What could he be doing in a park?

It took a while for her eyes to see past him, and see what he was doing. Luke was there, clasping Kai’s hands as if he wanted to break them. There was a body lying near them, obscured by shadows, the stars were sparkling unusually above them, and Kai’s eyes were closed in intense concentration. Meg wasn’t entirely sure what was going on. It looked like they were merging… but they weren’t twins. What on earth was going on?

“Sanguanem, disimellus. Sanguanem, generis. Flax.” they both chanted, eyes glazing over, and Meg let out an astounded cry. They were merging. But this wasn’t how it was meant to work! Was this a dream? Had she actually not left the Boarding House and was actually passed out at the bottom of the staircase? Using the good old-fashioned method of pinching herself, she found herself shaking her head. This wasn’t a dream. This was actually happening.