Our Demons {Kai Parker Book 1}

one: in which he feels responsible

Kai Parker had felt many emotions over the course of his life; anger, betrayal, lust, vigilance, and rage.

Rage was his favourite emotion and this was not just because he was accustomed to feeling it. No, rage gave him freedom. You could replace any emotion with rage and be freed from all responsibilities.

Kai Parker's story starts here because of the unusual feeling of responsibility he felt for the mystery girl who invaded his nightmares for the past week.

He woke in a sweat, his fingers frigid and breaths short. Stumbling off the couch and towards the bathroom, Kai gritted his teeth to replace the mental pain.

He turned on the light and grimaced at his reflection. He wasn't hideous, no, but he was an abomination. That word characterized him, it was engraved into his mind from early on and he hated staring at his face.

He turned on the tap and cups his hands underneath the cold water.

The girl.

He splashed the water onto his face.

The girl with the round, doe eyes.

He dried his face.

The girl who was dying.

He knew he was being irrational, for he was alone in the prison world. No one had ever been here before him and he had been assured no one would ever come to give him company, let alone rescue him.

"Look at me," Kai snorted. "Pathetic. I know I'm crazy, but wow I must really be desperate to dream up a girlfriend."

This didn't stop him from going out again. Whistling to himself and making comments about the flowers and houses he passed, Kai went to wait at the spot he saw the girl in his dream for the seventh time that week.

~~~

Ria had arrived in the small town of Mystic Falls earlier in the day and had spent her time breaking into homes and stealing books and items that interested her. The search wasn't in vain, for she had found a perfect copy of a Charles Dickens novel and a deck of glow in the dark playing cards.

She was now finishing her stroll of the local Mini-Mart, picking up some food and tape, one could never have too much tape, and went back outside towards her car.

Well, it wasn't really her car. In her defence, the witches left her in the woods with no town or city for miles. Luckily for her, there was a beat-up Honda with a 'for sale' sign up which she hotwired and drove out.

She'd been in the prison world for two years now, reliving the same day over and over again, and could have any car or truck that she desired. But the red Honda was there for her from the very beginning, and she wasn't about to abandon it anytime soon.

Kai watched from behind a tree.

The girl came out with a stroller of items ready to leave. He would rather have watched her for a couple of days, figure out what she was along with her weaknesses and strengths, but she appeared to be ready to leave the town and towards another adventure.

Kai tilted his head when he saw the girl's reaction to the busted tire on her car. She stopped, cried out a desperate 'no' and demanded the universe for an answer to this cruelty. She then tried to wrap her arms around the red car in a hug.

Ria didn't know how to change a car tire and there seemed to be a lack of mechanics in the world. Maybe she could use the tape.

"Mechanophilia," Kai called out and the girl froze, looking up.

Those round doe eyes.

"You know when you're attracted to cars, bikes, anything that's a machine really."

Those round doe eyes.

"Hey I'm not judging. I also have had some weird and questionable urges."

She wasn't responding and for a moment Kai wondered if she had turned to stone. "You know, I'm new to this whole people thing but I'm pretty sure a conversation requires two people. Not to mention it's plain rude to ignore someone you can plainly see."

"How did you get here?"

His eyes lit up with mischief, "Wow, I didn't think I would ever be giving anyone this talk. Okay, tell me how I do. When a man and a woman love each other they come together, although sometimes it isn't consensual,"

"Stop," she held up her hands, eyes wide, "I know that. I meant how did you get here? Here on this alternate world?"

"Ah, now that makes more sense. Well, a long time ago, specifically 6,673 days ago, my family tricked me and threw me into this prison world because they didn't like me too much. I'm Kai, by the way," he winked.

"Ria."

"Now you didn't tell me why you're here."

She turned around, unlocking her car and putting the groceries in. "That's because you don't need to know."

Kai had an ability that very few in the real world possessed. He could move fast, undetected, silently. As Ria turned back around to face the handsome stranger, Kai was already behind her.

"Leaving so soon?" he tilted his head, smiling when she gasped in fear. "I'm starting to think you don't like me very much."

Ria stared into Kai's eyes for the first time, and it was in that moment that fear became her primary emotion.

Wicked, that's all that could describe his stare, wickedness she had seen before and foolishly ignored it as nothing. He was dangerous, and sensing her desire to leave all her belongings behind and run, Kai acted.

"Why'd you have to make this difficult?" he didn't wait for a reply, instead he held her against the car and covered her mouth and nose with his hand.

He wasn't going to kill her, but he couldn't stand staring at her round doe eyes.