Shards of Kairos

VIII - Into the Darkness

Evie turned her eyes onto Mitch and felt an acute flicker of pain that edged on guilt.

How long Julian would keep him alive, Evie wasn't entirely sure but she knew that the soldier from another world didn't want to kill Mitch.

And Evie intended to exploit the hell out of that, of whatever humanity - for lack of a better term - Julian had left. And that made Evie feel downright awful but maybe it would do good for Julian himself. Maybe he needed to be reminded.

And Evie had seen enough of Julian's humanity to know that it was there. Especially after Julian had shown it to Evie so blatantly down in that cellar, so openly. And Evie was going to hold onto the sound of his laughter. It might be the last time she ever heard it. But something inside Evie, something deep, was hoping it wouldn't be the last time she did.

"So I'm assuming-" Mitch's jaw tightened briefly as Julian relinquished his hold on him and urged Mitch a few feet away with not exactly a push but something close, putting some distance between the two men. "-this is where I get off."

Evie gave Julian a hard look, begging him to think of anything else but killing one of her oldest friends - someone she'd long thought of as a brother. As important as... as important as Katie had been for that very, same reason.

Besides Katie, Mitch was the only family that Evie had left. And whether Mitch knew her or not, it didn't matter - he still mattered to her.

Evie could see that his memory of her probably wasn't coming back any time soon. The least she could do for him - was to hope. And whether he knew her or not, Evie still remembered him, their past. No one deserved to have their life so irretrievably altered.

Mitch was a link to Evie's past, the only strand Evie had left. The only connection. And Evie was desperate to keep it safe, to shelter that precious shred of what she'd known. But above all else, she wouldn't let Mitch die. She'd die first if it came right down to it. Because Mitch was wholly and utterly good.

The man scarcely had a flaw, was the first to put himself in harms way. He cared about most people than any person Evie had ever known. And in the newly found hell Evie had landed in, with practically the devil himself or at least a high ranking demon - Evie was going to grasp a hold of whatever angels took shape. In whatever form they came in.

The world needed as much good as it could get right now. And they needed Mitch. Whether Julian could see that, or not.

Julian had let his armor fall away moments ago and looked momentarily conflicted. And just like that, those walls were right up again. High, foreboding, and impassable.

He advanced on Mitch, the man holding his ground despite how skilled Julian was at being intimidating, and despite the fact that Julian had a good three or four inches of height on him. But Mitch didn't back down and he didn't flinch away either, turning his eyes up to Julian and watching him with a wary, stormy gaze.

Those dark green eyes were as unwavering as Julian's hard stare. And Evie's heart skipped a beat.

"You come with us, there's no going back." Julian said. "You'll lose everything. Your life, anyone whose ever known you. And you'll never get it back. Any of it."

Mitch turned his eyes to Evie and her breath caught. And she couldn't help it either because that flicker of hope was reflexive. She gave him the best answer right back, wordlessly answering his silent - questioning gaze with one of her own, as strong as it could be given the circumstances. Yes, she'd exacted the same cost. Not by choice, but at least she could stand by Mitch with that same, deeply devestating feeling of being entirely and utterly displaced. A feeling Evie desperately wish he could be spared.