Diabolus: The Lost Phoenix

Chapter One

BEVERLY GREENE

I stop in the middle of asphalt path, taking a gulp of fresh air. Cold licks at my face and creeps under my clothes, spreading across my skin like the lacy tide on a frigid winter beach. The outside is covered up in dusk, though it stopped snowing, I still feel the tip of my nose freezing. I'm not used to this weather, neither do I have clothes for it.

New York.

Kai just had some business with the gun dealers, looking for some more weapons before we leave the city. He asked to meet me in the park; immediately making me anxious, why he is not coming back to the hotel.

The park is covered in a thick blanket of white, statutes peeked out under their new white caps, footsteps and paw prints crisscrossed each other around the labyrinth of paths. It's too quiet; it's not okay in the city that never sleeps, right?

I hear something crackling behind me; like it were footsteps down the thick snow. They're slow, like the person was trying to be unnoticed. Someone is sneaking towards me.

My hand reaches for the dagger in a leather bag under my jacket; ready to fight. Something must've happened to Kai.

But as soon as I turn around a white, cold ball splashed on my face; getting everywhere in my eyes, in my nose and mouth. I lose my balance and fall down, straight onto the white winter blanket, letting snow to get everywhere under my clothes.

"Snowball fight!"

"Brooklyn!?"

As soon as I rub my eyes to clear the snow on them, I notice the sky is is thick with snowballs so compacted that several feel solid and icy. I look around, seeing all of them are here - Kevin, chasing Brooklyn, Lexi, hiding behind the tree and throwing snowballs at laughing Aaron. And Kai, molding a perfect snowball between his palms, looking at me.

"Don't you dare, Kai Woods."

"Watch out, Beverly Greene."

I smile and quickly pick up some snow; frozen crystals dangling from wild loose fibres I'd never normally notice. Coldness of the snow has frozen my fingers to a point where they no longer wish to bend, but no backing up. Kai might be a badass assassin, but I'm going to beat him up in a snowball fight.

"Bring it on, princess."

I'm quick as I can be, throwing the snowball at Kai. He moves his head away, but it splashes on his shoulder; it shatters like glass, little pieces of snow flies everywhere it can reach. Kai's laughter explodes. Not a chuckle, or a smirk, but blissful, whole-hearted laughter. And I can't help myself but smile, hearing a sound of joy that I've missed so much on these dark times.

I got used to move a lot. Being an assassin has its perks. A new city every week, hotel life with no dishes or chores, new clothes every day - the old ones are always burned to the ashes. Probably it would suck not to have home. But home is where the heart is, and my heart belongs to Kai. It belongs to all of them.

To Brooklyn, my younger sister; my only relative that feels like one. That stood by my side, forgot about her dream to become an actress and instead, became an assassin. And she seems okay with that; actually, she looks happier than all of us are.

Maybe because of Kevin.

"Kev, stop!"

"Afraid of a bit of snow?"

Brooklyn lays on the ground, in the middle of the white winter field as Kevin keeps rubbing snow under her clothes, they're both laughing.

After the kiss, it kind of turned weird between them. They continued to be friends and nothing more; because I think Kevin wasn't ready yet. Though all this time Brooklyn stayed by his side; after 8 years being a lab rat, he had to gain more weight, to get some tests if the drugs didn't make any damage to his system. There is a spark between them; but probably they're not ready for it to come out.