The First Lock - 10. Chapter 10

- X -

She locked the door, making sure that she didn't produce any noise, and silently walked into the kitchen. She turned on the lights, hoping there were some bottles of water left in the fridge, when someone said in the icy tone of voice:

“You have some explaining to do, young lady!”

She whirled around and stared into Mandy’s laughing eyes.

“I’ll be home way before midnight,” she said seriously and immediately started cracking up.

Katrena sighed and walked to the fridge.

“Yeah,” she muttered. “Things kinda...” she coughed. “Got out of control,” she finished and sighed with satisfaction when she found water.

“Out of control, huh...” Mandy said thoughtfully. Then she narrowed her eyes. “Are you glowing?” she asked incredulously, and Katrena sipped her water without any smile. “Oh dear God! You are glowing...! Did you...?”

“No,” Katrena almost rolled her eyes. “I would never sleep with him while I am still pregnant... It’s too weird.”

Mandy blinked when Katrena said, ‘while I am still pregnant’ and not ‘on the first date,’ which she would’ve expected.

“You are glowing,” she said again, and Katrena sighed and set her water bottle on the table.

“Well,” she said uncomfortably. “Something did happen... Oh, God, it’s too weird...”

“He went down on you or something?” Right now, Mandy missed her smoking habit; she quit smoking twelve years ago, right after she got pregnant with the twins, but boy, did she want one now!

“No,” Katrena drank more water. “He didn’t... He...” she hesitated. “He kissed me...”

“Okay,” Mandy said slowly. “And...?”

Now Katrena looked almost uncomfortable.

“Well,” she drank more water. “Something happened... Never happened to me before... I had no idea what was going on, when I...” she coughed.

“You came?!” Mandy asked incredulously and Katrena’s face flushed burgundy. “Oh my God...” Mandy muttered. “Seriously...? And he didn’t do anything else besides the kiss? He didn’t... I don’t know... Use his fingers or...”

“No,” Katrena sighed. “He did use his tongue but it was in my mouth at the time...”

“Oh my God...” Mandy said again. “I’ve heard that it was possible, but up until now, I always thought it was just an urban myth, you know? Jesus, he must be a hell of a kisser...”

“I blame the hormones,” Katrena said firmly. “He is a good kisser but he isn’t that good...”

“Apparently, he is...” Mandy almost moaned, her shoulders shaking with laughter. “Jesus, Katrena... I was pregnant once too, you know... I never came in my panties when Nate kissed me... And believe me when I say it – he is a good kisser!”

“Ugh...” Katrena sighed. “Mandy, I don’t know, okay...? I bit his lip and drew blood,” she finished in a smaller voice, her fingers hugging the water bottle. Mandy’s eyes became round and narrow at the same time, while she was trying to keep the volume of her laughter down.

“Well...” she muttered. “He’ll have fun explaining those marks at work tomorrow...” she took a breath. “ ‘I was brushing my teeth, and my toothbrush slipped...’ Yeah, something like that,” she nodded energetically.

“He said he didn't mind markings,” Katrena said seriously, and Mandy dropped her head into her elbow when her laughter became louder.

“Are you going out with him again?” she asked after she partially got laughter under control.

“Well,” Katrena sighed. “We are going to have brunch and lunch tomorrow, I guess...”

“Brunch covers both,” Mandy said.

“Fine,” Katrena rolled her eyes. “We are meeting at noon, and right now I am going to bed.”

“Sweet dreams,” Mandy said with laughter.

“I thought you said you were not going to wait for me,” Katrena stopped right before she left the kitchen.

“I wasn’t going to,” Mandy nodded. “But I couldn’t sleep... I was curious as hell.”

“Right,” Katrena hemmed. “Well, good night.”

“Night.”

...She was almost positive she was going to dream about Paul, but that night, she dreamt about the first time she met Jett nine months ago.

****

Nine months ago, Katrena was sitting in some tavern, lazily sipping her drink. “Last night was fun,” she thought wistfully, regretting the fact that now she should stay low for a while. She ran into an old, very unpleasant acquaintance of hers last night – Terrence DeLuca. Terrence and she had history back when Katrena was in her late twenties. Not lovers’-affair-has-gone-wrong type of history (Katrena wouldn’t even think of bedding this guy; she hated his guts), but the type that leaves at least one of the sides with permanent scars, actual scars that is, not emotional ones. In their case, Terrence was the one who ended up scarred.

She didn’t expect meeting him, so when they ran into each other nose to nose, she was stunned. He tried taking advantage of that immediately, and that was when things went badly. For him that is... She thought of last night and felt a small smile splashing on her lips. Yeah, last night was fun. That and Terrence DeLuca is not going to bother her ever again. In fact, he is not going to bother anyone. That case wasn’t the reason she had to stay low, however. She knew that DeLuca family was somewhat influential around here, and she was aware of the fact that they might try and take their revenge, but she didn’t worry about that. It wasn’t like she managed to get on the bad side of the Salamanders family – now that would be a very bad thing, even for her.

The reason she needed to stay out of a spotlight for a while was the fact that this morning, when she finally came home, she found none other than Claudia herself patiently waiting for her in Katrena’s own apartment. She gritted her teeth when she saw that leather-clad blonde. The question of how did she get inside had never occurred to her.

“You fashion style never changes, does it?” she asked calmly.

“I used to wear denim,” Claudia said without missing a beat.

“What do I owe this pleasure?” Katrena kicked off her shoes.

“I need to talk to you,” the blonde said. “I apologize for letting myself inside...”

Katrena shot her a somewhat amused look. Claudia laughed. Katrena used to enjoy that laughter when they were both eighteen. That was a very long time ago, however. Right now, the laughter was merely a shadow of a memory.

“Kat,” Claudia sighed. “I know that we had this conversation before, but things have changed.”

“For you,” Katrena nodded with boredom. “Not for me. My answer is the same as it’s always been. I am not interested. Now, if you excuse me, I had a hell of a night and I am dying for a nap.”

“Kat, please,” the blonde said quietly, and Katrena sighed. When Claudia said ‘please,’ you listened. “Everything is different now.”

“Have you managed to lose another Guardian?” Katrena asked with mild curiosity. “Did Reagan get Earth as well, not just Air? He followed, didn’t he?”

“No,” the blonde said quietly. “He didn’t... Nicholas came back,” she said suddenly, and Katrena blinked.

“To you...?” she frowned. “I thought he Pledged three years ago.”

“He did,” Claudia nodded. “And he didn’t come back to me. He came back to Daniel...” she absent-mindedly wrapped a strand of her hair around her finger. “He also broke the Pledge,” she finished, and now Katrena was mute.

“He broke the Pledge...?” she said slowly several minutes later. “And he is still alive?”

“Yes,” Claudia glanced at her through her eyelashes. “Daniel...” she sighed. “Daniel performed the blood bond.”

Katrena stared at her, speechless. “Blood bond?!” she thought numbly. “Is he suicidal...?”

“God...” she said finally.

“Yes,” Claudia said once again. “They have six months before they have to face the Trial.”

“Nobody ever passed the Trial,” Katrena said as slowly as before.

“There is no way of knowing that for sure,” the blonde said softly. “There are no records...”

“Nobody ever passed the Trial, Clau,” Katrena repeated. “And you know it... That’s why you are here...” she narrowed her eyes. “You know that in six months you’ll lose Earth as well... It won’t affect Reagan in the slightest, since Nicholas was merely a hell of a perk, but even without him, she still has the full set... You, on the other hand, are going to have only two left... That’s why you are here. If I finally succumb, that’ll shoot your points so high up, that Reagan won’t stand a chance...”

“Maybe,” Claudia agreed calmly. “There is a chance, however, that they will pass the Trial.”

“Then wait for six months,” Katrena shrugged. “If you really believe they will pass it, which is very unlikely... However, if you believe that those two stand a chance, then you don’t need me.”

“Kat, the power is not the only reason I want you on my side,” Claudia said quietly. “It’s a great advantage, but it’s not the only reason. We used to share something...” she shrugged. “...special,” she finished, and Katrena felt a wave of old anger and fury starting to swell inside her chest.

“So you decided that reminding me about the fact that you treated me just like another lay back then is going to win you points?” she said in a low voice. “You are truly something, you know that?”

“I didn’t treat you like...”

“This conversation is over,” Katrena said through her clenched teeth. “Get out.”

“I couldn’t do anything,” Claudia’s voice started to heat up as well. “I couldn’t do anything and you know it! I didn’t have a choice! I had to leave everything behind. Everything and everyone! Do you have any idea how long I’ve been dreaming about you?”

“So now, all of a sudden, after all those years, you decide to finally patch things up?” Katrena let out wild laughter. “You know, if you came to me with this... Oh, I don’t know... Even forty years ago... I would’ve said ‘yes’ in a heartbeat. But you didn’t, did you? Oh, hell, no! You came now when your ass is about to fall down so hard that it’ll probably split the world in half!”

“Kat...” the blonde closed her eyes. “Look, I...”

“I don’t care,” Katrena interrupted her. “I don’t care about your reasons, your problems, or your upcoming fall... Better yet, I don’t care about you. So please, get out!”

“Katrena...” now the blonde’s eyes were open and they were becoming darker and darker.

“Get out now,” Katrena said very evenly. “Get out or I will shove you out...”

“Don’t make a mistake of going to Reagan,” the blonde said in a dangerous voice. “Just to spite me...”

“Reagan?!” Katrena repeated incredulously. “God, Claudia... You are even fuller of yourself than I thought! I wouldn’t go anywhere near Reagan even if the fate of the world depended on it! I wouldn’t go anywhere near either one of you! You are not that important to me anymore, please get it into that thick head of yours! You were once, a very long time ago, but you are not anymore! I don’t give a flying crap about your problems! Get the hell out!”

“I am not going to let you talk to me this way!” the blonde finally exploded. “I know what you are capable of, but believe me when I say it... I can send you to hell in a heartbeat!”

“I’ll save you a spot,” Katrena said with a nasty smile and raised her middle finger. “This is the only answer you are going to get from me, try to remember the picture. Now get the fuck out!”

She didn’t realize that she was about to call upon the Air until she actually did it. A ferocious blow of the wind (almost felt like a miniature version of a hurricane) burst the front door of her apartment wide open, and the stunned blonde didn’t have any time to react when the same furious wind shoved her outside and slammed the door shut. Katrena stood still for several seconds, ignoring the wind that was trying to grow even stronger. Finally, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. The wind died off unwillingly, and when Katrena opened her eyes again, she felt calmer. She half-expected Claudia to burst through the door and annihilate her on the spot, but the blonde never came back.

Katrena replayed the entire scene in her head, blinked several times, and started to laugh. She howled with laughter for almost ten minutes before she was finally able to calm down. Then she took a long shower, collapsed on her bed, and slept for the next seven hours.