Katie's Hope

"Is it normally this … exciting around here?" Hannah asked as they walked to the cafeteria. "Seems to be so far," Katie admitted. "Nice of Kris to abandon you upstairs like that."

"I'm sure he didn't mean for that to happen," Hannah said, sounding unconvinced. Katie glanced at her troubled sister, unable to help the guilt she felt at Hannah's look.

"He means well. He said he sent someone to find you," she forced herself to say. "He's kinda got a whole bunch of people to worry about."

"I know, Katherine. I'm not upset at him. I just wasn't expecting to be confronted with … what were those things?" "Demons."

"Not what you want to see when you've just taken the most heavenly bath." "Probably not."

"You did really good back there," Hannah said, turning her winning smile on Katie. "I'm impressed, little sis."

Despite her anger at her sister, Katie felt the warm smile affect her. Hannah used that smile to charm everyone from waiters to potential boyfriends, but it was nice to have her sister smile at her rather than remark about how disappointed she was.

"You think Kris is okay?" Hannah asked, her smile fading. "I feel like we ran off and left him." "You don't want to be there to see how bad things get," Katie advised.

"You don't worry about Rhyn?"

Katie hesitated, her hand going to the tattoo at her neck. "I do, but I know he's the scariest thing out there. I don't think anything can hurt him."

She found herself hoping Gabriel made it here before Rhyn did. She'd been so pissed at him, she'd told him what she'd planned to keep from him. A sense of desperation almost took her strength away. She dropped to her knee and pretended to retie her shoe.

Gabriel was coming for her and the life growing within her. She could barely fathom what that meant. She didn't understand much of the Immortal world, but she knew Death always won. In Gabriel's mind, he'd already killed her, or he wouldn't have looked at her with regret instead of pity.

"Hannah, I need to lie down," she said and rose unsteadily. "Go eat and I'll see you later." She turned without waiting for her sister to respond and made her way to her room. Her emotions crippled her, and she flung herself on the bed, sobbing.

* * *

"Enough, Rhyn!" he shouted.