sat there, stoic. She couldn’t focus on anything. Her thoughts whirled around her mind, giving her a headache. Kate sat there, growing increasingly dizzy until her vision blurred. In another moment she was sprawled across the bed, her head resting against the soft pillows. It had been too much; she had blacked out.
Kate woke up on the kitchen table. Donovan, Adriana, and Rico were sitting around her. Rico was running his fingers up the inside of Kate’s arm, tickling her gently with his touch. Off to the side, Adriana and Donovan were whispering in an attempt to figure out what to do next. Their voices were soft, almost invisible against the buzz of silence.
When they all noticed that Kate had woken, they sat quietly, waiting for her to sit up. Kate’s head still hurt but she wasn’t reeling from the knowledge anymore. She sat there for a moment, catching her breath, trying to figure everything out, trying to match the puzzle pieces together until things made sense.
“Are you all right?” Adriana asked finally. Her brow was furrowed, her lips set in a frown.
“Hold on, I’m processing everything,” Kate said.
“Take your time,” Rico whispered to her. “We can wait for you.” He looked up at her, his cobalt eyes stormier than ever. A feeling of guilt rushed through Kate’s veins at his appearance. He was probably torturing himself for hurting her. But Kate couldn’t focus on that right now. She had to focus on Kern, on Darkness, on the demons hunting her.
So Kate took a few minutes to think about this new information. She took it and mixed it with the things she already knew about herself. She knew that the image of the world on fire was real, was something that could happen. She also felt as if she wanted it to happen. If Darkness created the catalyst – created Kate - she could see how she would feel these emotions; Rico had stated previously that demons were evil in nature, so Darkness would, essentially, equate to evil as well. But did that mean that Kate was just darkness? Didn’t she have any light inside of her soul? Rico said she was pure. But how could she be if she could lie and hate?
Kate shifted her thoughts, deciding to focus on how she felt about being a catalyst. Was she supposed to start the fire? Was Kate supposed to do Darkness’ bidding? Was that her purpose in life? She knew that if Darkness created her, she must be meant to stand next to him, to be on his side; but she didn’t want to be on his side. She needed to figure out how to relinquish the hold that Darkness had on her soul; Kate needed to figure out how to be free of the Darkness within her soul. The first question that popped out of Kate’s mouth when she was ready was: “Why is it me?”
“We don’t know, Kate. We just know your purpose,” Donovan said.
“And my purpose is to determine the fate of the world?”
“Your purpose is to keep the balance. The scales are very sensitive, Kate. We need your soul to stay on this side,” Donovan said, clearly taking over the conversation.
“What do I need to do?” she asked.
Donovan swallowed and looked down. “Kern is going to attempt to possess you at some point,” he said. “We need to make sure that he isn’t successful. Have you been able to locate your talisman yet?” he asked as he looked back up.
Kate was the one who looked down this time, ashamed. She had been so caught up in Rico and her dad that she had forgotten about the talisman. “No,” she said. “I forgot about it. I know that it’s not an excuse, but it’s the truth. I’m sorry. You gave me one task to complete, and I couldn’t do it.”
“It’s fine, Kate. I think you still have time,” Donovan said reassuringly.
“Are you sure?” she asked. Kate bit her lip, afraid of his answer.
“No,” he said honestly, “but it’s all we’ve got.”
“Yes, I guess you’re right.”
Donovan nodded, and Kate pulled in a deep, steadying breath. “So at some point I have to allow Kern to possess me? I have to sacrifice myself?”
“No,” Rico said. He leaned forward, pulling her hand in his protectively. “You won’t be sacrificing yourself, Kate. I promise that we will save you. Your soul is the strongest there is. You’ll be able to fight him.”
“Only if she has her talisman, Rico,” Donovan interjected. “You need to find it, Kate. I’m serious about this. It’s the only way this will truly work.”
“I know,” Kate said.
Donovan didn’t look convinced. “Kate,” he said seriously. “I want to make sure that you understand the severity of the situation. If Kern succeeds in taking your soul, in possessing your body, the world will be destroyed. The visions aren’t telling you what you want, even though it may seem that way; they are telling you the truth. Your soul is the only thing protecting the fate of the world as we know it. Your soul is the only soul that matters right now, Kate. Your soul is, essentially, Light himself.”
“You mean to tell me that I am the reincarnation of Light? I thought that I was created by Darkness.” Kate raised an eyebrow at Donovan.
“No,” Donovan said. “You are Light’s daughter.”
“Donovan,” Adriana said warily, “don’t you think you’re putting too much pressure on Kate? You’re clearly frightening her,” she said, looking at the expression on Kate’s face.
Donovan shook his head and leaned away. “No, Adriana. I’m doing what’s best for her, what’s best for the world. If anything, you and Rico are babying her. She’s sixteen, Adriana; she needs to know what’s at stake.”
“He’s right,” Kate said in agreement. “It might scare me now, but at least I know what’s going on when things start going on. I want to be as strong, as prepared, as you are. I want to be ready to fight Kern and Erik.”
“We can prepare you for that,” Donovan said.
“No!” Rico interjected, standing up quickly. “We are not going to attempt to possess Kate!” he shouted, pounding his fist on the table.
“She says she wants to be ready to face Kern, Rico!” Donovan shouted back.
Rico’s cobalt eyes blazed with anger. “She is prepared! She’s strong enough on her own, Donovan!”
“No she’s not. She has no talisman, and little luck of finding one before Kern strikes. This is the only chance she’s got.”
“I don’t care,” Rico said adamantly. “Neither of us is trying to possess her. You are far too knowledgeable. I’m too skilled. What if one of us succeeds? What happens when one of us tips the scales?”
“It would be better than Kern tipping the scales!”
Rico pulled back, striking forward, and punched Donovan in the jaw. Donovan went down and Adriana stared at Rico, angry tears burning in her eyes. She crouched down, leaning over Donovan.
“You’re letting your heart affect you,” she said simply. “Donovan is trying to protect Kate. Your heart is weakening your judgment, and you are weakening Kate.” Kate watched tears fall onto Donovan’s chest as Adriana tried to bring him back to them, to her.
Rico moved toward Kate, but Kate pulled away. She was angry at him. After all of this time, after everything that they had been through, he still thought that she was too weak to face Donovan, who had never even tried to possess a human. What made it worse was that Rico had hit Donovan to make sure that he didn’t try, even for the sake of further preparing themselves for the ensuing battle. Kate was the type of person to speak for herself, and she wondered if Rico would always be this controlling with her life, with her soul.
“Kate,” he said as he held out his hand, waiting for her to take it. “Come on.” He flexed his fingers impatiently. His gaze flicked back to Donovan.
“No,” she said angrily. “Donovan and Adriana are right. I need to learn how to fight Kern. If I don’t find a talisman, I’m useless. I don’t want to see the world catch fire like it did in my dreams, Rico. You can go, but I’m staying here. I’m going to learn to fight, whether you’re here beside me or not.”
Rico flinched at her words but stayed where he was. He sat back down in his chair and moped. Kate felt bad for her harsh words but knew that she needed to make h
er own decisions. She wouldn’t let Rico’s feelings for her come before the safety of the world; she wouldn’t make the same mistakes as before, when she let her feelings get in the way of telling Rico and Adriana the truth. They could have known this already; they could have been prepared for this long ago. She couldn’t hurt them any longer, and she would never hurt them again.
Kate turned, because Donovan was getting up now. He wiped his hand across his jaw and stared at Rico. His chocolate eyes were hurt and angry; for once, he was standing here, willing to help them fight, and this is what he got in return - nothing but anger and weakness. He stood up with the help of Adriana and turned to leave.
“Wait, Donovan. Please don’t leave,” Kate pleaded. “I want to practice. I want to learn how to defend myself.”
Donovan paused and turned to face Kate. His gaze flicked over to Rico, who sat still as he looked out at nothing. “And what about Rico?”
“He has nothing to do with this, Donovan. He can’t make this decision for me.” Kate knew that this hurt Rico, that this was the worst thing that she could say about him, but she had to say it. She knew that it was the only way to get Rico to truly leave her alone about this. She had to stand up for herself, despite what he thought.
“Okay,” Donovan said calmly. “Let’s get started.”
23
Kate found herself sitting in one of the pastel chairs that belonged