Pernicious | Kai Parker

Chapter 19

"She got butthurt."

Amelia gritted her teeth as Kai relayed the previous night's events to Damon and Bonnie with surprising accuracy, rubbing her incompetence in her face.

"Whatever," said Damon. "Just answer the question we've been asking."

"I will," replied Kai. "But I haven't finished my story about when I went to the White House. So I jumped over the gates, obviously, and kicked the door down to get into the building, and then, of course, I broke into the Oval Office and took a picture of myself at the window, looking at JFK. But then, I was like, 'Wait, how am I going to get these photos developed?'"

"Oh my god," Damon interrupted. "Just answer the damn question. How are we going to get out of this Twilight Zone."

Kai managed to hold up a finger. "I got a question for you, first. Why do you think we're stuck on a repeating loop of May 10, 1994? Doomed to relive a solar eclipse forever and ever, and ever."

Damon huffed. "How should I know?"

"Well, I heard you tell Bonnie and Amelia that this place was your own personal Hell. I'm kinda curious why."

Bonnie entered the room, with several items in her backpack. "I found everything you asked for: can-opener, shower drain, grinding wheel, jam, pocket knife, volume 'O' of the encyclopedia, a nail, and a black marker. Now what?"

She set the materials down, and Kai smirked. "Can't show you with my hands taped."

Amelia plucked up the pocket knife, which she used to aggressively cut off Kai's bindings (this apparently filled him with great satisfaction). "Thank you," he said kindly. "That's more like it."

Damon gestured at the pile of things on the table. "Okay. Fine. How is this pile of crap going to get us out of here?"

Kai rubbed his wrists, moving to sit directly beside Amelia, who scooted a bit away. "I'll explain... as soon as you tell me what you did on May 10, 1994."

Damon was growing frustrated. "What difference does it make?"

"Let me put it this way— Bonnie's magic is one part of the equation. My as-yet undisclosed knowledge is the other. Amelia gets a pass because she's hot. Which means you would be hitching a ride home for free. I just want to know if you deserve to come along."

The vampire snatched the pocket knife from Amelia and went to hold it against Kai's throat. "Or, I could just torture you until you say something useful. I have no problem hurting you after seeing how much you're bothering my sister."

Kai was unnaturally calm. "If you torture me, I'll get mad, and then I won't want to help you." He looked at Bonnie and Amelia. "What kind of person needs to have that explained to them?"

"Just let him go, Damon," groaned Amelia, rubbing her forehead. "The sooner we comply, the sooner we can get out."

Kai leaned back on the sofa for a moment, putting his arm around Amelia's shoulder, and making her lean forward so he wasn't touching her. "That's a good girl," he praised, and Amelia felt her face redden again. "Ah, did I find the magic words? No wonder you didn't like princess, you're into being called a 'good girl.'"

"Shut the fuck up," she snapped. "Damon, get on with the story, please?"

Damon shook his head, and Kai retrieved the jam, popping it open. "Why don't you just tell him your story?" asked Bonnie.

The vampire looked a bit uncomfortable. "Maybe because I don't want to talk about the worst thing I ever did, Bonnie."

Kai's pupils dilated with interest. "Ooh, now I'm listening." He dipped his fingers into the jam and scooped some up, bringing it to his mouth and licking his hand clean, his peripheral vision fixated on Amelia as his tongue glided over the surface of his palm. She turned away, and cleared her throat before getting up, going to the kitchen, and bringing a spoon back for him.