Devil in Disguise (Kai Parker)

Chapter Thirty: Running from your Problems

'You have a plan, right?' Meg asked, wincing as another jolt of pain raced through her head. The anti-magic border was having a strange effect on her; her magic was still too powerful to get rid of all at once, so instead of being a clean-cut drain, it was more drawn out, more torturous. Just her luck.

'Of course I do.' Kai's tone surprised her; he sounded agitated. It was rare anything could get under his cool façade. 'But it's gonna be... irritating.'

'Irritating how?'

He took a deep breath, running his hands through his hair in anxiety.

'You're gonna have to stay outside Mystic Falls.' Kai's hair was dishevelled as he turned to look at her. 'You're no use to me mortal.'

She blinked; this plan was absurdly simple. 'Right... What're you gonna do, then?'

'I've got an idea... sort of.'

'That's Kai-talk for "I can't tell you", isn't it?' Meg guessed. 'Why not?'

'You're not the only one stranded out of Mystic Falls. Damon and Elena'll be after you for sure, and if they push you over the border enough, you will lose your magic. Which means you'll be feeling guilty and all that junk, so you might be tempted to tell them.' Kai finished off by rolling his eyes; his thoughts of feeling "guilty" were plain as day.

Her laughter stuck in her throat. Oh. Her magic was gone. Poof. It felt even weirder than getting it back. She'd nearly forgotten what it was like to have an empty brain. It was so refreshing, so clean. Well, it was until her emotions got back in order - then, it was all screaming.

'You OK, Nut-Meg?' Kai's voice was hard to hear over the tides beating against her skull. Her knees buckled, but before she could fall something sturdy and warm was around her waist, keeping her up. Eyes rolling, she tried to focus, but all she could see was a mess of dark brown and blue. Then it occurred to her she must be looking at Kai.

The thought didn't help. It was like all the confliction she had been feeling before it all went away had doubled in strength. The thoughts tumbled around in her head like laundry in a washing-machine, too quick to keep an eye on and making her unbelievably dizzy.

He was a monster.

He was her friend.

He killed people.

He made her feel free.

He felt nothing.

Neither had she.

There was a sharp breath behind her as Kai realised what must have happened, and fear drove her to tumbling out of his arms. No. If he had a hold of her, he'd make her go back to Mad Meg. The thought of what she'd done in that personality made her want to be sick. She'd set the Parker house on fire, with Joshua Parker in it! She'd tried to kill Liv. God knows what had happened to that annoying waitress after she'd made her disappear. She hadn't cared enough to pay attention.

'Meg! Meg, wait!' Kai called after her, but she was already on her feet. She had to get out of here. Maybe if she ran enough, she could forget everything that had happened.

Two strong arms grabbed her from behind and she screamed, thrashing wildly. Kai wasn't going to get her that easily. The voice in her ear, though, wasn't his.

'Stop struggling, unless you want to be made into dog food.'

Then everything went black.

***

For the second time in just a few hours, Meg came groaning back to consciousness. There was a knot growing on the back of her head, throbbing steadily against what felt like a plush pillow. She was lying sprawled on a soft surface, shoes still on, clothes still dirty. How did she get here?