Our Demons {Kai Parker Book 1}

six: in which he takes her locket

She stared at the white ceiling for an entire minute when she had gained consciousness. Then, it came back to her. They were driving down a long road when the questions got more personal. And when they got personal, Kai drugged her. 

"Kai Parker," she yelled out, standing up and preparing to give the psychotic man-child a piece of her mind. 

"I knew you'd be mad," he entered the room grinning. "You're so cute when you're mad," 

Ria slapped his hands away from pinching her cheeks, "Honey, I'm about to get freaking adorable. What the heck did you do to me?"

"I brought you home. You should feel lucky, you're the first girl I've ever brought home," he winked when her face burned red. "I knew you'd never get on a plane with me, I mean, you barely trust my skills to drive a car. So the reasonable thing to do was knock you out with some prescription anesthetics, carry to the plane, fly to Portland."

"Hold on," Ria paused, staring at him with confusion and fear of how stupid someone could be, and slowly said, "you think drugging someone is reasonable."

Kai nodded.

She turned around, holding her head in astonishment, "I'm done. Nope. Kai, if I'm staying with you and helping you get out, you cannot force me to become unconscious, okay? Whether that's with drugs, a plastic bag, or anything else, it has to stop."

"Ruin all the fun why don't you? Next thing you're going to tell me is that I have to stop reading your diary."

"I don't have a diary, thank-you very much," 

He linked his arm with her's and guided her outside. 

"You were right about the Grimoire. While you were passed out I found the copy that wasn't ripped, the spell is one for travelling through dimensions. The problem here is there are three items we need for the spell to work. The first is a raven's feather, don't ask me why. The second is an ascendant which helps to focus the energy of the eclipse we have been experiencing every day. The final is magic."

"We don't have either one of those, do we?"

"The first two should be easy. I know for a fact my father had an ascendant that belonged to our coven. Raven's feather can't be too hard either. Magic? Yeah, we have a problem there."

"So, what are we going to do?"

He didn't respond. He lets go of her arm and walked to a well in the backyard. He pushed off the lid and peered down into the emptiness. 

"We have all of the eternity to figure that out. But there's something more interesting I want to know. Wait, where's your locket?"

Her heart sank in her chest and her fingers reached for her neck trying to find the single item she has never parted with ever since it was given to her. She snapped her eyes to him, a cold glare, threatening to shove him down the well. 

"Kai, give it back."

He reached into his pocket, pulling out the golden chain and letting dangle from his fingers. "This?" She stepped forward. "Ah, ah, ah, one more step and it's going down the hole."

"Kai, don't do this. What do you want?"

"A story. See, you've given me the just of it, but I like details. How else am I going to publish it when I get out. And then there's the fact that you're not scared of me despite the fact that I've attacked you more than once."

"Honestly? I have worse nightmares about going back to high school."

"Funny," he dangled it over the well and she stopped herself from tackling him. "Now, we are going to stay here and have our picnic as planned. We'll sit down on the grass, enjoy the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches I made for us, and you are going to tell me your story in full detail or this goes does down the well. 

"Fine," Ria plopped herself down on the grass as her eyes watered. "I'll do anything, just don't throw it, please."

"Huh, I never really understood why people get so attached to things. Like, how does that work? Or is it just a girl thing, to attach emotions and sentiment to items. I mean, come on, this couldn't have cost you more than five bucks."

Ria wanted to scream at him, she wanted to scream in his face because of how frustrated he had made her.  She wanted to explain to his arrogant and unloved self that she wouldn't trade the locket Kol Mikaelson had given her for immortality and all the money of the world. 

This locket held meaning to her because when it was given to her it also gave her hope and love. 

She lost Kol Mikaleson but the locket was a physical reminder of what he had allowed her to feel for the first time in her life. It was a promise of his love, and if she lost it she'd never forgive herself. 

Staring into Kai's wicked dark eyes, she knew he would never understand. It was evident he never experienced any form of love, he didn't know how empowering and ecstatic love was. 

And as Ria would come to know much later, love always starts with forgiveness.