Written in the Stars of Heaven

The second the lock clicked on the other side, I jumped up from the bed and ran on my toes to the bathroom. Perfect. While Felix was rambling on, I’d come up with a great idea for a weapon. There was a medicine cabinet hanging over the sink, and the mirror on the front could be dangerous. I just hoped it wasn’t like the window, and completely unbreakable.

Hurrying back out to the living room area, I grabbed the same stool I’d used to throw the night before-- I’d only been here a night! It felt like a week. Back in front of the mirror, I braced myself and hurled it. The sound of chattering glass was like the trilling of Heavenly bells to my ears.

Smiling wide, I tossed the wooden stool aside, and knelt down to rummage through the pieces. I needed one with a sharp point, that I could use in place of a dagger… And immediately found one. It was perfect; long, and wider at one end, narrowing down into a very sharp edge. Maybe my luck had returned, after it’s long absence. Wouldn’t that be nice?

I set the portion I wanted aside, and carefully brushed the rest under the sink, so I wouldn’t cut my feet, and returned the stool to the other room. I could tell Felix he pissed me off so bad, I had to punch something. Even if he was a little smarter, it was a convincing lie.

And I’d found the perfect hiding place when I was searching for a weapon before. Inside the nightstand by the bed, was a Bible. And I honestly could not see Felix, or any other Reaper for that matter, opening the Holy Book. He’d never find it!

Very pleased with myself, I plopped down on the mattress and white unkempt comforter. I felt so much better with knowing I had a plan, and I wasn’t stumbling around blindly. I figured that Kendyll would be relieved with that too, so I called him back.

“Kend, guess what! I have a plan!”

“Melani, what the hell? Why did you shove me away like that? We were talking!” he shouted, causing me to flinch. I would have looked like a crazy person, I’m sure, if anyone had been watching. But that wasn’t important.

“Kendyll, listen to me! I have a plan!”

That succeeded in calming him just enough to listen to what I had in store for my little Reaper kidnapper. “What is it?”

“Ok...” I went on to explain the whole separate regions thing, and explained that I was in the Herllow Nation, my nation. “So, if I can get out of here, I will hopefully find a civilized person to help me. And I have a weapon now, and know where Felix keeps the key. It’s foolproof, and he’s my perfect fool!”

“That’s actually not a bad idea, Sis. Promise me you will be careful?” he asked, voice calm, but with a hint of worry to it.

“I swear. This guy won’t know what hit him! And you’ve seen my kick-boxing competitions. You know I can hold my own.”

Again, he had to admit that I was right. Oh, how I loved those words. “But don’t get too caught up in this, Mel. You can’t get too cocky.” Those, not so much.

“I won’t, I won’t. How’s the search for my body going? It was shot, so it should probably get medical attention really soon.”

“What?” he hollered, louder than his last rant. This one actually made my head throb a little. “Melani, why didn’t you tell me this?”

“I forgot,” I told him.

“That’s hardly an excuse. Do you know where he took you?”

“No. I was passed out. He used some chloroform type thing like the do in Criminal Minds.”

I could just imagine the frustrated look that was surely on my twin’s face… If even his thoughts carried that anger, then it was sure to be very evident on his face.

“Alright. I’ll do what I can. If you remember anything else, tell me! And don’t wait so long next time.”

“Will do, Kend. I love you.”

“I love you too.”
When he faded away to the back of my mind, I reveled in the sensation. I didn’t think I’d ever get used to another presence in my head.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

Bored out of my mind, I began to sing quietly to myself, always finding the activity comforting in a face of a great trial. And it didn’t hurt that I was pretty good at it too. Being modest, of course. Oh, who am I kidding? Me, modest? Yeah, that’s like saying Mulan wasn’t a total badass.

About half way through the chorus of “Kiss the Girl”, the door opened to reveal a very grouchy looking Felix.

“So, are they coming for me?” I asked, much more cheery than I felt. Just because Felix was an idiot, there was absolutely no guarantee the others would be, meaning my situation could drastically change for the worse. Again.

“Yes,” he practically groaned. “The king sent his son, and he’s the best Herllow Hunter out there. You don’t know how many I’ve lost to that man!”

“That sounds… unpleasant. For me.”

“Yeah. He’s a cruel man, I’ve heard. I’ve never actually met him, so I wouldn’t personally know.”

My brows furrowed together. “I thought you said he’s stolen the Herllow you kidnapped before.”

Felix’s grim disposition darkened even more. “He has. But that doesn’t mean I’ve come into contact with him.”

This inspired a spark of fear to ignite within my core. This man, now coming after me, was so good at his job, he could take from Felix without ever meeting him. What did that mean for me? Nothing too pleasing, from the sound of it.

“Wow. He must be good.”

“Oh, he is. The best. I’m going to have to barricade this place really well. The last few times, he‘s been able to get in easily”

I didn’t understand why the idiot didn’t take me and move to a new holding place. Not that I wanted to stay with him, by any means, but it’s hard not to correct his idiocy sometimes. I mean, really? Stay in the same exact place the guy always came to. Not that I was going to say anything to him about this. No, I needed to escape on my own, and evade him without the moron slowing me down.

When Felix turned to leave, I grabbed on to his wrist to stop him so I could lure him into my trap, and immediately noticed a strange look cross his face.

“What are you doing to me?” he asked in a shaky voice.

“Um, nothing. What’s got your panties in a bunch, Napoleon?”

He jerked his arm away, like I was burning it or something, and stared at me intently. “How did you do that?”

I rolled my eyes at him, confused as to what rant he was going on now. “What the hell are you talking about? I didn’t do anything but grab your wrist to ask you a question.” Ok, so I wasn’t going to ask him anything, but he didn’t need to hear that.
“You made me see what you do…” he managed, still studying me.

“What?” I inquired, hoping that he was truly going mad. That would help speed my escape plans right along.

“Take my arm again, and picture something that’s not in the room,” he ordered, not bothering to justify his crazy demeanor.

I figured I’d humor him, so maybe he would tell me what the deal was with his behavior. Grabbing his bare wrist again, I pictured my house, back in Buffalo. Did I miss that place, or what? The light purple pain of my room, the golden light the lamp cast, the purple and green plaid comforter… What I wouldn’t give to be there…

“I see it…” Felix murmured. “Is that your room?”

I pulled my hand away in shock. “What did you say?”

“The room. Was it yours?” he asked, maroon eyes wide with sincerity.

“You saw that?”

“Yes. You must be able to project images through physical contact. Interesting,” he said, ribbing the light, blonde stubble on his chin.

“I’d say! I never imagined I could do that. And that's saying something, because I have a pretty high opinion of myself.”

He just nodded, and retreated to go barricade the house better. At that point, I was too stunned to remember I had stabbing and escaping that needed to be attended to. And I’d let him go. Damn it. I just hoped this new, super-ninja guy wasn’t going to show up for a few days.