Katrina

Secrets. This world is filled with them. So many secrets, except these secrets, yield no answers. Each secret seems to unravel an even larger mystery and a graver need for the answers we so desperately seek. Ares and DeGe knew my parents. They knew I existed, an archangel-fallen angel hybrid. Hades knew my mom was pregnant. He knew Lilith had survived her last fight and that she was pregnant. He'd revealed, more than likely by mistake, that he knew Lilith was having a girl and that the baby's father would be powerful. He may have said if, but everyone knows a warning when they hear one. Watch out. Lilith's daughter will be an unstoppable force, dangerous and unknown. There's also Loki, my mother's savior, her best friend, who knew she was pregnant and visited her often, and that's all I know, a mystery I've yet to unveil, a mystery I'm not even sure I want to unravel. Add in the fable of Kek and a little mix of Delphine's premonition, and you're left with a string so knotted it's impossible to unravel.

On second thought, I may start with the mystery of Loki. Once I have that figured out, I can confront that Jackass and tell him to stop playing with my life; his chaos is unwarranted and unwanted. I can't help but chuckle at my inner thoughts; you need to find some form of joy to help elevate the stress, and for me, making jokes about my ungodly situation is my second choice of stress relief. I'm sure you can guess my first choice; here's a hint: it involves me naked, spread out on a table, presented to five hot as fuck males, like a Christmas Feast. I feel something stirring in my stomach. Is it the beginning signs of hunger? Or am I just horny? Do they go hand in hand now? When Lukas' eyes meet my own, I get my answer. Hunger. My succubus wants out to play.

Luka's hand slithers up my thighs, his fingers playing with the hem of my shorts. I close my eyes, letting my darkness simmer as I wait for his promising touch, but it doesn't come; my searing skin is now ice cold. I open my eyes and realize he's no longer touching me; the fire in his eyes has been snuffed, revelation taking its place. I start to pout, but his words cut me off.

"There's something I didn't tell you about Kek. Something I didn't think was important at the time."

No one interrupts. We wait, knowing Luka will share the information without us having to pry it from him.

"Kek wasn't alone. There was another deity of Darkness, but she died." Luka pauses as if he's still trying to piece together his thoughts. "Kauket was her name. She was Kek's other half. Some say they were lovers, others that they were twins, and even fewer say they were one being broken into two. I'm not sure which is true, but when Kauket died, Kek buried her body beneath the Step Pyramid, preserving her body for the day she'll return."


"Okay..."Aphelion responds slowly, confusion evident in his voice, "This pertains to our current situation; how?"

"I'm still trying to piece it together, but I think Kek needs Katrina to resurrect Kauket," Luka replies, his voice distant, like he's lost somewhere in his mind.

This is what Miles meant. Premonitions can drive a man mad, and this riddle will destroy my professor. Luka needs answers; he strives for them; they keep him going when he feels like everything else is going to bury him. This mystery will continue to eat at him until he solves it. He will let it devour him before he abandons it.

Miles stands up abruptly, startling me. "Hang on a minute," he states before marching to his room. I'm puzzled about what he's doing, but it all becomes clear when he comes out with a dry-erase board and markers. He's going to take down notes. We're all going to sit here and problem-solve until we can figure out the premonition given by Delphine. We won't let it consume us.

"Okay," Miles states, lying down on his stomach, the whiteboard in front of him. He uncaps the lid and writes down Kek and Kauket, underlining their names. Beneath that, he adds a bullet point jotting down the word Darkness. "These two are Darkness. The original Darkness. They're a part of the puzzle, but this presage isn't about them. They're only the catalyst.

Everyone nods in agreement. Miles then jots down my name and adds the first part of the riddle. "Without light, there cannot be Darkness, and without Darkness, there cannot be light," followed by the word heritage.

"Beckett was right. This has something to do with Kitten. I don't think light and dark refer to the stars and the void. I think the first part refers to Katrina. She's both light and dark. An archangel and a fallen angel. Without both parts, she is nothing."

Miles is right. This premonition is about me. Light and dark aren't positive and negative; they're my bloodlines. Kek might be the catalyst, the reason the Etir is here, but I'm the explosion. I'm the reason it's spreading across the world. The Darkness is searching, and it won't stop until it has me in its clutches. But why. Why does Kek need me?

Luka's staring at me; when he speaks, it's as if he's answering my internal question. "To resurrect Kauket, Kek will need to restore life. He'll need something dark that he can steal the light from. He plans on harvesting Katrina's light. Steal the light from the Darkness, and life will be bestowed."

Miles jots Lukas answer down, not bothering to make sure the others agree. Luka's explanation brooks no room for argument.

"So what does Steal the darkness from the light, and death will become, but a shadow mean?" This sentence doesn't follow along with the Katrina equaling light and darkness theory," Aphelion states, rereading the Oracle's foretelling.

A shadow is just a dark area produced by an object obstructing the light. Since a shadow is just a dark area, does that mean shadows will no longer exist? And if that's so, does that mean there will no longer be death? Fuck. I reach up absent mindly rubbing my temples. My head feels like its going to explode. The words of the premonition running through my mind over ans over again, along with theories and ideas. It's too much. The pounding is incessant. I don't know how the fuck, these guys are doing it. How they can just keep theorizing and analyzing. Its too much. Groaning out in pain, I squeeze my eyes shut, bringing my knees up to my chest and bowing my head between my legs.


"Are you okay?" Aphelion asks, his hands gently rubbing my back, his voice full of concern.


"Yes." I whine, cringing at the sound of my voice, "My head just hurts."

"Are you hungry, Kit-Kat?" Luka asks, "Do we need to put this on pause?"

"I...." I take a deep breath, trying to figure out what it is that I'm actually feeling. "I think I'm just exhausted from it all. Let's get this shit figured out. and then let's go to bed." I reply.

Beckett's hands have managed to snake their way to the top of my hand, and he's gently massaging my scalp, his hand briefly pausing before continuing on. With each circular motion, his hands will slightly lift in the same two spots, and it hits me with what he's avoiding. My horns. On his next circular motion, Beckett doesn't avoid my horn; instead, he strokes it, and to my embarrassment, I let out a little mewl of pleasure.

"Maybe you are a little hungry after all, Princess." Aphelion whispers in my ear, his breath sending shivers down my spine.

I can feel the fire from all of their gazes. My men are all ready and willing to fulfill my needs, and damn it, I want them to, but I also want these answers just as badly.

"I can wait." I pant, pulling my head back away from Beckett's touch, resting my back against Aphelion's chest. "I need those answers."

"You need to be fed," Samael grumbles, not so subtly adjusting himself.

I don't pay him any heed, though; instead, I stare at Luka, pleading with him. He'll know best of all how important it is for me to have these answers.

"And is there any reason we can't do both?" He smirks wickedly.