CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

Kai Parker Screwed Us

____________________

WITH A PLAN set into motion, Ryan and Josie hauled an unconscious Alaric Saltzman from the floor of the bar and placed him in the sole chair on the stage. Chains were wrapped around his body and secured with the padlocks used on Kai Parker years earlier, making sure that the man could not follow them when he woke from his forced sleep.

"You do know Kai's gonna double cross us if we find a way out of here, right?" Josie voiced as she snapped the last padlock through the chain loops.

Ryan raised his hand from where it rested on Alaric's forehead, having placed a protection spell on the man. Just in case one of the mystery occupants decided to make an appearance and he could not escape the chains in time. "Yeah, probably. That's why we gotta stay one step ahead of him."

Josie looked to the Mikaelson boy and asked, "so, where do we start? He already said that he isn't going to tell us anything for free. We don't have anything to offer him."

"He doesn't know that," Ryan replied, meeting her gaze. He racked his brain for something that could help further their precariously partnership with the crazy Parker man. His eyes drifted from Josie's face to the bulge in the backpack on her shoulders. The Sandclock. "We could ask for help looking for the Sandclock," he said and returned his stare to the girl. When her brows furrowed, he continued. "Think about it. We don't have any Bennett blood to get out of here, so we need something with a lot of power to charge the spell."

Ryan did not know what made him think of the substitution. But, it was true. Without a drop of Bennett blood, they would be stranded inside the Prison World. If they wanted to escape, they needed something powerful enough to override the key component of the spell. Black Magic, while volatile and unstable, could do just that.

Not the best option, but they did not have many left to choose from.

Josie thought about his suggestion as her forehead creased in concentration. "It could work," she agreed, although a her tone dripped in unease.

Before Ryan could calm her worries, a sharp gasp erupted throughout the room. He snapped to where Kai laid on the floor, twitching as he returned from his temporary death.

"Oh, I should have seen that coming," Kai groaned out as he pushed himself up from the linoleum. "Okay. First death's free, Ric, but I'm warning you, if you that I'm..." he trailed off when he spotted the two teenagers next to Alaric's restrained form. "Well, I definitely didn't see this coming."

Ryan looked to Josie, and they exchanged an identical glance. Time for them to play their game.

"We didn't want him trying to stop us," Josie told her resurrected uncle.

Kai kept his stare on them and stepped forward. "Stop you from doing what?"

"Getting us all out of here," Josie stated, "even if that means partnering up with you."

Kai simply smiled return.

__________

"So, we need three things," Kai called out to Ryan and Josie as they trudged toward the meadow where they picked up the Sandclock earlier in the day, "the apex of the celestial event that trapped me here, some Bennett blood, and the duplicate Ascendant, which is the first thing I went looking for when those burnouts woke me up."

Ryan's ankle-high boots sunk into the tangled grass that covered the empty stretch of land, following the Heretic with narrowed eyes. While he knew they needed to team up with Kai to get out of the Prison World, he did not trust the man in the slightest. The moment they devised a credible way to escape, Kai would turn on them. Ryan knew it. Josie knew it. And because of that knowledge, they were a step ahead of him. They just needed to keep it that way.

"Did you find it?" Josie questioned, clutching the straps of the backpack set on her shoulders.

"No answers for free," Kai quipped as they proceeded through the meadow. "I assume you two come carrying the Bennett blood."

Ryan and Josie paused. Time to sell their plan.

At their silence, Kai pivoted on his heels and face the supernatural teenagers. His eyes flicked over their fallen expressions, before he doubled over and stammered for a response. "How – how is it possible that you came to a Prison World without the one thing you need to escape it?" he rose and set his sole attention on the boy and girl.

Ryan scoffed. "It's not like we came here of our own freewill."

"Okay, so then what exactly are you bringing to this partnership?" Kai exclaimed, taking a threatening step toward the Mikaelson boy. "Because, from where I stand, I'm the only one of us who's not useless."

Ryan held his ground with tight grin, meeting the man's stare head-on. "No answers for free."

Josie maintained a stoic expression and stared at her uncle. "What's the celestial event?"

Kai pressed his lips together, before he continued through the meadow. "That I actually don't know, but uh – there's only so many minutes in a day, so I'll figure it out," he said, his voice rising toward the end.

"That's your plan?" Josie exclaimed as she and Ryan hurried after him. "Process of elimination?"

"I like a challenge," Kai retorted, stopping mid-step to look at the teenagers. "And to be honest, I've got nothing but time."

Ryan rolled his eyes. Fifteen minutes in, and he was already tired of the man's attitude. And he thought his dad was bad. When Kai started to head across the meadow, he voiced, "what about the Sandclock?" The Heretic brought his pace to a stop. "Could it be strong enough to power the Ascendant instead of a celestial event?"

Kai turned back and pursed his lips. "Maybe," he quipped. Then his forehead creased in a questioning manner. "Why? Where is it?"

"No clue." Ryan shrugged, shifting his indifferent stare to the Saltzman girl at his side. "Do you know where it is, Jo?"

Josie lifted her shoulders and adopted his mocking demeanor. "Somewhere in this clearing."

Kai blinked. "Then why don't I see it?"

Josie gave him a small smirk. "Because I put a spell on it. You wouldn't even know you were looking at it."

Kai's expression fell slack as he said, "you know, that – that actually happened to me with a teddy bear once." He stared at the ground, before his eyes lifted to the teenagers and he hummed. "You guys, uh, you really don't trust me, do you?" He walked toward them, reaching into his pocket to pull out a metal device that resembled the one Josie, Lizzie, Ryan, and their classmates made the night before. Kai moved, crouching down to set the Ascendant onto the ground between them. "Consider it a show of good faith."

When he stood, Josie removed the backpack from her shoulders and knelt lower it beside the Ascendant. She ripped open the zipper and pulled out the Sandclock, holding it up as she gave her uncle a tight grin.

Kai smiled at the sight of it. "You were lying." He released a mock gasp and breathed, "you two're definitely learning."

__________

The next part of their escape attempt hinged on a trip to the local hospital. After Ryan proposed a substitution for the required celestial event, Kai claimed that he knew how to bypass their Bennett blood problem. He did not elaborate on the details, only stating that they needed to get to the medical facility if they wanted to find a way back to the real world.

Ryan's nerves were on high alert as he and Josie followed Kai into the sterile, vacant halls of the hospital. His wariness around the Heretic grew the longer he spent in his presence. Kai seemed too eager to aid in their escape. After all, why would the man want to help the girl he tried to kill almost seventeen years prior?

"How do we know this plan of yours is gonna work?" Ryan questioned, holding a door open so he and Josie could enter another section of the hospital. 

"Yeah, why're we here?" Josie asked her uncle, who strode ahead of them without a care in the world.

"Oh, information for information," Kai countered. "Tell me more about this Malivore pit and those monsters you've been dealing with." He turned back to them and said, "for the record, I never lost faith in Santa being real." He whirled on his heel to proceed down the while corridors.

Ryan rolled his eyes and muttered, "why does that not surprise me?"

Josie gave the man a flat look, but she continued to explain more about the hellish pit they dealt with back home. "Basically, Malivore is a pocket dimension, like this one. There is a portal into our world. We closed it, but the monsters keep coming."

Ryan sighed. "Personally, I think there's another portal. Every time we seem to close one, another pops up."

"Fascinating," Kai quipped, turning to face the two teenagers. "Now, to answer your question, we're here because I spent years studying genealogical records, while being hunted and killed for sport. I recently found someone who donated blood under the name Smithfield, which was her married name. Maiden name: Bennett."

Ryan's eyes narrowed toward the man. Kai just so happened to find someone who donated blood back in 2018 named Bennett and neglected to use it. He had almost everything he needed to leave the Prison World, except for the knowledge on the celestial event used to trap him there. Maybe that was why Kai waited to reveal the information until Ryan and Josie offered a power replacement. Even then, the timing was more than suspicious. 

Ryan looked to his right where Josie's own gaze scrunched toward her uncle.

Kai gasped and walked backward, pointing to a plaque outside a door labeled blood storage. "Bennett blood. Tada!" He grabbed ahold of the handle, pushing it down to allow them inside the room.

Ryan peered through the doorway, freezing when a head of dark, blonde hair entered his field of vision. Jade spun in a chair, facing them with redden eyes and blood dripping down her chin from the drained blood bag in her hand. The rest of the crimson filled bags were scattered throughout the room, completely consumed by the teenage vampire.

Josie stumbled back and grabbed Ryan's arm to drag him with her. Kai's eyes widened at the sight of the girl.

"Thank God you're here," Jade voiced, lowering the empty blood bag from her lips. "I'm still hungry." She growled and sped from the chair.

Kai held up and hand, telekinetically closing the door before she could reach them.

Ryan stared at Jade through the thin window in the door. She snarled, punching against the door to escape. He snapped to Kai and exclaimed, "what the hell? I thought she was dead! You staked her through the heart."

Kai spun to him and said, "yeah, I totally did, but they're banished to this world, like me, so they just keep – coming back." He chuckled, gesturing with his hands. As the pounding on the door grew louder, he motioned toward the hallway and ushered them along. "We should go."

Josie picked up her pace, practically sprinting down the hall for an exit when the realization dawned on her. They left Alaric chained to a chair with supernatural creatures who could reanimate like Kai. "We need to find my dad before that werewolf wakes up."

Ryan chased after her and called out, "Jo, he's fine. I put a protection spell on him. Besides, your dad's dealt with worse than an angry werewolf."

Josie did not stop. "A protection spell only helps him if he dies. What if that werewolf doesn't want to kill him?"

Ryan paused. The thought never crossed his mind. He assumed the werewolf, and whoever else in the Prison World, would want Alaric dead. He did not take into account that they might want to keep him alive.

Before Ryan could agree with her, Kai's voice rose and called out, "well, then go. Save Daddy." He clapped his hands together with a sarcastic smile on his lips. "I'm rooting for you."

Ryan stopped, turning to face the man. Josie did the same.

"Although, you two and Ric aren't bound to this place, so at some point – be it today, tomorrow, or the next – they'll kill all of you," Kai told them. "Sorry, kiddos. The Bennett blood's gone. We're trapped here. Nothing matters." He shook his head with a dejected expression.

As Kai pivoted on his heel, Josie voiced, "what if there was another way to get Bennett blood? Would you help us then?"

Ryan's brows furrowed toward her. His mouth parted to question her motives, but he stopped when he watched Josie pulled out one of the small, glass vodka bottles Kai threw at them earlier. She stared down at the clear container as it morphed into a vial filled with a dark, red liquid. Ryan gaped at the sight, before a smile formed on his lips.

Sneaky.

Kai's back was still turned to them as he spoke, "yeah, nice try Manipulation, but I'm not gonna believe anything ..." he looked to them and paused at the item in the girl's hand.

Josie held it up, waving it between her fingers. "It's Bonnie's from when we sent the Sandclock here."

Kai appraised her for a moment, chuckling as he gaze shifted to Ryan. "I knew you two were holding out on me."

Ryan shrugged, moving to stand at Josie's side. "Well, we didn't know if you could be trusted. You know, past offences and all."

Kai did not get the chance to react, before a blur sped through the corridor and slammed him against a wall. Ryan jumped when Jade materialized, pinning the Heretic onto the drywall behind him.

Kai gasped when he spotted the vampire. He slowly raised his hands as his eyes shifted to the two teenagers a yard or so away. "Oh. Oh, goodness," he breathed until a smile spread across his face. He laughed, lowering his hands to Jade's waist. She, too, laughed in his arms. "Oh, perfect timing, baby."

Ryan pressed his lips together and shook his head. Kai Parker's double cross. Right on schedule. He spun on his heel and snatched ahold of Josie's free hand, pulling her with him down the hall.

They made it a few feet until Kai shouted through the brief silence, "immobilus."

Ryan sucked in a breath as every muscle in his body solidified, causing him to skid to a halt. He strained against the petrification spell, but he could not move an inch. He could see Josie out of his peripheral vision, finding her in a rigid state as well. Lovely, Ryan thought.

"Hey, thanks for your help," Kai said, his voice growing closer with each step in their direction. "Your instincts were right, Ryan. There is no trusting me. So while you've been playing checkers," he stepped around the frozen teenagers to stand in their limited line of sight, "I've been playing chess." He grinning, plucking the vial of blood from Josie's hand. "Checkmate."

Ryan ground his teeth together, trying to force any part of his body to move. He learned over the years that spells could be overpowered or broken with enough magic, especially minor spells like a simple petrification. As quiet as he could, Ryan muttered the counter-spell under his breath. "Mobilus."

Unaware of Ryan's actions, Kai moved to Josie's backpack and began to rifle through the zipped pockets. "Yeah, I guess I forgot to mention one thing about the whole Hunger Games," he chuckled, removing the sword Alaric gave to Josie earlier, "I'm kinda into it. Keeps the monotony interesting."

A flood of magic rushed throughout Ryan's veins. His eyes dropped his hand outstretched in front of him. With Kai at his back, he tried to move his fingers. He smirked when they twitched at his command.

Kai continued to plunder through Josie's backpack, oblivious to his lack of control over Ryan. "Once they woke me up, they quickly realized my superior leadership qualities," he quipped in an exaggerated fashion. They're kind of like my followers, I guess you could say." He paused. "You can keep your lousy Sandclock. I'll be gone before it breaks." Kai zipped up the backpack pockets and resumed his spot before the teenagers.

Ryan did not have to fake the glare he sent toward the Heretic. While he knew Kai would betray them, the knowledge did nothing to curb the anger that blossomed inside his chest. He eyed the man as he met his supposedly frozen stare.

"Oh, chin up. You're both new at conning people. You'll get better at it," Kai stated, lifting a hand to pat the Mikaelson boy's cheek.

Ryan had to force himself not to move. He could not react. He did not want to react. If he did, Kai would know his spell broke and a fight would ensue. No. Ryan needed Kai to go about his double cross and try to escape the Prison World without them. His absence would leave them alone with Jade, who Ryan could easily overpower with a wave of his hand.

Kai dropped his hand and looked to the vampire in question. "Take them to Ric. Don't kill them yet." His gaze met Josie's as he said, "make them all suffer." He reached up to cup the girl's cheeks. "I couldn't have done it without you, kid," he stated and leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead.

Ryan resisted the urge to rip the man's head off.

Kai released Josie, turning away from them with a smirk on his lips.

Ryan waited as Kai continued down the hall and disappeared around a corner. He maintained his immobile state for a while longer, wanting the man out of earshot when he "broke free" and blasted Jade into oblivion.

"Oh, this is gonna be fun," Jade remarked as she stepped around the Mikaelson boy's side.

Ryan remained still until the vampire stood less than a foot from him. "Yeah, it really is," he shot back, bringing a shocked expression to her face. His arm shot out as he chanted, "icaeus!"

An unseen force slammed into Jade and knocked her back off her feet. She fly through the air, collapsed onto the linoleum with a harsh thud.

With the vampire subdued, Ryan whirled to Josie and cast, "mobilus."

Josie jolted, stumbling forward as the petrification spell no longer had a hold over her body. Ryan caught her by the arms, helping her stay steady on her feet.

Josie's eyes widened, glancing from Jade, who began to recover from the attack, to Ryan. "You were free the whole time?"

Ryan shook his head. "No, but I am now. We need to get out of here." He looked to where Jade stood from the floor. A murderous snarl on her features. His hand wrapped around Josie's arm as he chanted, "invisique."

Their forms shimmered, blinking out of sight as the invisibility spell took effect. Ryan shoved Josie back until they were up against the wall. Jade rushed forward, pausing when she reached where they previously stood.

"Baby Mikaelson," Jade taunted, panning her gaze from one side of the hallway to the next. "Little Joze, where'd you go? I'm not gonna hurt you." She smirked and moved forward to round the corner. "Much."

When Ryan knew the vampire could not overhear them, he looked to where Josie stood with his hands still secured around her arms. His stare met her own, more than conscious of the little space between them. His heart thudded harshly in his chest, and his breathing picked up. Ryan noticed Josie's lips purse and he swallowed hard.

With a shake of his head, Ryan stepped back and reluctantly dropped his hands from Josie's sweater covered arms. "We need to get out of here," he said just below a whisper.

"Ryan, wait." Josie grabbed his wrist to stop him.

Ryan did as she asked and faced her. "What? We need to get to your dad before the werewolf boy wakes up."

"I know, but Jade's not gonna stop looking for us," Josie began to explain. "And if she doesn't find us, she's gonna go after Kai."

Ryan's brows furrowed at her words until the realization hit him. "You want us to be voluntary prisoners?"

Josie winced. "Not us, exactly."

Ryan blinked. "Come again?"

"If Jade has me, she'll take me to my dad," Josie told him. "You'll follow us and make sure Kai doesn't come back." She spotted the scrunched look on his face and sighed. "She won't kill me. Kai told her not to."

"Forgive me for not having faith in the rogue teenagers," Ryan exclaimed, meeting the girl's pointed stare. Their eyes connected for a long moment, before he released a long breath. "Just so you know, I hate this plan."

Josie smiled lightly. "I'll be fine."

Ryan moved away from her and waved his hand. The invisibility spell broke around Josie, leaving her vulnerable to the blonde vampire.

__________

It took every ounce of Ryan's willpower to resist the urge to remain hidden within the small bar on the outskirts of Town Square. When he made Josie visible to the world, Jade reappeared and snatched ahold of her before he could change his mind. The vampire tied her up and shoved her along to where they would find a restrained Alaric Saltzman.

Ryan would have intervened the moment they stepped foot inside the bar, but he chose to wait when he saw a boy and a girl stood in front of the headmaster. The dead werewolf from earlier, and a witch with a preference for fire. From what Ryan could tell, they were more than angry with Alaric. They were downright vengeful. And when Jade interrupted their confrontation with a bound Josie, he learned why.

During their senior year at the Salvatore School, the three supernatural teenagers were invited to a party by a few kids from Mystic Falls High. A freak party, or something like that. Where people were encouraged to bring others who they considered different or freaks in the social hierarchy of high school. While there, the three of them were driven to react against the local kids' actions.

The werewolf, Diego, wolfed out and ripped a few of them apart. The witch, Wendy, accidentally burned one alive, while Jade torn out her crush's throat, discovering that she could not control herself in the presence of blood.

Moral of the story, they did not mean to kill those kids. It was an accident. But it still happened. Not only were five teenager brutally murdered, the offenders lied to Alaric and tried to cover the entire thing up. If they said something, anything at all, maybe things would have been different.

Jade sent Wendy and Diego away to find Kai, wanting them to make sure the man did not leave them behind when he attempted to leave the Prison World. She stayed behind long enough to explain how that night caused her to shut off her humanity, before she freed Alaric and forced him to follow her out of the bar.

Once they were gone, Ryan emerged from his hiding place at the rear of the building and hurried to Josie's side. He pulled the red bandana from her mouth and moved to untie her hands.

Josie let out a sigh of relief, shifting her arms to ease her stiff muscles. "Do you think we should go after them?" she questioned, standing from the chair Jade shoved her into moments before.

Ryan shook his head and dropped the thin ropes that were around the girl's wrists to the floor. "No, your dad can handle one vampire. And Tweedledee and Tweedledumb can keep Kai occupied. You know, if he hasn't figured out yet that the Bennett blood isn't actually Bennett blood."

A beat of silence passed between them, being disturbed by the shrill ring of a phone. Ryan exchanged a look with Josie, before they followed the sound. Behind the wooden bar, a black landline shook and emitted the choppy tone. Neither of them knew what to do. Who would call an empty bar in middle of a Prison World? No one knew they were there except...

Ryan picked up the receiver and held the large speaker against his ear. "I see you found our little surprise," he quipped, bringing Josie to give him a narrowed stare until a male voice erupted through the phone.

"Thank God you're still alive. I was worried sick," Kai spoke in an equally upbeat pitch and laughed. "Hey, I gotta say, I'm not even made about the whole blood con. Borderline proud, even. Okay, I'm – I'm always mad, but in a fun, completely unpredictable sort of way. It keeps you on your toes."

Josie's jaw clenched and grabbed the phone from Ryan's hand. "I hate you," she sneered into the end held next to her mouth.

Ryan heard Kai click his tongue with his enhanced hearing. "Yeah, that's suck a Ric thing to say. Hey, how is the old man nowadays?"

Josie did not indulge in his question. "I hate you for everything you've done to my family, and I am never helping you get out of here. You're a liar, and nothing you ever say will matter to me."

"Actually, I called to help you and your little boyfriend get out," Kai stated.

Ryan shared a curious look with Josie. Why would Kai want to help them after they tricked him? Granted, he betrayed them first, but still.

"There is another way. Does what I say matter now?"

Josie shook her head. "I don't believe you."

"Yeah, okay, that's totally understandable. But you still got Darth Vader's alarm clock, right?"

Ryan stiffened and glanced to where Josie's backpack sat on the end of the bar. The Sandclock peeked out of the zipper compartment. He did not like where the conversation was headed.

"Maybe," Josie replied, shooting the mora miserium a quick look.

"Good. 'Cause you're gonna need every last bit of its power to pull this off," Kai told them, before he laughed. "I should probably get going. You're not gonna believe this, but – I found my own way out of here."

"What? How?"

"Oh, no answer for fwee, Little Josette," Kai said in a voice one might use with an infant. "You know, you remind me of her."

Josie squeezed her eyes shut. Ryan noticed her reaction and reached out, slipping his hand into her free one. Josie looked to him and met his gaze, but she did not pull away. Her grip tightened around his palm as Kai continued.

"Your bio-mom thought she was smarter than me, too. But I punished her just like I'm about to punish the two of you. Because – you ready for it? In order to use that Sandclock, you have to break it. And when you get hit with all that Black Magic, if it doesn't kill you, it's gonna turn you into something dark and evil. Something you, Ryan, will cease to recognize as the girl you once knew. But, Josie, you'll also be powerful enough to make your own door out of here, so – what a predicament, right? To save Daddy, to save Ryan, to get yourself home, you have to become – a monster. Like – me."

Ryan's blood ran cold. "No," he exclaimed, pulling Josie's pale features to him. "You can't do it. We'll figure something out, okay? If you break the Sandclock, something bad is going to happen."

"How do you know...?"

"I saw your vision, alright?" Ryan stated, causing the girl's forehead to furrow. He sighed and said, "the Qareen stole the Sandclock and knocked you out, and I tried to wake you up, but you wouldn't, so I did a head-dive." Josie opened her mouth to reply, but he pushed on. "I know I shouldn't have, but I saw the Salvatore School on fire and another you. A dark, Black Magic you. You can't do this."

Josie went to answer him until Kai rattled off more shocking news.

"The only catch is, you won't remember I told you any of this, because you won't remember me at all."

Ryan's stomach dropped and his eyes widened. "Oh, God. He's at the pit."

"Hey, thanks for all the stories about Malivore. A portal to another dimension sounds pretty good to me, right about now."

"No, no, no, Malivore is a hell dimension," Josie called out to her uncle. "It's eternal darkness. You'll be trapped and alone."

"Yeah, I've been trapped and alone for most of my life. I could use the change of scenery." Kai exhaled. "So, I'd smash that Sandclock in the next few seconds, if I were you, 'cause I'm about to take a swan dive into oblivion, and I'd hate for you to forget the only thing that can save you. Good luck, kiddos."

A plop of something, Ryan's assumed to be the Malivore pit, slipped through the phone before a stretch of silence answered them. He snapped to Josie, finding a ghostly expression on her face. "No, Jo. It's okay. I'll remember him, and we'll find another way to get out of here."

Josie shook her head and dropped the phone onto the counter beside them. "There is no other way out of here. Kai has the Ascendant, and he's jumping into Malivore. Without it, without Bennett blood, we're stuck in here with a group of murderous supernaturals. This is the only way."

"Josie, you can't..."

Josie tore her palm from Ryan's and raised her hands to his cheeks, pulling him forward to press her lips against his. 

Ryan froze at the sudden kiss. He did not expect it, not in the slightest, but he did not hate it. Not at all. His eyes fluttered closed and returned the pressure on her lips. His hands lifted, settling on her waist as the kiss deepened with each passing second. 

All too soon, Josie broke their connection and leaned away from him. Ryan's eyes opened to take in the flushed girl in his arms. He imagined his cheeks looked the same, pinked by the sudden show of affection. Ryan wanted to say something, but Josie's fallen expression registered in his mind.

"I'm sorry," Josie muttered and slipped her hands from his face.

Ryan's lips parted to ask what she meant, before his vision tunneled and his knees wobbled. He staggered, hitting the bar on his right to try and catch himself. Everything around him darkened at a rapid pace as a heavy weight seemed to press on his skull. Ryan shouted after Josie, or at least tried to, until his arms buckled and dropped him to the dingy linoleum. His eyes were still open, catching the blurred scene that transpired before him.

Josie ran to the other side of the room and snatched up the Sandclock. She spun on her heel and raised it high above her head, throwing it with enough force to shatter the mora miserium in dozens of pieces. The Black Magic inside exploded from the glass, surging up from the broken Sandclock to slam into Josie's chest.

Ryan tried to call out to her, but his consciousness faded and his body fell limp. The last thing he saw before darkness had been Josie, falling to the floor as a stream of Black Magic consumed her entire being.

<June 7, 2020>

Didn't see that coming, did you?

AAHHHH, I'm so excited to write the rest of this season! Like, I can't wait! And that kiss? Oh, my God!

Anyway, who's ready for some Ryan and Dark Josie interactions? They're going to be so much fun.

Don't forget to vote and comment.

-Jordan

P.S. Unedited chapter.