CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The performance started at six, but I needed to be there an hour early to help organize the costumes, the changing areas, and the makeup table, not to mention all the warm ups. Soon – almost too soon, really – the auditorium opened to the audience, and the seats started filling.
I only danced in one of the dances in the first part of the recital. It wasn't that I was cut out because I was bad, but Dane made a last-minute executive decision to only have me dance my two pieces and one dance besides that. The last dance was the one the audience was going to remember the best, he said, and I needed to be full of energy for it.
The first half was mainly for the routines for the ballet-style dancing. When I wasn't getting ready for the dance I was in, I watched the pieces from just barely offstage. Each dance had an idea or emotion behind it, and when they were all put together they told a story. Maybe the audience didn't see it, and really the club as a whole hadn't intended to piece a story together, but I was moved as I watched this fairy tale unfold.
A young, beautiful, but mysterious little girl wanders into a village. The village rejoices, because there is a monster in the woods that lured their own girls into the woods and ate them up, so they no longer have young girls of their own. They watch over her night and day until she is eighteen years old. She announces that she is ready to make her own decisions, and that she wants to travel to the closest village so she can start to see the world. She wants to go by herself, but the villagers insist that she be escorted to ensure that she comes back. She travels to all the villages in the area, discovering new things and meeting new people every time. She is safe on each journey and returns home willingly every time, and there had been no attacks from the monster for years, so over time she has fewer and fewer escorts until soon she is traveling on her own.
On one trip she runs into a handsome young man in the woods. He woos her, and she falls instantly in love. It turns out he is the spirit of the forest, and he takes her to his magical kingdom, where he adorns her with jewelry and fine clothes that make her look like his princess. The creatures of the wood dance joyfully, praising their new leader. She enjoys herself, but tries to go back to her village because she cares about the people that raised her and doesn't want them to worry about her. The spirit of the forest forbids it, though, and she realizes that he is the monster that she had been warned about since she was little. The two dance a wild dance as she attempts to get away. Unbeknownst to them, the villagers are out looking for the girl since she did not return. They spot the two dancing from a distance, but because the girl and spirit are dressed in clothes to match the woods, the villagers mistake them for the monster and shoot their arrows. Each arrow hits it mark, but the spirit of the woods cannot die until the forest itself is destroyed. The young girl is still only human, though, and loses her life. The villagers realize what they've done and hold the grandest funeral they've ever put together, celebrating her life and the joy she brought to them. As for the spirit of the woods, he disappears, knowing that there will always be young, beautiful girls to woo for his amusement.
It's a tragic story, but the dance is based in ballet and I could think of few ballets that had happy endings. There were tears in my eyes by the time the curtain fell, but I quickly had to wipe them away so I could get ready for my solo, which was the first piece of the second half of the show.
The costume designer made good on her promise to provide accessories for the dress for me. She was extremely talented at her job - based off of the thirty seconds of dancing I had done for her, she was able to come up with a costume that matched my dance perfectly. The dress was almost exactly the same, but she had sewn red sequins onto the end of the ribbons. They were virtually unnoticeable until I started dancing and they trailed and flapped behind me on stage. When they caught the stage lights they shimmered and it looked like I was leaving fairy dust in my wake. She had sewn red sequins on red ribbon for me to tie around my ankles, upper arms, and neck, too. The ribbon around my ankles was tied snugly and had no loose ends (mostly so I wouldn't trip on them), and it looked like I was lighting up the floor wherever I stepped. The ribbons around my wrists and neck had long, loose ends, though, so they had a similar effect that my dress did. I adored it.
I took off my necklace and was almost giddy. I was finally able to dance – really dance – and while one song probably wasn’t going to be enough, I was going to try to make the most of it.
The music started. I dove deep into myself. There was no preset routine; I just needed to do what I normally did when I needed an outlet.
The full realization that I had had my necklace on for over a couple of weeks hit me, and I found that there were so many emotions I had dulled and beat down because of it. I was angry at Jack. I was scared of Mina. I was worried about my mom. I felt truly sorrowful for the shape my dad was in. I was unsure of how deep my feelings for Dane were. I still didn't know why the girl in the flame dress inside me didn't trust Dane.
It didn't take long for me to find the girl in the flame dress. Or for her to find me - I wasn't quite sure which one it was. We danced.
You look good, she said.
Thanks, I responded.
It's been a while.
I know. I'm sorry.
Don't apologize. It was necessary for you to protect yourself. You need to keep the necklace on for just a little while longer.
Why? Am I in danger? What's going to happen?
I don't know. Something's not right, though. I can see everything that’s happened, and I know they fit together somehow, but the pieces aren’t falling in to place the way they should be. I do think you are in danger, though. Please, wear your necklace.
How do you know this? Who are you?
Let's leave it at this for now: I trust you, and you can trust me more than anyone else.
The song ended and I had to snap myself out of the trance so I didn't interrupt the flow of the show. I took a graceful bow to the applause. Any other time I would have reveled in the praise of the audience, but all I could do was think about getting off the stage quickly and get back to my bag to grab my necklace.
Before I could reach my bag, though, Cassie ushered me over to the dressing and makeup area. "Get your dress on quickly! We've got to get your makeup done exactly perfect for the finale."
I tried to protest, but I was already caught up in the whirlwind of girls handing me my white dress behind the dressing screen, dragging me over to the makeup table, and starting in on styling my hair.
The makeup the other girls in the finale chose was unusual. They had a pot of black paint that they used to paint designs onto their arms and faces. My arms were covered by long white sleeves, but they still painted my face and hands to match theirs.
Before I knew it, I was lined up behind the very back curtain, in place to begin the finale. I tried to sneak away to go grab my necklace, but the other four girls grabbed my arms and kept me in place, insisting that the timing needed to be perfect.
The curtain went up. We stepped into position. We started dancing.
We performed exactly as practiced, though my dance was only just barely what it should have been. I kept falling in and out of my trance, unable to feel at ease. As I spun I noticed that the props that the ping pong balls represented were candles, and that one of them was lit. Had that candle been lit when we stepped on stage?
I tried to concentrate on the dance and perform well, but I fell back into reality when I noticed another candle was lit. Was this part of the effects? No one told me. I maneuvered my way closer to one of the candles, hoping to inconspicuously get a closer look at it. A jump and a spin, then lean back impossibly far.
Even looking at it upside down, I recognized the handiwork. There were symbols that looked like a strange hybrid of witching symbols and wards carved into the candles, and they were spiky and overly elaborate. The wards glowed on the candle I w
as looking at it, and the candle spontaneously burst into flame. I almost fell down in surprise.
I quickly tried to cover up my stumble, and closed my eyes to try and lose myself in the dance. I was confused and afraid, and tried to dance it out. It worked, but only just barely.
The dance ended, and the final candle lit. The audience stood and applauded and cheered, but to me their praise sounded far away. The wood under my feet felt warm, and it was getting hotter. Something was happening under where I was dancing, and I got a horrible sinking feeling it wasn't a good thing.
I ran off the stage, not even bothering with a curtsey or bow. A growing sense of dread formed in my gut as I reached my bag and looked through the pockets.
My necklace was gone.
Panicked, I looked around to see if anyone had it. No one was paying attention to me, instead lining up excitedly to take the final bow. I couldn't see any jewelry around anyone's necks, no fists clenched to hold a small item. I could feel my heart beating faster. I needed my necklace. If anything, I needed the wards for safety and luck.
Out of the corner of my eye I spotted a flash of pale yellow. The four other girls from the finale were forgoing the final bow and walked in a line to the prop room. They went in and closed the door behind them. I followed, wondering what was more important to them than wrapping up the performance.
As I approached the door, I could feel the heat I felt on the stage again. It was like a literal game of "hot/cold". I reached out for the door handle, but someone grabbed my wrist to stop me. I spun to face Dane.
"Kenna! You need to make your final bow! You're the star of the show!" He was smiling, but it didn't feel very friendly.
"It's not a big deal. I need to get in there– "
"I insist. There's a lot of people that are going to want to talk to you!" I struggled to get my wrist out of his grasp, but his grip only tightened.
"Dane, you're hurting me," I said.
Dane was no longer smiling. I could feel the heat coming from under the stage getting more intense. "I can't let you go in there. Come with me, Kenna, and forget about it."
Suddenly I realized that there was something really, really wrong going on, and Dane knew what it was. I wanted to believe that he was protecting me, I really did, but I needed to know what was going on, because I was positive at this point that it had something to do with my final dance.
I threw my arm around in an arc, twisting his arm in a way that forced him to let go of me. He growled in frustration and launched himself at me. I held my arms up to protect myself, but it wasn't necessary. Jack threw himself at Dane at the last moment, knocking Dane to the ground. Jack partly lifted Dane up by the front of his shirt, then head butted him. Dane went limp, unconscious.
Jack turned to me and gently held me by the shoulders. "Are you okay?" I nodded. "I don't want to upset you, but I've been keeping my eye on him during the show. I'm sorry if I betrayed any trust you may have had left for me, but I didn't think you'd believe me if I told you he intended harm to come upon you. My suspicions were confirmed when he was looking through your duffel bag, presumably for this. He appeared angry when he couldn't find it." He reached into his pocket, pulled out my necklace and handed it to me.
I stood there, silent. Here was someone that I'd hurt and ignored over the last week, convinced that he didn't care about me, and he still worried about how much I trusted him. I threw my arms around him in a hug and buried my face in his chest.
"Jack... you're such a creeper. Who stalks someone else’s' boyfriend? That's unhealthy. "
"It's just that I've been investigating his activities for a while and– "
"Jack. I'm kidding. Well, kind of. I'm a little confused as to what's going on right now, but I am willing to stop being mad at you for the rest of the night if you help me out. Something bad is going on and I think I caused it. There's something going on under the stage and I need to see what's happening." I let him go and slipped my necklace on.
"I think it would be best for you to stay here. I have an idea of what's happening and I believe it would be very, very dangerous for you."
I laughed. "Nice try. But I really do think I caused this and I need to be there to end it. Unless you want to head butt me, too, I'm coming with you." I pushed my way past him, opened the door to the props room and led the way in.
No one was in there. I couldn't understand it - I saw four girls go in, and there were no other exits out of the room. Jack seemed a little confused, too, but then started stomping around the room. Not just walking heavily, but an actual stomp on the floor as hard as he could with each step.
"What on earth are you doing?" I asked. Before he could answer, he stomped down on an area that reverberated at a lower register than the rest of the floor. He got on his knees and smoothed his hand over the floor, finding an invisible catch. He lifted up a square of the floor up to reveal a staircase. Ah. A trap door.
He started down the staircase, but stopped a few steps down. He turned to me and said, "I must tell you again, I don't want you to come down here. I don't want to see you get hurt."
"A trap door has been discovered. It begs to be explored. Not going down those stairs would be the biggest regret of my life." I was making jokes, but I could feel butterflies in my stomach. I had an awful feeling that whatever it was I had caused was not a force for good.
The stairs led to a dank, dark, curving hallway that sloped downward. There were sconces holding lit torches attached to the wall just frequently enough that it never became truly dark - but only just. I tried to orient myself, but the curve of the hallway was too gentle to say for sure what direction we were facing, and all I could really say for certain was that we were moving in a spiral under the auditorium in the school.
We walked on in silence for quite some time. By the time we reached a point in the hallway where we could see a light cast on the wall and hear voices echoing, I guessed that we were at least a couple levels underground. Jack held up a hand to motion me to stop, then held his finger to his mouth to tell me to keep quiet.
He stepped lightly, keeping himself flattened against the wall. I followed suit. We got close enough that we could hear the voices clearer, but I couldn't make out the words. They were chanting words I couldn't understand, and after each phrase was finished I could feel the heat flare up even hotter.
Jack leaned over to whisper to me, "They're summoning something. I should have realized that as soon as I saw the candles on the stage. Your dancing channeled the energy needed to summon whatever it was they are trying to bring into this world."
"Would you like to see your handiwork?" A voice said from behind us. We turned quickly to see Dane striding down the hallway. He was squinting due to his head obviously hurting, but he seemed fine otherwise. At least, the gigantic sword in his hand made him seem so. He pushed us out of the hallway into the room, keeping a tight grasp on my arm and the sword pointed at Jack.
What we saw was horrendous. Seven members of the dance club - including the four that danced with me in the finale - were kneeling in a circle around a pagan design etched into the floor, arms raised in some sort of perverted worship. A gigantic monster that was made completely out of fire was slowly emerging from a glowing portal that hovered above this design on the floor. Every time the dancers finished chanting a phrase they bowed down and touched their foreheads to the floor. I could feel a surge of heat and power and the fire creature worked its way a little further through the portal. From what I could tell they were about three quarters of the way through, leaving not much time to stop what was going on.
"Dane... what is this?" I asked, horrified.
"Kenna, I'd like to officially introduce you to the coven."
"Coven?" I was unfamiliar with the word.
Jack spoke up. "They're witches and warlocks. Horribly misguided ones, at that."
Dane jab
bed his sword menacingly at Jack, keeping him where he was. "Enlightened, you mean. We've been practicing at magic for a while, but none of us have the ability to channel magic. Not naturally, at least. The most we've been able to do is create charms that half-work and occasionally write summoning symbols to commune with the dead."
"You couldn't just go to a cemetery?" I asked.
He chuckled. "Your naivety is charming. No, it takes quite the ritual to summon a ghost, and even more preparation and contributing voices to summon someone specific.
"But you... the first time I saw you dance unencumbered by your preconceptions of dance and your material belongings, I knew that you were special. I could tell that you were channeling some great power that I had never before encountered, and I saw great things for you and for me. For us, Kenna."
Well, that was just peachy. My boyfriend was a nut job. I glanced nervously at the demon emerging from the portal. It was getting really close to being fully emerged.
"You really shouldn't do this, all of you," Jack spoke up. "You have no idea the repercussions of summoning something not of this world!"
Dane roared and jabbed the sword's tip up into Jack's neck. He didn't kill Jack, but I saw a think trickle of blood run down the sword. "One more word and all I have to do is flick my wrist for you to be gone."
"Then kill me." Jack challenged. Dane yelled wordlessly, pulled the sword away and slashed widely at Jack. Jack tried to jump back out of the way, but the sword's tip still tore a wide slash across his chest. He stumbled back into the wall and held his chest, gasping. I watched in horror as the wound quickly turned black. He slid down the wall and sat motionless.
"Jack!" I cried and tried to free myself from Dane's grasp, but he held fast.
"The sword is coated in a paralyzing venom, which should keep him quiet for a while. He won't die... at least not immediately. His blood should be satisfactory as tribute to our new leader."
The demon was only a couple chants away from fully emerging from the portal. Dane dropped the sword and grasped my other arm to turn me to face him. "This being can provide us with great power. All we have to do is bring him into the world and ask, and finally, finally, those of us that have been faithful to our craft can have the ability to work magic the way it's supposed to be worked."
"Who told you this? What could possibly make you think that summoning a demon would be a good idea?"
"Not a demon, a god. There's so much in this world that you don't know about - so much I didn't know about until this man approached me and started showing me the true nature of magic! I could be just like him, but I need to finish this!"
The final chant was done, and everything was quiet. The portal disappeared and the fire demon was standing in the middle of the circle of witches and warlocks, who were bowing down to him. The demon was tall - at least nine feet - but incredibly skinny. Its limbs were wavering, giving me the sense that it was only half-formed. Dane turned me around to face the scene straight on and he whispered in my ear, "You were amazing. From the first time I watched you dance I knew you could channel an element, but fire? I couldn't have asked for a more perfect girlfriend. Once I receive his power, I want you by my side for the rest of my life, to strengthen me further. I could become the most powerful man in the world, all thanks to you."
Before I could respond, Lindsay rose from her knees and held her arms up to the demon. "Oh great god of fire, grant me some of thy power, that I may strengthen my own powers and act according to thy will!"
The demon screeched and turned on Lindsay, raising its own arm in the air. It brought it down and engulfed her in white-hot fire. The flames consumed her so quickly that she didn't even have a chance to scream, and within seconds a grotesque, human-shaped statue of ash was left standing where she had once been.
The reaction from the rest of the coven was immediate. They got up off the floor and tried to run towards the entry to the hallway. I could feel the demon's madness, though, and it rampaged on to block off the exit and proceeded to set them all on fire, one by one.
Dane turned me back around to face him and shook me violently. "What happened? Did something happen during the dance? Did you stop partway through? Did you knock a candle down? TELL ME!"
"I don't know! It was just hard to concentrate after I saw the candles and the wards etched on them! I stumbled, but it wasn't noticeable!"
"NO!" He yelled, then shoved me to the ground. "It needed to be perfect! The demon is incomplete!" He ran over to the demon and knelt in front of it, holding his arms up and pleading with it. It was ignoring him, though, still working on the rest of the coven.
I got up and ran over to where Jack was. He was still breathing, and the gash on his chest was shallow enough to only just be oozing blood. He was paralyzed, though, and couldn't get up.
I tore off a part of my dress and pressed it against his wound. "I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do" I repeated over and over. His eyes looked wildly at me, then down to his jacket pocket, over and over, until I understood what he was trying to tell me. I reached into it and pulled out three familiar vials of clear liquid. I unstopped one, lifted the makeshift bandage up, and poured the contents of the vial on the wound. The gash hissed and sizzled. The sword Dane used was coated in vampire venom. Whether or not he realized that's what it was raised a whole new set of issues. I unstopped another vial immediately after, and forced it into his mouth so he could drink. Going for broke I pulled the stopper from the final vial and poured its contents onto his chest again.
He breathed deeply a few times and whispered, "Get out of here. I'll be fine, now, but you can't take on a demon by yourself."
"Can you?"
"I've... faced a few demonlings. And one demon, once, with a few wizards helping out."
"So you can't take it on by yourself, either. Come on, I'll help you up."
DON'T NEED TAKE ON BY SELF, a voice echoed in my head. I NEED BE A VESSEL ME. I turned to face the demon, which was either finished terrorizing the coven or bored with setting people on fire. Either way, it was facing me and taking slow, shaky steps in my direction.
I INCOMPLETE. NONE PATHETIC BEINGS THAT SUMMONED ME HEAR ME, BUT YOU CAN. THE CLOSER I GET YOU, THE STRONGER I FEEL. YESSSSS, STRONGER. YOU ARE SPECIAL YOU ARE DIFFERENT FROM THEM BUT THE SAME BUT ALSO KINDRED TO ME.
I could only stare in horror at the demon that was approaching. "Kenna, what's wrong? Snap out of it!" Jack was starting to stir, but was still unable to get up on his own.
YESSSS FEEL STRONGER. YOU WANT POWER.
I finally found my voice. "No, I don't. I didn't ask to be the way I am, but I can cope on my own just fine."
"Is it talking to you? Don't listen to anything it has to say. Just get out of here!" Jack was actually trying to get up now. I tried to help him, but the demon kept filling my head with its words.
"DANNSSSSSSSING? NO, YOU DO NOT NEED TO DANCE. YOU NEED ME. YOU ARE INCOMPLETE AND CAN BECOME COMPLETE WITH ME. YOU WILL NO LONGER NEED DANCING TO MAINTAIN BALANCE. YESSSSS YOUR HEART WANTS BALANCE. I CAN SEE YOUR SOUL AND IT IS SHAPED LIKE MINE AND I CAN SEE YOUR HEART AND IT BURNS BRIGHTLY. YOU WANT POWER. YOU NEED POWER TO FREE YOUR MOTHER AND FATHER. TAAAAKE MEEEE.
I started to freely cry. I could feel the demon pulling at my desires and magnifying them, and I could feel the truth in his words. He could help me do everything I wanted to be able to do but was too weak to do on my own.
Jack was up on his feet now, though his hand was on the wall to support him. "Kenna, listen to me. Whatever it is telling you, it is lies or half-truths. If it is trying to make a deal with you, you must say no. If you say yes, even out of context, it will take that moment to possess you and you will die."
"But I can feel him. He can feel me and I can feel him. He's telling me the truth. He can he
lp me rescue my mother."
"Your mother is fine. A live wardcarver is better than a dead wardcarver, no matter what side they're working for. Trust me."
YESSSSS SAY YESSSSS
"Kenna stop listening to him"
JUSSST ONE WORD
"Stay with me Kenna."
I covered my ears and screamed in frustration. The demon's pull on me faltered. Not long enough for me to break free entirely, but long enough that I knew that I needed to fight against him.
In the same split second that I screamed Jack dove, tucked and rolled towards the sword that Dane had cast aside earlier. He swung it at the Demon and managed to cut its arm clean off. The arm dropped to the ground and quickly burned out into nothing. I'm sure chopping an arm off like that would have been effective against a corporeal being, but this demon appeared to be made purely of fire as it promptly grew a new limb.
Jack continued to swing at the demon anyway, and I could hear it hissing as it kept getting limbs chopped off and regrowing them. I could feel that the demon was more annoyed than anything else at the fact it had to regrow limbs, and it loosened its grip on me as it turned more attention to Jack.
I ran towards the exit, terrified of the influence the demon had on me and wanting nothing more than to get away from it. I only made it a few steps into the hallway, though, before the demon noticed I was getting away and tightened its grip again. I fell to my knees and started sobbing. I couldn't get away. It put images in my head, showing me that I could run all my life and I would constantly feel that desire for power the demon had planted in my heart. It would eventually dominate my every thought and drive me mad.
I knew I couldn't go back, though. If I went back I would say yes and lose myself to the demon. I was doomed to die at the hand of this monster; my choice was whether I wanted it to be a quick death or a slow, maddening one.
"Help me... someone help me!" I sobbed.
I can help you.
The voice was distant and familiar. It was my voice, coming from the girl in the fire dress.
I can help you, she repeated.
I closed my eyes and breathed deeply. I had only ever been able to talk with her before while I was dancing, but hoped that in a time like this, where dancing seemed less than appropriate, I could connect with her anyway.
What can I do? I asked.
I didn't hear any more words, and I didn't even see her, but I could feel her there. She showed me what I had to do.
Am I going to be okay? I asked.
I don't know. Nothing like this has ever been done before. But it's the best we've got.
I opened my eyes again, stood up, and shakily walked back to the chamber. Jack was still fighting the demon, and while the demon was unable to regenerate its limbs as quickly as before, it was clear that he still had the upper hand. Jack was breathing hard, and he swung the sword around as though it were growing heavier. Now that I wasn't scared about getting out with my life, I could survey the scene with more clarity. Cassie and Dane had not been consumed by the demon's fire, but they were still badly burned and I couldn't tell if they were still alive.
It was hot and bright in the room - both Jack and I were drenched in sweat. The paint on my face was bleeding and dripping down into my eyes and mouth. I tore the sleeves off my dress and used the cloth to wipe my face. I discarded them and stopped walking as I got just close enough to Jack's battle not to get hurt by a rogue swing of the sword.
"Jack," I shouted, "You can stop now. I've made my decision."
"No! I told you to leave! You don't know what you're saying!" He shouted back.
"Trust me! I know what I'm doing!"
The demon laughed triumphantly and in one big, sweeping motion swatted Jack across the room. It approached me and said, SSSAY IT. SSAY YESSS.
I drove all my thoughts to focus on taking in the demon. I held my hands up together. "Yes," I said quietly. The demon did not hesitate. I was quickly engulfed in his flames.
I could feel my flesh burning as he tried to take over my body. I screamed, but did not falter. I focused on making sure that this demon's power entered through my hands. I had to resist just enough that he did not overtake me all at once, but at a steady pace. I channeled his energy through my arms, up into my shoulders, into my neck. Next was the difficult part. I focused on each of the beads in my necklace. The one for luck, the one for health, the one for protection. Then the one for light. The one for dark. As I focused the power through these beads I could feel them growing hot on my skin, the demon resisting this path. Next the one for air. The one for earth. I could feel the resistance ebbing as he traveled through the beads, but the heat was growing. The one for water. Finally, the pendant for fire. The pendant was made of fire and burned the hottest. I could feel my skin cooking under the heat, but did my best to ignore it and finish my task.
I don't know how long I was doing this for, but eventually the burning around my body stopped, my hands were no longer taking the demon in, and the heat in my arms and shoulders ebbed.
I collapsed to my knees. Jack, sword in hand, cautiously approached me. "Kenna?" He asked.
"Yeah. It's me," I coughed. My throat felt dry and hoarse.
He dropped the sword and rushed to my side. He took me in his arms and held me tightly. I winced and he loosened his grip. "Kenna, what did you do?"
"I neutralized the demon. With the wards on my necklace."
"You channeled the demon through your necklace?! That's... that's incredible! It's ingenious! And you were able to avoid having the demon in you at all?"
I tried to clear my throat, but it only drove me into a coughing fit. "No. I had to take it in first so I could channel it through the wards. I can still feel it there. It's not sentient, at least I don't think, but it's definitely there."
A worried silence passed between us. "How do I know that you're Kenna, then?"
I tried my best to elbow him. I was too weak to make it have any effect, but it got the point across. "Idiot. You're my best friend. You're wonderful. Do you really think I'd give up on you so easily?"
He smiled at that. "Touching sentiments preceded by physical abuse and name calling? That's the Kenna I know and love."
I smiled back at him, then passed out.
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