Page 111 of Katya and the Young God

She does, that’s certain, but...

But he is not some mildly complicit villain looking to escape consequences. He’s not some lackey in too deep over his head in need of rescuing, in need of bailing out.

The needles in Selene’s head are enough proof of that.

“No,” she says, and, all of a sudden, there’s a lift off her shoulders, off her back. “I don’t think I will.”

His eyebrows flash up, before he looks away, and it’s just obviously guilty enough that she grits her teeth.

“I’ll see you around, Ollo,” she says, digging out her keys. “But —"

“Beatriz from the head office is in town,” Ollo blurts out. “She told me to ask about you, to see what you knew.”

There it is.

Katya releases the keys in her pocket, before giving Ollo her best, sharp smile. And instead of returning it, like better men might do, he just pales.

“I see,” she says, before crossing her arms. “And did she know anything about Feketer?”

“She said that you got seduced by a criminal, and that you did something to hide the cabin from surveillance.” He shifts again, so obviously uncomfortable that Katya has no clue why anyone would ever put him to subterfuge. “She said she thinks you need to be brought in.”

Katya says nothing, just smiles at him, and he continues.

“I drove up to the cabin, but it’s like I didn’t know where it was anymore. I turned down the street, turned to where the driveway was, but it’s like my brain couldn’t find it.” Despite the cold, his face shines with a sheen of sweat. “Are you safe? Do you need someplace to run? Are the criminals harming you?”

It’s so perfectly eager.

“Beatriz said you’ve gone rogue,” he says, finally. “She wanted me to arrest you.”

“Thanks for the heads up,” Katya says. “Don’t trust her, she’s...” and for a split second, she’s at loss of what to tell him. “She doesn’t have anyone’s best interests in mind.” He makes no move to stop her from approaching her car, just standing, as if transfixed. “She’s okay with the torture of children, and in Los Angeles she tortured a friend of mine.”

He lifts his chin, but it’s with the look of someone who just found his entire life ruined. Like everything he believed is crumbling down around him, and he’s unsure where he’s going to fall in all of it. “She said you’re...sleeping with the Demigod? The twin?”

“Well, that’s accurate at least.” Katya opens her truck door, swings her way in. “Tell Beatriz and her Organization to go fuck herself.”

Before even waiting for him to answer, she slams the door closed behind her, twisting her keys and squealing off.

* * *

She drives north,like she’s headed to Wyoming, before determining that she has no tail, then turning west towards Estes Park.

MIRI (5:21 PM): Katya.

MIRI (5:21 PM): Katya what did you do?

As much as Katya hates texting and driving, she huffs out a laugh.

K (5:22 PM): I might’ve just quit.

MIRI (5:22 PM): Katya she’s calling for you to be shot on sight.

K (5:23 PM): How exciting.

MIRI (5:23 PM): Katya.

Instead of replying immediately, Katya drives, the lush green pine trees beautifully dusted with the meager white snow, the rich soil, the large rocks jutting up from the soil, as the truck makes its way through the winding roads.

It’s a small moment, but the beauty takes her breath away, worming its way into her heart and, all of a sudden, becoming meaningful. Like the grand skyscrapers of Los Angeles, like the grimy suburban crawl of Sherman Oaks, the trees now stretching up towards the sky become a temple, turning into her own special place of being.

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