Page 18 of Katya and the Young God

K(11:03 PM): I know you’re out of signal but call me as soon as you can this is urgent.

* * *

She doesn’t knowhow she sleeps, but she wakes up with the now-familiar sound of a dog flopping onto her patio and the sunlight streaming in.

The ceiling of the cabin is just plain exposed beams, and the dust motes dance in the early morning light, and Katya’s never been the type to want to die, but this comes close.

They absolutely expected her to die. Get murdered. Killed. Eviscerated in a rage of grief by a half-mad Demigod from her worst nightmare.

There’s a small, rhythmic thump, and the goddamn dog is wagging its tail.

Did he know where his dog went every morning? That his dog literally strolls to the house of his literal enemy and...gets treats.

She pushes herself up off the luxurious, too large bed, and stumbles to the coffee maker. Her muscles scream at her, after being locked into tension without stretching, and her shoulder feels like it’s been bruised.

He knew right where to press to pin her down. And why wouldn’t he, he was there for its injuring.

Blearily, she opens up the cupboard under the sink, and sure enough there’s a vacuum sealed bag of dry dog food. “They had no fucking clue and they were feeding the goddamn dog,” she mumbles, before scooping some out into the worn bowl and opening the door.

For a split second she panics, that she just opened the door without checking, but it’s only Stepan, who sits up in a hurry when he sees the bowl in her hand, his tongue lolling out.

“Your owner is a literal monster,” Katya informs him, and gets rewarded with a thump of the tail. “Literal monster.” She puts the bowl down, gets a thank you lick on the hand, before Stepan chows down.

She all but collapses onto the swing, still in her pajamas, and stares at the gray and white fur on the dog.

She’s gonna have to call Beatriz. Report in. Chew her out. Tender her own resignation. Give an orderly report. Something. Let the Organization know she’s still alive.

The fact that Beatriz is in some sort of contact with a fucking Demigod that tried to end the fucking world and kept it secret is...troubling. People should know, people who still believe in the good of the Organization, who believe that good things can be done.

There’s a small part of Katya, though, as she sits in the chilly morning sun rays, that wants to crush anything that Beatriz wants. Crush her control, crush her ambitions, crush whatever business connections she has.

K (8:02 AM): Can your boyfriend kill Beatriz?

The three typing dots appear, disappear, then appear again.

MIRI (8:04 AM): He says probably but is now very concerned. What’s up?

K (8:04 AM): She sent me into a death trap, and the only reason I’m still alive is because of a misunderstanding.

MIRI (8:05 AM): Fuck.

MIRI (8:05 AM): Do you need a rescue?

Stepan the dog finishes inhaling the food, and flops over on top of Katya’s bare feet, looking up at her with pleading eyes.

Because of course the giant dog owned by a literal monster wants pets.

K (8:07 AM): Not at this moment.

MIRI (8:07 AM): He’s looking at your file, and it doesn’t say where you are or what you’re doing.

K (8:10 AM): She keeps paper copies.

Kinda hating herself for it, she reaches down and scratches between the dog’s ears, and gets a languid dog blink in return.

K (8:11 AM): There’s definitely something strange going on, though, and I don’t like it and I don’t understand it.

Texting it like that seems like an understatement, but she doesn’t quite know how to put it in other words.

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