Secret Lure of a Cat Demon
Amulet of the Guard

She had left. I knew she had, I could feel it. Also I hadn’t seen her for a week. She had also taken the amulet but I knew if that amulet stayed with her it would hurt her. That amulet was min, and only the lord can wear it. She needed to get back. I knew I had betrayed her trust and I knew she didn’t want to be near me anymore but I would get that amulet back. I had three days max to get her back and the amulet on my neck. I knew she would never trust my word but I had to try. In a way I didn’t care what happened to her anymore. The words ‘you are dead to me’ told me everything I needed to know about how she felt. Even if she did love me before, she didn’t anymore and that was that.

I insisted on postponing the verdict until Katsi was back. She had to be heading somewhere. She wouldn’t go home. She wouldn’t go to her home in the mountains or her home in the city. I didn’t know where she would go. Lilith and Gur had gotten home. Maybe Katsi would come back off her own back. It was Gur after all that had started this all off. I had told them what had happened and Lilith slapped me. She was simply disgusted him me. Gur hadn’t said much but knew that both of us had done wrong.

I was walking through a city about 3 miles from the nearest guard HQ and I saw many guard members but I didn’t see Katsi. I asked a round but no one had seen her or anyone matching her description. I didn’t get it. She had just vanished. She wouldn’t be able to escape the guard. We had people everywhere.

I wondered if she was on foot or not. If she wasn’t she would have to come through here. I headed to the station. I looked around but there was no one who looked like Katsi or even smelled like her. I walked up the ticket booth. There was only one. They had to have seen her.

“Hi,” I said. The woman in the booth looked up at me.

“Hi,” she said smiling. “Can I help you?” she asked. I nodded and took a picture of Katsi out of my pocket.

“Have you seen this girl?” I asked. The woman looked closely and nodded slowly.

“Yeah, I remember her. She didn’t look great. Look very tired. She was heading to…” the woman trailed off and sifted through her records. “The airport actually, she said she was heading to Denver. She left yesterday. If you are hoping to catch her, your best bet would be to catch the train form here. The express takes you straight to the Airport and arrives at least 6 hours before the bus.” I nodded and she let me buy the ticket she had advised.

I didn’t like travelling by modern means but if I knew I could catch up with Katsi I would do anything. I felt asleep to my great surprise and when I woke I was already there. It was about 4 in the morning but I knew I was here and I hoped Katsi hadn’t passed through yet. I headed to the airport hotel and check in a room for two, and then I headed to the bus stop. I would wait then until I saw her bus.

I was tired and exhausted. It was starting to get light and I noticed I was nearly there. I wasn’t going to sleep until I got to Denver. I needed to get there. I soon heard aeroplanes flying in and out of an airport. I sat up straight with great difficulty. I felt the bus pull in and stop. I looked out the window and I saw him. The one person I was running from, the one person I didn’t want to see. I knew he wouldn’t let me leave here; he wouldn’t let me past him. If he had to he would lock me in a hotel room until I co-operated. I wasn’t going to. I would run from him until he gave up. I would keep going, even if it killed me. The bus finally stopped completely and the doors opened. I didn’t move. I ducked down to the floor and I waited. I waited for about half an hour. I took a peak out of the window and I didn’t see him. I was free. He would have left for the airport. I smirked and I got up. I walked down the bus and down the steps. I took a peak out of the bus and nodded. I certainly was free. I stepped out and took a deep breathe. The air wasn’t as fresh as I would have hoped but it was fresh enough.

I took a couple of steps forward and paused. I looked both ways. There was no one there but I knew Zev wouldn’t give up his easily. He was hiding, waiting for the right moment to get me. I took a deep breath and walked in the direction of the departure gates. I kept looking but there was nothing. No one was there. No one was going to get me. Just as I reached the doors, something one grabbed my hand. I looked around. It was Zev. He smiled at me. It was a soft smile. He didn’t show any feelings of hating me. I think he was glad to have found me.

“Can you give me the amulet?” He asked. “I will let you go if you do, if no, I will have to keep you here.” He said to me. I glared at him and pulled my wrist out of his grip.

“No, I won’t, I am keeping it. This way I can show how I stole the prince’s heart and broke it.” I told him. It was true, I had stolen his heart, and I had broken it but I couldn’t admit that he stole mine.

“Katsi, you do not know what will happen.” He warned me. I turned and glared at him.

“No, No, I don’t. I know nothing, and I will take that risk.” I told him and then I walked off. He caught my hand a second time but with a tighter grip.

“You are coming with me young lady” He told me. I wriggled and squirmed but I ended up in his arms. He picked me up and threw me over his shoulder. I thrashed around but to no avail. People were just laughing at me, a lovers quarrel. He walked away from the doors and I screamed. I shouted that I wanted to leave, wanted to run away but Zev ignored me. He wouldn’t let me go. We soon ended up a hotel and Zev walked us to the lift. He let the doors shut and then he dropped me. I crossed my arms and glared at him as much as I could. This guy was infuriating me. The lift stopped and the doors opened. Zev grabbed my hand again and pulled me down the corridor. I noticed we were in the more expensive area. It was pretty. He stopped at a door and opened it. I pushed me in and lock it behind him as he walked in. He stood there and crossed his arms. I copied. It looked like we would be just as stubborn as one another.

I decided to look around. The living area was large. It had a huge wide screen TV. There was a mini kitchen to cook in and then there was a door for the bath room and a door for the bed room. They were both open. I suddenly realised.

“We are not sharing the same bed, or room.” I spat. Zev came up behind me and looked towards the bedroom.

“Oh, I asked them to make up two beds, bad luck. At least we will be warm.” He mused. I looked at him and glared.

“This isn’t funny.” I told him but he just shrugged.

“You need to take the amulet off.” He told me. I ignored his words. I trotted into the bedroom and flopped on the bed. “If you don’t you will be dead in two days,” He told me. I sat up and looked at him. “You have barely done anything and you are exhausted. That is what the amulet does. It takes the energy of the person who wears it.” He told me. I frowned.

“So why does it not happen to you?” I asked.

“Because when we are made lord of the guard, our blood it placed inside it and sealed until the next lord. While we are lord, the amulet takes the energy from the blood slowly. It keeps us alive. But I need it back. If you keep wearing it, the amulet will end up dark and no one will be able to wear it besides you, you heart is darkening tainting the amulet. By the end of tomorrow I won’t be able to help you. The amulet will drain your energy faster and slowly poison you. That is the magic of the amulet.” He told me. I picked it up and looked at it. It certainly didn’t shine as much as before. I sighed. I was too tired to think about it. I didn’t want to think about it. I curled up and went to sleep. No matter how long I was here, the amulet would remain mine. It had to.

She led on the bed that welcomed me. I wanted to curl up next to her but I knew I had to try and get the amulet off her. She was stubborn and I knew she wouldn’t give it back to me without a good reason. What else could I tell her to get her to give it to me? She wouldn’t see it turning colour, she can’t see the true3 magic surrounding it. The amulet is as old as the werewolf race, as old as time its self; its magic can only be seen by the royalty. The last werewolf in existence to have magic in their blood, I was the last werewolf to be able to stop the evil. I could see the darkness that surrounded it, that filled it, that darkened Katsi’s heart. I knew I had to remove it but Katsi’s hand clenched it tight, she lay holding it close to her, around her neck.

This was going to be impossible. I sat in a chair in the bedroom watching Katsi’s chest rise and fall at a steady rate. She seemed so intent on keeping the amulet, too intent for her reason earlier. There had to be another reason, or more of a reason for her to hold on to the amulet so much. Did she care for me more than she wanted to realise?

I didn’t understand her motives or her reasons and some part of me didn’t want to.

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