When My Heart Became Ice - Chapter 14

[[ D E J A • vu ]]

Stop trying to comfort me . . .

“Hey Kyth,” Syn said.

“Mm?” Kyth asked, distracted. She held a lollipop in her mouth once more, spinning in her chair. Syn sat in the corner of her office, feet folded underneath him.

“Can I have some candy too?”

“All I have is lollipops and jelly beans.”

“I’ll have a lollipop… Please?” He was looking at her hopefully.

Sighing, Kyth tossed him a red one. He happily unwrapped it and shoved it into his mouth, sucking on it loudly. Kyth’s eyes rolled.

Closing his eyes in contentment, Syn gave a shiver, hunching his shoulders and wiggling slightly before settling down again.

“What’s wrong with you?” Kyth asked, staring.

“Of course,” He answered, and focused back on his lollipop.

Kyth watched him for a moment, and then turned away. His outburst last night had all but disappeared from her mind. She had never seen Syn in such agony before, such panic. He had trembled…

“Kyth you have far off eyes,” Syn told her.

“Shut up,” She mumbled, distracted.

Syn let out an annoyed sigh.

They sat there for several more minutes before there was a loud crunch, and Kyth glanced over at Syn. He had crushed the lollipop in between his teeth, now carefully licking the candy shards from his mouth.

Her computer suddenly made a plinking sound, and she glanced at it. The coordinates to their new mission had popped up.

“On that note,” Kyth sighed, standing. She dropped the lollipop in the garbage and then disappeared into the hallway. Syn followed, tossing the stick away without a care.

“Level eleven,” Syn grinned. “This will be fun.”

“Humans are involved in this one,” Kyth told him. “So don’t go slashing about.”

Without warning, Nyun was in front of her.

Kyth stopped, staring.

“Here,” He said quietly, holding out an envelope. “They changed your assignment.”

“What?” Kyth asked, snapping the envelope up. She ripped it open and read it out loud. “Kyth and Syn, you have been assigned a new assignment due to Levels…”

She let Syn snatch the paper from her.

“We have a level 13 mission,” Syn said, surprised. This meant that they both would most likely be forced to use their abilities to their fullest. “It’s a long mission and might take a week. They’re sending an Infirmary Reacher and a Kinjuki with us, and we’re to leave right away.”

“Bags packed,” Kyth said, snatching the letter away from Syn as she glanced at their coordinates. “Syn, I’ll meet you at the gate in 10 minutes.”

“All right,” He said, and lazily darted off faster than Kyth’s eyes could follow.

She disappeared to her own house, where she quickly got her bag packed up and left. Emily was sleeping and Alabaster was supposed to be, so she left a note and vanished out the door without saying good bye.

Level 13 assignment.

Something was bothering her. She didn’t like the idea that the Order had given her and Syn a level 13 assignment. They strived to keep all assignments below the actual level of the Reacher, so why had they given Syn an assignment that matched his level? That meant he would have to work as hard as he possibly could, and this was a long mission. He’d be either exhausted or dead by the time they were done. She would be working hard as well, but it would merely be a challenge, not a tough test like it would be to Syn.

How would he do under the physical stress?

Kyth knew for a fact that Hykuma wouldn’t be with them; the Order would send a level 20 Infirmary Reacher. What would she do if Syn had an attack?

She stood at the gate for a while before Syn popped up. He sat down on the ground, holding a bag over his shoulder. A picture was clasped in his hands.

“What’s that?” Kyth asked, nodding towards it.

“Hykuma,” He told her, and held the photo against his chest. “I took it.”

“Ah,” Kyth glanced at him. Could he survive an entire week working a mission that was too hard for him without Hykuma to go home to every night?

He seemed untroubled by the thoughts she was, so she let them go. She looked around with dull boredom before she noticed bright, fiery colored hair coming towards them. She stood straight.

A man approached them, probably in his early 20’s. Most Reachers in their teens and early twenties were Level 10-20.

The man stood tall; surprisingly taller than Syn. His hair was a shocking, bright neon shade of red, and Syn stared, hypnotized by the blood red locks. His crimson hair stuck up all over the place, spiky. Syn’s hair normally stuck up all over the place too, but his hair was soft as a feather while this guy’s hair could poke an eye out. Kyth decided he was the Infirmary Reacher by the look of his bag. It had several medical things poking out, including a radio phone in case anything too bad happened to any of them. His eyes were a soft orange color, the color of the sunset. He wore a black jacket over a white t-shirt and blue jeans.

“Hey,” He said quietly. He glanced at Syn. His eyes got a bit wide.

Syn smirked.

“Hello,” Kyth gave him a once over before shrugging. “Let’s go.”

“The Kinjuki…” He began, but Kyth turned to look at him.

“He’ll meet us there,” She told him, and stalked off.

Syn snickered and followed her, amused. Kyth could still make any guy nervous.

“So,” Kyth said after 30 minutes of walking. “What’s your name?”

“Resyn Flyt,” He answered, looking at her. “Level 17.”

“Really? How old?”

“21.”

“Ah. Where do you live? In the Order or in the human’s world?”

“The Order. I live in an apartment in headquarters because I’m a fulltime Infirmary doctor.”

“Do you know Hykuma?” Syn asked, his blue eyes shifting to look at Resyn.

Resyn thought for a moment, and then answered, “Yes, I think I do. We don’t have time to talk though, so I don’t know her that well…”

“Good,” Syn tumbled forward, keeping behind but close to Kyth.

They continued walking for about an hour, only speeding up when they were passing by a highly populated human area. They darted by so quickly the only thing the humans noticed was a suddenly breeze.

They stopped at a highway.

“Well we could jump,” Kyth suggested.

“Too slow,” Resyn argued.

“So we’ll run across.”

“It’s a bit dangerous…” Resyn began.

Syn looked at him. “Don’t be such a scaredy cat,” Syn stuck out his tongue, closing one eye, grinning.

Resyn nervously glanced across the road.

“Come on,” Kyth sighed. She darted across, dodging every car.

Resyn followed, even quicker than Kyth.

Syn zipped across, but his foot caught on the median, and he fell, face first, into the middle of the road.

Kyth shrieked.

Syn rolled to avoid a car, pressing against the median. He looked over at Kyth, wild-eyed.

“Syn!” Kyth cried. “Stay there! I’m coming to get you!”

“Yeah,” Syn slowly stood, shaking slightly.

“Don’t move!” Kyth told him, and she readied herself to leap.

“Wait,” Resyn said. “I’m faster.”

“You want to go get him?”

Resyn shrugged slightly, as though it was no big deal. “Yeah.”

“All right,” She looked over at Syn anxiously.

“Kyth,” He looked at her.

“Stay still,” She told him.

The cars were moving so fast they didn’t notice Syn in the middle of the road.

Humans were monsters.

Resyn glanced one way, and then the other, and he crouched. Quicker than her eye could follow, he flew into the air, and when she blinked, he had landed on the median right behind Syn.

Without another word, he pulled Syn up into his arms, bridal style. Syn stiffened, curling like a crab inside his shell.

Resyn glided over the cars like it was nothing and landed swiftly beside Kyth. He gently set Syn down.

Kyth knelt down beside him and squashed his face in between her hands. “Are you okay?!” She snapped.

Syn nodded, stiffly.

She slapped him.

“Don’t do that again!” She yelled. “You scared the hell out of me!”

Syn looked at her quietly.

“Sorry,” He said. “I didn’t mean to.”

“Cars are more deadly than you think they are!” Kyth cried. “If you get your arm bitten off or your leg or even your chest hurt you can heal! If you get hit by a car, though, your wounds are everywhere and you can bleed to death right there!”

Syn watched her, his eyes big.

Kyth turned away. “Let’s keep going.”

As they continued forward, Kyth trembled. If Syn couldn’t even cross a street without nearly getting killed, could he continue with this? Why had the Order given them a Level 13 mission? Why had they put Syn’s life in danger like that?

Kyth was almost positive that Syn would not survive this, and if he did, he would come out with awful injuries.

It was making her unnerved.

One thing she knew was that Syn was her partner, and if the Order had been stupid and given them an assignment that would risk his life, she would protect him with hers.

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They met up with the Kinjuki at the site of the assignment. He was tall, though not as tall as Resyn, with dark blue hair and the same colored eyes. He had a brooding look about him, as though he didn’t want to talk to them.

“Hey,” He muttered. “Hyin Kells.”

“Kyth Kimata,” Kyth told him.

“Resyn Flyt,” Resyn put in.

“Syn,” He merely muttered. He was pouting.

Hyin gave a slow, huge sigh and mumbled, “Your mission is in several places.”

“What is our mission?” Kyth asked, putting her hands on her hips.

“Retrieve several creatures and destroy a couple of them.”

“Creatures?”

“New ones.”

“What are they?”

“We have no idea.”

Kyth blinked at him.

“They sent a Level 13 and a Level 15 to deal with this?”

He nodded, and then shoved his hands in his pockets and started walking away.

“Syn,” Kyth looked over at him. “You follow close, okay?”

“Are you worried about me?” He grinned. “How sweet.”

“Shut up,” Kyth growled.

Syn tagged along, staying close to Kyth but not close enough where he was in her arm’s range. He didn’t like getting hit.

Without warning, Resyn was suddenly far out in front of them, and a monster stood right in front of him, snarling.

The monster was enormous, covered in dark gray, leathery, scaly skin. Small red eyes peeked out from beneath two enormous, curved, horns. Crooked, sharp teeth jutted out from many rows in his wide mouth. Claws like a tiger’s sat on its knotted hands, its back hunched with more spikes as it let out a fearsome snarl. It was enormous, about the size of an elephant.

Cauldwyns looked liked fluffy little baby bunnies compared to this monstrosity.

Before Syn and Kyth could react, Resyn’s hand flew out, and a shower of silver fell over the creature, which immediately starting roaring, clawing at itself.

“Go!” Resyn told both of them.

Kyth leapt forward, followed closely by Syn. He snapped his golden thread outwards and it wrapped tightly around the creature’s mouth and legs. Kyth charged towards it, markings glowing.

Suddenly, the golden thread snapped. Syn gave a surprised yell and pulled out a thicker black string, tossing it with accuracy towards the creature.

The creature turned, avoiding the thread, and its muzzle slammed against Kyth, who lifted her arms and pushed against it, struggling. Her markings glowed, and suddenly the creature was merely dust in the air.

Kyth collapsed, panting. Disintegrating something that big that fast was exhausting.

Syn recalled the black thread and came over to her, squatting down beside her.

“Are you okay?” He asked.

Kyth nodded, standing. Her legs shook.

"Here,” Resyn handed her two pills, and she took them swiftly. “It’ll give you strength and stamina. I don’t understand why they sent two low level people to do this…”

Quietly, Kyth looked at him. “Syn’s level 13,” She told him.

Hyin looked over at them quietly. He then said, voice dark, “You two are in for a hell of a week.”

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Kyth woke that night to a quiet whimpering sound.

Slowly, she sat up in her bed, looking around. She was in the hotel room they had rented for the week so they could do their mission.

The whimpering came from Syn’s room.

She stood, sleepy, and stumbled out of the room, glancing around. To a human, her eyes would have looked like they were glowing.

“Syn,” She said quietly, opening his door. She looked up.

Syn sat on the window sill, curled against it. Blood was smeared on the window. Blood covered his hands, stained his shirt, some was on his cheek.

A human body lay in the floor, completely mauled.

“Syn,” Kyth said again.

Syn turned, staring at her. His blue eyes were wide, his mouth pulled back into a terrified snarl.

Kyth merely tilted her head slightly. “Syn,” She repeated, voice soft. “Calm down.”

Syn glared at her a minute, pain still in his eyes, and then he threw the knife he had in his hands hard.

It lodged in the ribs of the dead body.

“Did you have an attack or did you do it on purpose?” Kyth asked, being gentle.

“Purpose,” Syn muttered, but by the sound of the whimpering from earlier, she was almost positive it had been an attack.

She looked down at the human. It was a woman, with long brown hair and dull gray eyes. She was indefinitely dead.

Kyth looked up at Syn quietly, thinking back to all the missions she could remember him doing. He had never spent a night away from Hykuma. Was that what this was? Homesickness?

“Syn,” She murmured. “Do you miss Hykuma?”

Quietly, he nodded.

“Do you want to go home?”

He nodded again, curling closer against the window.

Kyth tilted her head slightly, looking distressed. She couldn’t do much for him; she wasn’t Hykuma, after all.

An idea popped into her head.

“Syn,” She crooned gently. “Why don’t you call her?”

Syn looked up at her quietly, and then darted over to the phone, landing on the bed. He picked it up and swiftly dialed Hykuma’s number, and then sat there, anxiously.

Hykuma must have been waiting for him to call because it picked up before the first ring was over. Kyth smiled slightly as she saw Syn relax. She heard Hykuma yelling at him from the other end, probably for not calling sooner, forgetting clothes, forgetting food…

Syn listened, his eyes half closed as he listened to her voice. It seemed that even Hykuma screaming at him calmed him down.

Kyth relaxed slowly. She could go back to sleep.

“Hykuma,” Syn said after Kyth had left.

“Are you sure you’re okay…?” Hykuma was distressed and upset. “I mean… It’s a Level 13 mission…”

“I’ll be home soon…” Syn murmured. “I’ll kill quickly so I can go home… I’ll… Use my powers.”

“Syn…” Hykuma breathed. “You don’t have to do that.”

“I do. I want to go home now.”

“All right… Be careful.”

“Yeah…”

“Night, Syn…”

“Night, Hykuma…”

For a moment, there was silence, as though she were going to hang up, but then the dial tone sounded, and Syn put the phone down.

He curled up in his bloody bed and fell asleep.

[/blockquote]


You only hurt me more.