Catalyst Page 0,62

turned to lead. Sweat trickled between her shoulder blades, despite the frigid temperature. The dry air filled her lungs in big gulps, drying out her mouth and cracking her lips. Kahli forced herself on, ignoring the stitch in her side that burned like razor wire. The roar of engines were all around her, but she couldn't tell where any of them were. For a while, she ran away from the lights, and that helped, but the vamps figured out what she was doing and shut them off.

The wind whipped the sound around, so that without the visual, Kahli wasn't sure where the vamps were. Or Will. She was sure Reggie sent Will after her. Dashing up another hill, Kahli reached the top and threw herself over the crest, sliding down the other side. When she stopped slipping, Kahli pushed herself off the ground, and kept running.

The orchard. Where was it? The Queen's garden was to the South of the palace. That's where she was, Kahli was sure of it, but she didn't see the orchard or the roses. Just more white hills. Exhausted, Kahli rounded another hill and saw it as she slipped down the other side - the ice castle from the Purging - the one she'd climbed and taken the flag from. She'd found it.

Running as fast as she could, Kahli made it. Quickly, she glanced up and down the wall trying to find the guards, but there weren't any. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end and her stomach turned to ice. She stood still as a stone, her wide green eyes slowly moving through the darkness. The twisting in her stomach told her that the King was near-by, even though she couldn't see him.

Will chose that moment to slam into her. He forced Kahli to the ground, sheltering her with his body. "Stay down," he hissed in her ear, his gloved hand covering her mouth. Heart beating wildly, she looked up at him. "Someone's here." Will lifted his hand from her mouth and put a finger to his lips indicating she should stay silent.

When Will stood, he crouched, moving closer to the wall. Kahli followed him at first, thinking she was just being silly. The King lived here. He might still be inside. Surely that was all she was reacting to, but the closer they got to the wall, the sicker she felt. When her feet stopped moving, Will managed to get ahead of her and saw the hole in the wall. He turned back to Kahli, his eyes sparkling in the waning moonlight. She didn't move. Will gestured for her to follow, but she shook her head.

She threw a thought at him, hoping he'd realize why they shouldn't go any further. The King. Don't go this way, Will. The King is here.

Will's brow crinkled, as he looked back at her. He gazed at the wall one more time and when he looked back, he held up a single finger and mouthed, Wait here. Looking down at his belt, he removed something and handed it to Kahli. It was a slender metal flashlight. It was so dark, but turning it on would be insane. It would be like sending up a beacon, telling every vampire within the palace grounds exactly where she was. Kahli looked at the flashlight, and then back up at him.

Will stepped away before she could stop him. Kahli shook her head and held up a hand, willing him to stop, but he didn't. Will disappeared through the hole in the wall. Pulse pounding, Kahli forced her feet forward, toward the King. Swallowing hard, she neared the hole. Every hair on her body stood on end. Her skin was hypersensitive. The flutter of her heart made her body shake. Fear pulsated through her body. The King was close. He was here, he did this to the wall. Being near him was suicide. And yet, Kahli couldn't stop moving toward the hole in the wall. Stepping softly, she leaned forward and looked through. Will was standing over a lump on the ground. It was a dead vampire. Black inched out from the body like jagged arms of ink.

Looking around nervously, she walked up behind Will and put her hand on his shoulder. He sensed she was there before she did it. Although he was looking at the body, she saw his gaze lift for half a beat when she entered the garden. "The King did this. He's here. I feel