Kai was deep in the forest, moving through shadows and trees and a earching for that which did not want to be found.
He was searching for something logic did not apply to, something that for the last hour had been toying with him like a child shaking a snow globe.
And if his guess was right?
It was doing so with immense joy.
He stopped in front of a very familiar tree.
To the left.
Again.
For the eleventh damn time.
Kai blinked… then sighed… then laughed under his breath, low and irritated.
"Ohhhh you despicable goat," he whispered, narrowing his eyes. "Hmmmm… when I get my hands on you? Mnnn…"
A sliver of frustration leaked into his tone.
"Okay. Fine. Two can play that game."
He blurred out of the forest.
————————————-
Standing before a completed ritual circle drawn in shimmering silver ink. Elliot and Margo stood on it, both staring down at the symbols like they were trying to decide whether to trust the man who drew them or call a therapist for him.
Elliot slowly tilted his head.
"Uhhhh… okay, Kai. Not that I don't trust you or anything, but… what exactly did you just do right now?"
Kai didn't look up.
"A ritual."
Margo scoffed.
"Uhhh, the last time I participated in one of those, oh my GOD, that fucking twat literally stole my essence, Kai."
Elliot turned to her with that soft, patronizing smile only he could weaponize so gently.
"Awwwn, Bambi. We both know you're damaged goods. You've done some pretty questionable things with some very shady individuals."
Kai raised a brow.
"Shady as in…?"
Elliot waved a hand.
"Oh you know, some rituals that induce your very essence into a very special brand of high."
Margo chimed in casually, "It was for an orgy."
She said it as if it were something obvious and completely reasonable. Kai slowly pointed a finger at her.
"Uh-huh. Right. Okay." Then he dusted his hands off. "Well, this little ritual is a sort of tether."
Elliot blinked.
"Tether to what?"
Kai responded as if it were obvious. "To your castle of course."
Margo put her hands on her hips. "Okay, tiger, why the hell do we need to be tethered?"
Kai shrugged. "Just in case. Oh don't worry, It won't interfere with anything else. This is purely precautionary for any unseen and unexpected situations like let's say uhhh… banishment."
He paused.
"And since your lives tend to be one long chain reaction of catastrophic disasters, I figured maybe, just maybe we avoid the next one."
Margo rolled her eyes.
"Okay, sarcasm noted."
Kai looked around. "Where's Josh?"
Margo sighed dramatically. "He's taking a break after what happened with the FU Fighters. His elixir made them unable to even pronounce their own names properly. He deserves rest."
Kai smirked.
"I would've loved to deal with them."
Elliot gave him a look. "Yeah, that's just you wanting to gorge yourself on their blood."
Kai snapped his fingers.
"Oh duhhhh. I'm peckish."
Margo took a long breath, adjusting her crown.
"Well, excuse me. I have to go see Fen. And you" she jabbed a finger at Elliot, "need to prepare for King Idri."
Elliot watched her go, then leaned toward Kai.
"Is there something I don't know? Something… weird about her and Fen recently?"
Kai thought for half a second.
'Oh yes, you lot have an infestation of bugs crawling in the cracks of reality.'
But he smiled instead. "Hm. No idea. But I'm sure you'll find out soon enough." Just then he felt a sharp ping hit his senses.
Kai turned his head immediately. "Excuse me."
He walked away from Elliot, boots silent on marble, turning down a corridor that suddenly felt too narrow, too quiet. As he rounded the corner, he caught sight of a faint shimmer, like heat rising off stone.
He narrowed his eyes at the strange phenomenon.
This was why he'd come to Fillory. Not for a vacation, not even primarily to block Elliot's future banishment and yes, hunting that stupid, elusive goat god was on the list but his main interest?
The infestation.
They were hiding in the alternate shift of Fillory, in the invisible realm a kind of limbo, or metaphysical in-between. The place where things fell when they slipped through cracks in reality.
His earlier scrying spell, the one he cast by tapping his toe to ripple his magic through the castle floors like a sonar had finally bounced back.
And now it was pinging. Kai spread his fingers and released a silent spell. A truth-revealing wave that came out gentle, it washed outward across the corridor.
The shimmer flickered again.
Kai rounded another corner of Whitespire's hallway, his footsteps were soft and senses sharp.
That was when he heard the quiet, hurried voice.
He immediately slid behind a stone pillar and stilled his breath.
"…I want to renegotiate our agreement," a familiar voice whispered.
Kai raised a brow. Margo.
He leaned just enough to peek and saw a faint shimmering figure floating in front of her.
'Gotcha.'
The fairy lifted an arm to gesture and Kai was suddenly there.
His hand closed around its neck like a steel trap.
Margo jumped back, eyes wide. "H–holy shit!"
Kai tilted his head. "Margoooo… I didn't know you were into sparkly home invaders. Should I… leave you two alone?"
He wiggled the fairy slightly. "Didn't take you for the type to date discount Tinker Bells."
The fairy sputtered uselessly as Kai's fingers tightened.
He smirked. "Easy there, Glitter McChokehold. It's just me Kai. Try to maintain some dignity."
With that, he began siphoning its magic.
The creature's glow flickered violently, dimming as it struggled to manifest its magic unlike humans who use hand signs to cast spells, the fairies manifest them into the world.
"Good lord," Kai muttered, tasting the raw magical current. "That is deeper."
Margo gave him a look. "Ok, I do hope you know how sus that sounded right?"
Kai pointed at her without looking away from the fairy. "You're a lady, you get it. Magic tastes sweeter coming from the source."
Then, internally: 'No wonder they're so powerful… Fairies are living magic. They draw power from themselves. Not like humans who channel it…'
He straightened, face becoming serious.
"Now then. I've been searching for you lot. Your little infestation?"
He shook the fairy like a misbehaving cat.
"Not appreciated."
Margo opened her mouth, but Kai kept going:
"And I'd also like to know how to break your contract with your queen regarding Fen's baby."
Margo blinked hard. "Wait—how the hell do you—?"
Kai gave her a small gesture.
Stop talking.
The fairy squealed as his grip tightened. That was when two more fairies appeared, their bodies fully manifested.
They launched spells at him and Margo instantly.
Kai blurred away from the first blast then reappeared next to Margo as she was about to be hit.
At the same moment, one fairy lunged to grab the one Kai was currently choking.
And just like that he was put into a position in which he had to choose.
Keep his hostage…
or save Margo.
He released the fairy but not without casting a spell on it before it could properly react and fled.
"Incendia!"
A flaming jet engulfed the fairy he had dropped, burning it badly enough to leave a sizzling black mark across its torso.
Kai then moved in front of Margo and the second fairy's spell slammed into his chest, carving through his shoulder all the way to the bone.
The force sent him down to one knee with a hiss.
All of it happened in seconds.
"What in the fuck—?!" Margo shouted, finally catching up as she looked down at him.
Kai's wound was already knitting itself together, as his vampiric healing factor kicked in and stitching his shoulder close.
He rose with a grunt.
"And there goes my prize," he lamented, dusting himself off.
Margo pointed at him violently. "WHAT the fuck, Kai?!"
"Well," he said, stretching his arm, "it seems fairies have way more bite than anyone assumed. And I don't think we'll be renegotiating anything with them."
He turned fully to face her.
"Tell me something Margo before making that deal with those bugs didn't you read the terms and conditions before signing the dotted line?"
He asked the question in half-sarcastic and half disappointed tone.
A voice behind them whispered, "Ohhhhh… that was—wow…"
They turned to see Fen.
She looked pale. "You both can see them."
Kai nodded. "And touch 'em too."
Fen grabbed her head. "I'm not going crazy!"
Kai shrugged. "Well, technically all of this could be a figment of your imagination—"
"Kai," Margo warned, glaring.
He rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine. No, Fen, you're not going crazy. And we need to find a way to evict your unwanted houseguests before they get bold."
Just then, a rabbit fell from above and landed in front of them.
In a hoarse, irritated tone it croaked:
"Kai, get your ass back here. We have a situation."
Kai blinked. "Now that is weird… That definitely sounded like something Penny would say."
He frowned.
The only thing that could be wrong now was
"…Reynard?" he muttered.
Margo asked. "The trickster god?!"
Kai nodded.
Fen swallowed. "Well… looks like you're needed elsewhere."
Kai sighed long and tired. "This is troublesome."
He turned to Margo. "I'll be back. But you need to talk to Eliot about this. His home is infested. And if you don't tell him…"
He pointed at himself.
"I will. Next time."
He pulled out a button.
"Don't screw me over," he muttered to it and pressed it.
Kai vanished from Fillory and slammed back into the real world