Nemesis by Emma L. Adams Page B

park, heartbeat kicking up. Someone stood just outside–a dark-haired guy I recognised instantly.
    I stopped. He was talking to a tall girl dressed in Alliance guard gear, her long auburn hair tied back, and her pretty face twisted in a scowl.
    “Just wondered if it’s true that you saved Central,” she was asking.
    “If I was dead, it’d be a bit difficult,” said Kay, in the offhandedly sarcastic manner that had irritated me so much when we’d first met.
    “Oh, for God’s sake.” Her scowl deepened. Common sense told me I should back away and not get involved, but curiosity won. “I’m not going to shout it from the rooftops, you know.” Now she moved between him and the front doors to Central. “Well? Did you?” she asked him, hands on hips.
    “No, whoever told you that is a liar,” said Kay, in icy tones. “That information’s classified. Read the papers.”
    The girl flushed, eyes bright with anger. “Don’t talk to me like that.”
    Kay just shrugged. “It’s true. Not my story to tell.”
    “Who the hell’s is it, then?”
    “Mine,” I said. And then wanted to bury myself in a hole as Kay turned to look at me. The expression on his face suggested he wanted to do the same thing.
    I felt about eight inches tall.
    “And you are?” From her tone, I might have been one of Cethrax’s ten-foot long worm-creatures.
    “A friend.” Or something. “What the hell is your problem?”
    “My problem’s with him.” She jerked her head at Kay, whose eyes narrowed. “Not you. So you had something to do with the business at Central?”
    “What’s it to you?” I folded my arms and gave her my best Death Stare. “You keep looking at me like that and I’ll give you a real problem.”
    Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kay completely failing to hide his amusement. Damn him.
    “I’ll do whatever I like,” she said. “Word of advice: don’t trust anything he says. I’m done here.”
    She stalked off. I glanced at Kay, who was no longer smiling.
    “Angry ex-girlfriend?” I queried.
    “Something like that.”
    We looked at each other. Awkward, not at all how I’d pictured our–reunion? It had only been a couple of days, but today alone felt like it had lasted a lifetime.
    “So is this likely to be a common thing?” I asked, breaking the silence. “Did you leave a trail of broken hearts behind you at the Academy?”
    He raised his eyebrows in incredulity. “That’s what you think?”
    “Well, what did you do to upset her so much? Wait, I don’t think I want to know.”
    “We broke up two years ago,” he said, the slightest edge to his voice. “Apparently, Aric’s been spreading rumours that I’m dead. If you weren’t so quick to jump to conclusions, I’d have told you.”
    I folded my arms. “Oh, that’s right, try to make me feel bad. Hang on. No way.” I laughed, more in surprise than anything. “ She ditched you? Oh, my God.”
    I pressed my hand to my mouth, sorry for laughing already. Because I might not be an authority on the subject, but I knew enough to know being dumped hurt like a bitch even if the relationship was casual. I’d been on the receiving end of that conversation more than once. Idiot. It wasn’t the first time I’d got completely the wrong end of the stick.
    Kay shook his head, and started to walk past me, towards the gates.
    “Hang on.” I spun around, hurrying after him. “Sorry, that was tactless. I’m just… Ms Weston’s been tormenting me all day.”
    “I did tell you what to expect, didn’t I?”
    Ouch. “Yeah, I know. She thinks I’m going to cause trouble.”
    No response. Kay turned left out the gates and I hurried to keep pace. We passed the bright-haired tourists again, who were now arguing with one of the guards. It sounded like my guess that they’d been trying to snap a photo of monster claw marks on the road around the back of Central had been spot on.
    “Yes, I know I did end up causing trouble,” I muttered, after we’d