Chapter 11: Rebirth

Kia's mind came to life. It was like waking up from slumber before you opened your eyes. She felt herself, her consciousness first, then her body. Rather than the hard floor of the Wayne Warehouse, Kia felt her body on something soft and comfy. Her back wasn't wet with blood from her injuries. In fact, she wasn't lying on her back at all. Instead, she was lying face first.

Slowly, she pushed her eyes open. They fluttered in protest, clearly preferring to remain closed. In fact, her entire body wanted to stay closed, closed up in the gentle arms of sleep. She felt this as she tried to make her brain translate the images captured by her eyes.

Kia found herself staring at a window. Outside the window were tall oak trees – a forest. There was a small desk and table right before the window, perfect for reading and writing while enjoying nature's gentle views. Kia kept staring through the window, watching the leaves and branches dance to the rhythm of the winds.

She couldn't see the moon, but she could see its light. It was dusk, and the sun had already bade the horizon farewell. In its place was the gentle silver glow of the moon, bathing all her eyes could see. Kia watched the leaves dancing gently in the moonlight as her body and mind slowly flowed out of their state of rest into life and activity.

Only when her mind was fully awake did the events of the past come flashing in. And then it hit her like a thunderbolt.

"I died,"

Her eyes widened with shock, and panic ran through the nerves of her body. The realization that she had died opened the floodgates of many questions.

"Am I dead?"

"Where am I?"

"Is this heaven or hell?"

"Or maybe Limbo as I prayed for?"

"Do I feel any pain?"

All these thoughts ran through her mind, and her newly calibrated brain struggled to find answers. In the end, it gave up. She had no answers at hand and had to go and find them. That meant rising to her feet and exploring her new reality. Was she going to meet an angel or a devil? Was she going to begin an eternity of bliss or pain?

She tried to push herself up, and every cell in her body protested. Their demands were clear.

"We need rest. We won't abide any more of this abuse."

However, Kia, ever the stubborn human with the will of a goddess, pushed her body against its will, cell by cell, bone by bone, muscle by muscle, limb by limb, until she had her palms planted on the bed and pushed her torso up.

She wanted to rest. She really did. But she couldn't. Not when she didn't know what was going on. With more clarity came her first reasonable thought.

"Maybe I passed out from blood loss and didn't actually die."

However, this thought created more questions than it answered, especially regarding where she was and how she survived.

"Baglor."

The name came into her mind loud and powerful, like a powerful command cast upon her soul.

She maneuvered her body from the bed and planted her feet on the floor. With her feet planted on the floor, she rose up. However, her legs proved way too weak to carry out the immense task of holding her upright. Her feet softened into jelly, wobbled and crumbled beneath her.

She fell to her knees and palms as the air in her lungs abandoned her. Her vision got blurry, and she saw stars. For a brief second, the thought of rolling to her side and lying on the floor crossed her mind. But stubborn as a mountain, Kia rose to her feet and leaned on the wall. She made her way to the room's exit and opened the door to reveal a massive hallway.

Kia stepped out of the room and began to walk down the hallway. She didn't know where she was or where she was going. All she knew was that she was moving. The hallway ended at a foyer. The foyer was a small round space with large paintings of old men hanging on the wall. To her right was a pair of spiral stairs that went up like a DNA. In the middle of the dual spiral steps was an elevator.

Kia was about to go up the steps when she heard the sound of laughter coming from behind the steps. Her weak vision had missed the space behind the steps. But as she walked towards the sound, she realized that the foyer was much larger than she imagined.

Behind the stairs was even more space, and to the right was a large opened door. Kia stepped in and was met with a surprising image - A long dining hall with a table large enough to seat twenty guests on both sides. However, most of the seats were empty, save for about ten seats on both sides.

Kia squinted her eyes, struggling to see through the blurriness of her sight. She recognized the people sitting at the table; she had, after all, gotten shot while fighting by their side. And then she saw him, seated to the right, tearing a large stake with his teeth, Dimitri.

The world stopped making sense. Her vision began to spin, and she felt her legs quaking and wobbling beneath her.

"Kia," she heard Baglor call her name, followed by a chair scraping on the hardwood floor. Someone was getting up. She shook her head, trying to focus her eyes. But rather than clear up, her eyes went blank. She felt herself falling to the ground. Everything spun fast, and then it all stopped.

Rather than the hard, painful ground, Kia felt powerful arms around her, holding her up and swooping her off the floor. She blinked her eyes open.

"Baglor," she whispered as his handsome, chiseled face filled her sight.

He smelt nice, like smoked tobacco, jasmine, and pine wood. She saw his lips moving, but she couldn't bother to listen. She was too busy melting in his powerful arms. She had imagined his hand around her neck, but this was way better.

As she snuggled into his body, resting her head on his shoulder and chest, she allowed herself to be small. For the first time in years, she wasn't trying to be a cop or prove herself to anyone. She was simply present, enjoying the simplicity of being in the arms of a strong, powerful man. It didn't matter that he was her enemy. Her mind was too tired to think of things like the past, future, mission, enemies, or friends.

All she could think of was right now and how good it felt to be carried like a little one. How good it felt to snuggle into his body like a pillow, his silk shirt fluffy on her skin.

And then it ended. She wasn't in his arms anymore. Instead, she was back in the very bed she had escaped from.

She cooed, longing for him even as her weak, distant consciousness rebelled against such a show of desire. His hands stroked her forehead with care, brushing her hair away from her eyes ever so softly.

"You need to sleep Kia Ling. Cheating death is all the universe would permit. It won't allow you to cheat rest," he whispered softly.

"What happened?" She managed to ask even as his powerful hands softly stroked her cheek.

"You got shot," he whispered.

"Why did it feel like I died?"

"Because you did," he replied.

She was too weak and drained to react, too weak and tired to even fully understand what he was saying,

"But I'm alive," she managed to say after a long pause.

"Yes you are," he replied.

"That's foolish," she whispered and slipped into a deep slumber.