Chaos Rising: Dawn of the Hybrid

II - Arriving Dark

Everything happened so fast that it was a blur.

The moment Michael fell unconscious to the floor, I scrambled toward him. I was hoping to catch him before he hit his face, but as it turned out, I wasn't as fast as I used to be. A dull thud rang through the room as Michael's face banged against the polished flooring mere seconds before I got to him.

Everything around me fell away. Nothing mattered. I did not have a single care if my jeans would be soaked with foul-smelling blood as I pulled Michael onto my lap. All of a sudden, I felt like I was back inside the Westworth manor with Angel boy bleeding all over me. He died in my arms then, and I had been broken. Staring at him with blood covering his whole body, I could not tell if I could afford to be broken all over again.

My fingers flew to the side of Michael's neck. I was frantic. Everything about me was trembling as I tried hard to feel his pulse. After a few attempts, I found it. His pulse was strong and steady under my fingers. Relief washed over me like a bucket of ice-cold water. I released the breath I didn't realize I was holding and looked up to see Jason's face hovering over me. "Call Carlisle," I told him, injecting as much urgency as I could into my voice. "Tell him something has happened to Michael, and we need him here now."

Jason nodded and turned away. He unsummoned his sword and fished his phone out of his jean pocket. His device's dial tone rang as he called Carlisle.

"Michael," I cooed as my hands swept aside the matted hair that stuck to his forehead. "Wake up, please..." I knew that the blood that covered his body was not his, as he'd managed to say it was from a demon, but I could not help the horror creeping inside me. A cold shiver crawled down my spine as I tried hard to keep my tears at bay. Crying wouldn't help you now, Kaylene.

"Carlisle said he's on his way," announced Jason as he walked back to where Michael and I were sprawled by the doorway.

I wanted to thank Jay, but I was cut off before I could open my mouth when a golden pillar of light burst inside the apartment just behind Jason. In no time, the blinding radiance vanished, and Carlisle stepped out of the Halo's portal.

"For the love of Heaven!" yelled the shirt-and-jeans-clad Carlisle as he laid eyes on Michael's bloody form. "What happened here, hybrid woman?"

Old habits die hard, I thought as I heard Carlisle call me names again. For the past few days, he'd been trying to get to my better side as he'd realized I would do anything for Michael. However, as it seemed, it only took one unfortunate event to turn that upside down.

"Don't make it sound like it's her fault, Carlisle," started Jay. "She spent the entire night looking for him. She was even attacked by a creepy-ass woman by doing so. Kaylene called me here to help her look for Michael, but then he came home covered in blood, and then he was knocked out."

Carlisle's shoulders heaved as he took a deep breath. "I-I'm sorry," he stammered, his cheeks flushing red. He cleared his throat and knelt beside us. "Is he alright? And ugh." His nose crinkled. "What is that putrid smell?"

Plain worry was painted all over Carlisle's face, and I found it hard to blame him if he thought that what happened to his best friend was my doing. I was infamous for my terrible decisions that almost always ended with someone being covered in blood, so it was fair play. Shaking my head, I tried to clear my thoughts. "I think he's fine. He just lost his consciousness. Michael must have drained all his strength by fighting demons."

"Demons?" Carlisle was horrified, his pitch rising an octave higher. "What are you talking about? Is that what this is?" He scraped his fingers across Michael's soaked shirt, covering them with thick black-red liquid. "Demon blood?"

I shrugged my shoulders as I did not know what to tell him. "You're more experienced in the Other Worlds compared to Jason and me. I thought you would know when you see it."

"Of course, I would know," remarked Carlisle, an air of his usual smugness lining his voice. "But what you're saying, Kaylene is impossible. There are no demons in New York, or anywhere else for that matter. They cannot cross the Gate sealed by the Chosen One. Samuel Strongheart made sure of that."

The mention of my great ancestor's name made me wince. I didn't know why. Shoving the thought aside, I locked gazes with Goldilocks. "But, it was Michael who said that. Before he... before he lost his consciousness, he managed to say 'demons.' That was how we knew. I don't think he would lie about something as important as that."

Carlisle sighed and broke his gaze. He looked up at the ceiling and stared as though the secrets of the universe were written there. After a few seconds, he turned his eyes back to me. "We'll deal with that later," he said. "Right now, we have to clean this mess up and rejuvenate Michael's strength. The demon blood is preventing his Angelic blessing from working." He stood up and grabbed Angel, boy, by the ankles. "Help me, Jason. Let's get Mike to his bed."

Michael doesn't want blood stains on his sheets, I thought as I remembered the time he complained about my hand bleeding all over his bed. I wanted to say it out loud, but I restrained myself as I knew it wouldn't help at the moment. A bloodstained bedsheet was last on my list of concerns.

Jason followed Carlisle's orders and went over to my side. Jay scooped Angel boy from my lap, and the two boys carried Michael and propped him on the bed. When they were done, Carlisle stared expectantly at Jason.

"What?" Jason asked, confused.

I walked to the side just in time to see Carlisle roll his eyes at Jay. "Oh, need I remind you that you are a White Mage, Jason?"

"Yes, I know that. But I can only resurrect the dead." He pointed to Michael. "He's not dead."

"Oh, you bloody i***t. Look at you, blissfully unaware of everything. The White Flame you possess also has healing powers, moron."

At that, Jason perked up. "Oh yeah, I totally forgot!" he remarked, looking unoffended by the other boy's harshness. "Karmi told me about that."

Carlisle groaned. "Bless her soul."

Despite everything, I felt a small smile curve my lips at the thought that Carlisle and Jason looked like an old couple arguing. I cleared the expression away from my face before any of them could see it. Venturing my eyes back to Michael, I spoke. "Let me do it," I said. "I'm also a White Mage. Let me heal Michael."

"No, Kay," Jason protested. "I'll do it. Between the two of us, I have more experience with the White Flame. Besides, you are still spent from your encounter with that witchy woman."

I didn't argue as he had a point. Plus, he'd been spending time with Karmi, the newly appointed Mage Counsel of New Jersey. If anything, the Silver Mage could have shared her vast knowledge of spells and magic with Jason already. "Okay then," I agreed. "Go ahead, Jay. Do your thing."

With a nod of his head, Jason raised his hands in front of him. He snapped his fingers in the air, and white fire bloomed around his hands at the same time his eyes blazed with ivory flames. The chill of the night air dissipated as Jay's powers burned brighter. He wasn't chanting, though a soft thrumming could be heard ringing through the room. He raised his hands higher, and Michael's body caught fire.

For a second, I felt my heart leap to my throat at the sight of Michael's body burning. I had to remind myself several times that Jay's mage fire wouldn't hurt Angel boy. Swallowing the huge lump in my throat, I watched with some sort of detached interest as the flames flickered and danced before my eyes.

Time seemed to stretch as I waited for something to happen. There was a fire in front of me, but there was no smell of burning. There could have been, though I wouldn't know as I had already lost my wolf sense of smell. The only scent that I was able to identify was the stench of demon blood. An undescribable rottenness. But that, too, was fading away as the blood that covered Michael's body burned away under Jay's power. After several breaths, the White fire was doused, and Angel boy lay on the bed, unmarked. Even his blood-soaked clothes were rid of demon ichor.

"Is it done?" Carlisle's voice broke the silence.

"I think so," Jason answered, sounding unsure.

"Do it again," demanded the other boy. "Michael is still not moving. Maybe you didn't pour enough power. So, do it again be--"

Goldilocks was interrupted when another voice rang through the apartment. I ventured my gaze toward its source.

"There's no need for that, Carl," said Michael as his eyelids fluttered open.

Unbridled joy sang in my veins as I saw Angel boy smile at me. Faster than I thought I could, I rushed to his side and propped myself on the edge of his bed. I took him in an embrace. "Why didn't you reply to my texts?" I asked as I let him go.

Michael chuckled. "I go home all covered with blood, and that is what you ask me, tiger?"

I hit his arm as though it was his fault. However, I was relieved that he was back to being himself. "What happened to you? Where did you go?"

The smile on his face disappeared. With an effort, he sat up on the bed. Despite being healed by the White Flame, he still looked sore. His face became plastered with a look that told he meant serious business. Michael took a deep breath. His focus swept from me to Jay and finally settled on his Brother-in-Arms, Carlisle. "We have to warn the Soul Ministry," he said, his voice deep and husky. "The Gate to Hell is cracking open as we speak."