Chaos Rising: Dawn of the Hybrid

III - Slithering Evil Part 4

"Venti cold brew coffee, ugh," the green-aproned barista inflated his lungs with a long inhale. "With twelve pumps of caramel, twelve pumps of vanilla, twelve pumps of hazelnut, five pumps of skinny mocha, a splash of almond milk, double blended for..." He scratched his head, eyes squinting at the name written on the side of the plastic cup. "For Arnelia? Your drink is now available at the bar!"

At that, Aeriella, who had been sitting cross-legged in front of me, rose from her chair and sashayed toward the bar to get her ridiculous order. From where I was sat, I could hear her high-pitched voice as she reprimanded the barista for calling her name wrong. "For the last time, hunny. It's Aeriella. Not Arnelia. I am a loyal patron despite the awful taste of your coffee. You should remember my name by now." With a flip of her hair, she snatched her drink from the counter and walked back toward our table.

"What on Earth did that poor guy do to deserve your wrath, mermaid?" I asked as she set her suspicious-looking drink down the table.

Aeriella sat down. "Ugh, mortals," she groaned, taking a sip of her coffee through the green plastic straw. She was wearing skimpy denim shorts and a blue camisole that did nothing to hide her watermelons. Her boobs jiggled as she moved. "I hate this place. They never get my order right. I explicitly said I wanted soy milk. They put almond! Can you believe that? What if I have allergies?"

I chuckled. "You're a water nymph. You don't have allergies."

"Duh, I'm allergic to kelp. And iron," she said, tucking a stray lock of her pink hair behind her ear. She took another sip. "Anyway, enough of me. Why did you want to meet up, hunny?"

Sighing, I cupped the mug in front of me with both my palms. Its gentle warmth seeped into my cold skin. Unlike the mermaid's complicated drink, I only ordered an Americano with an extra shot of espresso. A wisp of steam rose from my hot beverage; I watched as it drifted to the air and disappeared into nothingness.

It was a busy morning in Starbucks. The place was packed with New Yorkers rushing to grab their dose of caffeine on their way to work. A murmur of indistinct chatter livened the otherwise depressing morning air. "Nothing. I just wanted to see you," I lied. Well, I did not technically lie to Aeriella as I really wanted to see her. It has been more than a week since we last saw each other after the Battle of Westworth. However, it wasn't entirely true as well as I had more pressing matters besides just having a coffee date with a friend.

The mermaid seemed to take notice. "Uhuh, right." She raised an eyebrow at me. "I know you, KayKay. You don't drink coffee unless something is wrong in your life. It's like your wine. Go ahead hunny, tell me about it. I'm all ears."

I lifted the mug to my mouth. A hot bitterness coated my tongue as I sipped the triple-caffeinated drink. Jolts of energy woke my sleep-deprived muscles. Setting the mug back down on the table, I locked gazes with Aeriella and sighed. "They are making me the Soul Minister."

The mermaid spat her drink to my face. A fine spray of spittle and coffee flew from her mouth into the air. "Merciful Neptune!" she blurted out. "Oh my, hunny, I'm so sorry. Here, let me fix that." She raised her hand in front of her and wiggled her fingers. For a split- second, her eyes glowed a cerulean light. The drops of coffee and spit that drenched my face evaporated at once.

I was alarmed. "Hey," I blurted out, my head swinging left and right. "You shouldn't use your... you know... power in front of regulars," I told her in whispered breaths.

The mermaid dismissed me with a wave of her hand. "It's cool, Kay. They wouldn't notice. See? No one's paying attention."

She was right. No one was paying attention. All around, the regulars were getting on with their day. Not a single person approached us nor eyed us to confront about Aeriella using her mermaid magic. With a shrug, I ventured my gaze back to her. "Okay, okay. Just don't do it again."

Aeriella winked at me. "Okay, I promise. Anyway, did I hear you correctly, hunny?"

"What?"

"You just said that the Soul Dealers want you to be the Minister?"

"Yes," I answered without enthusiasm. "Apparently, it was the Angel's idea. It's encoded in the Ordinance that Stronghearts like me would lead the entire organization."

The mermaid's eyes were wide. "What did you say? Did you agree to it?"

"Of course I didn't."

"Oh," the pink-haired mermaid remarked. "So, if you denied their offer, I don't see anything wrong with it. You can just go on with your life."

"I wish that was the case."

"What do you mean?"

In a string of words, I recounted everything that had happened within the last thirty six hours, leaving out a few private details. I told her about Michael disappearing from the bed, only to return covered in snake demon blood. Her mouth gaped wider as I went on about my stalker. And by the time that she knew about the three-day deadline that Minister Samuel had set for me, Aeriella's chin was almost touching the table.

"Neptune and Poseidon have mercy," she blurted out, leaning her back against the chair. "That is a whole new level of crazy. What are you going to do about it? What did lover boy say?"

"That's the thing. Michael and I are in a fight," I spat the words out before I could stop myself. I didn't want to burden Aeriella with my relationship problems, but who can a girl turn to about her boyfriend if not another girl? I can't talk about this with Jason even though he was my best friend.

Aeriella did a double take on me. "What do you mean you're in a fight, hunny? You're what? Just a few weeks in into your relationship, and you're already fighting?"

"I'm not sure if we are really in a fight, to be honest. I can't think of any reason. Ever since we got back from Tel Aviv, he was different. Like... like he's avoiding me or something."

"Hmmm." Aeriella bit the green straw between her red-painted lips. "Maybe it's an ego thing. Maybe Michael is intimidated by you being the next Soul Minister. On top of that, you're a hybrid and whatnot. Maybe he's thinking that you are out of his league."

Something was gnawing at my heart. It wasn't the coffee though, it was something else. Sadness, Kay. It's called sadness. I took another gulp of my drink. My face crinkled as my drink wasn't hot anymore. With an effort, I swallowed it down. "You think so?"

Aeriella shrugged. "I can be wrong, KayKay, but it can explain why he's acting up. You know, men have fragile egos."

I stared down the now-empty mug in my hand. Aeriella had a point. Maybe Michael was worried I was too much for him. My heart was starting to drum because of the caffeine. I took a deep breath to calm my heartbeats. Didn't work. "What do you think I should do, Aeriella?"

"Just let him be, hunny. I know he'll come to his senses soon enough. If he doesn't, then leave him. It's his loss."

"I can't--"

Aeriella raised a hand, cutting me off. "I know. Easier said than done. However, if he truly loves you, he'll find ways to prove it. Love is acted upon, not just said out loud. If it turns out that he doesn't really love you --and I hope that's not true-- you have to let go, no matter how much you love him." She went on. "One-sided love is not a beautiful thing, Kay. I'm not saying that is the case with you and lover boy, but you should be prepared. For the meantime, wipe your tears, hunny. Let him be for the time being and focus on what matters right now. If what you say is true and demons are wreaking havoc on Earth, we should be our best selves to save the only world we live in."

- o -

Wiping the tears that I did not know were still streaming down my face, I bid my goodbyes to Aeriella. We exchanged hugs and went our ways. She booked an Uber to get her to South Bronx, while I decided to go for a walk down 5th Avenue.

It was a little over nine o'clock and the sidewalks were filled with people rushing through their day. With hazed thoughts, I continued walking, avoiding stepping on other people's paths.

My mind was whirling with the idea of Michael not loving me anymore. What could I have done? Or haven't done? Does he really not--

My train of thought was cut short when I caught scent of something unmistakeable. Nothing smells as foul, I remembered Angel boy's words when he insisted that he was sure of the monstrosity that he fought last night in Central Park.

At once, my heart went into overdrive. Blood rose to my face, making my ears ring. I looked around. An urge to unleash my mage flames took over, however, I was surrounded by regulars in broad daylight. Wishing that I still had the wolf sense, I closed my eyes and took a lungful of the air.

The smell of rottenness was faint, but it was there. Opening my eyes, I bolted, concentrating hard on following the putrid stench. My leg muscles tore as I increased my pace. Afraid that I will lose the scent, I did not care if I bumped into anyone. Shoving people aside, I made my way down the block. Sweat was streaming down my face and across my back. The smell of decaying flesh got stronger with every step. I took a hard left and I found myself in a cramped alley between two massive buildings.

There was no one in the tiny space between the skyscrapers. I realized soon enough that the place I was in wasn't an alley. It was the part of the buildings where the exhausts were located, so it was normal that it was deserted. Tubes and metal contraptions that looked like giant fans lined the sides of the cramped space. Garbage littered the ground and the air smelled like piss. A dumpster was in the middle of the path, just in front of what looked like heavy machineries. I stepped further, feeling like I was no longer in New York. Even the sounds of the city seemed distant.

Sure that I was alone and no one would see me, I snapped my fingers. Power surged from my eyes as my hands blazed with white flames. "Show yourself, demon," I muttered under my breath.

A soft hissing noise pierced the silence. My heart rattled. The cover of the dumpster in front of me toppled over as something long slithered into view. Swallowing the choking lump in my throat, I raised my flaming hand over my head.

And just as I feared, there it was. A giant snake, bigger than anything I have ever seen. It shrieked an ugly ululation. It opened its mouth, showing shards of jagged glass teeth.