Chaos Rising: Dawn of the Hybrid

IV - Slithering Evil

What's worse than hearing about snake demons breaking loose? Yes, that's right. Hearing about it twice, in different parts of the world, in the same friggin' day. If this was the level of stress I'd have to face on a daily basis as the head of the force ordained to banish evil - no, thank you. Count me out.

The thundering sound of words that followed was what I expected. "WHAT IS THIS BLASPHEMY YOU SPEAK OF, IBRAHIM?" Minister Samuel asked as he slammed both of his palms against the surface of his mahogany table. It was so loud and so sudden, I jumped a little where I stood. I looked over my shoulder at him. Saying that he was angry was putting it lightly. He was furious. His fair complexion readily showed the blood rising to his face. An angry vein throbbed on his left temple. Minister Samuel was breathing hard and fast breaths that for a moment I half-expected steam to blow out of his flared nostrils.

"F-forgive me, Soul Minister," Ibrahim blurted out, his voice shook so badly that I looked at him. His pale-looking face paled even more. It was as though he died where he stood and turned into a ghost. He bowed a little and fell down on one knee. "I have no intentions of sounding blasphemous, but what I bring you is the truth." His shoulders and back moved up and down as though he was sobbing. I could not see his face, though low muffled noises came from his direction and I thought it was safe to assume he was crying.

"That is not possible! No demons can slip past the Sixth Gate. Never in the history of the Soul Dealers did that happen!"

Silence ensued as no one dared to speak. The power and authority that reeked out of Minister Samuel made the air feel almost electric. At that exact moment, I thought that I will never be like him no matter how hard I tried. He exuded power and a commanding energy so naturally that he was the perfect person to hold the leadership of an Angelic army of human warriors.

After a few minutes of profound stillness, Michael decided to break the silence. He looked into my eyes for a second and turned his gaze back to Carlisle's uncle. "As a matter of fact, Minister," he started, his breathing even. "We came here to tell you about that."

The Minister's stormy expression changed into that of bafflement. "What do you mean, Soul Dealer?"

Unlike Ibrahim, Michael sounded calm and collected as he went into detail about his encounter with the lesser Nahash demon in Central Park. When he was done with his recollection of events, he ran a hand through his hair and let out a sharp sigh. Hearing about Michael's story sent memories of him showing up covered in blood flooding my brain. I repressed a shudder before it sent all my fine hairs standing on end.

"Why are you telling me this just now, Riverwoods?"

Michael bowed his head a little. "Pardon my thoughtlessness, Soul Minister, I should have told you about this the moment we arrived, but the issue about..." His words trailed as he sneaked a glance at me. Before I could read the expression on his face, Angel boy looked away. "Lady Strongheart swallowed us up."

Why is he calling me that? The world was apparently being ransacked by giant slithering snake demons, and I was about to be ordained to lead the force that would defeat them, but there I was, wondering why Michael wasn't calling me by my name. Classic.

I was sucked out of the little anxious world I have created inside my head as I heard Minister Samuel plop back down on his chair. He propped his elbows against the surface of his table and ran all of his fingers through his hair. With a drawn out exhale, he looked at me. "Kaylene," he said, pushing the thick leather-back copy of The Ordinance in front of him aside. "I am afraid we may have to put the issue of your ascension aside at the moment."

Oh boy, am I relieved to hear that. I did not know what to say to that so I just nodded my head. Feeling as though a thorn was removed from my throat, I sat back down on the chair.

"Ibrahim," Minister Samuel called out, his voice low. The Soul Dealer kneeling by the door raised his head. Ibrahim's eyes were wet and puffy. "Rise."

He obliged, wiping the tears away from his face as he did. "Yes, Minister?"

"Where are the bodies of our fallen?"

"A Silver Mage was called in to portal the bodies from the bay to the morgue. They should be arriving any moment now, Minister."

Carlisle's uncle sucked in a lungful of the Tel Aviv air. "You may return to your post now, Ibrahim. Should the Silver Mage arrive with our fallen, find Malachi and tell him. I want to see their bodies up close."

"As you will, Minister Samuel," Ibrahim replied and vanished through the door.

"Now," Carlisle's uncle remarked, making me turn to look at him. "All of you, return to your respective Sanctums. Gather all the Soul Dealers under your jurisdictions and inform them what is happening. Everyone must remain calm despite this nightmare. We will get to the bottom of this. In the meantime, keep your wits about you and be vigilant. We don't know yet up to what extent this invasion has spread."

Michael bowed his head and so did Carlisle. Not wanting to offend the Minister, I rose from my chair and urged the silent Jason to do the same. We bowed and turned to leave, following Michael and Carlisle as they walked toward the door.

"Kaylene," the Minister called out before I could step outside his office.

A bad feeling gnawed my insides. By the tone of his voice, I reckoned what was coming would not be pleasant. Swallowing the lump that suddenly lodged itself inside my throat, I turned around slowly. I met his gaze. "Yes, Soul Minister?"

"You are not going with them."

I felt cold all of a sudden. My brows fused into one in confusion. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I may have said that we are putting aside your ascension as the next Soul Minister," he said, his eyes looking like icy daggers with their cold conviction. "But that doesn't mean we are abandoning it altogether."

"Can you cut to the chase, Minister Samuel?" I asked over the drowning sound of the loud beating of my heart. "What are you talking about? You told us to go back to our respective Sanctums."

The expression on his features did not waver, not even the tiniest bit. "But you don't belong to any Sanctum, do you?"

My throat felt dry all of a sudden that I couldn't seem to find the words to say. Before I could make something up, the Minister had started talking again.

"Yes, I told your friends to return to their Sanctums, but you and Jason aren't official Soul Dealers yet."

"So make us official then," I remarked as I found my voice."I don't know. Utter some Hebrew phrases and wave your hands. Whatever. Make us official Angelic warriors and assign us to the New York Sanctum."

"I'm afraid I cannot do that. It is not how the Ordinance works," admitted the Minister as he placed one of his hands on top of the other on the table. At that exact moment, he looked like a school principal ready to send us to detention.

"What do you mean by that?" It was Jason who asked what was running on my mind, reminding me of the sire bond we once shared. Oh, Heavens, I miss being telepathic, even if it was only with Jason. And that bastard criminal who I still owe a promise to. I shook my head hard to push away my wandering thoughts and waited for Old Goldilocks to speak.

"The Original Ashrei Blood flows through the both of you," he said, his eyes sweeping from Jason to me. "You are a Chazaklev, Kaylene. In a sense, Jason is, too. And Chazaklevs belong to only one Sanctum and one Sanctum alone. Here. In Tel Aviv."

My eyes wanted to bulge out of my sockets. Almost subconsciously, I whipped my head to look at Michael behind me. Our eyes met for a second that felt like a lifetime. For some reason, I thought he looked indifferent. I shrugged it off as maybe it was because of the weight of what's unfolding before us all. My knees felt like buckling, but I held my footing. Clenching my jaws, I turned back to stare at the Minister. "I cannot stay here. Michael... My friends... They are all in New York. I don't have anything to do here in Israel."

At that, Minister Addersworth rose from his seat. "But you have, Kaylene," he said nonchalantly as though the matter bored him. "In fact, you have a lot to do here. In preparation for being the next Soul Minister, you will stay here in Tel Aviv. I will train you myself."