Kit muttered bitter curses through his teeth as he read the comics he had brought from Devon. It didn't exactly made him look like the most threatening adolescent First Heir, but it worked to let out the anger and annoyance building inside him for all of the past days. Great, he thought; staying at the Los Angeles Institute along with Ty and all of his new friends! What could go wrong?
Everything could go wrong. Especially his first reencounter with Ty and basically all of their conversations ever since. His stomach still clenched when he remembered Ty's new friend Anush asking who Kit was.
It wasn't that Kit didn't want Ty to have new friends, it just caught him by surprise to see someone else acting so close to Ty and it reminded Kit how much time had passed since the last time they saw each other. Kit didn't know about Ty's life anymore; and Ty didn't know Kit.
Ty should have answered that when Anush had asked.
"Yo, Kit-do."
He raised his head at the call, even with the awful nickname.
It was Thais, Dru's new friend with an attitude problem that could go from amusing to annoying pretty quickly. At least in Kit's opinion. She was standing in the doorframe of his room. "Have you seen Ty tonight?"
"No," Kit said glumly, returning his gaze to the comics splayed on his bed, "Why?"
"Nobody has seen him since before dinner, Dru's getting worried."
"What?" His head darted up to her.
Thais didn't look particularly worried herself but her expression wasn't the one of her usual bored, uninterested self. Her "too-cool-for-you-face".
"Anush doesn't know where he is," she said, "And Irene is alone in his room. She didn't even tried to scratch us when we got in; I think she's scared."
Kit jumped off the bed and walked to her, as if to launch himself to run looking all over the Institute. As if moving alone could lead him to Ty.
"Maybe he went to the roof. Or maybe he's looking for new animals outsides. He loves animals."
"I know." Thais' answer upon his common knowledge fact didn't come out as sarcastic. "But we already looked everywhere inside the Institute and outside at the entrance, and we called for him at the beach. We couldn't find him."
Kit felt a strange sort of nausea and panic twisting at his gut.
"Why did you wait so much to tell me?," he demanded.
"Dru wanted to ask you sooner, but she was wondering if it would be all that much of a good idea. And it's not like I wanted to get into this weird thing you and him have going, but I can't see her like this, so I came to ask you myself."
A mass of thoughts crossed through Kit's mind as he tried to make a proper guess of where could Ty run off to, but all the places he could think were the ones Ty had told him about or where they had gone together three years ago, and the awareness of it brought back the memories of the Ty from the past week, who acted as indifferent as if Kit wasn't there.
"I don't know where he is either," he said flatly, "Sorry, I can't help you."
"Are you sure?," Thais looked just the slightest anxious now.
"Yes. Sorry."
Kit didn't feel sorry, he felt sick and antsy and with an odd coldness filling him inside.
He half-expected Thais to continue insisting, but she only glanced at him up and down and left with an exasperated snort. Kit closed the door after her and turned around, only to find an otherworldly pale, familiar and foreign figure.
Ty had gotten himself into a problem. It was a pretty obvious deduction considering he was being cornered by an entire herd of hellhounds in a lonely, dark street alley.
He hadn't thought his investigation of the new anomalies on the convergence points and ley lines would lead him to this, to be honest; it was supposed to be harmless enough of a mission. Finding clues, as the very much. He hadn't expected to see action.
But now he didn't hesitate to withdraw his sable – the weapon he had chosen to commemorate the life of his sister Livvy. If I carry it, he said to her once, to her incorporeal ghost, it will be like you still battled by my side.
One of the horrid creatures launched itself towards Ty, with its mouth opened so widely and gorily Ty could almost see to the back of its throat. It made his hands shake.
So he grabbed his sable tighter and stabbed it through the dark, fleshy hole, trespassing the beast's head. It banished in matter of a blink.
Too bad his victory was short-lived as the remaining ones on the pack shot themselves forward to avenge its death.
Theoretically, a fight against such brainless beings would be on Ty's favor. Theoretically, it would be easy for a strategist like him to develop the best fighting tactic. Theoretically, it was.
But the theory didn't cover how outnumbered he was and the hellhounds' innate brutal strength and burning hunger for flesh. They tackled him to the ground like a raggedy doll, pinning him down, digging their monstrous claws on his muscles.
Ty hated screaming.
Under the weight of the creatures, it was difficult to move. Ty barely got to stab and slash, not even killing his attackers, before he had to block the bite of another one of them. He kept its ferocious mandible at bay with the sable's blade.
Even with the cutting edge pressed against the hound's throat, it was difficult to cut through its abnormal skin.
He wasn't afraid, Ty thought. He didn't consider himself afraid, not of the hellhounds. But there was something about the living things that instantly remembered him of blood, and the thought triggered the memory of his brother Julian's bloody shirt, and Livvy's endlessly bleeding stab. A stomach-churning dread revolved Ty's stomach.
Wishing he had his headphones with him, he started reciting his favorite Sherlock Holmes' book quotes and then pressing the blade even deeper, he cut off the hellhound's head, before proceeding to do the same with the other two in tow.
He hoped there weren't any mundanes close to the alley that could hear his voice, or the hounds' growls. He most certainly hoped there hasn't been anyone around to hear his scream. Could he have brought some company with him to this investigation?, he wondered. He had brought Livvy, and had sent her to look for help when the hounds appeared. However, he probably could have foresaw that the situation have the possibility of becoming difficult, and ask someone else for back up. But who?
Dru wouldn't want him to do anything remotely dangerous, Anush was too kindhearted to not tell Dru out of pure preoccupation, Thais took everything as a huge bore, and Kit… Ty scowled; Kit wasn't an option.
His muscles still ached greatly, but Ty decided he could handle pain. Now more than before.
Getting to his feet with more than some difficulty, he made some maneuvers as he was taught at the Scholomance to slay the rest of the hellhounds, but wounded and weary as he was, it was… hard, to say the least.
One of the hellhounds raised itself on his back limbs and pushed Ty back against one of the walls, pressing his shoulders and keeping him from raising his sable. Ty stared at the hounds teeth in front of his gray eyes.
Unexpectedly, a sword stabbed itself on the back of the creature's head. The hound cried out and disappeared almost simultaneously.
Ty stood in his place lifelessly, staring into nothingness.
Kit slayed the rest of the hellhounds as Ty stood shocked against the wall.
He slayed them like Jem had taught him; a little ironically, with the maneuvers a Herondale himself had taught Jem. Will Herondale surely must have been an amazing Shadowhunter.
He breathed heavily looking at the now empty spaces where the hounds had been. Kit wished the mess they made had vanished too, the trash cans were flopped all over the floor and there were illogically big scratch marks on the walls. Oh, well. It could be the birth of a new urban legend.
Though, he did feel bad for the garbage men.
"What are you doing here?"
Kit turned to the deep voice. The shock had left Ty's face and body, he was moving slowly trying to get regain the sensitivity in his injured arms and shoulders.
"Let me help you." Rushing to his side, Kit reached to examine the wounds.
Ty withdrew from his touch.
Kit felt like telling him he might just stab him with his sable now.
"What are you doing here?," Ty repeated.
"Saving your life, apparently," Kit said, "And hello to you, too."
Ty frowned. "How did you know…?"
"Livvy went to look for me."
Ty made a grimace as though he was tasting something sour. "Why would she do that?"
Kit inhaled deeply. He bristled to confront Ty's increased height. "What? I'm not good enough of a rescue to you? I just kept you from being swallowed whole by a bunch of rabid hellhounds!"
Hurt and disgust crossed through Ty's almost unrecognizable face. It made Kit back off a little, but it didn't erase his boiling anger.
"What were you doing out in the night anyways?," Kit questioned sternly. The wind made him shiver under the layers of his jacket, his nose got the faint smell of rain.
"I was investigating the convergence points and the ley lines," Ty answered simply, still clasping to his wounds. "You remember the last time they presented these anomalies."
Kit blinked. His body couldn't decide what his physical reaction should be, if to laugh or cry. Or possibly scream. Of course he remembered. It was what had unchained Ty's necromancy plan when Kit had stupidly told him that…
Without him noticing, he did settled for laughing. Like a madman. Like The Joker from Batman. He didn't recognize the sound getting to his ears, Kit didn't want to believe this was his laugh, so maniacal, broken and on the edge of tears as it was.
"I can't believe you," he said.
Icy, wet stings hit against his skin. It was raining now.
"I seriously can't believe you!," he repeated in front of Ty's confused silver gray eyes, clear even in the night. "I thought some time at the Scholomance would change you, but no! You're just as reckless and stubborn as ever!"
Ty glared at him. The rain grew quickly, making his black hair wet and making his shirt to embrace his newly muscled chest and arms tighter. "How would you know if I have changed? It's not like you have been around to see me at all."
Kit narrowed his eyes at him. "I know enough about you."
"You don't," Ty said, narrowing his eyes back. In the dimness, their moonlight gray color cut through Kit like a blade. "You don't know anything about me."
The nerve of that boy, Kit thought. The nerve!
"You know nothing about me, either! You're too selfish to know!"
Kit screamed over the rain, he wanted his screams to match his anger. He hated Ty! Hated the memory of him, hated the present sight of him! He hated his messy hair, hated his cupid-bow lips, hated his unbearably handsome face, hated his eyes. Eyes that were unusually reddish now but Kit couldn't see them properly because of the rain.
"I remember what it was like to be your personal pet! Following you around and letting you do whatever you want! I don't need that, you know! I don't need you – "
Kit was surprised by the abrupt halt his words came to when Ty pressed their mouths together.
Though "pressing" probably was too strong of a word; their tact was merely a touch, as if Ty was feathery feeling Kit's lips with his own. It felt light and innocent, even timid.
Ty tasted like rainwater and tea. Kit was fascinated by the feeling of his factions against his own.
Ty was also the first one to back off from the kiss, but he didn't step back from his spot in front of Kit. He looked ashamed and sad and vulnerable. His eyes were glowing with actual tears. Kit just stared.