Michael puncture the vein in his arm viciously, not even bothering to disinfect the area first. Quickly he drew the blood out of his system, as did Selene. He knew she wasn't so sure about this, but at the moment he didn't care. Frost was his friend and he wouldn't let him die. Finally the syringe was filled up. He turned to Selene. " Ready?"
Selene took the syringe out of her own arm and nodded. " Ready." She said. The confidence in her voice hid her dizziness. What's wrong with me?
Michael walked over to Frost. " Alright Frost. I'm going to inject you with my blood, okay? And then Selene is going to inject you with hers. You'll become a hybrid, just like me, and you'll be able to live. Okay?" he said frantically.
Aubrey looked at Ravyn nervously. Only Michael thought this was a good idea.
Ravyn sighed. " Michael, are you absolutely sure you want to do this?"
" Of course!" he said. Then he looked at her. " Why?"
Ravyn shook her head. " I don't know. This just…doesn't feel right."
Michael narrowed his eyes. He turned to Aubrey and look upon him.
Aubrey put his hands up. " I don't know man…seems really risky."
Michael then turned to Selene.
Selene looked at him, then to Frost, then to him again. " I don't want him to die any more than you do, Michael, but I've always been one to trust my gut. It's got us this far. Something about this seems wrong. He may not be able to handle it. We could put him through more pain than he is already in."
Michael looked about him. " What do you mean?" he asked.
" Well think about it. There's a very real possibility that his system could reject your blood. And if that happens, then he'll die anyway. Or worse, he may not be able to handle being a hybrid. He may not have as much self-control as you do. He could destroy himself." Selene reasoned.
Michael looked at her. " Well there's got to be something we can do."
" Michael…" came Frost's hoarse voice.
Michael walked over. " What is it?"
Frost looked at Michael in a terribly pitying way. But then he took a deep breath and tried to be strong. " Michael, it's just my time. You've got to accept that. You've got to be strong and accept that."
Michael's figure slumped as he held back tears.
" Hey, listen. I'm just glad that I got to go out fighting. I always wanted it that way. If I was ever going to die, I wanted to die for the protection of my pack, and that's what I did. Now listen up, I want to be cremated, got it? That whole dust in the wind kind of thing, that always seemed to suit me best. You got that?" Frost said.
Michael nodded.
" Thank you so much, Michael, for giving us lycans a reason to live…oh and Selene?"
Selene walked over and stood next to Frost's bed. " Yes?"
" Take care of this guy for me, okay? You too, Aubrey and Ravyn. Watch out for each other. Promise?" Frost asked.
" Promise." They all said in unison.
" Good." Frost smiled. Now he laid his head back and his eyes got far away. " Now if you'll all excuse me, I've kept Sara waiting long enough…"
And just like that, Frost was gone. He closed his eyes, and his last breath escaped into the air.
Michael dropped the syringe to the ground, his blood splashing everywhere.
In the full light of the moon, the four of them stood outside, standing on a hill far from the den, looking over the city. They said their last words. Silently and sullenly, as Michael held the container that held Frost's ashes, Selene walked up to him. She took a handful of the ashes and slowly let them cascade out of her hand, being caught by the winds and whisking away. Aubrey and Ravyn mimicked her. Finally it was Michael's turn. He looked up to the moon.
" Keep him safe…" Michael whispered as he looked up to the bright orb in the sky. It was halfway full. Then he emptied the container into the air, as Frost, his ashes and his spirit went flying with the wind.
Selene closed her eyes in silent prayer for Frost's journey. Another casualty in this pointless war. She looked at Michael with the utmost sympathy. She knew what it was like to loose a friend in this immortal life. They stood there looking at each other for a few moments. So much was being said between them without every actually being spoken aloud. Then, the moment was gone.
Selene watched as Michael looked out one last time over the city. Selene knew that he was not only saying goodbye to Frost, but for the mortal life he left behind. He was finally ready to let it go. He was no longer Michael, the loner intern who lived solely for his job as a doctor. Now he was Michael, the hybrid, the messiah, the prophet of the lycans, loyal to them as they to he. He was ready to except his role now.
Under the half moon light, Michael shed his human skin. He had mastered his change by now. His muscles stretched and his bones cracked as he grew into the divine creature he was. Selene looked at him with pride. She helped create this beautiful creature that stood before her. It was a part of her that made him what he was.
Aubrey also looked upon his leader with pride. He was the sole carrier of Lucian's memories. He was the prophet who would lead the lycans to a better world. He was the messiah the lycans had waited for.
Michael, in his hybrid form, belted out a half roaring, half howling kind of moan that stretched eerily across the whole city. Selene realized it. Michael was calling Marcus out. He was stating his challenge, asserting himself as the only alpha male of this city.
Selene jumped a bit when she heard the howling of a lycan behind her. She turned around to see that Aubrey had also taken his natural lupine form, and was joining Michael in his song. Again she had this feeling of being out of place. She felt lonely, not being able to join in on the call. Somewhere behind her she heard more lycans howl. She wanted to be able to do that. She felt somewhat obsolete. She hung her head and took a step back. She was turning away when she felt a clawed hand grab her shoulder. She turned back to see her hybrid hero pulling her back over to his side. He wrapped his furry and muscular arm around her waste, holding her close as he continued his challenge.
The pride rushed back into Selene as she looked at him. She smiled and nodded to herself. We can win this.
" I found it!" Aubrey shouted.
Ravyn, Selene, and Raze looked up from their books. They were in the library, and had been ever since that morning.
" You did?" Ravyn asked.
" Hell yes I did! Look!"
The three of them walked over to Aubrey's table. They each had their own, and his was a chaotic mess of books, just like their own. He pointed to a picture in his old book. The pages had a yellowish tint, the binding had been singed off, and the actual binding, with help from a rubber band, was just barely keeping the book together.
Selene leaned over his shoulder and read the inscription next to the picture.
" The Triquatra Sol. Originally crafted in Ireland, this Celtic piece was said to ward off vampires. It was said to have been enchanted by gypsies. They made it the embodiment of the sun, to protect villagers at night, when the sun could not. It was said to have burned all those with a vampiric trait who touched it. Lucian used it in the epic battle between vampires and lycans, but it was stolen from him along with his branded skin and his supposed life. The present residence of this sign is thus far unknown. Be warned, for when this ancient power is invoked, vary little can stand in its wake and live to tell about it." She read aloud. Then she looked at the picture. It was a sun with four triquatras inside it in a circle. In the very center of each triquatra, there was a crimson stone. Selene narrowed her eyes. " Why does that look so familiar?"
" Maybe you've seen it before in the mansion?" Raze asked.
" Well, this thing sounds like it could definitely give us an upper hand." Aubrey said.
Selene searched her memory. She new she had seen it somewhere before, she just couldn't remember where. Then it hit her. " Of course."
" What?" Ravyn asked.
Selene looked at the three. " Well, there's good news, bad news, and worse news."
Aubrey looked her. " Good news?"
" I know where it is."
" Bad news?" Raze asked.
" Its in the crypt in the vampire mansion."
" Worse news?" Ravyn asked.
" It's protected by a safe that will automatically explode if the codes aren't synchronized just right."
Aubrey faked a laugh. " Is that all?"
Michael rubbed his temples. This was all coming at him so fast. " So, let me get this straight. You want to spring a sneak attack on the vampires, on their turf?"
" They'll never expect it!" Aubrey said.
" Maybe because that's completely idiotic! They'll have the advantage!" Ravyn said.
Aubrey shook his head. " Here's how it rolls. We'll surprise the vamps at their mansion. We'll jump in and attack full on from all sides. They'll have nowhere to run! But the attack itself will only be a distraction. You, Selene, Ravyn, and I will sneak into the crypt while everyone else is occupied with the attack. We'll get the Triquatra Sol and use it on Marcus and the Death Dealers."
Michael looked very hesitant.
" But there is one catch." Selene interrupted as she walked in the room holding the same book. She placed it down carefully as she turned the page. On the next page was another sketch, similar to the first, only different. This one was of a pendant like the Triquatra Sol, but instead it was of three crescent moons with their backs touching each other and in the center was a dark blue stone. Selene pointed at it. " According to this inscription, whoever whishes to use the Triquatra Sol, must also have the Luna Triple Crescent to balance it out."
" Balance it out?" Aubrey asked, now very confused.
" Yes. The Triquatra was made to ward off vampires in Ireland, the land of the wolf. At the same point in time, the Luna Triple Crescent was being made to ward off wolves in Romania, or Transylvania specifically. As the Triquatra invokes the power of the sun against vampires, the Triple Crescent invokes the power of the moon against lycans."
" But the moon only reverts us to our werewolf form, making us stronger. How is that bad?" Aubrey asked.
Selene shook her head. " Only the full moon has that power. The crescent moon does not. So in turn, this pendent would revert all werewolves back to their lycan state, forbidding you from making the change. These two pendants fit uniquely with each other. Once together, the immortal wearing them has an ancient and supreme power. A power to great for any vampire or lycan to handle."
" Then how can we use it?" Michael asked.
" It wasn't very clear, but the inscription states something along the lines of, and I quote," Selene explained as she picked up the book, reading from its page, " ' Only the Messiah of immortal lore, the one who is both bat and wolf can harbor the ancient power of the pendants together, and the earth will shake as fire rains from the sky, and the Underworld itself will be at the mercy of the Hybrid.'"
As she finished, they all looked to Michael, who was sitting in a chair, stunned from what he just heard.
A/N: I know, I know, a lot of information to take in. I'm hoping to have pictures of the Triquatra and Triple Crescent to show you soon. Please read and review. I'm expecting four or five more chapters after this. Thank you all.
Ravyn
P.S: Sorry for the short chapter. I just felt like it should end there, plus, dinner's here. Lol. Later!