Hybrid Misfit

all over the floor and went well with the shredded books. My heart sped up, not in fear for myself, but trepidation for my friends who should have both been home.

Maybe they weren’t here when it happened. I walked further into the scene of destruction, trying to momentarily deny the inevitable conclusion. The message scrawled on the wall of the dining room took my last hope away.

The blood they’d use to write still glistened wetly and even ran in rivulets in some spots.

We have your friends. If you want them to live, then you will exchange yourself for them. Tell no one or they will die.

I clenched my fists to keep from screaming, my elongating nails biting deep into my palms. In all the scenarios that I’d run through my head, I’d never actually imagined anyone coming after my friends. They were innocent, and I was even more naive. My first impulse was to call the guys for help, but the blatant threat stayed my hand. I wouldn’t be responsible for their death, not when their only fault was to befriend a hybrid misfit.

Tears threatened to spill as I realized what I needed to do-and my choice wouldn’t please my lovers. However, if I wanted to die, my conscience free and clear knowing I’d done the right thing, then I needed to act as I saw fit.

Decision made, I wondered how I was supposed to find the bastards who’d kidnapped and, judging by the blood, harmed my friends.

I approached the macabrely painted wall and saw embedded in the plaster, a slim dagger pinning a piece of paper. I yanked the blade out and grabbed at the note as it fluttered down.

Blood shall get you to where you need to go.

Great. I held the sharp edge over the palm of my hand, but hesitated. Can I really do this knowing I’m going to die? It tore at me. All my life I’d fought against that invisible specter and now that I’d finally beaten the Grim Reaper, Murphy’s Law had caught up to me and was laughing in my face. I thought of my friends-Lana who deserved a chance to sing and eventually embrace her siren side. And dear Claire, whose cute bunny side deserved someone to love and cuddle her. I couldn’t sentence them to death.

The dagger cut cleanly into the palm of my hand, and red blood welled up coating the blade which warmed in my grip.

Unlike Gene’s seamless form of transportation, this method wrenched my body in what seemed like every direction at once, and with a sickening lurch, I left to meet my fate-and greet death after running for so long.

“The time is now,” Gene boomed, his voice amplified by magic. Not that he truly needed to, considering those he addressed had power enough on their own to hear him if they wished.

The king of the gnomes stood, his red pointed hat giving him a height he would have otherwise lacked. “Attack without provocation? It is one thing to retaliate, but to go preemptively on the offensive seems foolish.”

Simon growled. “So you would sit here while they plan the death of the one person who may fulfill the prophecy.”

The little man scoffed. “And if she’s not the one? Are we prepared to rile the forces of Heaven and Hell just because you like the taste of her honey pot?”

Simon roared and would have leapt on the gnome had Gene not held him back.

Gene, however, felt the same frustration as Simon. The time had come for them to stop cowering and take a stand. Yes, part of their reason was selfish, he and Simon both loved Beth, but it was more than that. After several millennia of division, it was time to look for a better way, and regardless of what the gnome king said, sitting back and waiting was not an option.

Apparently he wasn’t the only one who thought so.

Queen Mab stood in all her splendid, golden glory and before her powerful gaze, all quieted and waited for her to speak. “The Ifrit and Ice Dragon are correct. We can no longer allow this state to continue. The walling of Heaven and Hell, the separation of good and evil, has to stop. Do we know for sure this girl is the one? No, but if she is and we do nothing, in effect allowing her to be killed, then we may lose our chance to restore the balance. So I ask you again, are you with us or not?”

Gene held his breath as he waited for the response. By throwing her support behind them, Mab had effectively silenced those who would have sat on the sidelines. Her words challenged them and also made it clear that those who abstained would not be kindly regarded.

His sigh of relief was washed away by the voices that rang out promising their support. Simon slapped Gene on the back and Gene almost fell over with his friend’s enthusiasm.

Gene knew he should be happier, but he couldn’t dispel a sense of unease. He longed to escape this tedious back and forth game the rulers played and check on Beth. She’s fine and I’m turning into Simon, worrying about her safety all the time. Besides, if she needed me, she’d make a wish.

But no matter his reassurance to himself, he couldn’t stop the niggling doubt, and judging by Simon’s faraway expression, he wasn’t alone.

But politics forced him away from his unease.

Chapter Ten

I landed in Limbo on my knees, dry heaving and spitting. Not exactly an elegant way to arrive.

“And this is the abomination who is supposed to change Heaven and Hell?” said a guttural voice. The question was followed by a kick in my ribs. The force of the blow threw me back, and I lay on the dusty ground sucking in air.

A musical voice, that would have sounded beautiful if not for the condescension in its tone, replied “Yes, it’s hard to believe this human born creature has the power to destroy the status quo.”

Their insults really annoyed me. Wasn’t it enough I’d bravely decided to trade myself for my friends, did they have to degrade me, too? I sprang to my feet as anger fired up my adrenaline. I found myself facing the epitomes of good and evil. On the left, there was a huge black demon, replete with horns, coal red eyes and a general nasty demeanor. On the right was perfection itself in the form of a male angel with curly blond ringlets, eyes of a summer blue sky dressed in a white gown; the purity of which matched that of the angel’s outspread wings. What a shame the pretty exterior didn’t extend to its interior.

It baffled me that a creature thought to be good could be involved in something so evil, but as my father once told me, good and evil were all in the perception of the perpetrator. I hadn’t understand what he’d tried to explain at the time, but the wisdom he’d imparted made sense later when I met the doctors who experimented on me. They too thought they worked for the good of man. I disagreed.

But questions of right and wrong would have to wait. I had a more important mission. “Where are my friends?” I asked boldly.

The two beings stepped aside and I saw my friends, tied to stakes with gags stuffed in their mouths. Claire with a cut on her temple stared at me with eyes round with fright, her cheeks marked with tears. Lana, her face battered, looked fierce and I knew, if she could free herself, she’d say to hell with giving up. She’d fight to the death.

My heart squeezed tight. “I came as you asked. Now let them go.”

Then came the answer I’d expected. “Why would we do that?” replied the demon. “Once you’re dead, I look forward to taking the feisty one back to Hell with me. While Gabriel here has shown an interest in the little bunny.”

“That wasn’t the deal.” My fury bubbled inside of me. Had it just been me against the demon and angel, I was pretty sure I’d prevail, but behind my friends I could see the demonic horde on one side and the angelic detachment on the other. Hot damn, just what is it they’re afraid I can do? That’s some serious backup considering they’re just going up against one hybrid misfit.

I wanted to know why they feared me. And then I wanted to make it come true. I’d had plenty of time to ponder the words of the prophecy and I had a theory, one that didn’t fully form until I found myself in Limbo again. All around me, the greyness called to me, it sent tingles throughout me and I could almost hear it whisper-/blood/. A plan unfolded in my mind-the odds of it succeeding were pretty slim and relied on several unknowns, but the