Chapter XII

"Be slow to fall into friendship but when thou art in it, continue firm and constant."

-Socrates

  Salvin drummed his fingers on the counter. Rayna stood in the kitchen, humming as she prepared lunch. Draco sat on the stool at the island, staring off into space. Every so often, the ruffling of sheets could be heard from across the room as Mitchel rolled around in his sleep.

  He was bored. Salvin didn't know what to do. They were still awaiting Charlotte's return, and it had been almost an hour. In a way, Salvin got it. Perhaps she was taking her time because she knew he needed his sleep. He didn't really want that, though. Mitchel could always get some sleep later. Or, they just were running late. Whatever the case was, he still didn't particularly enjoy it.

  Suddenly, there was a soft knock on the door. Salvin stood up and hurried over as quietly as he could to get it. When he opened the door, Charlotte stood there with a group of adults behind her. Salvin stepped back, inviting them into the house.

  Charlotte introduced them one by one. "This is Mitchel's father, Vincent. This is Frank Stein, Mitchel's best friend's father. This is James," she said, gesturing to a young adult who had to be Salvin's age. He had dark, blonde hair and soft brown eyes. They examined Salvin as if he were a piece of meat. He sniffed before turning away "this is the twins, Marianne and Martin." Charlotte said again, gesturing to a male and female standing side by side. Both had slightly tanned skin and almond shaped eyes. Their eyes were almost black, and their dark hair was curled. Salvin figured they were partially Greek and maybe even Italian, but he was never good at deciphering what race people were unless it was obvious. "This is Cheryl." Charlotte said again, patting a short, Chinese woman on the back. She was on the younger side, probably twenty six at most. Her black hair framed her head and ended at her jawline. Her eyes were a dark shade of brown, and were nearing black, but not as dark as the twins'. Then, she jabbed a finger in another man's direction. "This is Fredrick." She said in a bored tone. He had black hair, but silver hairs threaded through it. Salvin could see wrinkles beginning to form. His eyes were a light blue, and caused shivers to cascade down Salvin's spine. Charlotte sighed before pointing at another man. "This is Edward, one of my other friend's father." Edward had light blonde hair and a youthful look playing along his features His eyes were a light blue, and his skin was pale. Finally, Charlotte pointed to one last person. "This is Nora." Nora was the shortest of them all, probably not even five feet tall. She was older, judging by her gray hair and wrinkled face. However, she smiled, revealing almost a youthful face. Her eyes were a lovely shade of dark green, and her skin was free of blemishes.

  "It's nice to meet you all." Salvin said, reaching out to shake their hands.

  Fredrick turned his nose into the air. "Of course you're pleased. They always are so happy to see someone at such a high standard as myself."

  Salvin's mouth turned into a frown. Vincent shook his head. "Ignore him, okay Salvin?"

  He cocked his head to the side. "Did Charlotte tell you about us?"

  Marianne nodded dully. "Yes, of course she did." She said, in almost a bored tone.

  Martin glared at his sister. "Be polite." He said, clearly the twin that kept them in order.

  "Whatever." She muttered.

  Cheryl clapped her hands together. "So, where is everyone else?"

  "Salvin, who's there?" Draco groaned from the kitchen.

  Salvin sighed. "Draco, you best be kind. We have quite a few guests."

  "'Guests'? Plural?" Rayna questioned as her head came into view.

  Her eyes widened when she saw the group. She eyed them all cautiously before turning around. "I made sandwiches, if anyone wants any."

  The adults moved towards the kitchen, leaving Charlotte and Salvin alone. "I thought you were just bringing over Mitchel's father." Salvin said, turning to look at her.

  Charlotte's cheeks tinted with pink. "W-well, the others w-wanted to come." She stuttered.

  Salvin raised an eyebrow. Was she okay? "Are you okay?"

  She nodded a little too vigorously. "Yes, yes I am."

  "Whatever you say..." He muttered as he walked into the kitchen.

  As he walked there, he wondered why Charlotte was acting like this. In all honesty, it was similar to how Miranda had acted around the time he had asked her out. Salvin began to wonder if perhaps it was because Charlotte had similar feelings. He shook his head. No, we've only just met.

  You can't have those kinds of feelings immediately, right?

****

  She cupped his cheek, her eyes clouded with lust. "Thank you." She murmured as her eyes flickered down to his lips.

  His heart rate increased. Was she finally going to do it? He had been waiting for ages for her to finally let him in. Slowly, he leaned towards her, paying careful attention to her lips to see if anything would happen. She bit her bottom lip, causing him to groan.

  Her arms snaked their way around his neck, her fingers twisting their way into his hair. He looked up into her eyes, and saw so much want in them. Their noses' brushed, and he brought his lips closer to hers.

  She groaned. "Please," she begged.

  Without thinking, he pressed his lips to hers. As soon as they touched, she dove into it. It was full of hunger and want. They expressed their emotions clearly in it. When they finally pulled away for a breath, she smiled at him. "Mitchel," she breathed out.

  Mitchel smiled at her. He looked into her beautiful eyes. He was about to go into another kiss, when her hair began to change. Instead of the wondrous brown, it became a honey color. Her skin changed tone as well, and her blue eyes changed to the familiar golden-hazel. She smirked. "That was an amazing kiss. We should do it again." She said, attempting to pull him in for another one.

  He growled menacingly. "No." He said, pulling out of her reaches. 

  Carmilla's jaw dropped. "How rude." She said, crossing her arms.

  Mitchel turned away, walking off to go find her. The world seemed so dull without her, so lifeless. With her around, it seemed colorful. He would experience everything as it should be. He remembered an old story his mother used to tell him.

  "When you meet that special person in your life, your whole world explodes into color. What you see right now is the dull, boring part of life. Once they step in, however, everything happens so quickly. things change, and you get a rush whenever they are around. Mitchel, keep that person close, okay? Whatever you do, you have to protect them."

  He clenched his jaw. I'm trying, Mother he thought to himself I'm really trying.

  As he continued on his way, he could hear a soft humming noise. The world suddenly changed. Instead of the normal world, he could see more death and fire. He knew where he was. He was in Hell. 

  Nervously, he approached the humming noise. He peeked out from the dead bush he was hiding behind. A black, metal barred cage hung on a thin wire that was attached to a decaying tree. It hung over a pit of lava. Sitting in the cage was a teenage girl in tattered clothes. She was humming, though Mitchel could feel her emotions. She was terrified. She was scared with her whole being. 

  He sharply inhaled, knowing who it was. It was her favorite outfit. She said she wore it that day because Mitchel liked it. Even though her brown hair was oiled and uncleaned, it still seemed to have a slight shimmer to it. Her blue eyes looked broken, revealing her vulnerability. Mitchel attempted to call out to her, but his vocal chords seemed to not be working.

  Suddenly, footsteps approached, causing Mitchel to recoil back behind the tree. Jacob walked out, wearing a black robe and piles of jewelry. Andrea looked up from the cage, her expression hardening. 

  "Oh, Andrea." Jacob cooed. "You look lovely as ever."

  "Go screw yourself." Andrea spat.

  "On the contrary, I'd rather screw you." He said, an unidentifiable emotion sparkling within his eyes.

  Andrea sucked in a nervous breath. Mitchel wanted to race out there and throttle him, but his feet were rooted to the ground. She bit her lip nervously. "Why are you doing this?"

  "As I said before, you are the only one able to open Lucifer's cage. However, we ran into a...predicament."

  "What kind of predicament?"

  "Well, you have to options. One, you willingly allow yourself to become a demon, or two: you bear a demon's child."

  Mitchel's jaw dropped. Andrea's expression mirrored her shock. "Never!" She cried out, hugging her stomach. 

  Jacob sighed. "We were afraid of that. We'll give you forty eight hours to decide, or we take matters into our own hands." He said, clearly delighted about the prospect of it.

  As he walked off, Andrea's resolve broke. Her shoulders trembled. As she sat there, a tear rolled down her face. She hung her head, and broke. Mitchel wanted to run over and comfort her, but her couldn't.

  Before he knew it, the world was blanketed in black, and a familiar voice rang through his head.

  "Mitchel, save the girl you love. I didn't tell you all those stories for nothing, son."

****

  Salvin was seated at the island when Mitchel woke up. He had sat up quickly, perspiration blanketing his face. His blue eyes were misted over, showing no emotion. Tears were streaming down his face, and as soon as they noticed, her covered his face in his hands and sobbed.

  His father begged him to tell him what had happened, but Mitchel wouldn't speak. Eventually, they brought him out of bed and sat him on the couch. Rayna made him some tea with honey in it. He was currently sitting on the couch, a blanket over his shoulders and the warm cup of tea in between his legs as he leaned forward. 

  He would sometimes mutter under his breath, and occasionally would speak louder, which would startle them. 

  They had been in silence for awhile, trying to see if he'd say anything else. Finally, Vincent leaned forward. "We'd best explain to you why we all came over here."

  "That'd be nice, yeah." Draco said, clearly annoyed.

  Rayna jabbed him with her elbow, causing him to grunt out a curse would while he winced in pain. "Continue, please." She said, eyeing Draco out of the corner of her eye.

  "Well, you all know about Andrea and her being missing, right?" Vincent said, not noticing Mitchel's body tensing at her name.

  "Yes, but let's not say her name, alright?" Salvin said, eyeing Mitchel.

  Vincent looked at his son. "Right, of course." He said, turning away.

  "She was kidnapped by Demons." Charlotte said.

  Draco's eyes widened. "Demons?" He turned to them, an I-told-you-so expression playing on his face.

  "Yes," Fredrick said "demons."

  "We saw one in the picture." Rayna said. "We just didn't think it was real. But, now that you say it, we have to believe it."

  "Wait, so are you Monster Hunters like Sam and Dean?" Salvin asked, eyeing them.

  Nora pursed her lips. "No, we are what they hunt, deary."

  "So, you're monsters?"

  "Yes," Charlotte said "me and Cheryl are witches. Fredrick is a vampire. Marianne and Martin are water creatures. Nora is a fairy. James is a Werewolf. Edward is an Elf. Frank is the Frankenstein. And Vincent and Mitchel are Angels."

  "Holy-" Draco started.

  "Freaking-"

  "Damn." Salvin finished for Rayna.

  "Yes, it's a lot to take in-"

  "One, you willingly allow yourself to become a demon, or two: you bear a demon's child." Mitchel said, his eyes wide.

  The monsters turned to him. Vincent stared at his son. 'What do you mean?"

  "Andrea..." He murmured as he dropped the tea onto the ground.

  Charlotte cursed under her breath. Cheryl told her to calm herself. "Donec hoc est Clen." She said, waving her hand.

  The tea and shards of the cup lifted into the air. They levitated over to the trash, and then it opened up, the contents dropping into it. Salvin exhaled. "Well, at least we know you aren't lying." He said.

  "Why'd you tell us?" Draco asked.

  "Because, you are like her. You can open Lucifer's cage, hence why they went after you. I'm sure that is why you are on the run, right?"

  "Y-yes." Rayna said, wringing her hands together. Salvin patted her hands, trying to ease her nerves. She smiled softly at him, clearly appreciating his gesture.

  Mitchel exhaled slowly. "'As I said before, you are the only one able to open Lucifer's cage. However, we ran into a...predicament.' 'What kind of predicament?' 'Well, you have to options. One, you willingly allow yourself to become a demon, or two: you bear a demon's child'."

  Charlotte's jaw dropped. "W-wait..." Rayna started "is he talking about Andrea?"

  "Andrea..." Mitchel said, his voice wobbling. "Why Jacob?" He asked, covering his face in his hands.

  "Jacob? As in her..."

  "Yes." Charlotte said. "Dammit." She muttered, standing up. 

  "Anything else, sweetie?" Nora asked, rubbing Mitchel's hand.

  "'We'll give you forty eight hours to decide, or we take matters into our own hands'."

  The group exchanged loos with each other. Vincent nodded. 'We have to get the others. You all, don't do anything, okay? The adults will handle this."

  Once the adults left, Charlotte stood up. "I'm calling the others."

  "But what about what they told us?' Rayna asked, her voice small and weak.

  "Since when do teenagers listen to adults? Besides, we have Mitchel here who can defeat demons, right Mitchel?"

  Mitchel looked up at her. "R-right."

  Charlotte nodded, pulling out her phone. "It's decided!"

  And with that, she called and texted everyone she wished to come join them.

****

  Word Count: 2365

  This chapter was a doozy.

  What did you think? I spent about an hour and twenty minutes writing this, so I hope you all like it.

  Anyways, what do you think about Mitchel's dream and what he saw? How come he heard his mother's voice? What does Jacob mean about her two options? Will they save her in time?

  So, I have the rest of this book planned out, and then I'll have to write a sequel for what I have planned. 

  Now, onto real life stuff. 

  I don't know if I mentioned this before, but my school gets out this coming Wednesday, so I'll have more time to write. However, I think on June 11th through the 18th, I'll be in Mexico, so that probably won't have any updates unless I have things typed out. 

  Now, back to book stuff.

  There will only be four parts for what I have planned, and we are already almost halfway through the third part. What could happen? If you have any theories, I'd love to hear them.

  And with that, I am signing off. It's 11:42 at night, so sorry about there not being edits. I probably forgot.

  Adios, mi amigos!

  -Paige

  P.S. I passed my Spanish final! Thank the gods!