Chapter 19

The closer they got, the more she got gripped by fear. One of them drew out a golden dirk, and Emily's heart jumped to her throat. 

As he strode up to her, she stiffened. "For a hybrid, I thought you'd put up more of a fight." He raised the sword and Emily shut her eyes, expecting the worst, but she heard the sound of a lightning striking someone instead, and a groan followed. She fell to her knees and looked beside her and found the guy with the golden dirk on the floor, smoke emanating from his body.

She looked up and saw Chris standing in front of her. He stretched out his hand to her and she took it. He pulled her to her feet with a grin plastered on his face.

"We came for the girl. Give her to us and we might let you live." The guy Chris had struck with lightning spoke as he struggled to his feet. 

Emily rushed behind Chris, who strode a little towards them with a smirk. "I'll give you a chance to run. "

The guys gazed intermittently at Emily and Chris, their wings slowly coming out of their backs. Emily staggered backwards.

Chris's eyes glowed blue. He cracked his knuckles, showcasing his claws.

They flapped their wings and their feet slowly left the ground. They dived towards Chris, and he quickly struck one of the guys with lightning, and he went crashing fiercely into the ground.

The other guy clenched his fist tightly, with dark energy spinning around it. He punched Chris in the torso, sending him to a wall not far from them. He hit his back against the wall and fell on his hands and knees, causing the brick to break and the modicums to fall to the floor. 

Chris looked up with fury, gnashing his teeth. He ran forward and flung himself into the air, towards the ravens. 

Emily stood at the side and watched Chris fight with the ravens. She didn't notice when one of them walked towards her. He grabbed her, fluttering his wing as he headed towards the sky.

"Let me go!" She yelled, but the raven turned deaf ears on her.

"I said, let me go!" She yelled again. This time, she placed her hands on his, trying to loosen his grip on her, but he screamed and they both fell on the ground.

She stood up quickly and moved away from him. He stood up slowly, frustration etched on his face.

"Don't... Don't come... closer." She stuttered.

He brought out a dagger and dived towards her. "Please, don't!" She screamed, holding out her arms.

Fire busted out of her palms, setting the raven ablaze. She stared moon-eyed at him as he stumbled around trying to quench the flames on his body.

Chris killed two of the ravens and one managed to escape. His attention was drawn to the raven that had been set aflame, screaming and stumbling across the walls. He saw the golden dirk on the ground. He walked closer to it and grabbed it. He threw it and it went directly to the raven and pierced his back. He fell to the ground and remained motionless as the fire burned him.

Chris walked up to him and pulled out the dirk. "This is a beautiful one, I'm keeping it. "He started walking away.

"Chris, wait!" Emily ran to him. "Thank you for that." She pointed at the spot where she had been attacked.

"I made a promise to Michael. It won't hurt him as much if you die now. "

"You have to come back home. Michael misses you. We all do."

Chris chuckled. "No one misses me." He walked away.

.

.

.

Emily got home and went to her room without delay. She came down when her mother called her for dinner. She sat at the dining table with her family, ruminating about why the ravens were after her. She didn't remember crossing paths with them, so she couldn't understand why they'd come after her.

Rebecca was so engrossed in her food that she didn't notice her daughter's loss of appetite. Emily noticed her father glancing at her.

When the dinner was over, Emily hurried into her room. She sat on her bed and fixed her gaze on her window. She heard a quick knock on the door, she shifted her gaze to the door and saw her dad standing there. She gave him a small nod, and he went into the room and sat on her bed.

"What's wrong, Em?" He asked.

"Nothing." She shuffled on her bed.

"I saw you; you were playing with your food. Something is clearly bothering you. "

Emily sighed. "On my way home, I was attacked by ravens." 

"What? Did they hurt you?" Richard frowned.

"No, someone saved me. Why are they after me? " 

Richard looked away from Emily, he took a deep breath and said, "The first hybrid that existed gave birth to a very cruel being, a tribrid, very powerful and most feared among avians and werewolves."

"So they think I'm going to give birth to an enemy?" Emily raised her brows.

"Yes, they probably see you as a threat."

"Will they kill me?" Emily asked.

"I don't know why your mother is against you using your powers. What's the essence? They already know an avian hybrid exists. You should be able to protect yourself. "

"Can you teach me how to use my powers?"

"But your mother-" Richard tried to talk.

"She doesn't have to know." She cut him, "Please... What if someone hadn't shown up when the ravens attacked me?" 

"Okay." Richard stood up, "We'll start in the morning." He smiled at her before he exited her room.

Emily glanced at her window before relaxing on her bed. She closed her eyes and waited for sleep to take over.

***********

Michael strode home that night, he was alone on the silent road, which wasn't entirely dark as the moonlight flashed dimly onto the earth. He noticed someone was following him. He looked back but didn't see anyone. He continued walking, then paused when he heard something ruffling through the woods. He frowned. His eyes moved to where he had heard the sound from, but everywhere went silent again.

He moved further, and something hurled out of the wood towards him. He screamed, taking a few steps back.

"I'm sorry. Did I scare you?" Chris smirked. Michael rolled his eyes and resumed his trek. 

"I was with Emily earlier." Chris's words attracted a glare from Michael. "I didn't hurt her; actually, I saved her from some ravens."

"Ravens?" Michael asked. 

"Yeah, as a matter of fact, they are here now." Chris turned away from Chris and spread his arms. "You all can come out now."

Michael looked around and watched as they got surrounded by ravens. 

One of them stepped forward and said, "I have no business with you. I came for the golden dirk."

Chris immediately recognised the guy that spoke; he was the one that had run away the last time.

"I remember you. I may have been too easy on you, but trust me, you don't want to see my brother when he's pissed."

"What golden dirk are they talking about, Chris?" Michael asked.

"I don't know, it was beautiful. I liked it, so I took it from them."

"Why? You have to give it back. "

"Don't ruin the fun, Mike."

"Fun? This is not fun. We are about to get our asses kicked. "

"I'm sure you'd want to protect Emily. You're going to have to learn not only how to fight but also to kill, these people obviously want the golden dirk for a dangerous reason. "

"I'm not killing anyone." Michael shook his head.

"Alright, then stand and die." Chris scoffed and faced the ravens.

"You won't kill me," Chris smirked. "If I die, you've lost your golden dirk forever."

"Who said anything about killing you? We'll capture and torture you until you tell us where you're hiding it. " He grinned. "Lord Blake, should we attack now?"

Michael and Chris stood there watching the ravens make way for Lord Blake, who soon appeared in front of them. His dark and frightening stare made Chris and Michael shiver. 

Blake turned around and said, "Elias, Do whatever it is you have to do, just bring back the golden dirk. " He popped out his wings, jamming them against the faces of some of the ravens standing behind him, making them stagger backwards. He launched into the air and flew higher into the sky.

At Elias's command, the ravens attacked them. Chris' eyes glowed blue. He struck a few of them with lightning before they got to him.

Michael took a deep, shaky breath. His eyes were glowing green. One of the ravens rushed towards him, and he dodged the attack. He clutched at his shouders and dug his claws into his chest, pulling out his heart.

Immediately, he suddenly felt the urge to kill all the ravens surrounding him without sparing any. It was like he was possessed by some evil spirit that was urging him to kill them all.

He moved swiftly into the crowd, killing and hypnotizing them to turn on each other. He didn't want to stop. He strangely derived pleasure in seeing them suffer, breaking each of their bones and shredding them with his claws. He felt powerful and unstoppable. He grabbed one of them, snapping his neck. He dug his fangs into it voraciously. He lifted his head and roared at the dark blue sky with his blood-soaked fangs. He brought his head down, and blood streamed down his lips. He rose slowly and looked round; the rest of the ravens hung behind, scared to move an inch. Somehow, he could sense their fear.

Chris, who was also fighting and striking them with lightning, paused to stare at his brother. He was amazed at how fast and strong Michael suddenly became. 

"I told you, you don't want to see my brother when he is mad."

"Your brother is the ripper." Elias turned away and flew into the sky, and the rest of the ravens followed. Soon, they were out of sight.