Sons of Apep

School was finally over and Heat left the class later than most like he usually does. It had been a good day. Despite Mel's presence threatening to ruin the first good morning he had in a while, everything seemed to be okay. He went to his locker just as Zainab was leaving hers.

"See you tomorrow, Heat!"

"See ya, Mira!"

He watched Mira jog to the entrance and to his dismay, meet up with Mel.

"Summer hut in Togo!"

"Oh man, the amaroq and one of your good friends; this can only be good news."

Heat was motionless, he blinked and the hallway was empty. He staggered momentarily and watched the clock on the wall. Two hours had passed since school had ended.

"The voice."

He slammed his fist into the wall continuously.

"How?! Why?! Why?!"

The enraged teenager walked out of the building. Everything about his world starting swarming his mind. Just because he went camping with a bunch of people who happened to be supernatural beings, he's trapped in a world that he never expected to be in. Amaroqs, vampires, chosen one, people who transformed into animals at will…he was never ready for all this. It was a fictional world he did not appreciate belonging to. It was then that he processed the words the voice spoke. He had a choice; pay heed and check on Zainab, or ignore it and go to Ur-tir'ak for help. He was inclined to believe the voice. It does torment him, but it has never lied to him, not yet at least. Reluctantly, Heat changed his direction with one resolve—kill the amaroq. As he walked, he felt the reluctance fade away and a darkness build within him. Strangely though, he loved it; a wry smile drew on his face as he picked up the pace and ran into the forest. He transported to the forest surrounding Zainab's home, thinking of how to verify what was happening. He didn't have to wait long; like an insect falling into a spider's web, Mel's footsteps a distance behind Heat alerted him.

"That saves a lot of work."

Swinging two knives in her hands, Mel approached Heat with a grin on her face. These knives looked different from the ones she attacked him at his home. They did not look like they were made from a regular metal, but had holes in their handles like the previous ones. One had a white blade with a black handle and was slightly curved inwards while the other had a black blade with a white handle and was slightly curved outwards. Both knives had Lis'shan inscriptions on them, the ancient amen language.

"Hey there, Heat Fury."

"Mel the amaroq."

"I knew you'll come here, I was wondering what took you so long."

"This time, I'll kill you for real."

"Wow. I'm really shaking. I can barely stay on my feet."

In a split second, Heat charged at Mel with a fist wrapped by snakes. Although he acted very fast, she was faster, countering him with a kick that slammed him into a tree. She threw a knife at him, which he dodged with ease. She threw another, which he dodged again but at the same instant, found his face buried in the ground.

"Being a snake amen doesn't come with any sight benefits, does it?"

Heat looked very closely and saw a very thin wire attached to both knives. Mel wore a smug look on her face. Heat rose to his knees and slammed his fist into the ground; out of it, snakes shot up and attacked Mel. Claws grew from her hands, as she leaked into her amaroq form. Undeterred, Heat fought her in a hand-to-hand combat. Mel was faster, stronger, more experienced and skilled, but she was not gaining the advantage she expected. As the fight slipped out of her control, Heat kicked her into a tree. Very quickly, he scrambled to her feet and threw a punch, but Heat used his fist to stop hers—there was snap inside her fist. Heat pulled out one of the knives from the tree and pointed it at her. Mel was perplexed, she did not know Heat to have this level of strength and her fingers were not healing like they were supposed to. Her back was also hurting from being kicked into the tree but it was not healing either, something unheard of for an amaroq. The advantage she was supposed to gain by leaking was non-existent. On his skin, there was a thin layer of spa wrapped around him a flame and in his eyes, was the bloodlust of a starving lion.

With the knife in his hand, Heat attacked Mel once more, but this time, an unexpected arrow knocked the knife out of his hand. He looked around, searching for whoever threw that arrow; another arrow barely missed his leg. Above him, three full-leaked amaroqs launched themselves at him. The first one tried to claw Heat before he landed, but was caught and thrown at another and before the last one could do anything, Heat used a Great Snake's Hiss to blast a hole in his chest. One so quick that he didn't see it coming, and so powerful that it took down a tree behind. He then did the same to the other two amaroqs.

Mel's eyes widened with sheer amazement. Heat abruptly stood still, he looked left, then right, then in front, and then behind, he could feel vibrations in the ground, of dozens of amaroqs rushing at him. When they reached about fifty meters from him, he saw them approaching in all directions.

He clapped his hands together, like he was saying a prayer and he began to chant undertone.

"Mus amar-ene-ak-ut, utu engir-adamen a'ba, she'ol-ur-tu, puzur-nge abba-zunene dub-ak, a'ba an engir-gu."

As he spoke, Mel couldn't believe what her ears were hearing—Lis'shan, from the mouth of a teenager.

"Come forth, sons of Apep!"