Keepers Of The Dark World

So It Begins....

"Once upon a time... there lived a beloved princess... in a marvelous castle... on an island surrounded by a crystal lake... where all was bright and happy....." I huffed sarcastically. 

Yeah right, if only fairy tales really did exist then maybe my life wouldn't be in such danger, like always. Night after night, it was the same old story. Good guy fought bad guy, righteousness vanquished evil and got a few scars to boot. Well I guess there wasn't much use whining about it, after all it was a sacred duty I carried. I was a part of greatness, a divine soldier saving the innocent from demons and darkness blah, blah, blah...

Just another block then I could take it, I thought to myself. The dark street was mostly empty, it always was that time of night. The people that were out and about usually thought I was up to no good and quickly left. The other people out that late were usually up to no good. I raced past them, my boots pounding on the hard concrete in a timely rhythm. The night air cooled the sweat on my face as I charged past, glancing back only to make sure it was still hot on my heels and not focusing on anyone else; couldn't have it killing any shady no-good-doers, now could I? Half a block to go.

I could hear its claws scraping against the ground about three meters behind me. To a human eye it appeared as if a scraggly stray mutt was chasing me, but to my eye it was the rotting corpse of a canis mortis, or hound of death. While disgusting and slightly weaker in appearance, a death hound was quite dangerous. They were stronger than they seemed and their bite was infectious, potent and potentially deadly. Even a simple graze of their fangs could kill a human and knock an old soul out of commission for a week or so. Not exactly something I could afford, I did have a territory to protect. 

That single thought made me quicken my pace. I knew what I had to do, kill the death hound and then find out who summoned the damn thing. They may be strong but they don't act of their own accord. A death hound always had a master, someone to summon it from the Dark World. Whoever had summoned it was going to regret the day they did, and possibly their life once I got through with them. I mean what idiot in their right mind would call on such a thing? Not only was demon summoning banned, but it took more energy than they were worth to control them. Plus, everyone knew it was quite the insult to summon a demon in an old soul's city of residence. I mean did the moron really think I wouldn't sense it?

 The alley I was aiming for came into view, it would definitely give me the advantage and keep the fight isolated away from prying eyes. I was not exactly permitted to fight in the open if it could be avoided, and it should be avoided at all costs. Orders from on high and all that. It was a pain but what could you do? I made a hard left into the alley and leaped onto the first dumpster I saw, pressing myself into the wall's shadow. Seconds later the death hound came bounding around the corner, running right past me. It didn't notice me crouched atop the dumpster lid and now there was nowhere for it to go. The alley was blocked off at the other end by a rather tall chain link fence which made escape, not exactly impossible but unlikely. 

The creature took a moment to sniff the ground and looked from side to side. I jumped from my hiding place with a loud thud right behind it, effectively blocking the alley entrance. No point in continuing to hide, it would scent me eventually. It was better to press the attack, taking full advantage of my, well, advantage. The death hound spun quickly around and bared its black teeth at me with an animalistic growl that reverberated off the walls, sounding far more intimidating than it should. 'Not really a happy puppy, now is it?' I thought. Putrid slime dripped from its gums as it took a fighting stance. It briefly reminded me of the way my pack fought, if only a little.

"Not really that bright are you?" I asked it without expecting a response. It charged me and I side stepped right before its jaws clamped down on my arm. I delivered a swift kick to its ribs in retribution, sending the nasty beast into the dumpster. The death hound made a sound of pure unbridled fury before lunging at me again. I was more prepared that time. In one fluid motion I pulled my right gun from its holster and fired. I felt the divine energy build within me and channel into my gun, then release. Instead of a bullet, a small bright blue aura bursts from the chamber with lightning speed. The death hound's head exploded around the aura bullet, fanning out in all directions. Its headless body fell with a sickening thwack on the ground. Black blood and tissue began to pool around the corpse for only a moment or two before it started to sizzle. A second later the body was disintegrating into black smoke and shadow. In the next instant it was gone completely.