Divine Selection

Chapter One

Richard

August 10,
New York: 1:48 am

"And you're sure that it's up here?" I asked, my words masked in a groan.

I heard Shadow sigh beside me as we marched up yet another spiral case. "Positive," He said with a voice was as sharp as a cold blade and held no emotion. "It's a little hard to mistake the scent of blood." I scoffed at his statement.

We had followed Shadow's nose across the city to an abandoned candle factory, and my faith in his "all-powerful" senses was beginning to waver with each led-filled step.

"It's probably just some poor cat that the rats got to." I whispered in annoyance. My satisfied sigh caught in my throat we finished our assent.

The spacious room was covered in millions of lit ivory candles, and was ever so tastefully accented by a deceased woman hanging by chains in the center.

"Oh yeah," Shadow said, his dead voice coated in sarcasm. "Definitely a cat." I shot him a glare. He took a breath to mock me, but the metallic-poisoned air caused his beige face to pale. Shadow rushed across the massive room and over to a broken window. He pulled down the charcoal mouth-piece from off his broad nose, and spewed forth the contents of his stomach.

Before I could ask if he was okay, Shadow rose his finger-less gloved hand and presented me with his middle finger. I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing. I took a moment to regain my composer.

"Have fun relishing your Chinese food again!" I exclaimed with a dismissive hand-wave and advanced toward the deceased. "I'll be over here, examine the body!" Faint curses of my name were heard from Shadow as he weakly tried to settle his stomach. All humor that I once had left me as I near closer to the dead woman.

There was something about her – about her presence that was familiar, and that unsettled me far more than the gruesome crime scene. She was truly beautiful, despite looking a wax doll.

The woman had loosely curled sandy blonde hair that cascaded over her bare shoulders, and low-cut peasant blouse that had flowy trumpet-sleeves that dandled off her arms.

I trailed my eyes down to her torso where a deep gash had been made across her black bodice; a closer inspection showed that someone had cut into her, tore out her intestines, and left them dangling out of the wound. I grimaced as the bloodly organs gently swayed against her black stockings and heeled boots.

"Stop fantasizing over the dead chick, and just fucking identify her!" Shadow exclaimed from across the factory floor. I quickly looked down at my armored ebony pants in terror, before feeling a sudden spark of anger source through my veins. "Fuck you, Adrian!" I exclaimed and felt my cheeks warm.

After hearing a satisfied snicker echo throughout the massive cement and rusted-iron framed room. I scoffed and went back to my deducting.

I slowly stood back up, trying my damnedest not to focus on her defined curves. Once I was level with her face, I noticed that she wore a black masquerade mask around her glassy eyes.

I gripped one of it's side, and was gingerly pulling it off when something startling happened: The ends of her gorgeous blonde hair began to peel away from the scalp, until it fell off and revealed a caramel shaggy pixie underneath.

Her face was paler than it should have been, with large cheekbones that were drastically highlighted by her hallowed out cheeks. My entire body grew ice. I stared into her primal green eyes that once shone with life and mischievous.

"Holy shit!" I exclaimed and stumbled backwards. "Who is-" Shadow started to say, but fell silent as he saw her face.

I couldn't think. I couldn't blink. I couldn't even breathe. The world moved in slow motion as I stood frozen before my fallen ally. The hellfire burned through the shadows that plagued the room in a tantalizing manner, and lit up behind her asymmetrical white skirt. She was gone. She was really gone.