Keva, Rodriguez and I all sat at our usual lunch table. A few moments later the rest of the team appeared with their unusual lunches.
"Did you see his technique? It was flawless." Cayden bragged. Cayden is our fighting technique specialist. He is frequently called upon for many training sessions. He would help find a flaw in each technique. No matter how fast you think you are with your techniques or speed, Cayden always found a way to knock your ass down. There was only one person who can equally match him...
"Please I've seen you do better." and her name is Valda. Her name said it all; it meant spirited warrior. She was mighty, fierce and protective. Valda is the worker or the perfectionist of our group. She'd constantly work on her techniques, strategies and anything thing else that had to do with violence. They were meant for each other.
"I've seen a baboon do better." Psykhe smirked. Psykhe was the jokester of the group. She would find something funny in the most dangerous places. She could keep our spirits up when we needed it. She may be funny but she is very dangerous. I personally wouldn't want to mess with her when she is in a foul mood which is rare. Last time someone caught her in a foul mood, she had them go see a therapist. Just thinking about it made a shiver go down my spine.
The last ones to arrive was Kamali and Zen, the odd couple. Kamali was the quiet one of the group. She didn't have to say anything for us to know what she was saying. That is what Zen is for. Zen is Kamali's helper. He would help her with potions, healing, medicine and fortune telling. Kamali was the most important member of our group. We have to protect her with our very lives. There is only one Priest per group. Why only one per group? Well, it's because there are only a handful of them around the world. They had so much power it's unbelievable. Sometimes it would completely drain them so that's why they have a helper, which are just as strong.
They quietly sat down and tension hung in the air. Cayden squirmed in his seat. He didn't like quiet, he found it quite irritating. I placed a piece of pasta in my mouth. Kamali stared at me. She focused her gaze to my neck. She shook her head with disapproval. Cayden gave me a light shove.
"So you're hitched with Keva?" Cayden smiled wolfishly.
I cleared my throat. "Yeah."
Keva scooted over and wrapped her arms around my forearm. I couldn't help but blush and look at the ceiling. Everyone chuckled.
"I'm surprised Acharya allowed that." Psykhe snickered.
I pulled up my collar. "Well he didn't agree to it at first."
I won't have my daughter be with a monster. Acharya's words stung more each time I remembered it. Why did he call me a monster? The only thing I could think of to make me a monster would be killing demons, but it was in my job description. But he also did the same. It's so confusing. What could he possibly mean?
"What he do, give you the evil glare?" Valda joked.
"You can say that." I squirmed in my chair. Seeing his evil glare of hatred made me uneasy. He wanted to kill me but I'm glad Keva stopped him or otherwise I wouldn't be here today.
I was taking over Rodriguez's shift again. He told me early today that he had an "appointment" with his girlfriend, who happened to be a doctor.
I sat in my usual post, on a branch of a tree that stood in our town's park. I sighed as I leaned against the trunk. Water splashed on the sides of the boat, which gracefully moved in the pond. Crickets sung their song for everyone to hear, while fireflies danced. It was peaceful and quiet, a little too quiet for my comfort. As I waited, I watched the stars that brightly lit the sky. A shooting star flew passed. I made a wish.
"I wish to have a happy life." I whispered.
The star turned red before disappearing.
I awoke to a scream. My body flew off the branch and landed on my right shoulder. I heard a slight snap.
"Shit."
I quickly got to my feet and followed the demonic aura. I clutched my shoulder while running through the quiet streets. Arriving to where the aura stopped, a street light flickered. There was something underneath the light. I walked up and found a red substance. Gently rubbing it between my fingers, I sniffed it. It carried a strong scent of iron. A demon has captured a victim. Something to my left caught my eye and I found a blood trail leading into an alleyway.
Following the trail, I spread a special powder over the blood. The blood sizzled, and then disappeared. Moments later, a demon was hunched over a man's body. The demon munched on the man's leg bones. The man turned his head in my direction and mouthed help me.
I always hated this kind of demon who ate their victim's alive before robbing them. Leaping over the dumpster, I pulled out my sword.
The demon jumped away from my attack and turned around. The blood around his mouth matched his skin. His black eyes grew cold.
"Why do you disrupt me Hunter?"
"You know damn well why." I spat. Placing myself in front of the man, the demon crossed his arms and laughed.
"I don't understand why Hunters would save people who don't help them back." He licked his lips. "I honestly think that they all should die."
I gritted my teeth. No one should have to die from a demon. It's too horrible for any human. The demon smiled at me, showing his razor sharp teeth. He suddenly disappeared and reappeared on my left. He was fast. He kicked me across my back, forcing me forward. My head slammed against the brick wall. The warmth of blood trickled down my forehead, some going into my left eye, rendering it useless. The demon grabbed my sore shoulder and threw me against the brick wall again. All the air escaped from my lungs. I fell to my knees, gasping for air. The demon grabbed me by my hair and made me look into his coal eyes. He moved his index finger across my face.
"You're an experienced Hunter but why are you lacking skill?" He cocked his head. "You have something on your mind Sire."
Sire?!
I pushed away from him and whistled. Smoke swirled around my legs then formed next to me. A snarling wolf withdrew from the smoke. The demon backed up. His eyes darted from the wolf to me.
"Hunters are not allowed familiars." he croaked.
I chuckled while picking myself up. "I guess I'm just special."
My right arm was limp while my left hand clutched the sword. This was bad, my right arm was my dominate arm.
The wolf moved closer to the demon. The demon stumbled over the man's body and backed away. He twisted around and ran, the wolf then sped after him. I whistled again. A loud screech rang throughout the night sky. Suddenly a Phoenix landed in front of me. I sheathed my sword and tried to lift the man up onto the phoenix's back. Its feathers curled around the man, securing him to its body. It started to take off, I jumped and grasped its leg with my good arm. The phoenix followed the wolf and the demon. The demon was heading for the hospital. I cursed. He was heading for the bone cancer center. The phoenix threw me at the demon. I unsheathed my sword and aimed at his heart. I made it in time. The demon came to a halt. Twisting my sword, more blood went dripping to the ground. He turned his head towards me. His eyes bounced to the wolf, me and my phoenix.
"Who are you?" he coughed, blood streaking down the sides of his mouth.
The midnight breeze moved my hair in front of my face. When it gracefully landed back in place, all I had was an evil glare upon my face. I gave him a sly smile. "The name's Caster. Tell your friends to watch out. And Pyre demon?"
"Ye...Yes." his eyes grew wide.
"Don't ever forget me. If we meet once again, I will kill you permanently. Stay where you are and don't ever come back."
With that I sliced upward, cutting the demon in half. The demon crumbled and the ground absorbed the fragments. My sword fell into the cold earth. I sat down and took a deep breath. The wolf nudged me. I petted him. He gave me a lick before he turned back into smoke and went into my body. My phoenix landed gracefully beside me. He moved his head over me and cried. As each tear hit my bruised skin, I could feel the gash on my forehead vanished and my eyesight returned. He reached around, plucked out one of his feathers and placed it in my palm. The feather ignited as soon as it hit my hand, so it was only ash left. I stared at him before swallowing it. As soon as I swallowed the ash, my arm relocated catching me off guard. The surge of pain soon subsided. Stretching, I got up and sheathed my sword. I patted the phoenix's neck.
"Thanks Trailblazer." I smiled.
He pecked my head in response. I chuckled as I rubbed my head. Trailblazer laid down, and the man's body was in my view. Trailblazer's feathers were glowing around the man's wounds. He soon woke up and looked at me. If he wasn't secured in Trailblazer's feathers he would have stumbled off. I grabbed his shirt and brought him closer to me.
"Why was that Pyre demon after you?" I hissed.
"Pyre demon?"
"The one who did that to your legs." I moved my head towards his legs. His gaze landed onto his legs. He turned a pale green, but it went to pale when he realized he was being healed. He licked his lips and gulped. He reached his hand in his shirt and pulled out a necklace. A necklace made entirely out of Midnight Lust. I let go of him.
"He said he wanted this." He gently placed it into my hand. My grip tightened around the necklace. "I wanted to get my wife something for our anniversary."
"Where did you get this?" I questioned.
"It was at a shop called Black Field Manor." he said, tired.
While he slept, I switched the Midnight Lust necklace with a sapphire necklace. I had to erase his memories and recreate a new one. Biting my lip nervously, I didn't know what I could create with this injury from a Pyre demon. What could I come up with to explain the missing bone? Finally I came up with one, the doctor caught him early with Paget's disease. I didn't want to hurt him but it was way better than remembering a demon eating his bones. I sighed as I placed my hand on his head. His body shook and he let out a scream. Moments later, his body grew still. He was asleep.
I walked next to Trailblazer as we made our way to the man's house. As soon as we got near, I conjured up a wheelchair and Trailblazer moved the man into it. Once the man was in position, Trailblazer flew up and out of sight. Taking a deep breath, I knocked on the door.
My mission was finally complete. I've returned the man to his wife and Rodriguez's shift was over. It was my free time. I whistled for Trailblazer. He flew low enough for me to jump on his back. I was going to inspect Black Field Manor. Examining the necklace, I noticed that there was a rose engraved into the middle stone. Suddenly there was a shock that ran though my body as soon as I touched the middle stone.
What was that?
Soon enough we had arrived at the shop and Trailblazer pecked at my head to wake me up. I flinched when my finger gently grazed the sore spot. He did it a little too hard this time. I jumped off and landed in front of the shop. Trailblazer left me. The shop was dark in front so I decided to go in the back. There was a dim light over the door, telling me that someone was here. Next to the door, I noticed a demonic symbol. Immediately I knew that the shopkeeper was a demon. I placed my hand over the symbol and could feel the symbol drain me of some of my power. A sudden burn made me rip my hand away. The symbol glowed brightly before disappearing into the brick. A minute later the wall vanished, leaving a doorway. I stepped inside and the wall reappeared behind me.
The room was dark and damp. Placing my fingertips on the wall next to me, a spark, followed by many more, made a torch and continued downward.
"A staircase?" I looked over my shoulder. "Well it's forward or nothing."
I silently descended the steps. The fire changed color the deeper I went. Arriving at the bottom, I noticed that it was quiet. Then a small old Chinese woman shuffled up to me.
"How can I help you dear boy?" she asked with a sweet smile.
"I'm looking for the owner of the shop." I looked around the room.
"Well that would be me." She tucked a loose strand of her long gray hair behind her ear.
"Did you sell this necklace to a man?" I handed her the Midnight Lust necklace.
She gently took it out of my hand. Her blue eyes examined every inch of the necklace. Her delicate hands ran over the glossy pendent. She then placed it carefully back into my hand.
"Yes I did."
"But why? You know very well what Midnight Lust does to humans."
"What do you mean?" she acted innocently.
"I know that you are a Ki demon so stop acting innocent." Unlike the Pyre demon, who can control fire, their relatives Ki can control water.
The woman frowned. She shifted out of her human form and went to her true form. Her soft skin turned blue and scaly. Her gray hair turned pitch black but her gentle blue eyes remained the same.
"You're a Hunter."
"I'm surprised that you didn't realize it sooner when your gatekeeper took some of my power."
Her tail swayed with impatience. She rubbed her chin and in couldn't help but stare at her sharp black claws. She opened her mouth to say something but she immediately shut it. She was hiding something.
"Why did you come here?" she said with a hint of venom in her tone.
"To know why you sold it to a human. A Pyre demon went after this poor man."
The Ki demon looked upset. "I didn't mean to hurt him. I've known George for a long time. When he told me he was looking for an anniversary gift for Sharon, I just had to help him out. I lost track of thought and sold him the Midnight Lust by accident."
"Why didn't you call him?"
"He doesn't have a cell phone and I couldn't call his house and blab the secret out. That would have been unfair to George."
"So you risked his life instead?"
Her head hung low with shame, which surprised me. "I didn't mean to hurt him." She was quiet for a moment before she looked at me. Black tears streaming down her face. "Is George okay?"
"Yes. He's alive, but he won't be able to walk again."
She bit her lip as she glanced away from me. "Can I see this necklace again?" She pleaded.
I was hesitant but I gave in. She looked at it once and her eyes grew red. Suddenly the necklace shattered and vanished. I looked around, wondering where it could have gone.
"What did you do?" I asked, hoarsely.
"I eliminated that filthy thing." She wiped away her tears, making it look like she swabbed mascara everywhere.
"There's a power like that exists?" My heart pounded hard against my chest. She flinched.
"You didn't know?" She asked puzzled.
I shook my head. "No. As far as I know, the clans don't know either."
She thought for a moment. "If you want, I can teach you."
"Really?" My excitement grew.
"Yes," She smiled "I'll be happy too."
"Thank you."
"I didn't catch your name. A master needs to know a pupil's name."
"Caster Wolfbane." I held out my hand.
"Penelope." She had a gentle hand shake. From that instant, Penelope looked kind of familiar.
The past couple of weeks, I visited Penelope after my shifts and training. I wanted to learn how to destroy Midnight Lust. Anyone who comes into contact with it, always ends up in misery. I would enter the secret passage I stumbled upon the first time I came here. I learned that this room concealed magic from the outside and inside. No one would be able to find us.
I've been trying to concentrate. Doing this process requires a lot of concentration for beginners. When I do get it right, it drains me until I'm exhausted. Penelope says if practiced enough, it will come with ease and it won't drain you as much as it is. I've been practicing but it didn't show. This power still drains me until I can't move. Sometime I wouldn't be able to do my duty as a demon hunter.
Penelope said I should take a break for a week. She said that a human body can only handle so much demonic power.
As I lay in my bed, I thought about what Penelope said. I tried to recall a demon hunter who ever used demonic power to banish demons back to Hell. None came. But there wasn't any demon hunters who had familiars either.
There was a light rap on the door, and then it opened. My brother, Ace, popped his head in. I sighed and sat up.
"Do you have a minute?" he asks.
"Yeah." It's not like I had anything else better to do.
He stepped in, closing the door quietly behind him. He strolled to the foot of my bed and plopped down, making me fly up two inches. He looked at me and smiled. His shaggy black hair was strewn all over the place. You can see dark circles underneath his emerald green eyes. He looked ill. He snickered and sat up. He clasped my shoulder.
"So my baby brother has a girlfriend?" He had a sly smile.
'Bout time you found out. "Yes..." I paused "You've met her once before."
He sat there cross-legged and thought about it. His leg bounced with irritation. I shook my head. By the time he figured it out, his brain will be scrambled.
"It's Keva, Ace."
"Oh that Lynx." He grinned, a grin I didn't like. "She's pretty hot for her age. I'm surprised a girl like her be in playboy." That pissed me off. He looked over and held his hands up in defense. "Whoa, whoa, whoa... no need to rip my head off. It's just that kind of beauty should be forever on a photo. It's not often you see a full-blooded Native American."
I leaned my face on my hand. "Is that what you came in for? To torment me?"
"Nah, but it was fun."
"Uh huh."
His happy face was soon replaced by sorrow. He looked at me and gave me a fake grin. I sat up and stared at him. He sighed and ruffled my hair. My stomach for some reason suddenly felt hallow.
"Have you noticed?" he asked
I tilted my head. I had no clue what he was talking about. "Notice what?"
He stared at the door. I followed his gaze. We both kept quiet. I could faintly hear mom yelling at dad. Now I understood. Mom suddenly changed after I turned eighteen, it's been nothing but constant fights or drinking. While dad tried to lighten up mom, Ace has been taking care of me when needed. He basically took on mom's role while keeping a full time job. I knew taken care of dad and I wasn't an easy task. I can't help but blame myself for mom turning out the way she is.
Ace leaned on me and laughed quietly. "Whatever happens, always know I've got your back." Why did it sound like he was saying good-bye?
I sat at my desk and stared at my brother. He rolled over and snored. He actually looked like he was at peace. I pulled my hair. I didn't know what was going on. It seemed like my life was crumbling down. Dad barely talks to me, mom gives me an evil glare each time I pass, it's only Ace that cares for me.
I spun in my chair and turned on the television. The news reporter was giving us the updates of the recent murders. Sighing, I turned off the television and laid my head down. My eyes slowly closing, darkness swallowing me whole.
I awoke to a familiar chirp. My phone screen said that it was six in the morning. I stretched and rubbed my face. My body felt like it was hit by a car. I opened my phone and turned off the alarm. After the alarm closed, I saw that I had a text message. I took a look around. My brother wasn't on my bed and the house was quiet. I was completely alone.
The text message said:
BE PREPARED
DANGER
DEATH WILL BE SOON
TRAGEDY
P.