“You couldn’t sleep either?”
“No,” I admitted.
She moved towards me, reached up on her tiptoes and kissed my forehead. “Well, I guess if we’re both awake we might as well have breakfast together. It’s been too long.” She started to gather eggs, a frying pan, and other essentials. “How about French toast?” she said. She knew it was my favorite.
“French toast sounds great, Mom.”
She puttered about the kitchen. “So your birthday’s coming up, the big eighteen. Do you have any idea what you want?”
I shook my head. “You shouldn’t get me anything and you know that. We don’t have the money anyway. I’d rather just not think about it.
She stopped and turned to me. “I’ll be damned if you’re going to have a birthday and not celebrate it. We’ll make it work.”
“You always do, but no matter how many good birthdays I have, they’ll never make up for the bad one.”
My mom sighed. “Chase. Riley. Williams.”
“Yes?” I replied innocently.
“This is our life now. I don’t regret what happened and neither should you.”
“Mom, things could be better for you if I…” I loved my mother, but sometimes I hated that she couldn’t admit our life was better in the Circle.
“Chase, my life in the Circle was a lifetime ago, and I don’t miss it.”
“Not even a little?”
“No, and you’re old enough now to know that your father and I hadn’t seen things the same way for a long time.”
That caught me off guard and my first instinct was to defend my dad somehow, but he didn’t deserve that. Mom was trying to share something with me and I didn’t want to stop her from treating me like an adult.
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve always known your father is a fire elemental and I’m water. They’re opposing forces of nature. My magic is for healing, and his element holds nothing but destructive power. Being polar opposites may be why we fell in love, but we couldn’t sustain it. Your father was always a proud and arrogant man, and so hard on you. Nothing you did was ever good enough, and granted, that’s part of the reason you are so good. You never stopped trying to impress him. It might be hard to believe, but once upon a time he was gentle, sweet, and kind. He wanted us to be one happy family. Then one day, something changed.”
“What?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know for sure. His power controlled him, and he became obsessed with you being his legacy, instead of his child. As much as you miss your old life, you need to understand exile is for the best for both of us.”
“It’s just hard to see that sometimes.”
“I know you have to bear the burden of being Riley Williams’ son, and that’s not fair. You’ve never been able to relax since the Underworld wants to kill you just for being his son. None of this is something a normal seventeen-year-old has to deal with, but hunters are never normal,” she said with a smirk.
“Yeah, try telling the Circle that,” I said.
Mom shook her head. “We don’t need the Circle, Chase. We don’t need their help. We don’t need their money and we don’t need their problems.”
Maybe Mom was right, but I wanted to be fighting the good fight, not fighting to survive. We could make ends meet without its help, but sometimes I missed the support the Circle could provide, and without their funding, Mom and I worked full-time just to pay the bills. Mom worked in a rehabilitation center, a worthy employer that didn’t exactly make or pay a fortune. She enjoyed the work, but she couldn’t use her element in the open. Mom’s powers were useful, but people fear what they don’t understand.
So this was our life trying to be normal. I wasn’t sure why, but attacks on my mom were rare, while for me they were the most dependable thing I had in my life besides her.
“Any plans for the day?” Mom said, as the smell of French toast filled the room.
“No, I work tonight.”
“I know you feel it’s your responsibility, Chase, but you don’t have to take so many shifts. You have enough on your plate dealing with the Underworld without worrying about paying the bills.”
I grinned and gave her the reassuring words she always left with me. “Mom, we’re in this together. You and me, always.”
Her eyes welled up with tears and I wrapped my arms around her. She hugged me back and the calm feeling from my dream washed over me again.
“Mom?” I eyed the smoking frying pan. She didn’t answer. “Mom, I think you’re burning it.”
She jumped up, not wiping the single tear that trailed down her face, and attacked the frying pan with the spatula. Neither of us could help but laugh.
~~~~~~
Chapter 4
I’d had several jobs in the past year. This one I’d managed to keep for a few months. Most of my employers frowned on me coming to work with cuts and bruises all the time. It made for “poor presentation,” they’d say. I was thankful it hadn’t interfered with this job, yet.
I finished up my shift and had started my walk home from the burger joint when I felt it. A hunter doesn’t mistake the feeling that demons are around. It moves down your spine and chills your bones. Feeling it proved I was indeed a hunter, even without an element.
The August air was warm for the late hour, and a thick layer of sweat made my white shirt cling to me. I stopped and unzipped my duffle bag, locating the silver dagger inside. Silver was great no matter what you were fighting; it could do serious damage to anything of the Underworld.
The tingle shot down my spine again. If I focused, I could feel each hair on my neck rise. I saw a blur of movement across the street and watched it disappear into a shadowy alley. I moved across the street in a low crouch, resting my weight on the balls of my feet. I slowed my breathing and pulled the dagger from my bag before I slipped around the corner.
My senses were alive and strained to see movement, or hear the sound of feet shuffling against loose rocks. As a hunter, I could see well in the dark, though the only light came from a single flickering street lamp.
I was almost to the end of the alley when it hit. I couldn’t tell what “it” was, but it struck my back and launched me forward. My feet tumbled over my head and my back smashed hard into the concrete wall at the end of the alley. Hands grabbed me and lifted me to my feet, dragging me a few steps before throwing me back the other way. I flew through the air, hit the ground and rolled out into the street.
I used my momentum and came up on one knee to recover. My back burned where pavement had grated the skin off, but I pushed the pain aside as the figure stalked towards me.
“Your death will bring me great glory, hunter. Killing the son of Riley Williams will make me a legend among the Underworld,” the low voice gloated.
“That’s really great, good luck with that,” I said.
He smiled and the fangs that slid down from his gums were long and sharp. His pale skin started to thin as the vampire changed into his demon form.
Milky skin faded into transparent flesh, revealing the moving muscles beneath. Veins ran black through the vampire’s face and limbs, pushing against the thinning clear skin. Strange muscles in his hands pushed bony talons out over his finger nails, and the whites of his eyes disappeared, filling with an inky blackness. The dark orbs stared at me as his fanged mouth curled into a smile, and in a blur he sprang forward, talons swinging.
I ducked as they sliced through the air over my head. I brought the knife up into his stomach and twisted the blade before I pulled it out. Blood spilled onto the ground, but I knew the wound wasn’t enough to kill him. Cut off his head or pierce his black heart – those were my options. I could light him on fire, but I was fresh out of matches.
I brought my foot up and kicked the vampire back to give myself some room. I steadied myself, waiting for him to charge, but his body jerked and the point of a silver blade appeared in his chest before he could move.
The vamp’s body went limp
and collapsed, then exploded in a flash of orange light. It burned away into a cloud of ash and littered the pavement, revealing the girl – of all things – who had beaten me to the kill.
Raven hair spilled over her pale shoulders with hints of red highlighting the occasional strand. A tight leather top revealed a sliver of toned stomach and a tease of cleavage. Black pants hugged her hips and long slender legs and met knee-high boots. Her skin glistened in the light, but the most noticeable of her features were her eyes.
Bright green orbs sparkled with an odd glow: demon’s eyes. They had the slit pupils of a cat that I’d never seen on anything other than a house pet or a shifter in animal form. I slipped back into fight mode. I’d never watched one demon kill another, but I suppose for the fame of killing me, why not?
I lunged and threw a punch at her face, but she dodged it with ease.
“You almost messed up my kill,” she snarled, and I had barely enough time to dodge her powerful kick.
“Your kill? You stole it from me!” I swung my fist and hit her stomach. She bent over, winded, before she stepped back and caught her breath, regaining her stance and composure.
“Stole it? Please, I’d been tracking him for blocks.” She spun and caught my chin with the heel of her boot, snapping my head to the side. I rubbed my jaw where she’d hit me and smiled.
“Well then, I guess it’s a good thing I was here to slow him down. Who knows if you would have been able to catch him?”
She moved in for another kick but I was ready. I grabbed her foot and pushed her back. She fell to the ground but quickly came to her feet. “I would have gotten him just fine on my own. Hunting is an art. It would’ve gone on as long as I deemed necessary.”
“Call it hunting if you want, but a filthy demon killing her own kind is still just that: a filthy demon.” I could tell I’d offended her even before she hit me.
My eyes watered when her fist smashed into my nose and her foot connected with my stomach in quick succession. I jerked back to avoid the knee that flew towards my face and pushed it to the side, but she was already moving towards me. Her hands hit my chest hard and I soared through the air for a long moment before I hit the ground. I felt a sharp pain shoot up through my spine and I could hear her laughter as I struggled to my feet.
“I have to admit I expected more from you, Chase, being the infamous son of Riley Williams and all.”
I gripped my dagger until my knuckles turned white and spoke through gritted teeth. “I’ll try not to disappoint.”
My fist hit her jawbone and made a loud crack. I came back with my other hand and wrapped it around her throat. I stepped into the movement and threw her forward in a burst of hunter’s strength. She slammed into the ground but recovered faster than I anticipated. Before I could brace myself she was on top of me.
I pulled her body down and we rolled over each other against the cold concrete until I was on top. I kept a handful of her hair wound tight in my fist and pushed my blade against her throat. “More what you expected?”
“Not really.” She smirked.
I felt the point of a knife pushing against my stomach. Before I could react, a commanding male voice came from behind us.
“Enough!” it boomed.
I didn’t take the knife or my eyes off the demon beneath me.
“But we were just starting to have fun,” she complained. The smile on her face was anything but threatening. If this was her idea of fun, I didn’t want to know what she considered boring.
“Rayna, enough,” the man repeated.
She sighed, sticking out her bottom lip in a pout before the knife left my skin. “Truce?” she said with an innocent face.
“Not a chance,” I replied, pushing the knife harder against her throat.
I was pulled away from Rayna and pressed against a wall, thick hands around my throat. I raised my blade but my opponent blocked and twisted my arm at an awkward angle. The man ripped the blade from my hand and I squirmed.
“Calm down, Chase. We are not here to hurt you,” the voice said. A complete shadow hung around the figure, moving as he moved.
“So she attacked me for fun?” I snapped.
“If we wanted you dead, you would be,” he said, releasing his grip, and I fell to the sidewalk. He stepped back slowly and the shadow peeled itself from his body. As it faded, it revealed a large man whose magic I’d never sensed before.
“If you don’t want to kill me, what do you want?” I asked.
The man reached forward, a large dark arm holding out my dagger. I wrapped my hand around it in confusion. The contrast of our skin was drastic; my pale flesh glowed against his midnight color and the size of his hand alone made me feel small.
“What Rayna told you was true. We were tracking the vampire, not you. Although I’m happy to finally meet you, I’d imagined this moment under different circumstances,” he said.
“There are ways to meet people besides attacking them.”
“I agree. You must forgive us; Rayna is quick to lash out when insulted.” My eyes met his and I couldn’t read his expression. I knew I hadn’t been polite, but I wasn’t about to apologize to a demon. “You know, your father would not have hesitated to kill her, no matter his position.”
“Congratulations, you’ve discovered I’m not my father. What the hell would you know about him anyways?”
He turned his head to the side and as the light hit his neck it revealed a tattoo. It was the one every hunter received after their ceremony. The one I never got.
The tattoo made me realize why he could bend the shadows; he was an air elemental and a powerful one at that. I had heard stories of hunters being able to work with shadows, but I’d never seen it done firsthand.
I looked him over, not sure what to think of a hunter working with a demon. He was taller than me by an inch, around six-foot three. His head was smooth shaven, though there was a small patch of hair under his lower lip. His skin seemed like a smooth dark chocolate. His body was large and square, broad shoulders making him a massive column of strength and power. He filled out a sharp black suit jacket and wore black loafers, leaving the only color on him a flash of bright blue dress shirt.
“You’re a hunter.”
“Once upon a time, yes I was.”
He broke eye contact and cleared his throat, extending his massive hand towards me. “Look at my manners. Let me introduce myself. I am Marcus Starkraven.”
My eyebrows shot up; I knew that name! “You’re supposed to be dead.”
“Is that what you heard?”
“You used to hunt with my father.”
He nodded slightly, but otherwise ignored the comment. “You already met Rayna,” he said, taking his unshaken hand back.
I looked at Rayna and got caught in the depths of her green, slit eyes.
“What are you doing with a demon?” I said, spitting out the last word like a curse.
“How’s your nose?” Rayna asked.
I touched it and looked at the blood on my fingers. “Lucky shot.”
She chuckled and stepped towards me. “Care to go again?” Marcus put an arm in front of her.
“Not what we’re doing right now,” he said.
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“She is my student. And my friend.”
I couldn’t respond. I didn’t believe it. A hunter being friends with a demon was unfathomable.
“I would have thought, being out in the real world, you’d have come to understand, Chase. Some Underworlders don’t fit the Circle’s black and white image of good and evil,” he said.
“The only Underworlders I’ve come across have tried to kill me.”
“Your name is feared by many in the Underworld. Your father has created quite the reputation for himself, so they fear you as well,” Marcus said.
I smirked. “As they should.”
He shook his head. “That wasn’t a compliment. You will come to learn that the Circle is not pure good nor t
he Underworld all evil. There are those who belong to the Underworld, such as Rayna, who have no use for the needless killing you associate with demons. There are also those in the Circle whose intentions are not completely honorable. There is something of human frailty in all of us.”
“You can’t be Marcus Starkraven. He was a good man who believed in the Circle.”
“Did you ever meet this Marcus?” he asked.
Marcus had hunted with my father when I was little, but I’d never met him. I looked back to him and shook my head.
“Then do not presume to know what I was like. Now, as always, I still believe in the cause of protecting the innocent. As for the Circle, a person in your position shouldn’t be defending them after what they did to you.”
“What would you know about what happened to me?”
Marcus shrugged. “I know a great deal about you, and the Circle. The Circle is not all it’s made out to be, Chase. When I learned that, I found other ways of fighting the battle.” He looked at Rayna.
“And what are you, anyway?” I asked her. “I’ve never met a shifter that could change only their eyes.”
“Obviously you haven’t put much time into learning anything about Underworlders, except for how to kill them,” she said.
“There is more to Rayna than you see in her eyes. I wouldn’t suggest you presume anything about her either.”
“What…” I began, but Rayna cut me off.
“Hey boys, we’ll have to save twenty questions for later. We’re about to be very busy.”
Before I could ask, I felt the telltale shiver move down my spine. A silhouette atop one of the buildings caught my eye. I adjusted my grip on the dagger as two more figures joined the one on the roof. Together they leapt off the building, seeming to float to the ground, landing silently and with the utmost grace. Three more vampires emerged from the shadows behind us, their clear skin and descended fangs reflecting the dim moonlight.
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