New Age of Heroes 1: The League of Protectors - Dawn of a New Age

by Christian Green

  She laid the gun down on the floor, opening the chamber and checking the normal brass rounds. 'What had he been rambling about?' she thought to herself, picking herself off of the floor and dragging herself upstairs. “I hate Chicago,” she groaned, flinging herself onto her double bed. The purple sheets were soft and inviting, a welcome relief from the night. She was certainly calling off of work tomorrow.

  The next morning Charisma phoned her manager and stated quite clearly that she wouldn't be able to make it in the next day. Her head pounded with a massive headache, her body physically exhausted as well.

  After popping two Advil, she stripped down and curled up in her bed. The soft, cashmere blankets did little to calm her racing thoughts and fired nerves. All alone in her room, she let down her calm, tough attitude and sobbed silently into her pillow. When she finally fell asleep, her dreams were full of faceless shadowed men with glistening fangs, and a pair of eyes as crimson as the blood running through her veins.

  Heart beating fast as the woman raced through the alley. Blood dripped from her elbow as she scrapped them from her struggle. Someone was following her, she didn’t know who or why, but someone was indeed after her. The woman ran as far as she could, but it appeared that she had run into a dead end. Falling to the ground the woman sobbed as she realized she was trapped. Her stalker neared. The fear and blood did nothing but turn the stalker on even more. “Please, please don’t hurt me!”the woman screamed. Her stalker watched as the blood dripped. The feeling was exotic, watching the blood pour was such ecstasy. The stalker licked the blood as the woman screamed in fear. Grabbing the woman by the hair, the stalker yanked her head back revealing the woman’s neck. The stalker smiled as fangs flashed and buried themselves deep into the woman’s neck. The stalker looked up, catching its reflection from a nearby camera.

  Shivering in a pool of sweat, Charisma woke up realizing the stalker was her! Sitting up, Charisma cradled her head in her hands. Charisma rose to her feet and hopped in the shower, letting the warm water wash away the tension from the night before. As she toweled herself dry, she stood at her meek closet, trying to decide if dressing up would be a good idea. Settling middle of the road, she pulled on a frame fitting sundress the color of robin eggs.

  No sooner than she got dressed, her doorbell began ringing. The continued ringing was quite annoying. Whoever was at the door was determined to get her to answer. Charisma raced down the stairs to confront whoever was at her door.

  Charisma jerked the door open and shouted “What?”

  Two individuals looked at each other and then back to Charisma. “Hello Charisma, my name is Damian Kaine and this is my partner Sebastian Kane. We need to speak to you immediately; it’s a matter of life and death!” Charisma looked at the two suspiciously.

  Sebastian looked at his associate and rolled his eyes. Damian wasn't one for subtlety. “What my not so subtle friend here is trying to say is that if you don't mind, we'd like to discuss a difficult situation with you.”

  “Kaine?” she said ignoring Damian's dire words. The two individuals looked at each other and smiled.

  “Yes, perhaps you have heard of me,” Damian replied proudly.

  Sebastian chuckled, “I think she means the fact that we share the same last name. We're brothers, you can't see the family resemblance?” Sebastian said to Charisma smirking.

  Charisma immediately felt bad for looking at them strangely upon hearing their last names. The two looked at each other again and shared a laugh.

  “Gets them every time,” Sebastian said to Damian. The half blood nodded in agreement.

  “I have an I in Kaine, Sebastian here does not. It is an absolute coincidence that the two of us have the same last name, it's just not spelled the same,” Damian said, clarifying things for the young woman.

  “Now that we have solved that little issue, again I repeat, we must speak with you immediately on this most urgent matter,” Damian said.

  Interesting choice of words Charisma thought to herself, “What do you mean a matter of life or death?”

  Sebastian looked towards Damian to respond. “We know you had a visitor last night. Trust us, that's not someone you want to get involved with.”

  Cautiously, Charisma moved aside and let her two visitors inside. “This had better give me some insight,” she mumbled to herself. A few seconds of silence followed before Damian finally spoke.

  “I know these past few days have been incredibly stressful for you, but we need to make our case. We know Max wants you to visit his boss. He probably made some statements that sounded intriguing.”

  “But it's really not,” Sebastian interrupted.

  Damian cast him an agitated look as he continued. “We've been after Max's boss for decades now.”

  Charisma narrowed her eyes, “Decades? What... what are you guys? Vampires or something?” She said not truly believing that to be the case.

  “Well correction, Damian has been after him for decades, well actually a little over a century now, I’ve only been after them for the past seven years!” Sebastian explained.

  Charisma’s eyes grew big, “Over a century, that would most certainly make Damian a vampire.”

  Damian cast Sebastian a wicked look. His hazel eyes were normally fascinating to stare at, but there were times his eyes seemed like daggers piercing through a person’s soul.

  “What happened to easing her into it?” he mumbled.

  Sebastian shrugged, “We don’t have time for that.”

  Charisma clapped her hands to get the visitors attention.

  “Hello guys? I’m right here! what’s going on?”

  Sebastian invited himself to Charisma’s couch. Charisma looked to Damian and the two followed suit.

  “Who are you guys? she asked impatiently.

  “We are the P.h.d, the paranormal unit of G.U.A.R.D.” Damian answered.

  Charisma rolled her eyes. “The P.h.d of the G. U what? What in the world are you talking about?”

  Sebastian and Damian looked at one another and smiled.

  “The P.h.d stands for Paranormal Hunters Defense and G.U.A.R.D stands for Government Units Against Radical Danger. It is our job to stop any and all threats to mankind. You might've seen on the news recently that group known as The League of Protectors. Working with them was G.U.A.R.D, we are a branch from that department. While G.U.A.R.D mostly deals with Post Human threats, we deal with the paranormal and supernatural ones.” Sebastian explained.

  Charisma rolled her eyes, knowing full well that she was in the middle of a power struggle. “Oh, that's lovely... this whole thing is just peachy. And what if I refuse, then what?”

  Damian looked at her seriously, “Then we exterminate you before you become a threat as well.”

  Sebastian's eyes grew big, “Brother, can we not threaten to exterminate the most valuable person we've been in contact with in years?”

  “Yeah, let's not exterminate the P.V.W!” Charisma added. Damian and Sebastian looked at each other confused. They had never heard the acronym P.V.W before.

  “What is a P.V.W?” Damian asked with genuine intrigue.

  “Pretty valuable woman!” Charisma replied.

  Sebastian chuckled loudly, Damian did not find her sense of humor nearly as amusing. Charisma shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. She wondered how these members of the P.h.d. would react if she said yes to them. Take her into protective custody?

  “You are special, and you don’t even realize, just how special you truly are. You have a gift, and because of that gift, you cannot be turned by a vampire unless you give your consent.” Damian said.

  Charisma looked towards Sebastian who examined her expression and body language. “Gift, what do you mean gift? What am I able to do?”

  “It runs in your blood,” Damian said, walking over to her. “Your mother had it as well, ever think that her death may not have been an accident? She messed with the wrong crowd Charisma. Said no to a vampire who didn't take kindly t
o being refused.”

  Sebastian sighed heavily. This was one of those drawbacks to Damian's personality. For all his positives, socializing with humans wasn't one of them. He found it very difficult to interact acceptably with humans if the human wasn't someone who knew about vampires and demons.

  Charisma sank back against the sofa, the words striking home with her. “Leave,” she said in a weak voice.

  “But…” Damian began to say but Sebastian interrupted him from finishing his thought.

  “It’s cool D, I’ll take it from here.”

  Damian gave Charisma a pleading look as he headed towards the door. He began to say something, but thought better of it. Damian exited the house leaving Sebastian as the P.h.d’s best chance to convince Charisma to help them.

  “I know this is all overwhelming, believe me I understand. When I first learned vampires existed I was absolutely terrified,” Sebastian said.

  Charisma listened to him carefully as he spoke. “Seven years ago I was a regular nobody. I was living that middle class American life. Paying bills, dating, working, you know the routine. Didn’t realize there was another world out there until the day a Possessor demon attacked me.”

  Charisma raised her eyebrow “Possessor demon?”

  Sebastian smirked. “Yeah, it’s exactly how it sounds. A Possessor demon is simply a demon that possesses the body and mind of a human. Had it not been for the P.h.d, I wouldn’t be standing here today.”

  “Was the demon coming specifically for you?” Charisma asked.

  Sebastian nodded.

  “Why?”

  There was a pause, followed by a heavy sigh, “The demon wanted me dead because of my last name. He mistakenly took me to be Damian Kaine and wanted to get the drop on me.”

  Charisma could not believe all she was hearing. “How could this demon mistake you two? Damian's all dark and handsome and what not and you're...”

  Sebastian's eyes got big, “Well gee thanks!” He said semi serious.

  Charisma gave a cute little smile, “I didn't mean it like that. I just meant he's black and you're white. Can't get much more opposite than that.”

  Sebastian nodded in understanding. “The demon didn't know much about Damian. All he knew was that Damian was a major hunter that killed vampires and other demons alike. So when he came to my town and heard that Kaine hunted here, he assumed I was Damian.”

  Charisma was finding all this to be overwhelming. Two days ago she was just this average girl trying to make it in the big city, and now she was learning about Vampires, Demons, secret societies, the information was a lot to handle!

  “Apparently I come from a long line of hunters. Some would say being a hunter is in my blood. Unfortunately that doesn't give me any super powers or anything, but yeah I found some journals my dad and his dad before him had about hunting. I don't think my dad wanted this life for me, that's why he never told me about it. Damian saved me from that Possessor demon. When I told him my name he asked me if Henry Kane was my father, I told him yes. That is when Damian handed me my father's journal and explained everything to me.”

  Charisma smiled, she liked what she was hearing. Sebastian spoke to her in a way in which she could relate. She felt comforted knowing that he was human. “Why is it so important that I don't join this other side?”

  There was a gulp in Sebastian’s voice as he spoke clearly and carefully. “If you join Max's boss Michael, then u will shift the balance between the Forces of Light and the Forces of Dark.”

  “The forces of Light and Dark?” Charisma asked, now thoroughly confused.

  “I know, the whole idea is overwhelming, but hear me out... Someone with your gift works as a balance between the two sides. Your will is stronger than the pull of both of them.”

  “Why is this vampire such a threat to you?” Charisma asked, leaning forwards.

  "He’s extremely old and powerful.”

  “Isn’t Damian old and powerful too? Don’t your agents deal specifically with hunting demons of all kind?”

  Sebastian nodded. Charisma was correct with her assumptions on who the agents hunted, but what she didn’t realize was just how powerful immortal vampires were.

  “See, here’s the thing, Michael is a full blooded vampire and the son of the very first vampire. There is hardly any vampire, demon, hunter, slayer, whatever that can defeat Michael.” Charisma seemed even more confused now. If Michael was so tough, what could she possibly do against him? “You're a smart girl,” he continued. “You are incredibly important to him, like it or not. And no, I don't mean romantically. You are the key to winning this dispute with Damian once and for all. But here's the thing,” he leaned forward, getting very excited.

  “You can lure him in. Find his weaknesses. Play along, but whatever you do, DON'T let him turn you.”

  Charisma felt a thick lump of fear in her stomach. Trick a vampire? That seemed impossible. Still, she was now thrown into the middle of a civil war between people that could crush the life out of her in a heartbeat. What choice did she have?

  “What do you need me to do?” she asked eyes strong.

  Sebastian’s eyes grew wide; another successful persuasion! “Go to Michael and appear indecisive. This shouldn’t be too hard for you to do. When he asked if you have made your decision, tell him you are not quite ready to turn. He’ll be quite pissed, but he won’t kill you. Tell him instead you would like to become a familiar.”

  Charisma’s eyebrow rose, “A familiar?”

  Sebastian nodded. “Yes, a familiar.”

  Charisma rolled her eyes as she wasn’t hoping to hear more of the paranormal terminology or mythology. “Okay Sebastian, what is a familiar?”

  “A familiar is someone who serves a master vamp. You will gain strength, agility, and other small advantages without becoming a vampire.”

  Charisma was quite intrigued; this seemed like a good idea for a bad situation. “How does it work?”

  “It's pretty much the step before becoming a vampire... You let him bite you, but don't exchange the blood, its fairly simple. Charisma frowned, unsettled.

  “Was Max a familiar as well? "How do I keep from becoming his little lackey then, huh?" she asked, arching an eyebrow.

  Sebastian grinned. “Well, that part is up to you.”

  “I can answer that!” Damian said busting through the door. Charisma jumped, slightly startled. “Huh, you could hear us?” Sebastian and Damian both let out a chuckle. “He’s a vampire; he’s got that super hearing thing going for him!” Sebastian responded in a teasing voice.

  Charisma felt like a idiot for being so clueless. “So tell me, how can I keep myself from becoming his lackey?” Charisma waited impatiently for Damian to respond.

  “Your will,” Damian said simply. “Your gift. Remember who you are, and that's who you'll be.”

  Charisma looked down, mulling this new bit of information over.

  If that was all... She glanced up, eyes darting between Damian and Sebastian. "So when do you want this all to go down?" she asked, fiddling with the hem of her dress. 'Please... Not too soon,' she thought to herself.

  “It needs to happen tonight when he asks you for your decision. Tell him you did research and you know about familiars. Tell him that you want to be a familiar first, and then become a vampire. He will have no choice but to accept it, because you are too important to just let walk away, and he can’t kill you.”

  Sebastian quickly jerked his head, he was surprised Damian revealed that bit of information to her. He feared if Charisma knew too much, it could cause more harm than good. Nonetheless, it was too late now, Damian had revealed a huge bit of information, and Sebastian knew Charisma would ask a thousands questions until she got an answer.

  “What do you mean he can’t kill me? He told me he would!”

  “Because... killing you would mean his own downfall,” Damian said. The look in his eyes showed that he wouldn't elaborate further. Charisma sighed, rubbing her temples.

/>   “Are you guys going to follow me there? Or am I going it alone?" They shook their heads simultaneously. “Nope,” Sebastian said, shrugging. “He'll pick up on our scent. I'll hail you a cab though!”

  Charisma smacked her forehead. “Wow... thanks guys. Really.”

  “No, thank you,” Damian said, straight faced. Damian and Sebastian escorted themselves out of Charisma’s house, giving the young woman a lot to think about.