The Legend Of The Hunters

           Hundreds of years ago, tales were told of the woman that lived at the top of the highest mountain. Many said that she was an ugly beast that fled to the mountains to live in obscurity. Others say that she was a widow, who after her love died, left with her broken heart to the top of the mountain to die, but the most told tale of the woman who lived on the mountain, was that she was a witch. Strong and powerful, she was said to possess magic that could bring armies to their knees, while some whispered she had the sight to see the days to come.

Day became night as an eclipse turned the world dark, engulfing villages and its people in darkness. When the lights on the world were turned back on, villages that were once home to farms and families had been turned to rubble and ash, as horrible and inhumane creatures appeared from the darkness leaving carnage in their wake, only to vanish before dawn touched the sky. Night after night, the massacres continued, as the creatures from the darkness destroyed village after village. Torturing, raping, killing, leaving nothing but the dead bodies of their toys behind. 

Avan, was barely fifteen when they came to his village in the dead of night. He and his family were asleep in their beds when their home was set on fire, with all of them still inside. When morning came, Avan, was the only survivor of the bloodbath that fell over his village. He walked the dirt roads where he once played as a child with his friends, now littered with dead bodies and broken pieces of people he once knew. All his loved ones, everyone who he'd ever cared about were now dead, as the monsters of the night took them from him. 

As he fell to his knees in tears of loss, surrounded by the death and destruction left, the hooded figure of a woman came walking out of the ruins towards him. He had lived in his village all his life and never had he seen the face of the young woman, as she revealed herself. Hair as black as night, that glimmered from purple to  blue when touched by the sun, like the wings of a raven, skin pale and flawless and eyes of an impossible green that reminded him of the leaves in the spring.

“Were you sent from heaven to save me from this, angel?” he asked the beautiful stranger as she came to stand in front of him.

“No boy, I'm no angel. But I have the power to help you defeat the monsters that did this to you and your people.” She said to him in a soft voice that held an undertone of pure steel and determination.

“If you have the power to stop them, then why didn't you?” Avan, asked with anger.

“By the laws that bind my power, I cannot intervene. This is not my fight, but it is yours. Ask for my help and I will show you how to stop them, kill them and send these demons back to the pits of hell from which they came.” 

“Demons.” He said the word, finally able to put a name to the savage beasts, that ravaged his village like hungry animals.

“But you need to be sure that this is what you want, for once this path is chosen there is no going back.” She told him, a fierce warning in her words.

“I will do whatever it takes to rid the land of these demons. To spare at least one person my sorrow.” He said to her, strong resolve in his voice.

Kneeling beside, Avan, she reached under her cloak and pulled out a sword. Broad and the length of his arm, it was solid steel with symbols, that spoke of ancient language, craved deep into the metal from hilt to tip. 

“What is it?” he asked as she held it out towards him.

“The weapon that can kill them, but they are strong and many.”

Leaning forward she closed the distance between them and kissed him. As her lips touched his he felt a sudden jolt race through his entire body.

“I don't understand” he said as she broke the kiss, the remnants of  it still lingering through him. 

“The essence, the magic that  flows through my veins, now flows through yours. It will help protect you and give you the strength you need for the battle you will soon face.” “But with magic, everything comes at a price, for every blessing there is a curse.” Looking at him, he saw regret flash across her face as she said, “I am sorry that such a heavy burden is placed upon shoulders so young, but it must be done."

“I accept my fate and the path that I have chosen, witch.” Avan, said to her, as he realized the truth of the woman before him. That the beautiful stranger was the witch that lived in the mountains.

With a small smile, she confirmed his contentions. “Follow the trail of blood and destruction they leave behind, it will lead you to them. Be careful, do not let fear stop you from doing what must be done.”

As she handed him the sword she bid him farewell.  “Go, Avan, warrior born from my blood. Hunt the evil lurking in the darkness.”

Chapter 4

           “Lucas!” Daniel said through clenched teeth as he glared back at  him.

           

            “She deserves answers Dani, and if you're not gonna give them to her, then I will!” Lucas said to Daniel in a raised voice.         

                                                                                 

“We don't know her, Lucas! She might be Marcus' granddaughter, but I have no idea what the hell happened in that house-” Daniel began to argue.       

                                     

“Marcus saved your life Dani!” Lucas shouted. “And if he really is dead, then the least you could do for him is answer her questions.”

“So that's it? That's how you know my gramps?” I asked Daniel.

Turning from Lucas he stood to face me, though clenched teeth he answered. “Marcus didn't just save my life, he helped me find out about who I am. Let's go, we can finish this conversation at the cottage.”

 Turning and heading out of the tree line, I followed Daniel as he began to walk downstream, back in the direction we first came. Walking a couple paces behind I could see Lucas from my peripheral vision as he kept stride beside me. 

“Thank you.” I told him “For trying to get him to talk to me.”

 Giving me a small smile, that I'm sure made many a girl's heart flutter, “No worries. But seeing as I just got into it with my best friend in a vain attempt to try and help you……….I think it's only fair that one good deed deserves another.”  He replied in a conceited tone that immediately made me stop walking.

 Stopping a few paces ahead of me, he turned to give me another one of his weak kneed smiles. Glaring at him I asked “And what, would this good deed in return be?”

Closing the distance between us with two steps, Lucas looked down into my eyes as he answered, “Oh I don't know, guess we'll find out together.” Stepping aside he waited for me to continue walking, taking his place next to me.

 Figuring there were better ways to kill the 20 minute walk back to the cottage than dead silence, I looked over at Lucas. “Go ahead, just ask me.” He said without even sparing me a glance. 

“How come you don't have a problem answering my questions?”     

                          

“Unlike stone wall over there” he said to me gesturing in Daniel's direction as he walked in front of us. “I don't really see any harm in telling you what you want to know.” He answered.

“Thank you. You said you two were hunters? What does that mean?” I asked, hoping to get some actual answers. 

“Well, hunters fight the bad stuff. We hunt and kill the things that go bump in the night.” He answered in a tone that told me it was no lie.

“The things that go bump in the night?” I asked, blinking back the vision of the creature I glimpsed through the incineration of my house. “What kind of things?”

“Demons” he answered with no amusement. 

“Demons? Like the bible, straight from hell, kind of demons?” 

“Pretty much.”

Stopping in my tracks I closed my eyes and tried to calm myself as my breathing began to speed up. Taking deep breaths I tried to stop myself from having a panic attack. When I was younger I would get them, when I was too excited or scared, my chest would start to burn like it was on fire, breathing would become harder and everything would just go black. It was always okay though, because my gramps would always be there when I woke up, reassuring  me that everything was fine and that I wasn't dying or anything. 

“Hey. You alright?” I heard Lucas ask.

“Yeah. I'm fine, Just give me a second to process all of this.” I answered as I finally began to get my breathing under control.

“Well, were here.” Lucas said tilting his chin towards the old cottage.

“So this is your home? Where the two of you live?”

“Actually, this is your gramps place. Dani came down to Troian because of Marcus, so he let him stay here for a while.” 

“And none of that seemed questionable to you?” I asked a little confused.

“Hey, when the legend that is, Marcus Latro, asks you to do something, you do it. No questions asked.” He defended.

“Why would my gramps ask you guys to stay here?” I asked Lucas as we followed Daniel inside “And what do you mean legend?”

Walking through the cottage door, I stepped into a fairly sized room. The wall directly facing the door was the only source of light, as the moonlight peeked through the window's dusty pane. To my left was a small stone fireplace, tucked neatly into the corner at the back of the room, with an old ratty brown couch sitting in front of it, facing the open fire. On the right, in the middle of the wall was a closed door that I assumed would lead to a bedroom, or maybe it was wishful thinking.

           Not knowing exactly what to do now, I stood aside as Lucas entered behind me. “You should go sit by the fire, warm yourself up a bit.” Lucas said, nudging me with his shoulder in the direction of the fire.

Hesitantly I crossed the room and sat in the middle of the couch, bracing my elbows on my knees. I just sat there, looking at the embers stir as the fire's flames danced with lethargic grace. I was so enthralled by the fire, that I barely noticed Lucas sitting next to me until he grabbed my hand. Jerking back in surprise, I turned to him. 

“Sorry. Dani went to get some more wood for the fire, he wanted me to check and see if any of your burns were serious.” Lucas said as he reached for my hand again. 

“I'm fine. My skin feels a bit raw, but the waterfall's cool water helped a lot. It feels better now, thanks.”

“Are you sure? cause Dani said you were in that house a while before he found you and pulled you out. ” He said as he gave me a once over, probably looking for burns. 

Not wanting to have to talk about the fire and what I saw, I leaned back on the couch “Lucas, what did you mean when you said my gramps was a legend?” 

Chapter 3

          Wiping the tear stains from my face, I dunked my head beneath the falls cool water. Opening my eyes underwater I could barely see anything, feel nothing but the water as it seeped into my skin. Feeling my lungs begin to protest I lifted my head out of the water. As I passed my hand across my face to clear my vision, I caught a glimpse of something from the corner of my eye. Seconds later I felt a warm hand touch my shoulder, again. There was no hesitation, as all the sparring sessions and self - defense training my grandfather taught me sprang to the surface. Instincts took over as I turned to face the owner of the hand, thrusting the heel of my palm upward into his nose.

        "What.The.Fuck!!" he yelled out as he leaned forward covering his nose. "Are you crazy? You could have broken my nose!" he screamed at me as I stepped back a couple of paces.

        "Your nose is fine and it serves you right for sneaking up on people." I said without the least bit of sympathy for him.  

“Hey I wasn't sneaking! I was just taking a dip, if anything I was here first!” he started to argue. It was dark, if it wasn't for his deep raspy voice I would have thought I was talking to a 10 year old. I couldn't help it, a small laugh escaped me as I asked “Seriously?” Finally the moonlight peeped out behind cloud cover, to help give me a look at him. He was chest deep in the water, letting go of his nose I could see his eyes as he looked at me, clear and grey. His hair, sodden with water appeared ink black as it brushed his thickly stubbled chin. 

        Remembering, that even though the night was dark and we were both hidden by the depth of the water, I was still naked. I Crossed my arms over my chest beneath the water, I started making my way to the boulder where I stashed my clothes when I heard my name.

            “October!” both me and the dark haired guy turned toward the banks as the torchlight shone down on me. “October, what the hell? You've been gone almost an hour, and I heard a scream”

         Raising my hand to shield my eyes from the light, I finally saw that it was Daniel. “Sorry,” I told him in a small voice. “I didn't mean to take so long.”

            “Scream? I don't scream. Girls scream. I was just……caught off guard.” The dark haired boy said to, Daniel, as he wadded out into the light. A knowing pause filled the silence as Daniel and the dark haired boy looked at each other. “Lucas? Of course.” Daniel said with a sigh as his eyes shifted from my face back to  Lucas'.

            “I should have guessed this one huh? Lucas Knight can smell a pretty girl from a mile away.” He threw at  Lucas with a grin stretching across his face. Rising out of the water and making his way towards, Daniel on the banks. I got a full view of Lucas' broad back, as he leaned down to pick up a back pack he must have hidden somewhere along the banks. When Lucas finally reached him, they did that clasp hands, half hug thing that guys do.

            “Hey Dani, it's been a while.” I could hear Lucas say to Daniel as they parted. 

           “Yeah, it has. Thought you were going to be gone a couple more weeks though?” Daniel asked him.

           “I was, but things kinda wrapped up early. So you know that crazy chick back there?” Lucas asked Daniel.

           Having had enough of watching a rekindling bromance, I interrupted their conversation. Clearing my throat loud enough to catch both boys attention, I just looked at them as they stared blankly back. Apparently living with my gramps all my life, hadn't prepared me for how dense boys could be. Securing my crossed arms under my arm pits under the dark water I told them to turn around so I could get my clothes. 

“Oh, crap. Sorry” Daniel said to me as he grabbed  Lucas' arm and led him a little way from the falls. The light of the flashlight helped me keep an eye on them as I made my way to the boulder where I left my clothes. Having nothing to dry myself, I shouted in the boy's direction “Did either of you bring a towel?” as I knelt down, to gather my clothes with my wet hands.

I felt something soft hit my head a couple seconds later, looking behind me where it landed on the ground I picked up the large white towel. Throwing a thank you in the boy's direction, I could barely make out there shadowed figures as I heard their low chuckling. Using the towel to dry myself, I threw on Daniel's two sizes to big, black t shirt and pair of plaid boxers, which felt a little too tight. I gathered my old clothes and balled them up as I slipped my feet into my shoes and made my way towards Daniel and Lucas.

“So that's her? The granddaughter? What's she doing here?” I overheard a full dressed Lucas ask Daniel as I approached them from behind. “I don't know what happened man. Marcus, he- ” Daniel began to reply before I cut him off.

“I think it's time you started talking.” I said to theirs backs, waiting for them to turn around. They both just stood there for a while, frozen, before turning to face me. When they did, they both had weird looks on their faces. “How long have you been standing there?” Daniel asked a look of uncertainty in his eyes. “Long enough.” I answered. 

“We didn't hear you walk up.” Lucas added as he and Daniel, both sneaked a glanced at each other.

“Who are you two? What happened back at my house? How do you even know my gramps?” I demanded, feeling my patience for answers wearing thin.

“Let's go back to the cottage and we'll-” Daniel started. 

“No! The only reason I'm still here, is because you promised me answers. Tell me what I want to know or I'm gone” I said to Daniel.

“Gone?” Daniel asked as he walked towards me. “And where will you go?” he asked. “Back to the pile of ash, that used to be your home? Or back to your dead grandfather, who was the only living relative you had?” he answered his own question as he stood face to face with me. 

                           He's right. There's nothing to go back to.

I thought. Looking straight into his eyes so dark they almost seemed black. I felt my nails dig into my palm as I clenched my fists, trying to keep hold of my emotions. Just like gramps taught me. Face impassive, I heard no emotion in my voice as I looked Daniel straight in the eye

“Thank you, for all your help.” I said to him as I turned to walk away. 

“We're hunters.” Stopping mid step, I turned back. Looking at Lucas unable to hide my confusion, I asked "Hunters? What does that mean?”