My mind was reeling from everything I’d just been told. The idea that my mother had willingly submitted to bear the child of a demon was ridiculous. I mean, what did that mean? Why would she agree to such a thing? Did it have something to do with the vampire that had killed them?

“You might want to get changed,” Jo was saying and I shook my head to clear it of the bothersome thoughts and tried to focus on her words.

“Changed, why?”

She glanced at Marie before looking back to me. “I just said, we’ve got a hunt and you’re coming with us.”

“A hunt?”

“Vampire,” Patrik said with a wolfish grin. “Should be fun.”

“Wait, what? Why am I going?”

“Best way to see what you can do is to get out there,” Jo said. “You’ll either use your gifts when needed or you’ll die.”

“Die!”

“Stop scaring the poor girl,” Marie said. She made a clucking sound with her tongue as she shook her head and rose from the sofa. “Come on dear, let’s get you ready.”

I allowed her to pull me up from the sofa and lead me through the house to a back room that was packed full of cardboard boxed and suitcases. She left me beside the door as she crossed to a blue suitcase and lifted it onto a stack of boxes before opening it.

“What is this?” I asked and she glanced back at me over her shoulder.

“This? Well, our business gets messy sometimes,” she said. “Blood and other substances can be a nightmare to remove from your clothes and often it's easier to replace damaged and stained items than it is to repair them.”

“Really,” I said weakly. It wasn’t painting a confidence inspiring picture of what they did.

“Oh yes dear,” she said as she went back to pulling out items of clothing. “We tend to buy items in bulk from fire sales, shops that go out of business and the like.”

She turned to me and passed over a small pile of clothing. “Try these on.”

I looked around for somewhere to change in private but there wasn’t anywhere and she didn’t look like she had any intention of leaving the room. She turned her back to me at least and began sorting the items in the case.

With a quick glance through the doorway to make sure no one else was coming, I set down the pile of clothes and pulled out a black t-shirt and jeans that seemed like they’d fit.

Heat coloured my cheeks as I removed my shirt and trousers, standing in just my underwear as Marie turned back around. My arms folded over my chest but her eyes moved over my scars, seemingly drawn to it.

“Get dressed dear,” she said calmly and smiled, though I noticed the muscle in her jaw twitched and her eyes narrowed.

I quickly pulled the jeans on and then the t-shirt. Pulling it down over my head to cover my scars from view. It was a little tight, but not so much that it was uncomfortable or hindered my arm movements.

She gestured for me to follow her as she moved along the hallway and through the kitchen, down some stairs into the cellar. Much to my surprise, it was neat, clean and absent of the spider's webs you’d usually find there. It also held a staggering array of weaponry attached to racks on the walls.

Jo and Patrik were already there waiting at one end of the room beside the masculine torso made of wood that I guessed served as a training dummy. It was fixed atop a wide based stand and had neither arms nor detailed features.

“Choose a knife,” Jo said with a wave at a rack on the wall beside her. “All the blades are silver. Find one which feels right for you.”

“Feels right?”

“Not too heavy, something you can carry without it being noticed,” she said with a sideways glance at the heavy axe that Patrik still held. He just grinned as she continued, “ideally a blade you’ll be comfortable fighting with.”

“Oh,” I said as I ran my eyes over the rack.

Feeling as though something more was expected of me, I crossed the room and licked my lips nervously before I reached out and picked one of the weapons up. No pain or burning sensation as I picked it up by the handle, careful to avoid the silver.

It was clearly meant for a man. The wide blade was nearly two foot long and I could barely fit my hand around the thick handle. Besides which, the grunt I gave as I picked it up was enough to tell me it was far too heavy for me.

The next had a slim, curved blade about ten inches long. It was sharpened only along one edge and looked like the carving knife someone would use to cut their meat. Not for me.

When I picked up the third blade it immediately felt right in my hand. My fingers curled around the leather wrapped handle as I held it. The blade was twelve inches long and an inch wide at the base, it tapered to a fine point and was wickedly sharp. It had a cross-guard to protect the hand that was slightly wider than the hilt and a heavy rounded pommel to balance the blade.

It felt natural in my hand and I could use it to stab or slash at anything that came too close. I turned to the others and held it up for them. “This one,” I said and Jo nodded.

Stolen story; please report.

“Good choice. Now you need to learn to use it.”

“For Shadowborn,” Patrik said. “Our powers are our first weapon, but good to have a fall back too.”

“What limits do our powers have?” I asked as Jo directed me to stand before the dummy.

“They use up a lot of energy,” the big man said as he rubbed his belly. “Means we get to eat lots of food.”

“Always thinking of your stomach,” Jo muttered as she waved him to silence. She pointed to the dummy and said, “this is the heart. Aim for that first. Next is neck or eyes. The silver will burn most supernaturals.”

“Not us though,” Patrik said and winked at me.

“It doesn’t hurt us?” I asked as I remembered the night two weeks ago when Abe had touched me with the silver blade and the subsequent pain.

“Nah,” he said. “We’re too human and the things that wouldn’t kill most supernatural creatures will kill us.”

“Oh.”

Marie caught my look and gave her head a shake. Barely moving it, just enough for me to know that she was aware of what had happened and to let me know not to bring it up. Good advice. The last thing I wanted was to alienate these fearsome people.

Jo crossed over to the rack where I had picked up the knife and grabbed a leather sheath. She brought it over and slid it onto the blade before grabbing my arms and turning me to face her.

“Feet slightly apart,” she instructed and grunted each time I moved until I had them far enough apart for her. “You’re slim, but you still want to present less of a target so turn your body sideways to your opponent whenever possible.”

“Good,” she said as I did as instructed. She grabbed my right arm lifted it towards her. “When you draw your blade, best to start with a forward grip until you’re used to it. Make sure your fingers are wrapped completely around the hilt and that the blade is pointed straight up towards the sky.”

I followed her directions and she nodded curtly. “Good, wrap your thumb around the grip so that you secure the knife in your hand. Yes, like that.”

“Feels strange.”

“You’ll get used to it. Most important thing to remember is to keep your body behind your knife.”

“What do you mean?”

“Your knife is primarily a defensive tool for you, protecting your face, neck, and torso from your attacker. Bring your shoulder in and duck your head a little, keep your knife arm extended at about forty-five degrees.”

“This feels really awkward,” I said as I assumed the position as instructed.

“Might be awkward but it’ll save your life too,” Jo said. “Most of our attackers will have knives or claws of their own.”

“Why not guns?”

“Make too much noise and you usually need permits to get them which means having ID,” Marie said from behind me. “Most of the monsters you meet won’t have them.”

“Do you use guns?” I asked but Jo shook her head.

“No. Most of the time we’re in a city and all firing a gun will do is hit someone innocent or draw the attention of the police. We aren’t exactly government sanctioned, so we need to avoid that sort of notice.”

She pulled a sheathed knife of her own from behind her belt and assumed the position before me, her sheathed blade extended. “Try and hit me,” she said.

I thrust the blade towards her but without pause and barely moving her arm, she knocked my own blade to one side before lunging forward and jabbing me between the ribs. I yelped and stepped back.

“Try again,” she instructed and I took my place again, rubbing at the sore spot she had made.

Patrik laughed as my next swipe was deflected and I received another jab, then another and another. On the fifth attempt, I feinted, aiming a thrust at her but pulling back at the last moment to allow her knife to flash past the end of mine. With a crow of pleasure, I lunged forward only for her to sway to the side, her left hand flashing out to strike me on the jaw.

“What the hell!”

“Keep moving,” Jo said. “Always keep moving, watch them as much as their blade and always keep control of the fight.”

“Right,” I muttered as I rubbed at my jaw.

“A good start,” Marie said. “Perhaps we should focus on her other powers for now.”

“My turn then,” Patrik said with a grin as he turned me back towards him. “You angry, yes?”

“A little,” I admitted and he nodded, his eyes narrowing.

“This is good, but you need more than a little the first few times.”

The back of his hand caused a ringing in my ears and spun me around before I fell to the floor, the coppery taste of blood in my mouth. A hand grabbed the back of my shirt and I was lifted effortlessly back to my feet.

“That hurt?” he asked and I nodded, fear filling me as memories of being beaten came back to me, dredged up like silt from the river bed when you toss in a stone. “Good,” he said before he hit me again.

I rolled over, not quite sure how I’d ended up on the floor and pushed myself to my knees. His foot caught me below my ribs and pain shot through me.

“You cry?” he mocked and I shook my head. “You angry yet?”

“Yes,” I said, a single word that held all of my pain and fury.

“Then do something,” he snapped. “Stop me from hitting you.”

That helpless feeling, that whimpering fear that wanted me to weep, to beg him to stop. That was something I’d felt far too many times before in my life. It was something I never, ever, wanted to feel again.

I looked up at him as the lights in the cellar flickered and dimmed, darkness moving through me, seeping out of my pores, so cover me in a thin veil of shadow. Something glimmered in his eyes and he glanced at Marie who nodded and waved him on.

He stepped towards me, hand curled into a fist and raised, ready to strike down. I looked up and caught his eye as I thrust out my arm and tendrils of shadow surged towards him, wrapping around him like the fist of angry god, copying the motion of my own hand.

I raised my arm and he gave out a yell as he was lifted from his feet and I swung my arm, a sharp gesture to the left and he collided with the cellar wall, thrown with enough force to rattle the weapons in their racks.

“Enough!” Marie said as I rose to my feet. Her voice was firm, used to being listened to and Jo had her knife free of its sheath.

A shudder ran through me as I desperately tried to rein in that rage that filled me. I forced open my fist and the shadowed tendrils released their grip on Patrik, flowing back to veil me once more. With a monumental effort of will, I closed my eyes and clenched my jaw as I breathed in, then out.

Calm, keep calm, c’mon you can do it. Repeated over and over in my mind as I focused on my breathing and then I felt it. The shadows that wreathed me sinking back into my skin and fading from view. They were still there though, just beneath the surface, waiting to be released and eager to do my bidding. Almost alive in a way.

“I’ve never seen that!” Jo said and I could hear the shock in her voice. “What the hell was it?”

“That. That, was a true Shadowborn,” Marie said as I opened my eyes. “How do you feel dear?”

“Oh god!” I said as I rushed over to Patrik who blinked blearily at me. “Are you okay?”

“Is good,” he said. “All good.”

He placed one large hand against the floor and tried to push himself up, wavering slightly as he said, “maybe not so good.”

“I’m sorry,” I told him as I put one arm that seemed as wide as my waist, over my shoulders and heaved.

He grabbed the bottom of a weapons rack and with my aid, made it to his feet. I could tell he was trying hard not to rest too much of his weight on me. “It’s okay,” he said and managed a grin. “I hit you first.”

“Well we’ve had a glimpse of your gifts,” Marie said and as I looked at her, I could see that though she concealed it, she was full of glee at what she had seen. “You will be a formidable weapon in our fight against the monsters of this world my dear.”

“And if I don’t want to fight?” I snapped. “Look at what I just did to him.”

“If you don’t fight with us, we’ll have to hunt you,” Jo said with a finality that brought the fear rushing back.