A room illuminated by a single candle awaited them as they stepped out of the darkness; Sunny cast a curious gaze over the room. Books and clothes were strewn across the room haphazardly giving the place a ‘lived in’ feeling; Chen walked toward the only bookshelf in the room and ran his hand along a row of books, his fingers traced along their covers before stopping at a book indistinguishable from the rest.

He pulled it out slightly before letting go, causing the book to fall to the floor accompanied by the fluttering of pages. He glanced back at Sunny and Scar “Wrong one” he explained before turning back and running his hand over the books once again.

Sunny glanced at Scar with his eyebrows raised, Scar simply gestured for him to wait. A few more books fell to the floor as Chen pulled one after the other before a click resounded from the bookshelf as he touched the final book.

The bookshelf slowly creaked open in a way that sent shivers down Sunny’s spine, it gave him the feeling that some creature from the depths of hell was going to jump out and maul them. The feeling ceased when the bookshelf slid open enough to let him glimpse inside, a room sat behind the bookshelf, dingy walls and a sofa so old it could be considered antique sat in the middle of the room behind a low wooden table which had a bouquet of flowers as the centrepiece.

An abstract painting hung on the wall, a swirl of blues, greens and purples; looking at it in all its glory gave Sunny a headache. Chen waddled into the room, the shadows pulled away from him as he stepped through the threshold separating the bookshelf from the room, he slowly lowered himself into an armchair and exhaled loudly as he sat down.

Sunny looked at the bookshelf, inspecting it and the room beyond it closely.

“It’s rude to stand in the doorway, son” Chen called from his armchair, preventing Sunny from pondering any more than he already had. “Ah, sorry” Sunny apologized “Got lost in my thoughts” he stepped into the room and made for the sofa, plopping down next to Scar.

They sat in silence for a while, the leaky faucet in the kitchen and the ceiling fan were the only sounds in the room as they all sat there. Scar’s face was stern, a look of determination in his eyes; Sunny was anxious but he tried not to let that show, just yesterday he was a gun for hire collecting the payment for a completed job and now he was sitting in a room with a blind old man who supposedly had visions of the future and, Sunny looked over in Scar’s direction, he wasn’t too sure how to describe him.

“Bug” Chen turned his head in Scar’s direction, breaking the silence, his face was grim as he spoke “There’s something you must know” Scar leaned forward slightly “Some…..thing is coming for Fenris, something he will have to face alone. In his fight against this beast he will experience many hardships and I fear he may fall away from the path he had set for himself. Whether he acknowledges it or not he will need support, someone to pull him back from the edge should he revert to his old ways and lose himself to his bestial nature”

“I’ll give it my best” Scar answered as his brows furrowed in confusion. Chen sighed “That’s all I can ask” he mumbled. Scar grew nervous, anything that made Chen this cautious couldn’t be good “Did you have a vision? What did you see? Did something make it past the veil?” he asked rapidly, breaking his stern demeanour. Chen shook his head “No…..not yet at least, you still have time but the veil won’t be of much help when he comes”

“Who?” Scar asked with apprehension; Chen grew quiet at the question“TELL ME WHO DAMMIT!!” Scar demanded as he slammed his fist against the table causing the bouquet of flowers to jump and roll off. Chen’s face hardened and his jaws clenched, the shadows that seemed to be contained beyond the bookshelf rushed into the room, plunging it into darkness before swirling around Chen’s body like a mother protecting her child.

“Don’t raise your voice at me, boy” he growled out insidiously as the darkness blanketed his body, partially obscuring him from sight “Lest you find yourself missing your tongue”. Sunny sat quietly on the sofa with his heart beating rapidly in his chest as Scar and Chen glared at each other, his back was slick with sweat as he tried his best not to let his panic show.

“Did you take your manners home before you came here? You think I’m spiteful enough to withhold information that could help save Fenris’ life?!” he bellowed furiously as silence once again descended upon them. Scar gritted his teeth and glanced away, unable to meet Chen’s gaze. Chen sighed; the shadows peeled off of him and slinked across the floor, retreating back through the door and returning the room to its previous ambiance.

“I don’t know who he is. His face was hidden from my sight” Chen admitted tiredly, all the strength and his strong presence seemed to drain from his body with the revelation as he allowed himself to drop back into his chair.

Shock appeared on Scar’s face upon hearing Chen’s statement “How?” he asked in disbelief; Chen glanced at the doorway and put a hand over his face “I don’t know. He must have found a way to escape my sight. If that’s the case then whoever he is……whatever he is…is extremely powerful” Chen removed his hand from his face and looked at Scar seriously “He cannot be underestimated, Scar. This threat cannot be taken lightly”

Scar sat down slowly, a look of concentration on his face as he digested the information. He desperately searched his mind, trying hard to put together a list of people who could threaten Fenris but no one came to mind.

His foot rapidly tapped the floor as he clenched and unclenched his fist, the room was silent as he thought over everyone he could remember them conducting business with, maybe a client was unsatisfied about a job and wanted revenge. Most of the people they had contracts with were humans, or to his knowledge at least. If he had to name one thing he knew demons and other supernatural creatures to be good at, it would be hiding. After all, they needed to be good at it to evade human detection as well as detection from “holy” entities.

“Damn it” he whispered harshly, his fists clenched so hard his knuckles turned white “Damn it! Damn it! Goddammit!” his voice continued to rise in volume before he inhaled deeply through his nostrils with his eyes closed, he held it for a few seconds before slowly exhaling through his mouth.

He opened his eyes and glanced at Sunny who was shuffling uncomfortably in his seat while fine beads of sweat peppered his forehead; Scar inhaled deeply again and exhaled, making sure he was calm before speaking “It’s time to go. Chen, I’ll do the best I can with the information you’ve given me. I……apologize for the disrespect I’ve shown in your home, I don’t know what came over me” he said while bowing his head slightly, a sign of respect performed by those from Chen’s homeland if he recalled correctly.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

Chen nodded, showing that he accepted the apology. He stretched his hand out and his cane formed from the darkness “Don’t mind us Chen” Scar said as he got up and placed his hand on Chen’s shoulder, forcing him back down into the chair “We can show ourselves out”. Sunny got up stiffly, his tactical gear felt heavier and uncomfortable all of a sudden; he followed Scar to the bookcase and was just about to step through when Chen called out from behind him “Bright one” he said “You are stronger than you believe yourself to be, have faith in yourself”

With that, he closed his eyes and settled into his armchair, the sound of loud snoring soon followed. Sunny paused briefly but decided not to question the old man; he nodded to the sleeping form of Chen “Thanks” he answered uncertainly before stepping through the passageway and back into the darkness where they walked until they came back to the dimly illuminated restaurant.

“What now?” Sunny asked Scar who opened the door for him “Chen didn’t say when this…thing the boss is supposed to fight would show up so don’t worry about it right now. We need to get you into something presentable” he stated before he began walking down the street.

Sunny looked down at his attire and frowned “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” he questioned quietly before he realized Scar was getting further away, jogging to catch up, he asked the question once again when he caught up “What’s wrong with my outfit?”

Scar glanced at him out of the corner of his eye and scoffed, the action made Sunny frown. Scar smirked as he saw Sunny’s reaction “Let’s go before anyone else sees you” he teased before looking ahead, though his words were light; his mind was filled with worry about the future.

----------------------------------------

Victor lifted the bottle of beer to his head and downed it in one motion, the bitter taste slid down his throat before a warm heat settled in his stomach which gave him a nice buzz before it was quickly negated by his body.

He placed the bottle down on the counter and got up from his seat, slipping his grey hood over his head before heading for the door. He had planned to spend his time with Natalie but after their romp she had been avoiding him, he thought they were beginning to grow closer but apparently he was the only one who thought that way.

His body felt invigorated as he stepped into the cool morning air, his muscles rippled as he stretched and yawned. For a moment he stood in front of the bar’s entrance, contemplating his next move. He looked into the sky, simply staring at the clouds and losing himself in his thoughts.

The loud voices in the bar behind him were the only sound that could be heard in the early morning hours, the scent of piss and faeces from an adjacent alleyway wafted into his nostrils and caused his nose to wrinkle in disgust.

Victor began walking around to the side of the bar where a fire escape that led to the roof was located. He leapt up and grabbed onto the handrail, swinging himself up with both hands before landing heavily on his feet. The old stairs creaked a little under his weight while the scent of rust hung heavy in the air, the stairs cried out as he began to ascend to the roof.

His lungs filled with the crisp morning air as he inhaled. He refrained from releasing a roar which bubbled up in his throat in fear of drawing unnecessary attention upon himself, the mortals seemed even more tenacious in this era, no doubt if they knew supernatural creatures existed then they would certainly hunt down those of his kind.

Victor’s mind travelled to his…..truthfully, he didn’t know what to call them, a decision made in a moment of weakness caused him to create a new breed of monster akin to himself yet…..different.

Though they were similar in appearance, there was one thing which differentiated them from him and that was their ability to form coherent thoughts while transformed. Victor himself struggled with the same problem in the early stages of his life, the memories were a little hazy but the feelings from back then would never be forgotten.

Unfiltered and undirected rage. That was all he ever felt, a rage that consumed him and dictated his actions, which led to many precarious situations. He closed his eyes and drank in the memory; reflecting on it with contempt. The wind tousled his hair, knocking a few strands loose as they danced in the air.

He walked toward the edge of the roof and sat down, allowing his feet to dangle off the side of the building. The streets below were empty and dirty, he noted, but the people…..the people that lived here were vibrant and full of life. Despite their poor living standards, they never complained, instead they made what little they had work for them and they were happier because of it.

Natalie was the perfect example of that. The bar was the only thing she had that she could call her own and she was proud of it, for good reason too, she worked her ass off for it. Victor smiled despite himself as he thought about her, she was as exhilarating as the hunt and as erratic and unpredictable as a heartbeat, an analogy she could never quite understand no matter how much he tried to explain but he supposed that was because of his nature.

The smile slowly fell from his face as he touched upon that train of thought, for as much love and care he had for her he could never bring himself to fully explain what he was to her but what little he allowed her to know was enough for her to figure out he was not normal.

A familiar spark of anger flared up before he forcefully suppressed it, anger at himself for being unable to tell the woman he cared for what he truly was. No, it wasn’t that he was unable to; it was because he refused to do it for fear of losing her if she were unable to accept his monstrous nature.

He exhaled in frustration, squeezing his eyes shut and clenching his jaws. Despite the excuses he came up with, or the amount of times he tried to delay the inevitable, he knew what it was he felt. It was fear.

As much as he tried to deny it or spin it in a different way he knew he was afraid. Afraid she would not accept him, afraid she would look at him as if he were a monster and that thought alone hurt him more than any sword, arrow or bullet ever could.

Victor sighed; beating himself up over this was getting him nowhere and besides, it was time to get to work. A light scratching drew his attention as he made to stand up but before he could turn toward the noise, something slammed into him from behind sending him flying over the edge of the roof. The force of the collision sent him careening into the neighbouring building; the wind was knocked out of him as he crashed through the wooden roof and landed heavily on the concrete floor. Victor groaned and slowly blinked to clear his blurry vision, it hurt every time he breathed; no doubt caused by a cracked rib.

The sound of something heavy landing caught his attention; he lifted his head as much as he could but his vision was still blurred, all he could make out was his attacker’s inhumanly large stature, it was hard to tell but if he had to guess he’d say his attacker was nine or ten feet tall.

Victor groaned and attempted to stand, pushing his torso up from the floor with his hands as he raised himself up to a sitting position.

“The mighty, mighty Fenris” a deep voice said as Victor continued to make his attempt to stand “Oh how far you have fallen. You’ve grown soft over the years” the voice continued. Victor howled in pain as four claws punctured his chest and lifted him to his feet, the air smelled like a dead carcass and his attacker’s skin felt rough and craggy like stone.

“What…..do you want…..troll?” Victor hissed as his body worked to repair the damages sustained. In the meantime, his mind raced as he wondered how a troll managed to make it through the veil without his knowledge.

The troll barked out a laugh, the action jostled Victor and irritated his injuries further “Someone wants you dead, wolf. I’m here to make it so” it growled out before Victor found himself flying through the air once more.