The “Gifted” One
The day had been the worst Susan had experienced in years and somehow she knew it was just going to get worse. After she left the coffee shop she scoured the city for hours looking for her best friend Julie. She went to every favorite place they had only to find no sign of her closest friend.
The 2 friends traveled the world together for years and the thought of never seeing Julie again was more then Susan could bear. The 2 of them always feared this day would come but it was still not something she prepared for. They never went out separately but last night Julie did and did not come back. Susan told her not to go alone but Julie insisted she would be fine and would return in a couple of hours.
It didn't help matters that everyone at the coffee shop asked her where Julie was all day. By the time she ended her shift Susan was anxious, angry, and restless. The 2 girls worked in the coffee shop for nearly 3 months and they intentionally worked the early shift because that was when the most negative energy walked through the door. Everyone was cranky and irritable early in the morning and that helped the girls to grow stronger.
Despite the constant supply of negative energy the girls still had to eat at least once a week. It took a great deal of energy to maintain their fake images. When it came time to eat they always strolled down to the homeless district and carefully picked their victims. Someone who was alone and someone no one would miss or so they thought.
It was late by the time Susan finally made her way into the homeless district. By that time she was weak from not feeding and distracted because she found no sign of Julie. Generally her kind did not feel pain and Susan was no different. She was more angry at Julie's foolishness than she was upset because Julie was missing.
By the time she reached the district she was accepting the inevitable... Julie was found by a hunter which meant she needed to be alert. How the hunters found them Susan could only guess as they had survived for 100 years undetected. They had perfected their ability to blend into the world around them.
She made her way into an alley and quickly spotted someone completely covered in a blanket and carefully tucked inside a doorway. Before it registered this person was a little too convenient for her she saw the flash of light and could no longer move. She was captured inside a rare and powerful binding spell. The spell cast a faint blue light around her and made it appear as if she was inside a colored bubble.
The instant she was captured by the binding spell her true nature revealed itself as she roared in a rage. The beautiful blonde haired girl who stood there moments ago was now hideous and frightening.
The soft, supple skin now resembled hard, red scales and her blue eyes were now yellow with green snake like slits. The perfectly shaped and snow white teeth were now sharp, dagger like, and gnashing in rage.
The person under the blanket casually threw it off and stood up. Susan, whose true name was Shartain, was shocked to see who was laying in wait for her. She immediately recognized him as a man who bought coffee from her every morning for the last month. She only knew him as David but she noticed he carefully protected his emotions when he walked into the coffee shop and now she knew why.
The soft-spoken man who introduced himself as an executive working across the street was hiding his own secrets. This man was no simple business man; he was one of the “Gifted”.
The “Gifted” hunters are not only born with the magical ability to seek out and destroy her kind but trained to be the most powerful and dangerous Demon hunters. As such they were the one group of hunters her kind truly feared.
At that moment Shartain knew without question what happened to Julie, her true name being Watsho. As David calmly strolled toward her her eyes narrowed in rage and focused on the ring on his hand. She never saw him wear the ring which was why she was so surprised to see him emerge from under the blanket.
The “Gifted” normally wore their rings as a badge of honor but this one appeared to have no pride in what he was about to do. Nonetheless the only way she could escape was to remove the ring from his hand or the life from his body; neither of which she was going to accomplish easily.
“I had about given up that you were going to show up.” He stated in a calm voice as he reached inside his jacket.
Her eyes widened as he pulled out the sacred dagger used exclusively by this group of hunters. The dagger was made from a secret combination of metals and forged in fires maintained by the most powerful holy men on the planet. Once the dagger was complete it was sanctified during a secret rite and was the most effective weapon against any Demon.
Her eyes moved to David's face and found something she did not expect. It was not the expression of indifference she had seen on the faces of so many Demon hunters she had fought in the past but an expression of sympathy. For the first time he was not protecting his emotions and she could feel that he did not have the heart of a hunter but more the heart of someone who was forced to do a job he did not wish to do. He was looking at her as if she were some wounded animal he had to put down.
She decided to use this to her advantage. “Why is it that you feel sympathy for me, Hunter? Will you, a hunter, grant a Demon mercy? ”
David realized he allowed a moment of weakness and within 5 heartbeats he sealed the crack in his magical shield. His expression steeled and his emotions were once again sealed up to deny her access. Lesson number1 in Demon hunting: never give the Demon a single point of access.
“I feel no sympathy for you and the only mercy I will show you is to give you the choice between banishment and death.” He answered her in a tone as hard as his expression had become.
Sartain was not about to give up that easily. “And if I choose neither?” She challenged him.
“Then I will choose for you.” He declared and raised the dagger so it was level with her throat. “Your friend chose death and I granted it to her. I will make yours as swift as hers as banishment takes far too long in my opinion and I prefer to give you no chance of surviving.”
This declaration only made her angry. She tried to break free from the restraints of the binding spell but she knew it was impossible. It was well known among her kind that if you come across one of the “Gifted” you will not escape them unless they willingly free you. The accounts of that happening are rare.
“Then you are indeed a hunter with mercy. You have already taken the life of my friend so to kill me would be a merciful death. A much greater punishment will be to force me to live with the guilt and the pain of my loss. I am responsible for her death because I did not protect her. If we had been together she would not have been killed. I know you had to wait until we made a mistake or your brothers came to your aid.”
David flinched at her words because she was absolutely right. For a month he followed them here to the homeless district and watched in rage as they fed on the life energy of their victims knowing he could not destroy the two of them together. He had to wait until one of them was alone or one of his brothers arrived to assist him.
Two of the brotherhood were expected to arrive in a couple of days but when he found Watsho alone last night he decided to make his move. With Watsho gone he knew he could take Sartain as well but her words still caught him by surprise.
It was not uncommon for a trapped Demon to try and make a bargain but for one to make this kind of an offer was unexpected. Guilt was not something a Demon comprehended much less penance for that guilt.
Sartain smiled at his reaction. She may yet escape one of the most powerful enemies she will ever face. “Free me, David. I can sense you do not like to be the hero. You do not carry this burden with pride but as a yoke that weighs you down; a collar that binds you to something you cannot escape.”
“Release me, David, and give me the ring. I will destroy it for you and you will be free of the Crimson Pact.”
For a moment she felt him waver and for that moment she thought she had defeated him. Her eyes widen with fear as the dagger suddenly moved. In one lightening fast movement the dagger struck true and David stepped back as her head separated from her body.
“You are right I never wanted to be a hero but my blood alone eternally binds me to the Crimson Pact.” He admitted and spoke the words to release her lifeless body from the binding spell.
He reached inside his jacket to retrieve a crystal vial of sacred oil. He dumped the contents of the vile on her body, lit a match, and smiled as it went up in flames. As he watched her body burn his thoughts slipped to his son at home. Adrian was only 11 years old but already manifesting the powers of a “Gifted” one. Soon the brotherhood would come for Adrian and take him away to train him.
When the training was complete the ring would be passed to him just as the ring was passed to David by his father and every father to his son for thousands of years. He pulled his jacket tightly around him as the flames died out and a cold gust of wind rushed down the alley. He pointed the ring at the charred remains and they vanished. The true image of the street also changed to permanently hide what transpired here. Silently he disappeared into the night. He was exhausted and will only get a few hours of sleep before facing another busy day.
