In these last few days, I really started to think of the monster as a separate entity altogether. When things got me worked up and emotional, I felt it struggling harder against me. I could feel the monster stirring every moment of every day since the visions stopped and I returned. Something was changing… but why? Maybe… the monster was growing… pushing against the walls of its invisible cage. It was pushing now…

  I was running hard, barreling crudely through the darkened streets of St. Louis. I sprinted in human form over the blacktops and between buildings as I navigated toward Martin. I felt a drive inside of me, willing my legs to go faster and faster, fueled by the panic of my mind. I felt the monster waiting behind my eyes, right at the door, ready to take over as soon as my will broke. Once my hold for control failed… it would take over.

  Just a few minutes earlier in the night, Martin called me. I was shocked at the appearance of his name on my cell phone, especially since I hadn’t spoken with him yet, so I answered it curiously. It was a conversation that lasted only a minute or two, but it had me bounding across the city in a fury. I was running to meet up with him. We had to get to a location he knew the Chasses would be.

  Our conversation wasn’t about catching up; it was a more dire situation. The other Chasses I had met at Carter’s home were indeed a different breed of hunters. This branch of the family didn’t fight as strategically or preplanned as my friends did. Autumn, Carter, and many others had said they never go into a fight they know they cannot win. They plan, they prepare, and they hunt. Zeke, Arthur, and Kayla were way more aggressive. Once Carter and Zeke spoke more in depth about the man I killed, and the details he had told me about, they felt they had to act.

  That’s when our current predicament was born. They formulated a plan quickly, not well planned, and loaded out to go on a patrol. Martin told me over the phone that they had found a place where they thought people were being held. Martin had contacts in the supernatural world who had heard eerie stories of a place where people had been taken. So naturally, Martin had already been keeping tabs on the same site. When Carter had told him what they were planning, Martin panicked. That’s when he called me, asking for help.

  The more I learned about the Chasse family, specifically Carter, the more I understood the direct relationship with Martin. Carter and Martin talked often… very often. There probably wasn’t a day that went by that they didn’t exchange information in some way. Carter always had an ace in the hole with his vampire friend. When they went out on any kind of hunt that seemed to be more than anything Carter was comfortable with, he’d notify Martin to have him in the area as backup. Martin was a very old vampire, and his strength, speed, and various skills from his long life would be waiting somewhere very near when Carter called for him. I didn’t think that all of the Chasse family knew about the frequency of Martin’s presence on their hunts. Carter was a planner, and his backup plans had backup plans, and when all else failed, they’d have a supernatural creature swoop in from the shadows as the final redundancy, if needed.

  In my vicious sprint through the darkened city, I came upon a compound of buildings that were all closely smashed together, except for a few that traced a further edge of the area. A tower shot out into the sky of one of the structures. There was a name written across the brick. Then I realized where I was… the Lemp Brewery. It was a very old set of buildings that looked more akin to some sort of castle than a modern brewery.

  I planted my legs into the earth as I stopped, shoving off the ground explosively to propel myself vertically. I clawed and scaled up the old bricks of the tallest tower, ascending higher into the night sky. Once atop the structure, I saw a dark silhouette staring off the other side. Martin was there… watching. He stood across at the far edge, eyeing the area below.

  It had been a long time since I’d seen Martin, but he looked the same as he always did, never aging. The black hair that outlined his unchanging face was accented greatly by the pulsing red eyes. He glowered down at the scene below.

  “Martin,” I spoke as soon as I flung myself over the edge to the roof. “Where are they?”

  “They’re here,” Martin answered. “They’re alright for now. They’re just circling the place.” Martin turned to look at me, “It’s very good to see you again, Sam. It’s been too long.”

  “Thanks for the call,” I replied.

  “Oh, please, thank you for showing up. I will take all the help I can get to keep my family safe,” the old vampire's claim on the Chasses was present in his words. “Perhaps, we can catch up after this is done.”

  I nodded as he turned back to gaze over the side of the roof, “Yeah. I’ve been meaning to come talk to you.”

  Then, I heard the crumbling bricks at the edge start to grind against a pressing force. I shot a quick and defensive look over at the edge, willing to kill anything that I thought would threaten the Chasses.

  Red hair and tattoos scaled the bricks just behind me. “I hope I’m not too late,” Alex spoke to us as soon as her feet were planted on the roof. “I’d hate to miss out on a fight if this turns out to be vampires.” She didn’t look like she was ready for a fight, only wearing some extremely short jean cutoffs and a white tank top. She looked like she had literally just run out from behind the bar, where she tried to lure in unsuspecting new-bloods.

  “Thanks for coming, Alex,” Martin greeted his friend.

  “Can you trust her around them?” I asked Martin quickly, slightly angry at her presence.

  I felt it beneath my mind… trying to rip out. I fought the monster back for the moment, begging to stay in control. It was getting worse. I was actively concentrating on keeping my human form.

  “You’ve killed more humans than she has, Sam.” Martin seemed stressed, actually taking an attitude with me. “We’re all here to step in if needed, don’t forget that.” He spoke to both of us.

  “So, it turns out you’re a lot more than just some guy with a drinking problem,” Alex started talking to me on the roof. “How many people have you killed?” She asked like she was writing me down as a possible kill for her own now that she knew I wasn’t human. Her red eyes pulsed and began to match the shade of her blood-hued hair. She flexed her power throughout her body, letting me know she would kill me if needed. She’d try.

  “Only ones that deserve it…” I barely offered; still focusing on remaining human. I felt the pressure beneath my skin. The monster was reacting.

  What was happening?

  “What are you?” she asked, intrigue filling her words, but hunger in her eyes.

  This anthropophagous vampire, as Martin had called her, was a killer of killers like me. Martin said she was strong. Maybe in a previous time in my life, I would have wanted to test my strength against her, hoping she’d end me… but not anymore.

  “You don’t want to find out,” I threatened, my eyes slightly darkening, staring through her.

  She smirked at the sight of my unusual black eyes, “Exciting…”

  “Both of you,” Martin looked back at us angrily, “enough! They’re out.”

  I stepped up to the edge quickly, looking down at the vast expanse below us. Just at the side of one of the other buildings was the familiar Suburban. There was another SUV that pulled up right behind them. All of the Chasses stepped out of their vehicle at the same time Zeke, Kayla, and Arthur got out to meet them. Then, I saw another person walking around the silver SUV. It was Patrick. He was with them on a hunt.

  A little rage swelled in me again. Why was he there? He hadn’t been on a hunt with them like this. Autumn once told me he always stayed within the realm of his own family, all the Wicklows did. Now he was with them… with her. It must have started throughout the past year.

  I stepped back from the roof edge in a grunting pain. I felt my insides start to twist and flex while I watched from above. The monster inside of me wanted out, and it was going to torture me until it got time out under the night sky. It wanted to kill. It hungered for death.

  I knelt as I breathed through the pain. I felt my eyes already shift completely while my talons were actively piercing through.

  “Shit,” I gritted my teeth through the pain, trying to lock my arms and legs in position. I could feel them trying to move without my command. The beast was trying to make a move.

  “Sam,” Martin spoke urgently on the roof. “What’s happening?”

  I just shook my head, going down to both knees. My black talons had pushed out on their own, against my will. I gripped my fingers into the surface of the roof beneath me, locking my razors into the hard roof material.

  I spoke out loud through my teeth, “You’re not fucking coming out!” I flexed and strained every muscle I still had control over, trapping the relentless beast within my mind once more. It was getting worse… much worse.

  Thankfully, after about thirty seconds of continued struggle, it stopped. It felt like much longer, and I was glad it was finally over. It took everything I had to stay locked in place.

  I breathed more relaxed as I stood, Martin and Alex looking at me with concern.

  “And you thought I was a problem?” Alex scoffed.

  “Are you going to be able to continue?” Martin asked.

  “I’m fine,” was all I said as I stepped slowly back up to the edge.

  “What was that?” Martin asked with concern.

  “I don’t know,” I admitted. “It’s been happening lately. I don’t know what’s setting it off… this is all uncharted territory.” I looked between the two vampires, “I don’t have someone teaching me this shit.”

  “Hmm,” Martin filed it away in his thoughts. I knew he’d bring it up again later. “I need you here for this. Are you going to be able to control yourself around them?” Martin doubted the safety of the Chasse family after witnessing my lack of control.

  “I’m fine! I wouldn’t hurt them,” I assured him. “It’s just agitated.”

  Then, the Chasse family, along with Patrick, moved into various positions around one of the buildings on the other side of the compound. They entered the building at different points, spreading out in three different attack squads.

  “Why are they going so fast?” I asked. “They never rush into anything like this.” I knew their tactics.

  “They’re protecting the others. Zeke wanted to go hunt immediately. Nothing would stop him, and they were going on the hunt. They wouldn’t be reasoned with, so Carter and everyone else felt like they had to accompany them to keep them safe. They shouldn’t be here,” Martin explained. “Carter told me Zeke outright refused to include you… or me, just moving faster when the subject of either of us came up.” Martin tried to hide it, but I could tell that it pissed him off.

  “Why are they so aggressive as humans?” Alex asked. “If they get in a situation where they are outnumbered, then all of those guns won’t matter. Leeches will just swarm them.”

  They all entered inside of a blocky building with many levels of windows. They were out of sight, and I couldn’t protect them from the roof.

  “Let’s go,” I said.

  “Yes…” Martin agreed.

  We all ran and jumped in different strides, rocketing to the next closest roof, leapfrogging over the gaps as we encroached upon the hunter-filled structure. We were on an adjacent roof, hiding our forms behind the cover of an exhaust vent as we watched through windows for our friends. That’s when I saw them.

  Inside the expansive fourth story was a group of what smelled to be vampires. There were many, and they were surrounding a group of four young human kids who were blindfolded, crying, and helpless. They were all spread out sporadically throughout the level, surrounding the helpless kids. They all looked dirty, like they had been crawling across the city, down every alley from where they had been taken. There were two girls and two boys in the middle of the red-eyed demons. They needed help.

  In only moments, the hunters exploded into the vampire-infested level. This wasn’t like any hunt I had ever been taught about or trained for. The hunters broke through doors in waves. The first group that came through was Frank, Clara, and Arthur. They had knives and machetes in their hands, all silver. They rushed over to the alert and now feral vampires that were keen on protecting their captive food.

  Then, right before the three close combat hunters met with the closest of the inhuman creatures, Eleanor, Kayla, Patrick, and Autumn all blasted through a door on the far side of the room. They came in hot, sending some kind of projectile into the central area of the massive enclosure.

  “Close your eyes,” Martin said quickly.

  I only squinted as the flare went off. It was a bright, burning pyrotechnic that was putting off some kind of smoke throughout the room.

  “Is that silver dust in the smoke?” Alex asked Martin in true surprise.

  “Yes,” he answered. “The Chasse family is very well equipped, and they have many ways to fight our kind. However, it appears that if we go in to help them, then we too will be weakened.”

  Stolen story; please report.

  Not me. I wouldn’t be affected. I was still ready and willing to send myself flying through the windows.

  The burning light and the spreading smoke had the vampires stumbling in an instant inside the enclosed room. That’s when the third group breached inside. Carter, Wayland, and Zeke came into the room as a secondary close-quarters team. However, the first team was already on the creatures. Frank and Arthur charged into the leeches with fierce eyes. They both looked like they were straight out of an eighty’s slasher film, swinging their machetes through flesh and bone of multiple flailing vampires. Clara was more agile and smart with her movements. Her large, muscular frame glided and clashed with almost as many vampires as her other two teammates. She was a powerfully gifted fighter. She’d send one vampire to its second grave with her silver knife in melee combat, and then fluidly bound to the next victim of her assault.

  Carter, Zeke, and Wayland all had silenced weapons that I knew were loaded with silver hollow points. They weren’t there for anything other than to kill vampires. Martin was right… This hunt was more aggressive compared to the usual calculated hunt.

  A few stray fleeing vampires ripped away from the melee fighters and bounded for the door near Autumn and Eleanor. When one snarling vampire was about ten feet from the long-range hunters, Autumn cracked off a shot with her silenced rifle, spewing blood from the skull of the raging vampire. Many others rushed to her side in a flurry, putting them into a quick sequence of bursts. Eleanor, Autumn, and Kayla’s shots were all timed and in sync with the flow of battle. However, Patrick’s was a little wilder and more chaotic. He was hitting his marks most of the time, but nowhere near as accurately as the women. They were basically protecting him and his lack of skill.

  Three vampires rushed Autumn at the same time, gaining the attention of the shooters. Autumn’s gun jammed as her mother and cousin’s bullets found the skulls. Patrick’s shots hit the rafters above in his adrenaline surge. The vampire was on top of her too quickly for the others to adjust and shoot.

  I took off in a run, sprinting like a fucking wild man across the roof. I was going in, and I was going to rip that vampire into two separate pieces. Yet, as soon as I took a step, the monster squeezed my insides. It brought me to my knees again, my momentum slamming and dragging my face across the gravel on the roof.

  I pried my face up from the hard surface to see Autumn. In an instant, Autumn tossed her rifle as she sidestepped the incoming supernatural, pulling a more extended version of her silver blade from her side. She sliced through the vampire’s neck like a flash of light. It fell to its knees as soon as she followed through, with its head flopping off backward to hang from the body. Only a few strands of flesh kept it from totally falling off.

  As I lay on the roof in sheer agony, I truly saw them for the first time. Everything I had seen and learned from the hunters up until that point was merely stories and theory. The only time I had ever seen the Chasses hunt any kind of creature was the first night I met them, and the last moments of the big-ass bat. I had never seen them in the thick of action. But this… this was something else altogether. They moved with precision, they never slowed, and they took no prisoners. Autumn had said it once before: they don’t leave any survivors. The Chasses were more than I thought they were. They were more than I had ever seen normal humans be. It was probably the most shocking thing I had discovered in this new life.

  The night they went to fight Mercy and Phineas, they were taken out before a fight could even happen. I began to wonder… did Mercy fear them? At their full strength, using all of their skills, techniques, and weapons, could they have fought Phineas and won? I started to think it might have been possible. Why else would Mercy have frozen them in place as she did?

  After witnessing the slaughter by my adoptive family, I realized something. The Chasse family was not as helpless as I had always worried. They were trained killers, every single one of them. Even Autumn… even Eleanor.

  I pulled myself from the ground, Martin steadying me with a grip.

  “Sam, what is going on? Is something happening to you?” Martin asked urgently.

  “I don’t know,” I shook my head, calming myself once Arthur had slung his machete right into the skull of the last moving vampire.

  Frank and Arthur were grinning at each other as they claimed victory. They raised their bloodied fists and bumped them together. All of the combatants who went hand to hand were drenched in blood from the slaughter. Everyone else was clean, except for Autumn. She had a spray of blood that stained her shirt from the vampire that got too close. Patrick was dirty, but only because he tripped backward as he fired into the creatures of the night. Kayla was laughing at him, lending him a helping hand. She said something to him that I didn’t catch, and then she slapped his ass aggressively.

  “Kayla!” he yelled at her, annoyed that she was always pestering him. He was a little embarrassed at his inept skill, especially in front of and compared to Autumn.

  Kayla laughed in his face, while Autumn hid her smile from the entertainment of his clumsy awkwardness in a fight.

  If I could describe my new friends in one word, it would be… deadly. The speed, the coordination, the skill… they were trained to the highest degree. I thought of them differently now, stronger. It made me feel like I didn’t have to worry so much about their safety.

  I was monitoring them all carefully, scanning the floor for any movement from a vampire that clung to life. I was so focused on their safety and distracted by my own internal issues that I didn’t sense anything else.

  “Something else is coming,” Alex warned.

  “Shit,” Martin spat, repositioning himself on the roof. “There are sublevels that lead to caves right beneath this place. That’s how they’re getting in.”

  “What?” My attention shot back to Martin. “Where? Who’s getting in?”

  Alex and Martin were bounding to the other side of the roof, “I don’t know who, or what they are, but they’re not friendly. If I remember right, this brewery is positioned right on top of a cave system that is very close to a tunnel. That tunnel goes into the pits.”

  “The pits?” I asked quickly as I chased them to the other side of the roof. “Like where Mercy and Phineas came from?”

  “Yes,” Martin answered stressfully. “Alex, we’ve got to get in there. We’ll need your help. I don’t know what’s coming, but you’ll tip the odds.”

  We looked into the fourth floor, where the family was untying the captured human souls. They were trying to calm and lead them to safety. They had no idea what was coming.

  “We can get to the base level and head them off there,” Martin said as he took a few steps back, preparing to leap from the roof to the ground floor.

  Alex and I mirrored his movements, ready to dive down from the great height and kill the beasts that clawed up from the pits. I had many questions, like why these people were being held here, and for what reason? Who was behind it, and why were they taking so many people?

  “Let’s go,” I urged. None of the Chasses knew what was coming. An unknown threat was rapidly running toward them from below, and they weren’t ready. They were occupied with the people they had just saved.

  I took a step forward, ready to make the jump with the two vampires, and then I felt my legs give out. I fell forward into the rough surface of the roof, scraping some skin from my face as I skidded to a stop. The pain twisted and flexed my body into strange positions as the monster tortured me from within.

  They both stopped abruptly as I faceplanted in agony.

  “Sam,” Martin said hurriedly, feeling the pressure of the incoming threat closing in on our friends below.

  “Martin, what's wrong with him?” Alex asked with slight concern as I twisted in pain on the roof.

  “I don’t know,” he said, torn with what to do.

  I couldn’t think straight as I writhed in pain. The monster took control of my voice and lungs, keeping me silent and unable to breathe. I twisted and flexed on the ground as Martin and Alex watched, unable to help me.

  “Alex, come on. We’ll leave him for now. We have to get down there,” Martin said as he stood from his crouching position above me.

  “Okay,” she agreed, but she had questions. Martin still hadn’t told her everything about me, and this only added to the oddities of my existence in her mind.

  I saw them run and leap from the side of the roof while I painfully gritted my teeth, feeling the burning of my lungs as they begged for oxygen. The two vampires fell below my line of sight and were gone. I was alone on the roof. The intensity of the pain never relented, actually growing in its potency. I felt like the monster would literally rip me to pieces as it fought for a way out.

  Then, I felt a pulse of something else. It was far more potent than the pain and torment that imprisoned me inside my own body. The force that was pinning me to the ground was blasted away like dust in the wind. As soon as the pain was gone, I heard the voice.

  “Fall,” it was the Being… speaking to me. This wasn’t a vision.

  The night sky vanished, and I was ripped from the world of the living.

  “Wake up,” I heard a monotone voice order me from my sleep.

  My eyes shot open at the same time I sucked in a sharp breath, ready to bolt from the roof and save my friends from the incoming assault. Then, I realized I was somewhere else. I was in a dark forest, the sky completely blacked out from the canopy above. The leaves were only at the top, and long trunks of the ancient growths were grey and thick, almost looking like bones protruding from the earth. The leaves were actually almost black, with maybe the tiniest hint of purple in those shadows. A light fog floated a few inches from the leafy forest floor. The only light that penetrated the depths of this place came from somewhere far in the distance, between the great trees. Shadows hung so densely in that place that I could almost feel them.

  I jumped from the ground, looking for anything that made sense. I turned and saw someone that scared the shit out of me. Once I saw his face, I knew what this was. A few feet away from me, standing against a tree, was Jon.

  “Jon,” I said, perplexed. “I thought you were… how are you…” I had too many questions, and everything was confusing. “What is this place? Where am I?”

  “We’re in the Fields, just beyond the place you’ve seen. This is where you were changed.” Jon spoke strangely, different than the last time I saw him.

  “What?” I asked, confused. “I was in Texas when it happened…”

  “That’s where you were taken. I brought you here to give you my power. This is where the beast in you was first created,” Jon spoke calmly, but something was definitely different. “That’s why you woke up in a different place. When I sent you back after the transition was complete, I sent you far away. It was far enough that you’d have time to undergo your first transformation without hurting anyone.”

  “Why am I here? I need to get back… my friends are in trouble. I was about to help them, but then,” I remembered the agony on the roof. “Something is happening to me. I don’t know what or why it’s happening now, but I’m losing control. The monster keeps trying to come out, and it’s getting stronger. I can barely keep it inside.”

  “You are getting stronger, but that’s not the full reason for what is happening to you. Someone is trying to kill you, or at least disable you when needed. They are poking and prodding the monster as they try and figure out a way that will work. The beast is getting agitated, lashing out at the unseen forces that are attacking it. They are getting closer to a power that will work against you. They most likely think that they succeeded tonight. You have to figure out who it is and stop them before they get too powerful,” Jon spoke plainly. “This is why I pulled you here fully, not just your mind. This person knows you are an unknown and is trying to take you out before they are revealed in earnest.”

  “Fully?” I asked, latching onto a small detail in his words.

  “This is only the second time you have physically been here. I had to bring you here physically to change you, and now to cut you off from the power that was binding you. All the other times I have merely pulled your mind to this place,” Jon explained. “Your attacker is growing powerful.”

  I had many questions about what he had just revealed, and this location, but I knew more important things were afoot. “Who is it?” I asked.

  “They’re hidden, cloaked behind the power that they’re channeling,” Jon seemed different as he continued. Then I noticed his eyes, they were different than the last time I saw him; darker, and cold with no emotion.

  “Jon… what happened to you? I thought you got to pass on and be with your family,” I said as I remembered the last time I saw him. He was walking off into the horizon with the cloaked figure that commanded us both.

  He looked at me for a few seconds, silently. He never blinked the entire time I had been speaking with him. “I am not Jon.”

  As soon as he said the words, his eyes went entirely black. I felt a tingle spread through my face as I realized what it meant. Then, something from within him was unfurled and spread out in the forest like it was the air itself. There was a ringing in my ears that was deafening, and it made everything go hazy. My vision blurred as the vibrating hum shook my organs and cells. It felt like an eternity would pass as I was trapped in his will. I was locked in place from the dominating power, or maybe it was fear…

  Then, it stopped. His eyes returned to the previous cold version, and the power was tucked away from where it came. I stood in silence once I could think straight and see clearly.

  “I chose this form since it is familiar to you, in this place. I cannot present myself to you yet, you’re not ready. This is just what I am allowing you to see, so we can communicate.”

  I had so many questions… where did I start?

  “Who are you?” I asked eagerly.

  “No,” was all he said. “You’re still not ready for that.”

  “What am I?” I asked next.

  “You have to figure that out for yourself. When you make it there on your own, you will be able to accept what that is, and what it means,” he said.

  “Why? Why can’t you just tell me?” I asked. Then I was scared I was getting too comfortable in my speaking with him. I felt what he could do to me if he wanted.

  “I know how it happens. I’ve seen it countless times. Jon asked the same questions… as did the ones before. I give the same answers. This is how it has to be for you to become what you’re meant for,” he spoke with no leniency. The words he spoke might as well have been etched into stone. There was only one way.

  I was silent for a moment, thinking about all the questions I had, and which ones he was more likely to answer.

  “Is everything Jon told me true, or was it a lie to get me to take this… life?” I asked.

  His look never changed, nor did his monotonous tone, “You had the choice, and you made it yourself. Whether I saw that or not, changes nothing. You are what you are because I chose you, you survived, and then you decided to remain. Every man and woman before you was given the same path. Some chose to return to their lives; others chose death, and the responsibility of the beast. However, there will always be one roaming the earth.”

  “Where’s Jon?” I asked, worried for my predecessor. Where had he gone?

  “He has moved on. He is at peace.”

  I nodded, thankfully. I had a surprising worry and protectiveness for the real Jon. The short time I knew him, I must have gotten attached. I think living this life for the short time I had gave me a glimpse into what his long centuries were like, and I wanted him to have his peace. I was glad he found it. I was hoping I, too, would one day find what Jon had gained. I wanted to be with my family… all of them. Maybe one day, when I get to rest, both of my families could meet each other. Vicky and Autumn could meet, Carter and Eleanor could meet my parents, and I could be reunited with my brother, Seth. Maybe… I could see Caydee. We’d be happy.

  “What should I call you?” I asked, knowing my time in the shadowed forest was coming to an end.

  “For now, just call me Jon. This is how I will appear to you,” he informed. Then he reminded, “This isn’t like when I show you a vision and give you the name. I cannot see the person who is doing this to you. They have yet to tip the balance, and they are being hidden by something or someone. They are using powers from another place. Powers that can only be gained by acts that will throw off the balance eventually. You’re on the right track with your friends. Stay on this trail,” he spoke harshly. “And Sam,” he stepped forward, “there are powers in this world that you wouldn’t believe. Both natural and unnatural powers that defy human logic. Watch out for them. Some can trap you in ways you couldn’t imagine. There are places like the fields, other planes, or dimensions that you can be lost in, and since you cannot die, it would be perpetual torment. I cannot step in and save you all the time. You must continue to grow in strength. Be on guard and keep your secret close.”

  I nodded, “I will.” But then I had another question present itself in my thoughts. “Why haven’t you given me anyone? It was nonstop for a long time, but now… nothing?”

  The being disguised as Jon stared at me blankly before answering, “I have no other need of you. You are where I want you to be. I will not call for you unless there is one that is out of my reach. When someone alters the balance of power and hides from my sight, I will summon you.”

  In those few moments in the forest just beyond the Fields, I felt a calm understanding from the Entity… Jon, I guess I’d call him. Before, I felt like I was being lied to, and played like a fiddle. Now, I knew that this was beyond my human life. Was I born specifically for this? Maybe… maybe not. I did have a choice. Either way, I felt better about the Entity… Jon.

  “You’ll return right where I took you. You will find the one that’s attacking you,” he told me as fact. “You’ll have to be fast if you want to catch them before they disappear again.”

  I nodded into his powerful gaze.

  “Trust the power inside, and the blade. However, do not pull it near anyone you do not wish to kill. Its power is beyond you currently, and it will bleed into the living world in ways you cannot control,” Jon said, giving me an insight into what I, and the mysterious blade, were capable of. “Now, prepare yourself.” He closed the distance between us in the skeleton-like trees. His eyes blackened, his power was unrestrained, shaking the very shadows of the forest.

  “Rise again.”

  Ultimate blackness overtook my eyes, and I was gone.