Chapter One
The cold shadows surrounded me as I made my way silently, swiftly through the small alley. Every once in a while, I would glance over my shoulder into the darkness, watching for the slightest movement that would give away the position of anyone or anything following me. All was quiet and still as I made my way through, watching the patterns that twisted through the wall on my right. I looked for the small, faded American flag that I knew was etched into the stone. Once I spotted it, I walked to it and put my back against the wall.
Before I did anything else, I scanned the surrounding darkness for demons one last time to make sure it was safe. Finding none, I turned to the flag and pressed it. It sank into the wall and I stepped back as the stones began to fold in on themselves, revealing the hidden door. Without hesitation, I opened it and stepped inside.
Before closing the door again, the stones unfolded and retained their original form.
"Raven! You're finally back!"
Turning around, I was suddenly hugged by a small, skinny girl wearing a velvet and satin dress with lace and ribbons. She had black hair that was tied up with a crimson ribbon and pale ice blue eyes.
"I always come back Alice," I said with a smile as she pulled away.
Everyone in the room said there welcomes and clapped me on the back. I had been gone for a week and they were all relieved to see me again. Once everyone settled back down, I looked down at Alice.
Alice is like a little sister to me. When I was on a rescue mission in Paris a year ago, I found her hiding in an abandoned house that I used to rest. She was cowering in the corner, scared and very underfed. When I convinced her that I was not a demon, she told me who she was. Turns out, she was the daughter of the man I was suppose to find.
Her father was on his way with Alice to one of The Black Label's in Paris to wait for me but they were attacked. He told her to run and that he would hold the demons off. She did as he said but not before witnessing his murder right after he said this. So little Alice ran and ran until she found the old house and had been there for three days with nothing to eat for drink.
After I got her to trust me, I took her to America and brought her to The Back Label. She kept close to me at all times, never going more than four feet away from my side. When she was at a healthy state again, I began to teach her. She is a fast learner and has a good memory. She learned English in a no time.
"I was worried you'd get hurt and since you were by yourself you couldn't get back," she said, frowning at the thought.
"Alice, I'll always come back," I said.
"Promise," she demanded.
"I promise I will always come back no matter what," I said, raising my left hand and putting my right one over my heart.
She laughed at this and sat back down.
"What did you manage to bring back this time?" some one asked behind me.
Narrowing my eyes at the sound of his voice, I turned around to see my father. He wore a black military samurai jacket with medal buckles and a sleek mandarin collar. His pants were black cargoes and he had his usual black combat boots. My father's green eyes were bright and his black hair with red streaks in it was spiked up as always.
"I got a month's supply of food," I answered, pulling my large pack off my shoulders and setting it on the table.
Everyone gathered around as I unloaded my haul. First, I took out the food. There were twenty packs of Roman noodles, thirty-five small packs of crackers, sixteen containers of dehydrated fruits, powdered milk, Tang orange flavored drink mix, and twenty-seven packs of dehydrated ground beef.
The hunger in everyone's eyes made it clear that we'd be lucky if the food lasted until the end of this week As soon as we were running low again, I'd have to go to the abandoned factory again and get more food. Once all the food was unpacked, Don, Caleb, and Briar gathered it all up and went off to put it in the kitchen.
In The Black Labels around the world, there are kitchens, bathrooms, a training room, armory, a dinning room, and a large sleeping room. It not much but it's certainly better than trying to survive out in the open. Not many people would last an hour out there. Demons will kill on sight with no mercy. Shadows are one of the most common demon.
Shadows are made up of the darkness and evil of the world. They are what were called ghosts a long time ago; they can go through walls, fly, and disappear. A Shadow fuses itself with its victim and slowly crushes the insides. As it does this, it drains the soul and makes it part of itself.
Werewolves are another. They have the appearance of a human but transforms into a wolf. It was thought that they could be killed only with silver. That's wrong, anything can kill them. They are stronger and faster than regular wolves and are also telepathic, which helps them hunt. The theory that werewolves draw power from the moon is false. They draw their power from each other and the souls of their prey.
The third most common are Reapers. Reapers are evil souls that were trapped on Earth and haunt the pure spirited. They can cause more damage than a Shadow in a single touch. In a single touch, they can put you in so much pain that you'll be begging them to kill you. Their scythes can separate a soul from its body and cut through stone like it's warm butter. The only way to kill them is to cut its head off with its own scythe.
Vampires are another. They have the appearance of a human and are very compelling. They're telepathic, strong, have fangs, and can fly. In legends, they say the only way to kill a vampire is to drive a stake though its heart; but that would kill anything. A well aimed arrow or a strong blow to the head with a mace would do just as well.
The legend that garlic would kill them was a story our ancestors made up to make children feel safe on Halloween night. But the part about drinking blood is true to some degree. Blood is one of the major things that keeps us alive and without it, we'd die. When a vampire drinks blood, it also drains out the soul.
Sunlight won't kill just vampires, any demon will burn in the sunlight. But we can't use that to our advantage, seeing how the Earth is now cloaked in darkness.
It was a few years after the war started. Shadows were gathering at the North Pole and creating a cloud of darkness. No one knew what was happening until it was too late when it started spreading through the air over the planet, blocking out the sunlight. Temperatures would have dropped drastically if not for the greenhouse affect it created.
The lack of sunlight made it possible for demons could move around whenever they wanted without fear of being burned by sunlight. So the remaining humans fled to The Black Label closest and lived in them. If there's a way to destroy the darkness, we don't know it yet.
The most important demon is The King. He was the most powerful of the demons. People referred him to as Satin or the Devil in the past. No one knew his real name; few have seen him and lived to tell the tale. Very little is known of what he could do except that he could posses people and make them do whatever he wanted.
It was thought that he was impossible to kill him, but nothing's impossible. Supposedly, one man killed him when he was on his way back from The Black Label in Canada. The King came out of nowhere and attacked him. The fight lasted several hours. That is until the sun came up and he took his chance and cut The King's head off.
That man, the one who killed The King, is my father. I never believed he killed The King. Every time I asked how he did it, he always told me something different. He lied to me every time. It irks me to know that I can't trust my own father.
I looked over my shoulder and took a glance at my father. He went to look at me but I already turned my attention back to Alice. I stood up from my chair and turned to her.
"Come on, let's go to the armory and find you a weapon," I said.
She nodded and stood.
We walked out of the dinning room and to the doors that led inside the armory. I opened them and we stepped inside. We may be low on food but we're never low on weapons. Along the walls on shelves and on tables, held all types of swords, knives, axes, guns, grenades, and any other weapon. It's a huge collection that fills the whole room.
"Wow," Alice said when she saw all the weapons.
I motioned for her to follow me to the table that held the knives and daggers.
"This," I said, picking up the first one, "is the Steel Tiger. It's broadly curved AUS 8A stainless blade is designed for strength and ease of use. The handle has a distinctive finger ring and a non-slip grip. The blade is five inches long and it weighs six ounces."
I handed it to her and she looked at it before testing it. Shaking her head, she handed the knife back to me. Setting it back in its place, I picked up the next one.
"This one is a Urban Dart. With its small and thin handle, teardrop shaped and razor sharp blade, this knife is known as a lethally wicked blade. It can be used for throwing or as a push knife. The blade is five and three fourths inches long while it weighs four ounces," I said, handing it to her.
Like she did with the other one, she tested the weight and put it back. She picked up the next one and examined it.
"That's the Scottish Dirk. The thirteen-inch blade is made of 1050 high carbon steel while the handle is capped with a blued-steel guard. It also has a disc-shaped pommel. The blade is thirteen inches long and weighs nineteen ounces," I told her.
Putting it back down as after she tested it and handed it to me, I picked up the next one.
"The Talwar has the piercing and cutting power of a sword all in its three and three-fourth inch blade. It's small enough to fit in your pocket and only weighs nine ounces. It has a curved blade that is razor sharp, a needle point tip, and finger grooves in the handle that allows maximum control."
Shaking her head, she set it down on the table.
"This is the Raven Claw. It's a fighting knife with a cast metal hilt and a nicely balanced, blackened blade that can cut through bone like butter. It weighs one pound and the blade is thirteen and a half inches long," I said and handed it to her.
She tested it before putting it back and picking up another one.
"The Renaissance Dagger," I said, picking up the next one, "has a blade made from well-tempered high carbon steel that is twelve inches long. The pommel is polished brass and the wooden grip is wrapped in a thin black leather for a non-slip grip. This knife weighs one pound."
"This is a Landsknecht Dagger. Below the hilt on the double-edged sixteen inch blade is a floral pattern. The grip is covered in shagreen and the mounts are brass. This dagger weighs two pounds."
After testing it, she put it back. We went through the whole table and didn't find anything that was perfect for her. Next, we went to the wall holding the swords, spears, war hammers, and axes. Picking up the first on, I handed it to her.
"This is an Italian Falchion. It's a single edged sword designed for heavy chopping that can cut through medal with ease. The blade is twenty-six inches long made of high carbon steel with a curved tip. The grip is made of polished hardwood while the pommel and guard are of steel. It weighs three and one-forth pounds," I said.
I knew it wasn't going to work for her when I saw she was struggling to hold it up. Taking it and putting it back, I handed her the next one.
"This is the Seax or Sax. It has a six-inch blade that is single edged. With a razor sharp edge, the blade is flat ground and etched on each side. The guard and lobed pommel are brass while the grip is wood with studs also made of brass. It weighs one pound," I told her.
She swung it around a few times but shook her head. It must have been too light for her. Putting that one back, I gave her the next one.
"The Scimitar has a deeply curved blade made of high carbon steel. It's grip is wooden while the guard is steel. This blade can slash as well as drawcut, making a clean cut through medal. It weighs one pound and eight ounces and the blade is thirty and a half inches long."
Like before, she tested it but gave it back.
"This is the Crusader Axe. It's a two-headed war axe made of steel with four brass skull accents. The staff is wooden with a sharpened tip at the end. The blades are curved and make a clean cut through most medals. It all weighs three pounds and twelve ounces and the blades are fifteen inches long," I said, handing it to her.
When I saw she was having a hard time trying not to drop it, I put it back and brought down the next weapon.
"The Raven is like a larger version of the Raven Claw. Like the Raven Claw, this sword's blade is blackened. It's grip is cast metal and the pommel is a black mace head. The blade is thirty-one and a half inches long and weighs three pounds and eight ounces."
She swung it around a few times but shook her head and handed it back to me. I put it back on the wall and took down another.
We went through half the weapons on the wall in an hour. Every one I handed Alice didn't work for her. They were either too heavy, too long, or too light. Nothing was working for her.
"These are the Twin Maces. Unlike most maces, these are light and easier to control. They each have nine steel flanges that are sharp enough to cut into medal with a single blow. The flanges have been blackened to a very deep luster. Wrapped in leather, the bottom shafts have an improved grip. At the very end of each shaft is a sharpened tip used for stabbing."
She swung them around a few times and twirled them in her hands. Pleased with the feel and weight of them, she smiled at me.
"They're perfect," she said.
"Good, now lets go to the training room and get you used to them."
Leaving the room, we walked down the room where we test weapons and their wielders.