Chapter Two

The world was an oblivion to Ahnger. Everything around him seemed to hold no importance except for the punching bag and the headphones blasting music in his ears. That and the annoying giggling going on his head. The laugh was so low but so loud it was heard over the music. Not letting up on the bag, Ahnger continued the same workout he started when he and Adam got home the same time he entered the darkness's world.

Surrounded by a giant forest, the night sky covered in stars shined above Ahnger. In the distance was a dark figure but couldn't be seen since a bunch of clouds decided to block the moon. Lying in the grass and still laughing, Ahnger turned around to see a black wolf staring at him. Its black eyes held amusement in them along with an oldness the male would never understand.

"Again without any luck?" it commented.

"Shut it," Ahnger growled. "This one wasn't a waste. I got a time and date along with the location. So do us a favor and back the fuck off. I don't need you dogging my every step."

"But I do." The darkness stood up and shook its fur. "We're one so I can do whatever I want. Besides, I don't like them any more than you do. Those foul creatures. The stench of them burns my nose. And I don't like the idea of them gathering in such large numbers." Stopping its speech, the darkness jerked its head over to Ahnger and grinned. "Although, you can tell Adam why we're still here and he can help out."

Ahnger raised his lips and growled. The darkness just laughed and went back to lying around in the grass. It knew Ahnger would overreact if it mentioned Adam. Then again, it liked Adam as well in a sentimental way. The male had a lot of balls standing up to Ahnger thirty years ago. Because of him and his unique ability, the darkness and Ahnger came to liking his company on their little trips to where their likings almost got the both of them killed.

It hadn't just been Ahnger acting alone when he attacked his father. The darkness had acted with Ahnger in hopes of not only killing Mehrcy but his female, Victoria Bishop. The human who's also a host of the darkness had attacked Adam and the two had acted out of blind rage against the two. Things would've ended in a tie if the Brotherhood hadn't interfered. Ever since then Ahnger and Adam kept a close eyes on the Brothers. And along with keeping a close eye, Ahnger never told Adam about the fight.

"Very well," spoke the darkness. "Do what you must. Just remember Adam's not stupid. He's already doubting. It won't be long before he asks why we're so invested in this lesser hunt."

Ahnger could feel the tension in the darkness. Only the two of them knew why they were still in Caldwell and he couldn't tell his friend why.

Shaking his head, Ahnger returned back to the real world and easily found his way back to the bag. He must've been at the bag for another two or three hours when his music stopped. Giving the bag one more punch, the male removed the iPod from his arm to see it was eight at night. He had been on the bag since four in the morning.

Ripping the buds from his ear and tossing the device on his bed, Ahnger snatched the towel on a chair and walked around the bag. The room the male lived in was a simple one. Besides a bed in the corner and the desk with a laptop, TV and lamp on it, the room was the male's personal gym. A weight bench rested on one side of the room with a set of barbells and dumbbells. In the center of the room was a metal bar installed a few inches from the ceiling for him to do some lifts and a matt on the cold floor so he could do some pushups and other sets of workouts. Resting on the other side of the room was a cement weight stack and a treadmill.

Taking stairs leading up to the main house since his room was the basement, Ahnger slammed the door behind him as he walked up to the kitchen. Adam had just placed in two pieces of bread in the toaster when he turned around to see his friend. He was about to greet him when the male walked past the kitchen and headed up to the shower. Ahnger stood under the cold water for a while before cleaning himself of sweat. He didn't take long in the shower. He was out and wearing a pair of sweats when Adam was done making an egg sandwich. Adam handed Ahnger one who greatly took it. In two bites was it gone.

"I'm guessing you couldn't sleep?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"Aye—I mean yes. I barely got any sleep last night because of you."

Ahnger dropped his head and shook it. They really needed to help Adam's language.

Patting his friend on the shoulder, he went back to the door leading to his room and told Adam he was going out. Adam was about to head upstairs to start changing when Ahnger said he was heading out alone. There was a second where Adam asked if he was sure and the male laughed at his friend's worry. Changing into a pair of jeans and a shirt, Ahnger strapped his blades to his waist and tossed on his jacket before heading back upstairs. The front door was unlocked which meant Adam went outside to take care a few things.

With a toss of his head, Ahnger dematerialized and reappeared in the city. People walked around him like he had always been standing in the middle of the street. Tonight was a snowy night so everyone has some snow on them. Since his hair was still wet, snow clung to Ahnger's black hair. As he moved to dust the snow away, he realized he forgot to tie his bangs separate. So instead of two braids on the side of his face there were two thick strands of hair dangling helplessly around his face. He just shook his head and his hair went flying everywhere.

Ahnger hadn't planned on coming out but had felt like it would be good to take a long walk. There were no signs of lessers or of the Brotherhood so the male relaxed just a bit. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he began his prowl down the street.

As Ahnger went for his walk, the darkness jumped around in an attempt to entertain itself. Clearly it wanted to do some killing but knew it was good to lie low every once and a while. And considering all the killing he did yesterday, the darkness wasn't stupid to do another big raid two days in a row. Jumping around in its world would just have to do and Ahnger didn't mind. In fact, he was glad the darkness found something to do. He liked having a mind to himself now and then.

Walking past a street of hookers, Ahnger snickered. Adam's vocabulary was getting to him because the word wenches came to mind. He liked the male and liked how he could mess with him on his language. There was no doubt Adam was older than Ahnger by the way how he spoke and acted. The thing was that he had never asked how old he was or why he always wore those shades twenty-four-seven. There were some mysteries to Adam that Ahnger didn't know how to approach them. But there were things he never told his friend so he thought of it as them being even.

Ahnger had to pass them with a grin on his face. Going down a few more blocks, Ahnger tipped his head back and took in a frosty breath. It seemed the cold night was providing a kind of solitude he had been looking for. As Ahnger was about to continue his walk, a scent drifted over to him and his snarled. Snapping his head straight, his eyes scanned the streets before he dematerialized up to one of the buildings. Right when he peeked over the ledge, a black Escalade drove by where he had been standing a second ago. Right before the vehicle turned at the light, no one saw a flash of white except for Ahnger.

The light.

After spending so long in Caldwell, the male knew when the Brotherhood was close and when to disappear. But it wasn't only the scent that gave them away. It was the darkness's opposite. He had felt the light coming up right behind him which gave him time to get out before he was seen. Ahnger knew the Brothers sometimes traveled in the Escalade so it was easy for him to spot. It wasn't that hard especially when he caught them getting into it a couple of times. Ahnger figured out the Brother Vishous owned the ride and he knew his twin Sohrrow hanged around the Brother. Seeing the light vanish behind the building proved everything correct.

The darkness stopped its jumping and tensed along with Ahnger. They both uttered a prayer that the Escalade didn't stop. If Ahnger had sensed his twin, it would've been an ugly fight if Sohrrow had sensed him as well. But after inspecting his twin, it was clear Sohrrow wasn't as skilled as his father in sensing the darkness. Knowing he wasn't experienced eased the darkness a bit. It was Ahnger who the darkness who then tried to easy since the male was still tense.

Knowing it was past time to leave, Ahnger dematerialized back to the streets in order to see if they were truly clear. He wouldn't risk getting caught on the roofs if some Brothers decided to do the same thing. Planning to walk another few blocks and dematerializing in an alley, Ahnger followed his plan by crossing five more blocks and taking a sharp turn left. But as he was about to turn, a woman wearing a suede Russian hat and winter jacket with fur lining bumped into him.

Ahnger stumbled to catch the woman and was about to apologize when the woman placed a hand on his chest. He thought it was meant to catch herself from falling but all of a sudden he was tired. Feeling his legs buckle under him, Ahnger fell forward and the woman caught him. The last thing Ahnger remembered before passing out was the woman dragging him into the very alley was going to leave through.

A wrenched smell awoke Ahnger abruptly.

Jerking his head up, a pounding headache nearly knocked the male out again. Staying still as possible, Ahnger waited until the pounding stopped. It was then when he felt himself kneeling on a floor and his arms stretched out. And he wasn't wearing a shirt.

Ahnger immediately jerked his arms only to hear chains straining to keep them apart. Looking up, Ahnger roared in he found himself bound. The chains held tight against the walls which kept his arms outstretch from his body. When he tried to stand up to rip the chains, he could so much as bend up since he was so secured to the ground. Looking back and forth with the intent to kill in his eyes, it was there that Ahnger saw his arms.

Going all the way from his wrist up to his shoulders were glowing tattoos. They were a golden color which made look as if they were glowing and seemed to slowly disappear from his skin. He watched as parts of the tattoos around his shoulders faded and were working their way down his arms.

Outraged, Ahnger reached to the darkness to lend him some power when the tattoo shot bright gold. Instantly a burning sensation rode through Ahnger's body. The feeling was coming from his arms covered in the tattoos. It felt like his arms were being burned off. Ahnger stopped and so did the burning.

"I wouldn't do that."

Ahnger looked straight and saw a woman sitting across from him. Wearing the same hat and jacket, the same woman he bumped into sat in a chair with one leg over the other and her chin buried deep in her jacket as if she was cold.

"Seals are very sensitive when they're first placed. I'm surprised they didn't burn when you were moving around."

"What is this?" roared Ahnger.

Unfolding her legs and taking a stand, the woman removed her hat and white hair fell all the way down to her waist. Long bangs which she had to wipe aside revealed a pair of pale golden eyes. Stuffing her hands back into her pockets and taking a shuddering breath, her fangs poked beneath her lips.

"My name is Sayge. And you might as well get used to those seals. By order of the Scribe Virgin, I have sealed you from any use of the darkness."