Ch 1 Out of the Shadows

The shadows reached out pleading to me over and over again to go another round. I pushed up my hood and the collar of my sweater for warmth against the cold wind that blew across my already numb face. ¨ I'm already in the Spirit Realm,¨ I mutter under my breath. ¨I don't need to go any further.¨ Voices whispered in and out of my mind, making a sound similar to the sound of a snake hissing at a threat. Faces appear and disappear in the mist around me. I pay no attention to them though. Just my presence alone should be enough to ward of any evils that may dwell here.

Thunder rumbled and red lightning flashed overhead, though no rain fell. My radar pinged as something large approached there wasn't anywhere out here that something of this magnitude couldn't find me. I could feel the aura of this thing. It was harsh white and it pulsed with anger. "Not this again," I mutter as I unsling my hunting bow from my back. There was no need for arrows here. Just my own powers were strong enough to create arrows of light. Though normally Light energy is not my element, my mother's abilities were strong in me, so I was able to create the Arrows of Sunlight, the only thing that can kill out here. Since sunlight doesn't actually exist here, the act of just creating enough was exhausting.

The creature stepped through the grey branches of the grey willow tree I had been looking for. I hadn't seen any others. His aura was so strong that it seemed to freeze the air around it. The beast was big, not much bigger than a street lamp or a two story building. He had thick snowy white fur that covered his huge bulky muscles. His eyes were pitch black that seemed to smoke like his eyes had been burned out of his head His mouth was just an open hole that gaped through hs thick fur. He didn't have much of a face, just the open mouth and the smokey black eyes. In his hands he held a double sided war axe. The blades were of obsidian and the handle of dark pine, which was wrapped in leather.

I pulled back the string on my hunting bow, letting my energy fill the the bow with power. But before I could release it, a bright fireball hit the beast in the face with such force that it staggered back a step. It didn't even seem a little hurt, just pissed the fuck off. Though by that time I could see a black figure. He stepped into a little more into view and I could see a familiar face. "Hey dude I called what took you so long." The beast glared at the both of us with a look both of us understood….hate. You have some nerve my friend said he was wearing an all black Cloak that seemed to be as if it was completely made of shadows. He raised his hand toward the beast and the shadows around him made an all black pair of kamas. The blades aura radiated with heat.

"You like to freeze the air right he called to it. "Allow me to warm you up."

"Dante," I warn. "Darkness doesn't work on him here. You have to use something of color. Some kind of light."

"Got it," says Dante. Immediately from inside his cloak two huge, glowing yellow blades the shape of crescent moons shot out. He grabbed them out of the the air and I noticed attached to both of them was a chain that radiates a bright reddish yellow energy. Only then did I notice his blade was a chain scythe. "Now watch this," Dante told me as he threw his scythes at the beast and they stuck into both of the beast shoulders. The beast howled in agony and tried to grabbing the chain, but the aura was so strong it singed his hands. "Not today," Dante laughed. He grabbed the chains of both blades and pulled the monster with so much force he came flying towards him. The chain scythe disappeared and Dantes right hand set a blaze with furious green flame. Flames of emotion hearts rage he called. The flame engulfed his hand as he balled his fist. He uppercutted the monster and as he flew into the air Dante followed, "Hey Michael catch Dante called as his foot set a a blazed with same raging green flamed and spin kicked the beast towards me. Out of pure instinct my bow appeared in my hands already pulled, three arrows of light already nocked. I released them and they streaked toward the beast and impaled it in three pressure points. One in the forehead and two in each breast. Fire set the beast ablaze turning it to flaming chunks of ash before it reached me.

I stepped through the shadow of the grey willow that the beast had stepped through only moments earlier and reappeared next to Dante as he was flame sharpening his kamas, by peeling away at the already heated blades with hands the color of coals in a furnace.

"Sup," I say watching him steadily sheath his kamas in his cloak. "Why are you wearing a monk's cloak?"

"It's not," he says, looking wearily around the eerie, colorless forest. "I always use this cloak to stay hidden he explains nervously, pinching up a part of the shadow cloak. "But now…"he stopped-

"You wonder why," I finish, absently plucking my bow string. "It hasn't caused you any problems has it?"

"No," he smiles, "It actually has been pretty useful. The thing that bothers me is that this place seems to know I'm not strictly one element. My powers stem form three blood lines fire light and dark Dante told me but enough about me kuza told me to come here now what are we doing in this place. It's freezing."

I look around the forest. Night Crows caw in the trees spirits moan and whisper in the distance. I could smell incoming rain. "I will tell you, but first we've got to get somewhere dry and out of the elements. We do not want to get caught in the rain." Dante kneeled down on one knee and touched the ground.

"Ok dude grab my shoulder he told me. I stepped over and gently place my left hand on his shoulder as we melted away into the shadows. The sound was always the same. Traveling through shadows was like traveling through a tunnel with no light, but a lot of sound. Like a wind tunnel almost. Plus the sound of pain and agony and sadness all together. For someone else, they would succumb to the sounds and become one of them. For us, the sounds are are about as meaningless.

We appeared in a small messy room with all white carpet and all white walls. There was a thin air mattress on the floor next to the window with a yellow comic book next to it. The air was warm with an actual heating system. I stepped out of the shadow and immediately tripped over a fan, making a bunch of noise.

"What the fuck."

"Shh," says Dante already sitting down on a plastic milk crate.

"Where are we," I ask. A little irritated.

"My house now shush. I'm trying to set up a wall around us that will make it seem like we're not here." He whispers with a smile playing on his lips.

Careful not to trip on anything else, I step by the window and look out to see the world I had not seen for so long.

"Your good," Dante says in a normal voice.

"So, what's been up with you?" I ask

"Not too much, just one thing though," he said looking me in the eyes.

"What?"

"I had a dream," he said "Darkness, Light, Fire… they all were there."

"When," I ask almost certain from his tone that it wasn't good.

"Last year," he told me. "You need to hear this

. . .

Dante saw nothing but darkness, inky, milky darkness.

"Youuuuu are still one of mine," the darkness said. "You will do the same and the other boy… the darkness said in a painful raspy voice.

Suddenly light filled his vision only enough to half the darkness

"He is not only yours but he is mine and since that is so he will not Fall to you," spoke a female's voice .

At the last part of the lights sentence a bright orange flame sparked a roar between the light and darkness

"Don't forget. He is mine I give him the drive to choose his own path," it spoke in a male's voice.

The darkness hissed.

"Light and fire are a mix I can't stand, but I will not be overpowered and driven out."

"You mean, like what your doing to the other boy," light asked.

Darkness laughed

"Of course did you really think you could stay with that one forever." Then the darkness just disappeared and the light and the fire merged forming something Dante knew all to well….. holy fire.

"You mustn't let him take Michael," the holy flame spoke. "You must help him fight off Black."