Hey folks. This chapter is once again in Niko's perspective, but the next will be in Cal's. I already have it all planned out. This is about the first time they actually get in a fight with a Grendel, and the results of all that. I hope you like it!

Oh, by the way, thank you to those who reviewed! It means a lot for me to get your feedback... especially because so far its been positive. :D Thanks!... now go enjoy the story.

Disclaimer: The Cal Leandros series is property of Rob Thurman, I own nothing.

It was late and the city was mostly empty of pedestrians. It was too dangerous to be out now… at least unarmed. But then I wasn't unarmed. I was merely 14 but I had been taking classes at a dojo and I knew I could fight and fight well. I had only been taking them for a year but I was already better than all the teachers there. For a moment I allowed myself to be proud. I was a good fighter, and I was certain that I could protect Cal better now.

Most humans were not as good as I was and I could hold my own against a monster or two. I had practiced. There had been a revenant last week in the alley lying in wait for an unsuspecting passerby to step to close. I had taken care of it quite thoroughly and I didn't have a scratch. I wasn't nearly as good as I would have to be, but I was good enough for now.

I glanced down at Cal, who had stubbornly insisted on going with me. He didn't want me to be wandering out alone. I couldn't help but smile at that. Cal was small for his age and not nearly the fighter that I was, yet he still never let me come alone. He was a good brother.

"What?" He said defensively when he noticed my staring. "I know, I'm adorable, but you really gotta stop with the staring."

I sighed and gave a light smack to the back of his head. Sarcasm. It was a new thing for him but it was coming on strong. I couldn't imagine it going anywhere in the near future either.

Cal rubbed the back of his head and glared up at me. His rubbing messed up the already tangled shaggy hair on his head. It fell across his face and made a stark contrast against Cal's already pallid skin. I knew he hated it. He hated how white his skin was. He thought it made him look like a Grendel. He was wrong though. He looked nothing like a Grendel, not physically and especially not what I saw through his eyes. I would convince him of that someday.

I had let myself get distracted, a rookie mistake. So it took me a second to see it, a pale blur against a black sky. I didn't let it know that I saw it, they didn't usually bother us. For some unknown reason they usually just watched, with red malicious eyes that paid far to much attention to Cal.

I felt the adrenaline fill my body as it did every time I saw them. Cal noticed and looked up at me confusedly for a moment before he realized. He was not as good as I was at hiding fear, and the tension was easily visible for anyone… or anything, who looked close enough. And there were things looking closely… there always were.

"Hello little brother." Its voice was a horrid sound, like someone stuck barbed wire in a tree shredder. The low grinding and the high pitched hiss.

It jumped down from its perch on the rooftop to land in front of us. It's almost clear hair twisted in the air seemingly of its own accord and its thousands of needle teeth sparkled brightly even in the sparse light. But worse than all this was the fact that it hadn't even looked at me yet. It stared with homicidal happiness at Cal, who I could feel shaking beside me.

I tried to edge in front of him, but that seemed to snap him out of it. The shaking stopped and he wouldn't let me in front of him. We were going to have a long talk about this later.

"You sheep have been training, yes? Practicing." With no more talk it lunged at Cal. It moved so fast, I almost couldn't keep my eyes on it. It was like nothing I had ever seen before, but I didn't have time for fear. It would only slow me down.

I managed to get the knife up before it was on us, but only just barely. I slashed at its torso, but it twisted and avoided my attempt easily. It moved so fast I wasn't sure what part of it hit me, but I flew a few feet and skidded across the pavement and knocked my head against it hard.

Before I had even hit the ground it was on Cal. I saw its claws glisten as it raised its hand high and brought it down too quickly for him to move. My heart lurched in my chest and I was up and on my feet faster than I knew I could move. My knife was still gripped tightly in my hand ready to spill blood, but I wasn't fast enough. I moving faster than I ever had, but I knew it wasn't enough. I couldn't make it. I couldn't stop that hand.

It came down across Cal's cheek leaving four parallel scratch marks lined with blood. His head snapped back at the incredible force from the Grendel's thin sinewy arm and he stumbled backwards before catching himself. Suddenly the fear was replaced by a new emotion. It was boiling black in my stomach and pounding through my veins with every beat of my stuttering heart. It seethed inside me viciously and it needed release. I was happy to grant it.

It didn't think I, a mere sheep, would be so fast, so I managed to catch it off guard. I threw all my strength behind my arm and slammed the knife home into its chest as it turned to face me.

Black blood was everywhere, spurting from the wound and dripping down my hands. It should have been dying, cursing screaming and clutching at its chest. It should have looked shocked as that sickly red light left its eyes… but it didn't. It didn't do any of that. It laughed and grinned at me, nothing but malevolent glee in its eyes.

It shoved my hand off the knife with a twitch of its wrists and yanked the knife from its chest. It gripped the hilt, slippery with its own blood and handed it back to me, hilt first. Like a knife was a joke of a weapon, like I was a joke of a fighter.

It reached towards my neck, I jerked back but not fast enough, its claws were bare inches from my skin.

Then came Cal.

Seemingly out of nowhere he leapt on the Grendel's arm that was stretching towards my neck and bit it. Black blood flowed freely from the arm and into his mouth and down his face. The Grendel yanked its arm back and dislodged Cal with a punch to his ribs that ripped him from its arm and sent him flying as easily as if he were nothing.

It laughed again and turned back to me. It leaned forward and hissed through its fine teeth. It's hot fetid breath making my stomach turn.

"Useless."

An eerie grey light flared to life behind it and it stepped backwards, disappearing into something just as vile and wrong as it was.

Then it was gone, all of it. The light and the Grendel were just gone… like they never were.

I turned quickly and ran to Cal who was just sitting up. I dropped to my knees beside him as gingerly touched his face. He winced away from my touch and gritted his teeth as he managed a full sitting position.

"Are you okay? How are your ribs." I lifted his shirt and saw some bruising, but nothing that looked too serious. I still felt sick at seeing him injured. My little brother, the only person who I loved in the whole word and I let him get hurt. I shook those thoughts from my head, I didn't have time to deal with them now. Now was the time to be strong for Cal, where I had failed before.

"Okay. You?" He said gruffly as I helped him to his feet.

"Fine." I responded though I was certain my bones were seriously bruised. I could deal with it, he didn't need to know that. "-but we need to get out of here. It most likely won't come back, but we can't take that chance."

I coaxed us into a fast pace, almost a jog, despite the fire in my ribs. We had made it a mile before Cal struggled from my grip and threw up. His body continued to convulse and dry heave even after he had expelled everything from his body. I sat next to him and rested my hand on his back, so he would know I was there.

After a moment he turned around and looked up at me. In the meager light I could see that the blood on his cheek was mixed with black Grendel blood. I grabbed the hem of my shirt and began to wipe it off but he pulled his face away from me.

"Don't" His voice was hoarse from vomiting. "what's a little more Grendel blood?" He gave me a self-deprecating smile.

My hands clenched into fists before I threw my arms around him and held him to me tightly.

"If tonight should have convinced you of anything, it is that you are nothing like them at all. I won't tolerate you thinking differently. Anyone who thinks badly of my little brother has to go through me, even if it's you." I let him go but held his chin so he was forced to look me in the eye.

He lip twitched in a genuine relieved smile and he nodded. We walked the rest of the way home in silence. But I was glad for it. I thought back on the fight tonight and it was almost laughable how pathetic I was. The Grendel could have killed Cal if it wanted to, and I could have done nothing to stop it.

I had thought I was a good fighter, what a joke. I thought bitterly. I was nothing compared to the Grendel. It was foolish to think that being the best human in my dojo meant a thing. We weren't fighting humans, we were fighting Grendels. I could never let myself take a break, I could never let myself rest. I needed every moment to get better, to be faster and stronger.

I needed to be able to protect Cal.

As I walked home with my head aching and my ribs burning I stared down at my little brother and promised myself that I would work as hard as need be to protect him. I would never stop getting better, never rest until he was safe.

"You're staring again. I know how cute I am but really, this is getting ridiculous." I felt a smile tug at my lips as I held back a laugh and I was so relieved that he seemed okay I didn't even bother smacking the back of his head.

Maybe sarcasm wasn't such a bad thing after all.