The Hunters Volume One: The Beginning

Chapter Five

Beyond the edges of Starlight Bay, in the forest that surrounded the city, a house stood behind the short walls of a picket fence. The walls of the house had been painted an unassuming blue, although the moonlight gave it an unusual purple gleam. Imperceptible except to the highly trained and very observant eye, numerous runes littered nearly every hidden corner of the house and underneath every window and door. The workshop and garage attached to the sides of the building got the same treatment. Light shone through the windows of the main building, signifying that the occupants were still awake despite how late the hour was.

Inside the house was as plain as the outside. Furniture, not shabby yet nowhere near exotic, made the living room less empty than it looked. Shelves lined the walls although there were no pictures on them, only the occasional flower vase here and there. The only thing that stood out was the larger than normal bookshelf that occupied the entire west wing of the room.

Michael sat on one of the couches, a book open on his lap as his eyes pored over its pages. To his left, the only other occupant of the room Dean lay on his back with his eyes closed. He was so still he could have been thought dead, if not for the small yet consistent rise and fall of his broad chest. In the kitchen adjacent to the living room, Lee reclined on a wooden chair tipped far back enough to stand on its back legs with his feet on the table.

The place was quite, the three men relishing in the silence and the peace of mind that came after knowing they had defended humanity once more. That was why they Hunted. To protect people who couldn't do so themselves, against those who sought their selfish goals without a care for those harmed in the process. The supernatural world was an extremely diverse place, each faction driven by different ideals. More often than not, those ideals usually did not bode well for normal humans.

That was where they came in. For centuries, they had protected humanity from the shadows. Waging a perpetual war against the supernatural world from the side of mankind, despite being part of that world themselves. There was never any particular enemy considering the sheer diversity of unnatural creatures out there. They didn't play favorites either. If a human magician was engaged in activities intended to hurt people, they spared no effort in eliminating him as well. After all, humanity could sometimes be its own worst enemy.

A large purplish black circle appeared in the middle of the living room, right in front of Michael. A slender leg showed itself first as Jade came through the portal, Olivia following soon after before the gateway shut itself.

"Well that movie was the worst," Jade complained to no one in particular as she tossed her purse on the couch.

"I'm not so sure about that," Olivia countered in her normal mellow voice as she took a seat beside her leader.

The darker haired girl shot her teammate a dry look. "It was basically two and a half hours of stupid romantic sappiness. I don't even know how you talked me into seeing that...."

Jade's voice trailed off as her eyes went vacant for a second, then narrowed considerably. This had not gone unnoticed by everyone in the room.

"What is it?" Michael asked, shutting his book and setting it aside. Across the room, Dean had shot up from the couch to sit upright, his body primed for immediate action should it be required.

"Something's coming," Jade answered as she reached into her connection with the runes plastered all over the building. She was the one who had drawn them originally to prevent anyone finding the house or infiltrating it. The runes were identified to her, meaning that she would be alerted if anything sought to enter the house.

Just like now.

Lee got up from the table and made his way into the living room, rolling his sleeves along the way. "Who is it this time? I don't exactly feel like doing two Hunts in one night. Besides I'm surprised we were found at all." He sent a sly grin on Jade's direction. "Guess you're not as good as you think."

She returned the grin with a withering glare. "Be quiet you. We haven't been compromised. It's only a letter. And I have a good guess as to who the sender is, seeing as they're the only ones who can track us."

Lee's grin morphed into a slight frown. "Why would they reach out to us again after last time?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Michael noticed Olivia shudder slightly in discomfort and decided to speak up.

"Lee, drop it. Jade, send the letter back-"

"I don't think we should do that. Michael, it has that seal on it."

The young man went silent at that and thought over his reply. The presence within him beckoned on him to receive the message as soon as he heard about the usage of a seal.

'They know what that seal symbolizes, Michael. If they're willing to use it now, that means this is something we cannot in good faith ignore.'

Listening to the words of his predecessor and weighing the pros and cons made Michael sigh tiredly as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"Alright bring it in. Let's see what this is about anyway," Michael agreed reluctantly. Turning to face Olivia, he saw her biting her lower lip anxiously. There were slight traces of uncertainty in her eyes and she wrung her hands together.

Michael covered her hands with his and looked at her softly. "Hey, it's going to be alright."

Jade had an uncharacteristically tender look in her eyes when she patted the other girl's shoulder.

"You know we don't exactly have to do this? We didn't make that promise so we don't have to do anything for them-"

Olivia raised a hand to stop her mid sentence. A weak laugh escaped her and she smiled sadly at the floor.

"No. It's just...after all these years, I-I still can't..." She let out a small sigh and separated her hands. Her nervousness had decreased a bit when she spoke again.

"Let it in. You guys always said you wanted me to get better right? I'm willing to give it a shot. Who knows, it might be something important?"

"Are you sure?" Michael asked. She replied with a nod and he looked over to Dean and Lee for their opinion. The former simply nodded while Lee waved his hand for them to go forward.

Jade met her leader's eyes one last time and he gave her the go ahead signal. Raising her hand, she summoned a version of the portal that had appeared earlier only much smaller in size over her palm. A white envelope fell out into her waiting hand. It was sealed shut with a wax seal of a rather peculiar design; a beautiful ornate sword that had strange designs on its guard and hilt. Most of the seal was red in color but the beautiful sword stood out with its bold golden coloration.

Jade handed it over to Michael in a show of deference and went to take a seat on his other side. He gazed at the seal for a while at the request of the presence within him to see the symbol that had once held much meaning to him. Then he carefully broke the seal and opened the letter. Dean and Lee had come to stand behind the couch at some point and they all read the letter together.