Hello~~~ Eunseoh and Armystar here. It has been ages since we uploaded but this chapter is especially long so please forgive us~~~~ ^.^

 

Enjoy.

---

The night air was still and cool, the soft light provided by the stars reflected gently all around the grassy hill she was standing atop. A few hundred metres in front of her was a town. The small wisps of smoke coming from the little buildings drifted slowly into the sky. People sleeping peacefully in their beds tossed uncomfortably as a shadow flitted silently through the streets. The pressure of the demon was easily felt by those with the attunement. A quick check on the mental link to rest of the gang revealed to Serin that they each had their own shadow to contend with, this one was hers. Soundlessly she dropped into a crouch and activated her quickstep, a few seconds later she was perched on a rooftop stalking the shadow as it honed in on its victim. Just as it was going in for the kill she jumped down behind it, drawing her knives and burying them deep into the shadow’s core. In a burst of light it exploded into a cloud of black mist before dissipating into nothing.

 

A scream resonated through the night air that made Serin’s skin prickle and her hair stand on end. Abruptly the scream was cut off and Serin galvanised into action. Making her way as quickly as possible across the rooftops Serin met up with the others. More screams began to echo through the town and Serin sped up, her wards tingling with power and anticipation. Suddenly an unearthly growl made its way across the rooftops. They followed it to the town centre; a large open area with businesses lining all sides. A gigantic pentagram had been drawn, no, carved into the stones that paved the area but what was more frightening was the beast shadow that stood in the centre slowly clenching and unclenching it’s claws. Discarded at each of the 5 points were the broken and bloodied bodies of 5 of the townspeople. Facing the shadow was a 6th townsperson, standing with his arms raised. The shadow had its attention focussed solely on the man. As quickly as the wind and silently as a shadow the 11 hunters got into place around the monster and the man. Jaejoong, Changmin and Ravi were on the left behind the monster, taking care not to be seen by the man. Jaehwan, Jaeeun and Hakyeon were on the right, behind the monster, also taking care not to be spotted. Yebin, Hyuk and Hongbin were positioned in various places around the square to deal with any lesser demons the bigger one or the man may summon. Serin and Taekwoon got to attack the thing straight on, well Taekwoon did… Serin was going to take out the summoner.

 

There was the signal! Like parts of a machine the various teams sprung into action at the same time. Jaejoong, Changmin and Ravi swooping in from the left, Jaehwan, Jaeeun and Hakyeon from the right at the same time that Taekwoon and Serin charged in drawing the attention of shadow and summoner. The silence was deafening. Reality came crashing in as all 3 teams fell on the shadow. Suddenly Serin was unable to watch her rag tag family because she had two arms and a face full of the summoner who’d killed the 5 townspeople and was trying to let loose a greater shadow on the rest.

 

He was fast enough that Serin wasn’t able to go on a full assault, she had to defend against his lightning quick strikes. As the fight progressed a couple of minutes, the summoner began to weaken and sensing a chink in his defence Serin struck. His legs folded and crumpled under the dead weight of the rest of his body and he fell into a heap on the stones. Serin was already gone by the time his head hit the ground.

 

Serin dived into the fray just as Jaejoong, Jaehwan and Yebin were sent flying backwards into nearby buildings. Not even stopping to make sure they were okay, Serin’s focus landed on the shadow. She watched it, the way it moved, the way it looked, noticed and thought. The demon was cunning, she could see it in the way it attacked. Using her mental link she shared her discoveries with her allies. The living noose of shadowhunters tightened around the demon. Sensing it was being cornered the demon made a desperate attempt to break free. Not fast enough to dodge the shadow’s blow, Jaeeun and Hongbin were thrown to the ground several metres away, Hakyeon followed next when he pushed Taekwoon out of the way. The shadow let out a roar of triumph and turned away from Serin. Taking the opportunity, Serin used Takewoon as a boost and jumped with all her might. She sailed through the air gracefully and landed on the shadow’s back, plunging her weapons deep into it’s core and driving a blast of pure energy through them and into the shadow. She braced for the explosion but wasn’t quite expecting just how high it was going to send her.

 

She must have flown 100 metres in the air  and then proceeded to crash through awnings and stall roofs on her way back to the ground. By the time the others found her, she was sitting propped up against one of the buildings. She had numerous lacerations and puncture wounds but thankfully no broken bones, those were a pain.

 

After they had gathered everyone, Serin, assisted by Sanghyuk and the rest of their rag-tag group shuffled and stumbled back to their base - a small wooden cottage on the outskirts of the forest that was their training ground by day and hunting ground by night. Stephan bounded up to the small group of wearied hunters with his tail wagging and made small sounds of affection at each of them. Everyone filed inside and fled straight to their rooms.

 

Sanghyuk took Serin up to their room and sat her on the bed while he tended to her injuries. Caspar appeared out of nowhere and crawled into Serin’s lap as cats are wont to do, and made noises at her until Serin patted her softly. Caspar was a hunter, like Serin, she had smokey grey hair with silver-grey patterns through it, patterns that served to break up the body shape of the cat, helping her blend seamlessly into the shadows. Jaejoong had found Caspar on the way back from a job, she had been small then, only a kitten, but she had somehow managed to survive the destruction that the shadows had wreaked. Inspired by the small creature he had decided to take her home and look after her. Caspar had adopted them all, and though her favourite remained Jaejoong, she spent lots of time with Ravi and Serin as well.

 

With her injuries tended to Serin rose from the bed, gently nudging Caspar off her lap in order to do so, and found her night clothes. She pulled off her bloody, dirty, torn clothes that sorely needed washing and repairing and pulled on her clean sleep wear - a loose shirt and a pair of loose knee-length trousers. Sanghyuk followed her lead and soon both were in their bed, drifting off. Visions of demons and destruction plagued Serin all night and she was restless in her sleep.

 

The town she had come to love and the people she had become dependent upon were destroyed. Suddenly a tower of blue flames burst through the ground and clawed their way up to the black clouds above. A figure emerged from the torrent of flames, it walked forward a few steps and then stopped. Two more figures emerged and spread out to stand on of either side of, and behind the first. The first figure lifted it's hands and looked to the sky. Blue fire rained down on what was left of the town, burning anything left alive and completely destroying everything else. Thanks to the extra light of the fires Serin could see the faces of the figures. They were three women, they seemed familiar but they were too far away for Serin to be sure. She could see light reflecting off something shiny on the head and body of the first figure. As one the trio started to walk forward with deliberate, measured steps. With a motion of her hands the two women on either side of the first one turned into great beasts, two metres tall. They looked like wolves with long sharp teeth and savage claws. With a bloodcurdling snarl and a howl they bounded away, chasing down the survivors and ripping them to shreds. Suddenly Serin felt a pressure in her head, forcing her to turn it. The first figure was staring right at her. A broad, bloodthirsty grin broke out on the face of the woman, who Serin realised was the Queen of the Shadows. With one pale hand she beckoned Serin closer and against Serin’s will, her legs began to carry her towards the imposing figure.

 

With a yell Serin woke up gasping and covered in sweat. Hyuk was startled awake and sat up staring at Serin. The others in the house took no notice, bad dreams were common in their line of work. Taking measured calming breaths Serin took stock of her surroundings, the room was light - she had been asleep for hours but it only felt like minutes. Caspar was sitting at the end of the bed staring at the two humans with her head tilted to the side.

 

After slowing her heart rate and breathing Serin turned to Hyuk and told him about her dream. He sat silently listening until Serin had finished speaking. Unnerved by his silence Serin asked Hyuk what he thought. In a slow mediated voice Hyuk told her about the people he’d known that became attuned to the darkness after many years of hunting demons. Those people sometimes developed powers of foresight and sometimes were even able to control lesser shadows. In the end those that had used their powers a lot went mad or turned into greater shadows and destroyed their friends, but that usually happened after many many years.

 

The two were quiet after that, each deep in thought.

 

The next thing Serin knew she was being shaken awake and the sky was bleeding. She sat up alarmed and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She was being woken because pancakes and it was sunset. The woman from her ‘vision’ flashed in her memory but was brushed aside because pancakes, and when you live in a house with 10 other people as well as a dog and a cat, food, especially nice food, tended to disappear quickly.

 

After breakfast, Hakyeon and Taekwoon gathered everyone in the dining room. Taekwoon’s expression was terse but otherwise unreadable, but his eyes followed Hakyeon’s every movement. The smaller male was sporting a dislocated shoulder and various minor scrapes and cuts but was still full of life and energy. Serin didn’t know how he did it, though she thought if she had someone like Taekwoon by her side she could manage to put on a brave face everyday. Takewoon and Hakyeon. The two older men were the mentors of their family, and inseparable. Hakyeon was like the nagging mother who was always there to comfort them and Taekwoon was like their father, always there to make sure they behaved but would protect them in a heart beat.

 

It was time to hunt.

 

The cuts and bruises that Serin had attained the night before were now completely healed. The benefits of having super healing were not to be laughed at. She and Yebin were prowling the rooftops to the east of the town square. Suddenly Serin felt a pull coming from the edge of town, swerving so suddenly that Yebin had to scramble to keep up Serin started hunting the origin of the pull. She and Yebin ended up at street level in front of a potions store. Behind Serin she heard Yebin fussing. The younger girl wanted to get back to patrol but Serin was determined to find the source of the pull. Steeling herself, Serin opened the door and stepped inside the shop, meanwhile Yebin was increasingly desperate in her pleas for Serin to come back outside and go back to patrolling. The shop gave her the creeps. The others would be angry. They didn’t know who or what owned the shop. It could be a trap.

 

Resolute in her decision Serin closed the door behind her, shutting out Yebin. The younger girl’s desperate pleas were muffled as the wooden door swung shut and emitted a click. Unable to see anything in the resulting darkness of the shop, Serin stood absolutely still while she waited for her night vision to adjust to the complete lack of light. She casted her senses out into the shop, trying to find any life. Suddenly A light bloomed in the darkness, hurting Serin’s sensitive eyes. When she had adjusted to the light she moved towards it. It was a crystal ball, and reflected on the surface, seemingly from within the crystal, was a town - her town. It was the scene from her dream. It seemed so real.

 

There was a furious banging on the door and Yebin’s voice was loud even though she was outside, the panic was clear to any who heard her. Feeling sorry for the younger girl, and thoroughly creeped out, Serin turned and walked to the door. To her distress, it was locked. Calling on her wards, she planted her weapons in the door, one at each hinge and sent a surge of energy through them. The door flew off it’s hinges and splintered into tiny shards against the wall opposite. Serin was filled with an overwhelming dread. The sky was overcast and lightning was flashing across the underside of the black clouds.

 

Serin raced to the square… the place that had been attacked in her dream. The pentagram from the day before was gone, no evidence of the events that had transpired remained. Serin barely noticed these things as she approached the far side of the square. Yebin trailed behind her, obviously shaken and nervous, she kept glancing either side and behind her, not that it would do her any good, thought Serin. The bell in the clock tower chimed midnight and an almighty crack reverberated through the ground, the town, the sky, everywhere. A rift in space, made of absolute darkness opened up.

 

Hundreds of lesser shadows poured out. They were of no concern. Minor pests. They could be completely dealt with within an hour. Then came the minor shadows. They were a little more difficult to deal with, but still manageab… well, that’s just no fun. Standard strength shadows came pouring out of the gateway as it opened wider and wider.

 

The wider the rift got, the more powerful the shadows coming out got. Despite Serin’s best efforts, she and Yebin were unable to hold the rising tide of shadows back. Using her mental link, she called for backup only to find that all of her family were all dealing with their own demons.

 

The town Serin had come to love and the people she had become dependent upon were utterly demolished by the unnatural black flames that the shadows spread. She felt each of the deaths of her companions through their mental link, each one a splinter stabbing her heart. But Serin had no time to grieve, a tower of blue flames burst through the ground and clawed their way up to the black clouds above, just like in her dream. The woman emerged from the torrent of flames, walked forward a few steps and then stopped. Two more women emerged and spread out to stand one of either side of and behind the first woman. The one at the front her hands and looked to the sky. Blue fire rained down on what was left of the town, burning anything left alive and completely destroying everything else. Thanks to the extra light of the fires Serin could see the faces of the three women. They were the three women from her dream, familiar but too far away to be sure. She could see light reflecting off something shiny on the head and body of the first figure. As one the trio started to walk forward with deliberate, measured steps. With a motion of her hands the two women on either side of the first one turned into great beasts, two metres tall. They looked like wolves with long sharp teeth and savage claws. With a bloodcurdling snarl and a howl they bounded away, chasing down the survivors and ripping them to shreds. Suddenly Serin felt a pressure in her head, forcing her to turn it. The first figure was staring right at her. A broad, bloodthirsty grin broke out on the face of the woman, who Serin realised was the Queen of the Shadows. With one pale hand she beckoned Serin closer and against Serin’s will, her legs began to carry her towards the imposing figure.

 

Suddenly Serin recognised the faces of the women. The beasts were Alicia and Hyuna, goodness knows how she knew that… but even more disturbing was the first figure to emerge from the flames. She was Eunseo. Eunseo gave an especially feline grin, which reminded her very much of Casper before she out.

 

Serin woke up to Yebin’s worried gaze.

 

“We’ll be late for school if you don’t hurry up…”

 

With that Serin remembered where she was and sprung out of bed. She rushed around trying to get ready for class.