Moon Daemon

Chapter One : Intruders

    I walk amongst the crowd of humans in a small town on the outskirts of a city, looking for food. I only venture into civilizations when I need resources, and try to avoid it as much as I can. I can see the curious looks from the patrons on the street, knowing they are questioning why I walk in a black hooded jacket that pushes my long black hair over my forehead, concealing my daemon marks.

    I go to a small stand that holds vegetables and meats and buy enough food for a week. I use the money that I steal from banks in the cover of shadows, never enough to raise suspicion, just enough to get by. 

    "Why do you wear such dark clothing my dear?" the old lady asks me.

    I smile at her, keeping my eyes down below my bangs, "for safety," I tell her. "Men don't approach a strange woman walking by alone if she looks like she's crazy."

    The lady laughs at this, handing me my bags. "You are wise beyond your years," she tells me. "Please be careful alone out there though, I hear there are supernaturals lurking in the woods."

    "Oh?" I ask. "What kind?"

    "Who knows," she shrugs. "I try to stay away from those atrocities at all costs. They've created too much chaos in the world."

    "I agree," I say, paying her. "I promise I will be careful."

    "Better get going before the sun completely sets then," she says.

    "Yes ma'am," I smile one more time. 

    I walk from the town and head back to the woods as the sun sets behind the tree line. I rented a small cottage a couple miles from people about a month ago so that I could restock and rest before I continue on my journey. It's not much, just a bed, bathroom, and a kitchen, but it's perfect for me. I spend most of my nights outside by the lakeside anyways, staring at the moon and training.

    "I swear to God," I hear coming from the trees next to me, and turn to see two men standing beside the lake. "I trapped the Siren in here."

    I stop walking and stare in the direction of the men, watching as one of them holds his hands out, most likely manipulating the water in front of him.    

    "Transfused," I whisper, putting my bags down in a nearby bush and creeping closer to them. It's not fully dark, so I cannot manipulate the shadows to carry me into the trees above them, but I can make it so I don't make any noise as I stalk through the trees behind them. 

    "What are we going to do with a Siren?" the other man asks. 

    "Drink it's blood, dumbass!" the first man snaps. "Maybe I'll get something other than this useless water manipulation bullshit."

    I roll my eyes, knowing he had to have killed a daemon in order to do this.

    "What if Siren blood doesn't give you powers?"

    "It's supernatural," he smirks. "Maybe I'll be able to breathe under water."

    I get close enough so I can see a dark shadow in the lake below them, swimming relentlessly to get away from the whirlpool it's stuck in.

    "Now what do we do?" the second man asks.    

    "I just have to get it out of the water," the Transfused says. I see the water start to lift from the lake, and I finally get a glance at the Siren's face. She looks terrified as she looks at the Transfused before her, before she catches my eyes. I see her eyes widen, pleading for help, knowing exactly what I am.

    I look up at the sky, noticing the sun is still casting light throughout the valley side. I don't have much to go off of, and the shadows around me are weak and frail. 

    I sneak around the back of a tree line and pick up a stone, hurling it in the direction of the Transfused, to attempt to distract them until the sun sets. I hit the second man, who turns around sharply and hisses to the water manipulator that they're not alone. 

    "Well fix it," the Transfused man says.

    "Come out!" the second man calls, looking around for me. "I know you're out there, and I will find you!" I watch from behind the tree as he raises his hands and starts to manipulate the earth around him.

    I let out a sigh and look back up at the sky. The shadows start forming around the trees and the sun finally starts to set around the mountain side. The sky is still glowing a pastel pink and purple, but the shadows have already taken over the woods.

    "Hurry up, dude," the earth manipulator hisses at the other. "It's getting dark."    

    I drop the hood from around my head and let my long black hair fall around my slender body. I feel my powers intensify with each passing second of the setting sun. I dig my feet into the forest floor for stability, releasing snake like shadows across the ground slithering towards the two Transfused. 

    The Earth manipulator sees them first, jumping backwards and smacking into the other man, making him lose his concentration and dropping the Siren closer to the waters surface.

    "Dude, back the f**k up!" the first man shouts.

    "Snakes!" the other man shouts.

    I watch as the first man turns his head slightly and I flick my wrist up, causing my shadows to launch from the forest floor towards the men. 

    "f**k!" they shriek, and the Transfused loses his grip on the Siren and drops the water back into the lake. 

    The sun finally sets completely, and my power ignites in my soul. I am about to use my shadows to toss the two men into the lake with the Siren so that she can seek her revenge when I catch an undeniable stench.

    I look around, cloaking myself further into the shadows as they appear from deeper in the woods. Four giant wolves emerge, growling at the Transfused as they stalk forward. I watch from my hiding spot as the Transfused scramble to gain their composures in front of the wolves. 

    "Get away from us!" the water man says. pulling water from the lake and keeping it by him.

    The earth Transfused pulls a large rock from the ground, hurling it towards the wolves. The big grey wolf catches the rock in its mouth, crushing it instantly.

    I hear a growl so intense that my heart starts to pound, and from behind the four wolves emerges the biggest wolf I've ever seen. Its fur is midnight black, and its eyes are bright blue. It stalks forward, passing the other wolves. My eyes widen at its presence, and I feel a strange pull towards in my soul, telling me to go it. 

    I realize that the wolves are about to kill the Transfused, but I can see in the distance the Siren's head half out of the water, watching what's going on. I want her to have the revenge she deserves. 

    Before the big black wolf pounces on the men, I send a shadow wave forward, launching the water manipulator into the lake. The huge wolf lifts his head and looks around, his massive head stopping directly in my direction. I feel like I'm staring straight into its eyes, my heart is pounding relentlessly in my chest.

    The grey wolf starts to growl as the Transfused in the lake surfaces, coughing. Before he can even scream I watch as he's pulled back under the water, thrashing desperately to escape.     

    The thrashing stops and the water turns red. The black wolf looks back at the other man, who is staring in disbelief at the lake, before snapping its teeth.

    I turn away from them before the fight ensues, disappearing into the darkness of the forest before finding my groceries and finding my way back towards my cottage.  Something about watching a man be ripped to shreds from a giant wolf just doesn't seem like something I would enjoy watching.

    I return to my stashed groceries before heading back to my cabin. When I finally get there, the night has fully set in. I unload my groceries, making a small dinner before laying down in my bed, staring at the dark ceiling above me, thinking about the big black wolf I saw earlier.

    I ponder why I felt such a gravitational pull towards its soul, making me want to approach it and run my hands through its dark fur, and embrace its giant nature. I shake my head clear of the thoughts, standing from my bed and heading out into the night so that I can wander aimlessly, like I do every other night.

    I find myself by the edge of the same lake I came from earlier, so I sit on the waters edge and bring my knees up, resting my head on them, thinking about that black wolf again.    

    The water rustles before me, causing me to lift my head, when I see a beautiful Siren emerge from the water.

    "Daemon," she speaks. 

    "Siren," I respond, feeling no threat from her.

    "My name is Geninive, I am head of the southern Siren tribe," she tells me.    

    "Nice to meet you," I nod, not giving her my name. Giving a Siren your name could either bring you misfortune of good luck, it is never wise to let them have your true name.

    "I am here to thank you for what you did for my daughter today," she says, as a smaller Siren shows herself from the water below. "Malilise, what do you say?"

    "Thank you, daemon," she speaks, quietly.

    "You're welcome little one," I smile at her. 

    "I want you to know that I made that man suffer," she whispers.

    "Good," I say. "He deserved it."

    "You are not an ordinary daemon," Geninive says, looking over my body.

    "I would not know," I tell her. "I've never met another one."

    "You have an immense amount of power," she says. "It reminds me of the old daemons, the truly God-like. What is your power?"

    "Still manipulation," I say.

    "Of what?"

    "Of darkness," I whisper.

    Her eyes widen. "You can control anything?"

    "If it is covered in shadows, yes."

    "Amazing," she says. "Well we would like to repay our debt to you. What it your greatest desire?"

    "It is not necessary," I say. "I am leaving the territory soon."

    "There is nothing you wish for?" she asks me.

    To know who that black wolf was, I think.

    I shake my head, smiling at her.

    "Well if you ever think of anything-" she starts to say before stopping suddenly. Malilise gasps and drops below the waters surface. "Werewolves," Geninive snaps before submerging herself as well.

    I catch the scent of wolf quickly after they disappear, throwing my hands up to shield myself in darkness, manipulating the air around me to carry me into a nearby tree. 

    I see them come out of the tree line as soon as I am safely in the tree, but this time, they are not in wolf form. There are two men, both with brown hair and tall builds.

    "Are you sure he said over here?" one of them asks.

    "Positive, he said the scent lead to here," the other responds. 

    "Well its hard for us to track something that we can't smell," the first man grumbles.

    "No s**t Conan," the second one says. "Just keep looking."

    "What if we don't find anything, Rollins?" Conan asks.

    "We keep searching until we find her," Rollins snaps. "He said the scent went from that little cottage to here."

    My heart thumps in my chest as I realize they've been to my house, and now there tracking me. I wonder if they're angry at me for taking the one Transfused from them.

    "He doesn't even know what she looks like, how are we supposed to find her?" Conan asks. "He said it himself, it was too dark to get a description."

    "Stop bitching so much and keep your eyes open," Rollins growls, looking up into the tree I am currently covered in.

    After searching for a little longer, they finally retreat back into the trees. I stay perched in my hiding spot, counting the seconds before I get the sweet scent of fresh rain. I lower myself back to the ground, looking out into the lake one more time and offering a smile before turning back towards my cottage to beat the rain.

    I see the cottage in the distance after a while and cautiously approach it, looking in through the windows before opening the door. I grab my pack and start throwing whatever I can into it, trying to beat the trackers before they come back here looking for me. 

    I don't have many canned goods, but I pack what I can, positive I can live off of what I have at least until I make it to the next town.

    As I'm finishing up, I smell fresh rainfall again, curious about why I can smell it so prominently inside my house. I decide it's time to run, so I grab my pack and shove some left overs into my mouth.

    I walk to the front door, throwing it open, when I am met with the largest man I've ever seen in my life. He towers over my 5'7 frame, standing at least a foot taller, with a shirt that shows off his impressive build and muscles, leaving nothing to the imagination. His hair is pitch black, but his eyes are so blue they illuminate his chiseled face. I lose myself in his eyes the moment they meet mine, finding myself paralyzed in awe of this man before me.

    His eyes widen, his breath catches as he looks down at me, standing awkwardly before him with food shoved into my cheeks, my slender body covered in a black cloak with a large hood covering a majority of my face, and holding a pack.

    "Marrok?" I hear before realizing the scent of wolf is around me, and four people emerge from the background. I see Conan and Rollins, and two insanely gorgeous females approach the building of a man who I assume is named Marrok.

    "She's a daemon," the blonde female says, scrunching her nose like she smelled something rotten.

    I look back at Marrok standing before me, wincing as he reaches up and removing my hood from my head, releasing my one black hair, and pushing my bangs from my face, revealing my silver gray eyes.

    "Marrok," the other female says, reaching up and putting a hand on Marrok's forearm, making my eyes narrow in jealousy. 

    "Dude," Rollins says. "What's up?"

    Marrok finally releases the breath that he's been holding this entire time, and I look back into his eyes and feel an unusual sense of contentment radiating from his gaze. I want to fall into his arms, hold him until I can't breathe any longer, and never leave him. My mind swirls around how I spent the last five years of solitude, just to be awestruck at a werewolf the size of a building, who surprisingly smells like fresh rainfall instead of mutt.

    "Mate."