Blood of the Fallen

Rain slicked streets reflected the city’s neon glow, painting the night in fractured colors. Somewhere beyond the skyscrapers, the Veil shifted the thin, invisible barrier between this world and the one humans weren’t meant to see. Kael Drennon walked through the alley like he owned the darkness. Black coat trailing behind him, silver-streaked hair catching the faint light, eyes glowing faintly with that dangerous, unnatural fire. People didn’t look at him twice; they looked away. He had just finished a job another target, another life snuffed out before it could threaten the fragile balance. Blood still stained his gloves, hidden beneath the rain. He told himself it was routine. Necessary. Just another night. But then he heard it a voice. Soft, trembling, almost lost to the downpour. “Help me…” The sound stopped him. She stood in the mouth of another alley drenched, shivering, eyes wide with fear. She looked human. Ordinary. But Kael felt it before she spoke that strange pulse beneath her skin. “Who’s after you?” he asked, voice low. “They’re not… human.” Her lips trembled. “And neither are you.” Before he could respond, the street behind them exploded in a flash of crimson light.