Chapter 2

After only a few minutes of running away from the three guys, she spotted a light in the distance. With hope that it was her friends' campfire, she dashed toward it, not stopping until she was standing in the safety and warmth of the light. Her girl friends smiled at her return, immediately apologizing for the boys’ immature behavior.

Emelyn had forgotten about the practical joke. Trying to keep her panic to a minimum, she explained what happened in the woods, describing the creature as only a bear that nearly attacked her. She left out the part about Isaac, Wes, and Dom. What had happened was so far fetched she wasn’t sure she believed it herself.

The boys wanted to go hunt the bear down, but in the end the girls won out, and they quickly packed up the campsite and got in the car to make the three hour drive home. The boys complained the whole way home about the wasted weekend, but Emelyn was too caught up in the memories of what had happened to care. Twenty year old guys with swords in the woods, monsters with glowing yellow eyes… fear of those things trumped her guilt of ruining the camping trip.

She was dropped off at her house close to one in the morning. Her mother met her at the bottom of the stairs in the foyer despite Emelyn’s efforts to be quiet and not wake anyone up. "Everything alright, Sweetie?" Her mother’s expression was concerned.

Emelyn had a close relationship with her mom; she told her practically everything that went on in her life. Tonight, however, she was sure that the evening’s events were not something her mother would understand. She could picture the expression on her mother’s face if she candidly explained about bears and swords and men killing monsters in the woods. Her mom would most likely never let her out of the house again.

Instead, she lied, keeping as close to the truth as she dared. "It's fine, Mom. We got scared that we were going to get eaten by bears or something, so we decided to call it a night," Guilt began gnawing at her stomach; she hated lying.

Her mother, who knew her better than anyone, looked less than convinced, but, after a brief hesitation, nodded. She stepped down to pick up Emelyn's backpack off the floor. "Well, I know I feel safer having you here. Let's get you to bed before you wake up your father and brother."

Most of the night Emelyn spent tossing and turning. She had nightmares about wolves and monsters, swords and knights, death and blood. At six a.m. she blinked owlishly at the bright red numbers on her alarm clock.

“I give up,” she mumbled, switching off the alarm she had set for eight. Jumping out of bed she got ready for an early morning jog. They were routine for her during the school year, but during the summer she usually ran only once or twice a week.

Her run was uneventful yet it gave her time to think. Upon reflection she realized she had to have been terrified in the woods. Whatever she thought she saw happen, couldn't have actually happened. There was a logical, rational explanation for the events. The “monster” was some sort of bear, not a monster. The guys had come and killed it with swords, which was weird but not entirely out of the realm of possibility. The energy she thought she shot out of her hand was her imagination; that Wes guy must have been faster than she thought and knocked the sword away. The light from Isaac's hand… well, that was just the shock she had been in or the light of the moon playing tricks on her mind.

She felt better by the time she got back home after her run. It was all behind her now, anyway. A distant memory. All the weirdness was back up north where they had been camping. Now she had to focus on the real world. Her family. Her job. Going back to college in a few weeks.

Emelyn showered and changed for work swiftly. By the time she made it back down to the kitchen her mom had breakfast served on the table.

"Breakfast?" Emelyn raised an eyebrow at her mother.

"Don't complain. It won't happen again until Christmas," Her mom smiled. Both Emelyn's parents worked full time; a cooked breakfast was a rarity in the Ashford household.

Emelyn's brother, Michael, swept down the stairs and past her, almost knocking her over. He grabbed a few pieces of bacon and headed toward the door without saying a word to anyone.

"Michael," their mom said sternly. Michael was smart enough to stop in his tracks. "Sit. There are eggs, too."

"I've got to go," Michael turned, pleading with his eyes.

"You've got five minutes to eat eggs. Sit," She told him in a tone that expressed she would not be argued with.

Michael and Emelyn sat across from one another and spooned eggs onto plates. Michael covered his with way too much salt and began shoveling the food into his mouth as though it were the only meal he would have for weeks.

"Can you give me a ride to work?" Emelyn asked him between her normal sized bites. “I picked up a shift today since we got back early from camping.”

"Just drive yourself," Michael frowned at her.

"Jess wants to go shopping after work and I don't want to take two cars. Just drop me off, it's on your way," Emelyn said.

Michael was almost eighteen and about to enter his final year of high school. He was always busy, usually with something unimportant in the grand scheme of life. He rolled his eyes at her but nodded. “Whatever,” he mumbled around a mouth full of eggs.

Michael dropped her off in front of Frida’s, the ice cream shop where she worked. The shop was only open during the summer months. It was a small building; customers would come up and order at the window, then they could find a place to sit around the front or back of the building to eat their ice cream. Emelyn had worked there every summer since she was fifteen.

Walking in the employee entrance, she grabbed an apron to tie over her jeans and t-shirt. "Hey, Jess." She called to her friend already getting things set up. Jess’s clothes were typical for her today; strategically ripped jeans and a black tank top covered by the required white uniform apron. Her jet black hair was pulled into a high ponytail, her bangs swooped off to the side and held with a small, silver, skull barrette. Every single one of her fingers had some sort of silver, flashy ring on it, even though employees weren’t supposed to wear jewelry at work. Her eye makeup was dark, her lips cherry red. As dark as she looked on the outside, the girl had a sweet, gooey center that she only allowed a few to see. Emelyn was one of those exceptions.

“Hey, kiddo.” Jess replied with a hint of a smile. The two girls were the same age, but Jess liked to remind Emelyn that she was a month older than her. Older and wiser, according to her. “Ready for the day?”

The day was typical. The morning was slow, so the two girls got things ready for the lunch hour rush. From eleven to two the girls took orders and made ice cream sundaes non-stop. The afternoon lull was a blessing.

Emelyn was in the back with Jess, working on restocking the cones when the bell rang to indicate there was a customer. "I'll get it." Emelyn told Jess.

She walked toward the window, pulling out her pen and receipt pad, not paying attention to who was there. "What can I get for you?" Then she looked up and felt her heart drop to her knees.

His eyes were green. Not dark like an emerald but a light green that reminded her of a meadow on a sunny day. Her attention was drawn to the perfect dimple in his right cheek as he smiled at her. She blinked a few times but he was still there. He was real. "Isaac," she breathed.

"You're not easy to track down," he told her.

"Why are you tracking me down?" she asked hesitantly. She wasn't sure if she should be flattered or scared. She was leaning toward scared.

"We need to talk."

She shook her head. "No, I don't think we do." Seeing him here was bringing back memories from the woods. He was making it hard for her to deny what she had seen. She wanted to believe, so badly, that it had all been in her head. His presence there was making that very difficult.

"Em, it is extremely important that you allow me to explain what happened last night, what's happening with you-"

She held up a hand to stop him mid-sentence before pointing to the side of the building, indicating he go that direction. She stalked out the side exit and pulled him a few feet away from the ice cream shop.

"Nothing is ‘happening’ with me," she insisted. Without the window between them she could see him more fully. He was tall and lanky, practically towering over her 5'4" frame. His hair was brown and long enough that she could tell it was wavy, but it didn't quite fall into his eyes. He was wearing jeans and a t-shirt and looking all sorts of cute. Under different circumstances, she would probably be drooling.

He looked at her earnestly. "You know something is. And it's ok. I can help you. Me and the guys. We can show you-"

She shook her head vehemently. "No," she insisted, cutting him off again. "I don't want to be part of your little cult where you kill bears with swords. I just want to live my life. My normal, quiet life." She glared at him, trying to convey the determination behind her words.

He smiled again, this time more wistfully. "That's not your life, Em. Not anymore."

She refused to listen to him. "I don't know how you found me," she jammed a finger into his chest. "But forget it. I don't want any part of it." She pushed him away with her finger. "Leave me alone."

He didn't seem upset by her physical touch. Her push hadn't moved him an inch. He kept staring at her, his green eyes boring into her soul. She felt guilty and trapped in the same moment. "You're in danger," he started.

She stepped away from him, chuckling without humor. "No," she pointed at him, refraining from touching him this time. "I am not in danger. You are dangerous. If I stay away from you I'll be fine."

He cocked his head to the side, looking at her with slight amusement. "Do you really believe that?"

No. She didn't. But she had to. Her sanity depended on it. She nodded her head. "I do." She told him, trying to convince herself with her own words. She began backing away from him, toward the ice cream shop. "Seriously. Leave me alone." She turned and jogged the rest of the way to the building. Before she opened the door to step inside she looked over her shoulder. Isaac was gone.

"Who was that?" Jess asked, all smiles when Emelyn made it back into the building.

"What?" Emelyn suddenly felt drained. She brushed her bangs off her forehead in annoyance.

"That guy. He was hot with a capital H." Jess nudged Emelyn.

"He's not my type." Emelyn murmured in response, feeling her cheeks warm with embarrassment.

"Are you kidding? He's totally your type. There is nothing about him that makes him not your type." Jess giggled. "He's not my type. But I can still appreciate a nice piece of artwork."

"I don't want to talk about it." Emelyn frowned at Jess. Her friend wasn't taking the hint.

"I guess if he threw on some leather and wore some guyliner, he might be my type..." Jess was rambling. Emelyn had never been more grateful to see a customer approach the window than she was in that moment.

* * *

Two more days passed without any more run-ins with Isaac or the other two guys from the woods. She was beginning to think that he had listened, that he was going to leave her alone. The incident in the woods was fading, becoming a hazy, bad memory. Nothing happened over the next couple of days to make her think anything out of the ordinary had ever happened.

On the third day, she and Jess were headed to a movie after work. Emelyn left Frida’s in good spirits. She was ready for a little reality escape via a chick flick movie viewing at the mall.

She stopped dead in her tracks a few feet from Jess's car. Jess was chatting with a guy by the driver's side door. This in and of itself wasn't unusual. Jess was a total flirt, especially with any sort of tattooed, biker-type guy. The guy she was talking with wasn't tattooed, but he definitely fell into that rocker, bad-boy category.

It was Dom, one of Isaac's friends from the other night; the one that had killed the monster with his sword.

His dark hair fell straight to his shoulders. He was well muscled under a black t-shirt and black jeans. He had a few days worth of stubble on his face and, when he looked over at Emelyn, she could see his eyes were a chocolate brown. He was smiling pleasantly enough, but he had that vibe of being dangerous. She knew Jess was eating it all up, in heaven.

"Emelyn! Come meet Dominic!" Jess waved Emelyn over. Emelyn approached cautiously.

"Hi, Dom." Emelyn said, biting back the anger as best she could. She was not happy to see him there.

"Hello," he replied as nice as could be. "Nice to meet you."

"Dominic was telling me about this party he's headed to. He invited us to go." Jess gushed.

"Oh, I don't think that's a good-"

"Please, Em!" Jess begged. "It's a party! We haven't been to one all summer!"

A party. With lots of people. The last thing Emelyn wanted to do was go somewhere with any of the three guys from the woods incident but she knew Jess; her friend would go with or without her. At least she could keep an eye on Jess if she went with her.

"Fine." Emelyn replied.

Jess clapped her hands in delight. "Great! So I'll see you there?" She asked Dom.

"Count on it." Dom replied, though he was looking at Emelyn.

The girls ditched the movie idea and went to Jess’s house to get ready for the party. Emelyn spent the whole time trying to talk Jess out of going, but Jess was insistent. She was going because Dom was hot and she wanted to get him to make out with her by the end of the night. Jess pulled her long black hair back with a maroon headband and put on a red dress that looked more like it was meant to be a long shirt. Knee high, black leather boots completed her outfit.

"You know you can borrow some of my clothes." Jess offered, looking at Emelyn. Emelyn had opted for jeans and a silver tank top with a few embellishments at the top. It was very low key.

"I'm not trying to make out with anyone's face tonight." Emelyn pointed out.

"True." Jess conceded, but then looked thoughtful. "You never know, though."

Emelyn shook her head. She hoped that tonight would end up as innocent as Jess hoped. There was a hot coal of doubt in her stomach that contradicted that hope. Somehow she felt like tonight might end up just as big of a disaster as the night in the woods.

Chapter 1

Emelyn wasn't quite sure how she ended up here. One minute she was on a camping trip in northern Michigan with her friends and the next minute she was lost in the woods with no sense of what direction to go. The sun was setting in the distance and it was already getting dark under the trees. She felt a shiver of apprehension travel down her spine when it dawned on her that no one would come looking for her for quite a while.

She supposed that her first thought had been a lie. She did know how she ended up here. She was on a weekend camping trip with a couple of girl friends from college and their boyfriends. The two boys decided to play a joke on her by putting a life-size,  rubber snake in her sleeping bag. Seeing such a thing in her tent, and the subsequent screams she made, was definitely not amusing to her, although they had found it hilarious. She had already felt like the fifth wheel without them singling her out to scare to death. If her friends hadn’t wanted her to come, why did they invite her in the first place?

Irritated and embarrassed, Emelyn had stomped off into the woods in anger and told them all to leave her alone.  In retrospect, that had probably been a mistake.

Now she was in the woods, alone, and definitely lost.  As she had left the camp in irritation, she had forgotten to pay attention to the direction she walked. Now she wasn’t sure how to get back to the tents. The campsite was in a forest she had never been in before, in a spot picked out by the boys. Positive she was lost, she mentally kicked herself for being headstrong and reckless.

"Okay," she said aloud. Hearing her own voice made her calm down a smidge.  She looked around, trying to get her bearings, before she continued talking to herself. "The sun is setting over that way, so that way is west. I stomped off toward the setting sun so..." she twirled one way, then the other. "I should probably head east back to camp." She sighed, realizing her possible error. "If I stormed off in a straight line."

With no other choice she headed east as best she could tell by the sun. She nervously wrapped her arms around herself to keep from shivering despite the warm, August, Michigan air. The impending dark forest scared her; she didn't want to be eaten by a bear or a wolf.

When Emelyn heard a rustling behind her she paused to turn and look. She was surrounded by trees. There were pines and evergreens, but they were few and spaced out. Around her were mostly tall oaks and birches with branches splaying over her head, interweaving like they were holding hands. Wide leaves and pine needles littered the ground, broken every so often by a large root or a fallen tree. The sharp scent of pine mingled with the clean smell of the freshly finished rain. Birds twittered around her and she saw a squirrel make an aerial leap from one branch to another ten feet above her head. The green and golden leaves were dripping from the earlier misty shower. As far as she could see there was nothing out of the ordinary.

"Hello?" She called out, thinking maybe one of her friends she was camping with had come out to find her. There was no response.

Every horror movie she had ever seen came flooding back to her in one deluge of a memory wave. This was how half of them started and the other half of them ended.  She was a stranded, single person, alone in the dark, calling out for her friends. She was the person who died a horrible death because she was an idiot.

The thought spurred her into quick action. She turned and hurried toward where she hoped the camp was, slipping on the slick leaves with every other step. The sun was almost completely gone and the forest was now gloomy in the early evening light. She could swear she saw fog rolling in around her.

A twig snapped behind her. This time she was close enough to a large tree to jump behind it. She closed her eyes, leaning her head back against the trunk. She tried to steady her breathing.

"It's just a squirrel,” she told herself. She couldn't let her imagination get the best of her. She didn't want to freak herself out over nothing. Yet, she was very aware that all the sounds of the forest she heard a few moments ago had stopped; it was now deathly silent. Stomach sick with dread, she took two deep breaths before peering out from behind the tree.

It wasn't a squirrel or a deer. It wasn't even a bear or a wolf. She wasn't sure what it was other than it was huge and terrifying and only a couple dozen yards away. Whatever it was stood on two legs like a human but it didn't look like any human she had ever seen. It was easily over seven feet tall and looked strong enough to smash a semi-truck with a single blow. It had glowing, yellow cat eyes, dark bluish-grey skin, and fur over most of its body. It was staring right at her; she could hear a low rumble emanating from its chest like an angry dog's growl. In the dying light she could see saliva dripping off pointed canine teeth.

Every instinct in her body was telling her to run, but her feet seemed cemented in place. Her mind was telling her that it wasn't real, whatever she was seeing was a figment of her imagination, a hallucination brought on by the fear of being alone in the woods in the dark. There was no possible way that there was a monster in the woods about to rip her apart.

But every time she blinked, it was still there. It hadn't moved any closer. It was staring at her; hunger in its eyes.

She felt a knife of terror slice through her body. Every nerve was suddenly on edge. She had been scared by movies and haunted houses before, but this was different. She was terrified for her life. Every one of her senses were amplified. She could feel the wind on her bare arms and see every single strand of fur on the thing’s body as though she were only a foot away. The moon seemed so bright it was blinding and the scent of pine and decaying leaves assaulted her nose. A minute ago she hadn’t noticed one of these things. Now her panicked mind had trouble focusing on just one of those sensations.

It made the first move. Her heart leapt in her chest as the creature started to move slowly, silently on its two legs; stalking her like a wolf stalked a terrified bunny. She felt like a terrified bunny, paralyzed, small, and defenseless. Despite its giant size, the creature moved gracefully, its eyes never leaving her own. It had animalistic features but it still reminded her more of a human than a beast as it moved toward her. Its intent was clear. It was not here to make friends.

Forcing herself to breathe, she looked up the tree she had hid behind to see if she could climb it, but there were no low branches. Her only other choice was to run. She should probably run.

But she didn't; fear had her frozen in place. She watched the thing stalk her, circling wide yet angling closer to her. Emelyn was having a hard time keeping it in her head that this was real. She felt like she was watching a movie about someone else. Monsters weren't real.

With an effortless burst from its legs, it lunged towards her.  Emelyn thought for sure that she was dead. She could see the dark claws that spiked inches from its fingers that would easily shred her flesh. She saw the muscles ripple in its chest that made it faster and stronger than anything she could protect herself against. Desperation forced her muscles into action as she turned and bolted, sure that running would be of little use. She was only delaying the inevitable.

She had only run a few steps when she ran into something strong and steady that hadn't been there a second earlier. Whatever it was wrapped something around her; she screamed before she realized it was a person grabbing her, holding onto her. Two more dark figures ran past her, quicker than she thought was humanly possible.

Emelyn looked up, scared at what she might find when she saw who grabbed her. With a sense of short-lived relief she saw it was a guy, maybe a few years older than her, gorgeous, with a worried expression. “I’ve got you,” he said with a tone of authority she believed. “Wes!” He released her with his left hand to point past her at the thing that was chasing her.

She turned in his arms, remembering why she was running. A person ran past them on the left side, toward the charging monster. He was tall and thin, faster than she would have anticipated with the slippery ground. He had short, messy blond hair, dark jeans, a brown leather jacket, and a sword scabbard strapped to his back. That was all she could notice as he streaked by.

The monster spotted Wes mid-charge and quickly shifted his focus to the new threat.  It snorted and growled, its yellow, lamp-light eyes focusing on Wes with animalistic anger. Wes held up his arm and Emelyn could swear she saw something pulse out from his hand, something she could only describe as a wave of energy. Whatever it was, the monster ran into it like a rubber wall, causing the large creature to bounce backward in a daze.

The guy who had ahold of Emelyn then shouted, “Dom!” As a third person ran past them, the first guy wrapped both of his arms around her, hugging her tightly to him. He spoke softly in her ear. “It will be ok. We’re here to help.”

Not feeling reassured, she watched the third guy, Dom, run toward the monster. He was shorter than Wes, with dark hair pulled into a ponytail at the base of his neck. He was stocky and muscular and dressed head to toe in black. His sword was already brandished. With a battle cry he lept at the monster that was just coming out of its daze after hitting Wes’s... wall thing.

The monster dodged in time to avoid getting its arm sliced off. With a roar like thunder, it swung jagged claws at Dom, but he was able to dodge the wild swings of the creature. Dom deflected one of the blows with his sword, giving Wes an opening on the other side of the beast. Wes’s swing was aimed at the thing’s legs, but the monster swiped the sword away with an angry howl, as though it were just a pesky fly.

Dom was already using the distraction to his advantage. With a spin and a thrust, he jammed his sword right through the monster’s chest causing a loud, terrifying roar to be ripped from its mouth. Dom was still clutching the sword when the monster used the last of its energy to backhand him, sending him flying into the trunk of a nearby oak.

Wes didn’t hesitate. He used his momentum to slash at the dying monster’s legs. On contact, the creature’s legs gave out and it fell forward onto all fours with a pitiful whine. Between the two injuries, the monster seemed to lose its strength to fight. It took one last breath before slumping to the ground, dead.

As the action ended, Emelyn felt her expression change from wide-eyed horror to sick trepidation. She turned, still in the first guy's arms, to face him. He was looking at her curiously as though gauging her reaction. She couldn't speak.

"Wes, come keep an eye on her. I need to check Dom." The guy who was holding her handed her off to Wes who gripped her upper arm firmly but not unkindly. She thought she should probably struggle to get away, but the shock of what she had just witnessed had her frozen in place, unable to find the conviction to move. She and Wes watched as the first guy went over to Dom, who was on the ground at the foot of the tree he had been thrown into.

"Is he ok, Isaac?" Wes sounded slightly worried.

Isaac looked up at Wes and Emelyn, expression neutral. "He will be."  Then turned his attention back to Dom.

Emelyn saw it happening before the others. The monster wasn't dead. It was dying, but it wasn't quite there yet. It had managed to get to its knees and draw the sword from its chest. Emelyn's voice caught in her throat as she saw what was about to happen, as though it was in slow motion. The creature drew back it’s muscular arm and chucked the sword with the last of its strength toward Isaac like a spear.

Wes noticed what was happening at the last second and dropped her arm, yelling for his friends as he ran toward them. Emelyn knew he would be too late.

Emelyn wasn’t sure why she did it. Instinct took over and caused her to lift her right hand and aim it at the sword, wishing she were close enough to push it away or redirect it from its target. This Isaac guy just helped to save her life; she didn’t want him to die.

She felt something leave her body. She wasn't sure what it was; she had never felt anything like it before. All she knew was that some sort of energy left her hand and hit the sword, knocking it aside a second before it would have impaled Isaac in the back. It speared the ground a foot to his right, sending up a cloud of leaves and dirt on impact.

Emelyn looked down at her hand. It didn't look any different than it had before. It was just a hand. But something weird had just happened. Had she really redirected a sword with just the power of her thoughts?

She let out an irrational giggle at the thought. Moving things with your mind? That was science fiction. There had to be some other explanation.

She hadn't even realized she had fallen to her knees until Wes was back next to her, dragging her to her feet. Dazed, she allowed him to lead her over to Isaac and Dom. Dom was still unconscious on the ground, but now Isaac was looking at her with a sense of wonder.

"Thank you," Isaac said.

"I didn't do anything," she replied numbly, looking over at the sword that lay harmlessly a few feet away.

"You just saved my life," Isaac reminded her.

"I was way over there," she pointed back to where she had been standing. "I didn't do anything," she repeated.

Isaac smiled at her. He turned back to Dom after a moment and rested his hand on the dark haired guy's chest. She watched his hand rise and fall with each shallow breath Dom took. Then, as Emelyn watched, light began to shine up through Isaac's fingers, as though he was covering the end of a flashlight with his hand. The light grew brighter and brighter until Emelyn had to look away.

Then, it was gone. When she looked back, Dom was sitting up, dusting himself off like nothing had happened. "Did we kill it?" he asked.

Isaac stood then offered Dom a hand up. "We did."

"Damn werewolves. They're the worst." Dom stood and looked over at the dead body of the monster that was finally, truly dead.

Wes had let go of Emelyn’s arm and was checking over the body to make sure there were no more surprise attacks. He gave it a nudge with the toe of his boot a few times before squatting down and leaning over it. He jerked his head back, making a face to let them know how rank the carcass smelled. “Yeah, that’s dead.”

Dom turned to look at Emelyn with a grin. "You're lucky we came along when we did.”

Isaac frowned. "It's more than luck, I think."

"Can someone explain to me what's going on?" Emelyn finally found her voice. "What in the hell is going on?" She suddenly felt panic rising in her stomach. Bile burned the back of her throat as the last fifteen minutes replayed in her head.

Isaac stepped closer to her and grabbed her by the upper arms, giving her a little shake. "It's ok. Deep breaths," he told her in an oddly calm voice.

"Why is my sword way over here?" Dom asked, oblivious to the fact that Emelyn was about to have a full blown panic attack as he walked away to retrieve it.

"Look at me," Isaac said. She realized she was focusing on the blood dripping from the steel of Dom’s sword and the coppery tang that assaulted her nose even from this distance. Isaac repeated his words and her eyes snapped toward his.

In the dim light she couldn't make out the color of his eyes. They were lighter, maybe a green or a blue, or grey like her own. "Good." He smiled, showing a dimple in his right cheek. He was attractive, if you liked that boy-next-door, college football star, all-American, apple pie type of look. "Now, can you tell me your name?" he asked.

She blinked at him. What was her name? In this upside down world where there were werewolves and swords, what would her name be? Would she have the same name that her parents had given her? What was the name her parents had given her?

Isaac gently shook her one more time. Her eyes had been wandering; they snapped back to his. "Name?" He repeated softly.

"Emelyn. Emelyn Ashford," she responded.

"Good," Isaac nodded encouragingly. "So, Em, mind if I call you Em?" He didn't wait for a response. "Is this the first time you've seen anything like this?" He let go of her with one hand and gestured toward the dead monster.

Emelyn was trying to wrap her mind around the question she heard; trying to make sense of it.  The first time she had ever seen a monster in real life? The first time she had seen someone swing a sword in order to kill something? The first time she knocked a sword to the ground with the power of her mind? To which was he referring? It was the first time for all those things, so she nodded slowly.

"What..." She trailed off, unsure of exactly what she wanted to ask. There were so many questions.

Isaac nodded as though he understood. "When was your birthday?" He asked out of the blue.

"About a month ago," she replied, looking at him strangely. What a weird question to ask in the middle of all this.

"And let me guess. You turned twenty?" Isaac cocked his head to the side as he considered her.

She nodded. "How did you-"

"Because I know," Isaac dropped his other hand from her arm. "And that actually makes all this much more complicated." He began walking toward his friends. "If you can wait there one moment, I can explain everything." He stopped and grinned at her. "Not that you'll want to believe a word of it." He continued on toward Dom and Wes who were already conferring by the dead monster.

Before he took two steps away, Emelyn was already asking herself if she should stay with these guys. They saved her life, they were strong, and there were obviously monsters in the woods that she wasn't equipped to deal with. Logically, she should stay put, let them explain, and hopefully they would take her back to her friends. That's what she should do.

But the panicked voice in her brain wouldn't stop shouting at her. It kept telling her that these guys were psychos with swords and they probably did just save her from a bear or some other wild animal, but they were now going to kill her for witnessing it. Or, they were going to try to get her to join their little cult and right now they were down there talking about the best way to brainwash her into becoming one of their followers. The panicked voice wasn't logical, but it was scaring the hell out of her.

It wouldn't be smart to wander away on her own. She had already been lost in these woods once today and look what happened. But the screaming voice in her head was overwhelming and she began shuffling backwards to get away from the three guys as they discussed what they were going to do with her. She wouldn't let them use those swords on her.

When Isaac would finally turn to look back at her, all he would see was an empty space where she had been.

Chapter 3

It was a house party; really more of a mansion party. The enormous estate was pulsing to the beat of a DJ set up in the corner of what appeared to be an extremely large living room. Its expensive-looking, modern furniture still allowed the large group of people to dance and mingle freely, without much crowding. As she made her way through the crowd, the echo of the music off the tall ceilings almost made it feel almost other-worldly. There were people everywhere, some talking, some laughing, and all drinking. Emelyn wasn't sure how Jess was going to even find Dom in all the commotion.

It turned out that Dom found Jess. He took her by the hand and led her to a spot where they began dancing. Jess never looked back at Emelyn.

"They're having fun." A voice in her ear caused her to jump. She turned to find Isaac at her shoulder. She was not surprised.

"Jess can make a quilting bee fun." Emelyn replied loudly in order to be heard over the music.

"Can I borrow you for a few minutes?" He asked her, just as loud.

"You won't leave me alone until we talk, will you?"

He shook his head.

She pressed her lips into an angry, flat line. Maybe if she let him say his piece he would stop stalking her. Even if he was cute it was creepy the way he was always showing up wherever she was. She just wanted him to leave her alone. “Fine,” she agreed.

She followed him up the stairs and out onto the balcony overlooking the pool. He closed the glass doors behind them. They were still in full view of the party, but they could actually hear each other speak without shouting. She leaned forward on her forearms on the railing to look out over the turquoise lit pool. He leaned his back against the rail next to her.

"There's a lot to explain. I honestly didn't think I would be in this position so soon,” he started.

She frowned. "Are you being vague to make me interested? Because it's not working." It was totally working.

He cleared his throat and started again. "What do you remember from the night in the woods?" He asked her. "Specific details."

She had been working the past few days to repress the memories of that night. She was angry at how quick she could recall every minute clearly. "I was chased by...something. A bear."

"A werewolf." He corrected her.

She glared at him. "A bear."

"Go on," he prompted patiently.

"Then you guys were there and you killed it. Well, Wes and Dom killed it."

"But it wasn't really dead." Isaac reminded her.

"Right, because it tried to spear you." Emelyn pushed herself up from the railing and dropped her hands to her sides, clenching her fingers into fists. Spearing someone was not something a bear could do.

"Then what?"

She stepped away from him, pressing her lips into a thin line again. She didn't want to talk about that. "Then I don't know," she lied. "I don't remember."

Isaac shook his head. "You do know,” he prompted, crossing his arms.

"What do you want me to say? That I pushed the sword away with my mind? Do you know how crazy that sounds?" Emelyn blurted out. She felt like she was on the edge of going insane every time she remembered throwing her hand up and deflecting the sword from a dozen yards away.

"I know how it sounds, but I also know that it's true," he replied quietly.

"People can't move things with their minds." She shook her head. "That's fantasy, science fiction. You read about that in books, it doesn't happen in reality."

Isaac looked at her intently. "Reality isn't concrete. Reality is perception. Your perception has now changed."

She stared back at him. The light from the pool below threw his face into shadow but illuminated him around the edges with it’s turquoise glow. She could read his expressions, but she couldn’t see his eyes clearly. She couldn’t tell if he was messing with her or if he believed in what he was saying.

Emelyn thought about what he said. She didn't want her perception to change. She wanted to live in her safe, normal bubble. "What does it mean?" She found herself asking against her better judgement.

"It's magic."

Emelyn closed her eyes. She could almost physically hear the walls shattering around her at his words. Any other day she might have called him crazy or laughed in his face. Today she knew he was serious. She fought the urge to giggle insanely. Of course. Magic. Why hadn’t she guessed that?

He continued speaking even though her eyes were still closed. "It happens after your twentieth birthday. No one is sure where it comes from or how a person is chosen. All we know is that it happens and then your time starts ticking."

Her eyes snapped open. "What?"

"You have a year to find your other two. Your Trio."

"Trio?"

"Yes. This magic exists in threes. There is a Power, a Guardian, and a Shield in every Trio. There are three types of Trios-"

"Slow down." Emelyn held up a hand to stop him. "You’ve lost me.”

Isaac exhaled slowly, turning his face up toward the night sky. “There is a lot to explain, a lot to tell you.”

“I’m still stuck on the word ‘magic’.” She shook her head in disbelief. “The word makes me think of unicorns and wands, fairy godmothers and Hocus Pocus.”

She could see him grin. “It’s not like that. I kind of wish it was like that, actually.” His smile faded. “As a person with magic, you are now considered a Hunter. You use your magic, along with your Trio, to hunt down and kill demons.”

Emelyn blinked slowly. “Demons. Werewolves?”

“There are all types of demons. Werewolves are one type.”

“And this Trio thing, there are three types of magic?” Emelyn asked.

Isaac nodded. "There are three types of Trios and each person can only do one type of magic; you get one thing. One magic by itself is pretty useless. When you're with your Trio, your magic gets stronger. Each person in a Trio is meant to complement one another."

"I can’t believe I’m asking this,” she sighed loudly. “Not saying I believe you, but what are you? What’s your magic?" She asked, remembering Isaac putting his hand on Dom's chest in the woods.

"I'm a Power. I can heal. But I can only heal other Hunters, not regular people." He looked down at his hands. "It's a limited power."

"So Dom and Wes are your protectors?" She guessed.

"Pretty much. Dom is a Guardian. Guardians have heightened awareness of demons and the ability to wield one type of weapon expertly. He can tell when demons are close, what type they are and-"

"And can use a sword like a bad ass." Emelyn finished for him.

Isaac smiled at her. "Yes. And Wes is a Shield, like you."

"I'm a Shield?" Her eyebrows drew together in concern.

"Yep. You two have different abilities because you’re part of two different types of Trios. Wes can put up a ward or a barrier that keeps things out or away. "

"I saw him do that." Emelyn remembered Wes throwing up his hand, the energy that had burst out, and the monster running into it.

"It only works close to him, over a short distance, which is why he couldn't throw it up to protect me from the sword." Isaac explained. "He was too far away."

"Let's say for a minute that I believe you about all this-" Emelyn started.

"Don't you?" He looked surprised.

"I'm not one hundred percent on board with this. I mean, magic? Demons? It's all a little crazy town to me." Emelyn looked at him pointedly.

"But, what you've seen," he started.

"Is the only reason I haven't laughed in your face and run away screaming,” she finished.

"I know it's hard to believe. Everyone struggles with believing in the beginning." Isaac assured her.

"Right," she took a deep breath. "What did you mean about ‘time starting to tick’? Am I going to die?"

He looked startled at her question. "No. No, that's not what I meant. I mean you have a year to hook up with your Trio, to find them. If you don't find the other two before your twenty-first birthday, you'll forget. The last year of your life will be a hazy, unarticulated memory. Your magic will be gone."

She chewed on her bottom lip. "What if that doesn't sound so bad?"

Isaac looked disappointed but nodded at her words. "I can see how that might sound appealing. But, in the meantime, you are a beacon."

"I'm a what?"

"A beacon. To demons."

"Like that thing in the woods?"

"Exactly." He took a deep breath before standing from the balcony railing. "From each Trio there is always one that attracts demons to them more strongly than the others. Sometimes its the Power, sometimes the Guardian, but most of the time its the Shield.”

“I’m attracting demons? Like that werewolf?”

Isaac nodded. “Which, in turn, tends to attract another Trio. Hopefully the Trio finds the Hunter before the demon, or, in our case, kills the demon and finds the Hunter.” He exhaled slowly. “Then it’s our job to keep you safe, train you, and get you to the rest of your Trio. Once you find your second and third, the beacon is dampened and you won’t be such a target.”

"So demons will keep coming at me until I find my Trio?" She tried to put it all together, looking down at her toes. She couldn’t believe she was letting herself buy into all this. But it all added up, didn’t it? The event in the woods made sense if you looked at it Isaac’s way. Still, she wasn’t convinced he was one hundred percent sane.

"When you find your partners it amplifies your power. Demons have a hard time tracking you. Everything falls into place." Isaac took a step forward to stand directly in front of her. "And your Trio becomes your family."

Suddenly, it was all too much. Demons, magic, Hunters… it was more than she could emotionally take in at once. Panic began to rise in her throat and she popped her head up so abruptly that her forehead almost hit Isaac's chin. She hadn’t realized he was that close. She looked up to find his eyes locked onto hers. "I'm going to help you through this," he promised. The energy between them stole her breath as she felt his presence so close to her. His green eyes locked with hers compassionately, and her panic dissipated. All the questions in her mind faded as she felt the need to draw herself even closer to him.

"I just want to be normal," she found herself confiding in him softly.

His face was mere inches from hers. He reached up and gently brushed her bangs out of her eyes. "I know," If he rocked forward on his feet, their lips would meet. Emelyn wished that he would.

The door to the balcony burst open, startling the two apart from each other. Wes was looking at Isaac frantically. "It's coming."

"What's coming?" Emelyn asked, looking back and forth between the two. Startled back to reality, her calmness was immediately replaced with panic. "What's going on?"

Isaac looked at her; he was close enough now she could see the worry in his eyes. "A demon. We have to go."

"I don't want to go. Jess is here, I can't leave her-"

"Jess is in a cab on her way home," Dom was in the doorway behind Wes. "She wasn't feeling well."

"What did you do?" Emelyn took a step toward Dom, her anger flaring at the thought of him hurting her friend.

Dom held up his hands in defense but Isaac was the one who spoke. "She'll be ok in the morning. We have bigger things to worry about. We need to go."

"I'm not going anywhere with you," Emelyn stepped back from his reaching hand. She might have an inkling of belief in what he had told her so far, but she wasn’t prepared to go somewhere with the three of them on a whim. They were still strangers.

"If you don't, a lot of people are going to die," Isaac insisted, still holding out his hand, palm upward.

Her eyes went from his face to his outstretched hand. As much as she didn't want to go with him, she didn't want to see anyone get hurt because of her either. She thought about the creature chasing her in the woods and what something like that could do to a mansion full of people.

Emelyn reached up and pushed Isaac's hand back toward him but headed toward the door. "Let's go, then."

Wes led the way to a car parked down the road. It was some sort of sleek, black sports car that barely fit three people. Dom had his motorcycle parked nearby.

Wes drove, breaking all speed limits getting away from the house party. "We need to find an open field."

"Outside of town," Isaac agreed. "The demon is still far enough away, I think."

Wes shook his head. "Dom said it's close."

Isaac looked at him. "Did he tell you what kind it is?"

Wes shook his head again. "No, but he said it's big. Maybe a ghendi or another werewolf."

Isaac made an irritated face. "I hope it’s not a ghendi. They’re so big and stubborn, they’re hard to kill."

"Will someone tell me what's going on?" Emelyn cut in.

Isaac looked over his shoulder at where she was crammed into the next to nonexistent back seat. "Remember when I said you're a beacon to demons?"

She nodded, but before she could speak Wes cut her off.

"You're shining bright tonight, Ems." he chuckled, taking a corner at a dangerous speed and throwing all the passengers in the car sideways.

"A demon is after me?" Emelyn clarified. "Can demons hurt people? Regular people, I mean?"

"They can." Isaac replied, putting a hand on the ceiling of the car to brace himself. "That's why we needed you to leave the party. A demon would rip through everyone there to get to you."

"But why me?"

Isaac looked at her again. "Because if you're dead, your Trio will never be formed. That's one less group of Hunters after them."

Emelyn sat back to digest his words. The more he spoke about magic and Trios, the more it was dawning on her that her life would never be the same. She would never be able to go back to working the summer at an ice cream shop. She wouldn't be able to go back to college to finish her teaching degree. Her life was going to be about this now, whether she liked it or not. Even though her mind told her it was her new reality, her heart wasn't quite ready to accept it.

Wes swerved the car to the side of the road and threw it into park before it was fully stopped. He and Isaac jumped out of the car and Emelyn had little choice but to follow them.

They went to the trunk and popped it open. Inside was a myriad of swords, all different sizes. Isaac grabbed a smaller one, strapping the scabbard to his waist. Wes's sword was much bigger and had to be strapped to his back.

"You have swords in the trunk of your car?" Emelyn found herself surprised at the revelation.

Wes shrugged before slamming the trunk closed. "We can't very well walk around with them like this." He pointed to the sword hilt sticking out over his shoulder. "People would complain."

"Regular people can't see magic." Isaac explained. "They can't see Wes's shield when he puts it up. They can't see demons unless they're being directly attacked by one. But these swords aren't magic. They're just swords. So people would ask questions if we wore them around all the time."

Emelyn looked at Isaac questioningly. "I thought Dom was the sword expert."

Isaac nodded. "True. His ability with a sword is far greater than anything Wes and I could ever accomplish. But he does need someone to practice with. And we," he pointed between Wes and himself, "Don't like to be completely defenseless."

“Why don’t you just shoot them?”

Wes nodded as though agreeing with her, but looked to Isaac to answer. “Bullets don’t do anything to demons. They just keep on coming.” He pulled the sword he had out and showed her a symbol carved into the blade near the hilt. “It has to be something that can be swung or an arrow. Medieval-type weapons. And they have to have this symbol engraved on them. It’s the only thing that will hurt demons.”

They were outside of town, barely a mile, but in a field like Isaac had asked. The woods could be seen in the distance. The field was overgrown with wild weeds and grass that came up to Emelyn's knees. They tramped through to the middle of the open area, Dom catching up quickly after parking his motorcycle behind Wes's car. He, too, had a sword strapped to his back.  

"This is a good spot." Isaac stopped, spinning around to survey the area from all directions. His gaze landed on Dom. "What do you sense?"

Dom nodded. "He's close. Headed this way." He looked from east to west. "From that direction." He pointed toward the woods to their east.

Isaac looked in the direction of the forest for a minute, then back to Emelyn. "Are you ready to be initiated into your new life?"

Emelyn shook her head. "No."

Isaac peered at her a moment before nodding. "But you're going to help." It wasn't a question.

"Do I have a choice?" she asked, taking a deep breath to steady her heartbeat that was suddenly thumping in her ears.

Isaac's mouth tweaked sideways, but he didn't smile. "I need you to wait here. Right here." He pointed to where her feet were already planted.

"Just stand here?" She was confused.

Dom was already fading backward, away from her. Isaac nodded. "Yes. It's coming for you. But it won't get to you. I promise." He took a step toward her. "I won't let it hurt you."

"We won't let it hurt you." Wes chimed in, grinning. He drew his sword from its sheath on his back.

"So, I'm bait?" Emelyn surmised, looking around the empty field.

"No, absolutely not." Isaac responded, starting to back away. He turned and melted into the darkness.

Wes looked at her, grinning. "You know you’re bait right-"

"Right," she cut him off, shaking her head in mild annoyance. "Just don't let me die, okay?"

Wes began backing away, flipping the sword around his hand. "Don't worry. We are the best at our job. We got this." Then he disappeared into the shadows as well.

Even though she knew they were nearby she felt alone. It was quiet except for the slight wind rustling the grass nearby and the leaves in the trees nearly one hundred yards away. She glanced up and saw a clear night sky with thousands of stars shining down on her. The moon was almost as bright as the sun, illuminating most of the field but also throwing deceptive shadows near the woods.

Emelyn wished she felt calm. She felt the opposite of calm. Every nerve in her body was tense, like the slightest touch would send her exploding into a thousand pieces. She found herself holding her breath and listening for anything unusual.

She heard footsteps first. Initially she thought they belonged to one of the guys, but she realized they were too heavy to be from a person. Her eyes snapped toward the woods and she saw it just as it broke the tree line.

If what she encountered the other night was a werewolf, this was not a werewolf. It dwarfed the monster from the other night and was twice as ugly. It was at least nine feet tall, four feet wide and pure muscle. It had two arms, two legs, and skin like a human, but the resemblance stopped there. Its head was large and round with circular red eyes, and a horrible mouth with pointed shark-like teeth that Emelyn could see all the way from where she was standing. Its skin was milky white; the thing seemed to almost glow in the bright moonlight. It was making horrible grunting and growling noises as it stepped into view, snarling from across the field. It paused a moment when it locked its violently red eyes on her.

Fear gripped her as it began lumbering toward her, faster than she anticipated. Isaac's words echoed in her head, "Right here." She was too frozen with terror to move even if she wanted to.

Less than twenty feet away from her the thing ran into an invisible wall, bouncing backward, its momentum knocking it to the ground. Wes was there, holding his left hand up to keep the invisible ward in place. Before Emelyn could blink, Dom was running in from the other side, sword flashing.

Dom's swing cut the demon, but didn't seem to faze it. The demon roared and was on its feet, swinging clawed hands at the two Hunters. Wes's shield protected him and Dom was fast enough to dodge the clumsy blows. Isaac appeared from behind the monster and thrust his shorter blade into the thing's side, taking it by surprise. Isaac was knocked aside for his trouble as the thing flailed its arm around in his general direction. Emelyn saw the demon falter in its attacks; it was now visibly wounded.

The demon managed to get a handle on Isaac's sword and pulled it out of its side with a cry of rage. It hurdled the blade away from itself in anger. Emelyn realized it was coming at her head with significant force. Instinctively she raised her hands to protect her face and felt the sudden release of energy she had felt the night in the woods. The sword stopped three inches from her face, hovering in mid air.

Dom managed to get in a few more slashes while Wes concentrated on blocking any blows the demon tried to retaliate by using his energy shield. With a final thrust, Dom shoved his sword through the creature's stomach. It collapsed to the ground with a final, guttural, growl. Dom moved quickly to remove the sword from the creature’s body to avoid a repeat of the other night. He checked to be sure the demon was dead with a few nudges of his foot before going to check on Isaac.

Wes came toward Emelyn. She was still standing with the sword hovering a few inches from her face. She wasn't sure how she stopped it, but she was afraid it would continue toward her if she lowered her hands. Wes reached up and grabbed it, holding it away from her. "Nice work." He nodded at her.

"I don't know what I did." She replied, lowering her hands slowly.

"You didn’t die." He sheathed his own sword.

Emelyn shook her head. "I don't know how I stopped it, though. It just...happened."

Wes smiled at her but didn't reply. He turned and headed toward Isaac and Dom. Isaac seemed shaky getting to his feet, but uninjured. He looked at Emelyn. "Everything all right, Em?" He asked her.

She pressed her lips into a thin line. "I don't think everything will be all right ever again."