Prologue
Aysel Erimentha sat at her favorite outlook, waiting for darkness to blanket the bustling city below. She'd come to sit and wait for her friend, Nico Perran, to arrive for the meeting that they'd scheduled ahead of time. Where is he? She thought, he should be here by now. Even if Nico didn't show, that would be okay with Aysel. She loved the twilight hour.
The day was coming to an end, but the night was just beginning. The life that came out at night would scare the human race. Nico bounded out from the shadows of the hill. His oak colored hair shining in the fading rays of sunlight; Aysel was lucky that Nico hadn't come out of the shadows as a werewolf. It would have been just like him to scare the living-daylights out of her in this witching hour. The witching hour for the Erimentha family was the twilight hour. Aysel should have been a witch-shifter, her whole family had been, but not her. She was just a witch, but that didn't matter. No one could tell Aysel that she was insignificant, as her family's friends had done.
Nico came to stand by Aysel's side, gazing at the awakening world of Lunaforté. The world that always hid just beneath the surface, was the magical world that Aysel and Nico lived in. Lunaforté didn't exist for humans, no what the humans called Earth, the Magie called Lunaforté. There was no hiding, humans just ignored Lunaforté. Various magical creatures that the humans called myths lived within Lunaforté. The weres, vampires, witches, shape-shifters, ghouls, Shadows, demons, wraiths, ghosts, any supernatural creature in reality that had been heard of in myths, some that hadn't even been in myths lived in Lunaforté. Unicorns were the only creature that didn't exist in either world. If they'd ever existed, they'd gone extinct. Heaven and Hell thrived and were different dimensions of Lunaforté, but always connected. Always feuding with one another, Heaven and Hell, with Lunaforté in the middle, unable to lend support to either side.
"Hey Nico, what's happening in Lunaforté? Since we can't have a news station." Aysel said, not really ready to give up her solitude.
"Hey Aysel, nothin' much is goin' on that you don't already know about. Heaven and Hell are in a time of peace. I think it's because they're in a stale mate. The Orb Elders are trying to figure out who is trying to get to you. Again." Nico rolled his eyes, the Orb Elders had been trying to figure out a mystery that wasn't there. Aysel thought it folly that someone would be after her. She wasn't special, if anyone was special it would be her friend Acelynn Zephyr.
Aysel laughed, "What? Are they breathing down your neck and telling you to stick to me like glue?"
"Something like that." He said offhandedly.
"Ah, well you know that you don't need to."
"Yeah, but that won't stop them, I'll have to keep at least an eye on you when you go into the city."
"Okay, but I don't usually have to go into the city." Aysel frowned at his expectant look. "What Nico? I'm not going into the city. I don't even go there for supplies."
"So… the rumor about you dating a gargoyle isn't true?"
Aysel slapped him up side the head, and scowled at him. "No, that is certainly not true, who has been passing those rumors around? Never-mind don't answer because then I'll go find him and make the rumor look true."
Nico grinned, his tan skin making his teeth look whiter. "I knew you were too smart for the Rumor Trick. Poor guy, now he looks like an even bigger idiot to his friends."
They laughed and sat there in companionable silence. The wind rustling the leaves as it blew through the forest behind them. Nico Parren certainly knew how to keep a girl on her toes Aysel mused. It was lucky that there wasn't a full moon tonight, or this encounter would be going differently.
Werewolves had a force shift every time there was a full moon, it was the most painful shift. That was the only part of the myth that wasn't a half-truth. Weres could shift whenever they wanted with or without a full moon, if they had the power and status. Nico was the beta in his pack, or the second command, which would mean that he had that type of power.
Nico's friends were probably waiting for him to hurry up and finish talking to Aysel so they could go to the latest party. Aysel had lived with Nico and his pack friends for most of her life. They loved to follow him, and Nico had made himself her bodyguard. Whether she wanted him as her guard or not.
Aysel turned to look at Nico. Right on cue, she heard the shifting of feet in the forest. That meant Nico's friends were nearby and were watching. They're probably begging for me to kiss him, Aysel thought. He had gotten that look on his face too, probably made a bet that he could get me to kiss him, Aysel thought.
She smiled, "Not going to happen Nico." She turned toward the trees, not raising her voice. There was no need. "You guys can quit hiding now, I know you're there." A string of irritated curses followed her words and "How'd you know we were here?"s.
Nico looked at her, "You sure you're not part werewolf?"
"Positive, I've just known you guys too long. Now get going, you aren't winning a bet of getting me to kiss you."
"Dang, I lost two bucks."
"Two dollars for a kiss from me? Am I that ugly?" Aysel said with feigned mortification.
The werewolves let out barks of laughter. Nico looked at her again, laughter still bright in his honey colored eyes. "Ugly? That's the last word I'd use for you. You helped me win a bet though."
"What bet?" She asked suspiciously.
"That you'd be to smart to do it and would hear them. I bet fifty dollars on that. That's how much faith I have in your IQ"
"Well, that makes me feel better." She said dryly.
"Ah, come on. They knew better then to shake hands on that bet, but they did any way."
Aysel pursed her lips, "All right, it is funny. Sort of."
"Well, we're going to get going. Night Aysel!" Nico said as he hopped to his feet and ran off. Aysel heard the male bantering begin, then fade away.
Aysel didn't sense anything out of the ordinary as she stood and made her way home. Little did she that the Orb Elders were right. A killer was after her as he slunk back into the shadows and walked away.
Gender:
Points: 1218
Reviews: 40