Beyond the edges of Starlight Bay, in the forest that surrounded the city, a house stood behind the short walls of a picket fence. The walls of the house had been painted an unassuming blue, although the moonlight gave it an unusual purple gleam. Imperceptible except to the highly trained and very observant eye, numerous runes littered nearly every hidden corner of the house and underneath every window and door. The workshop and garage attached to the sides of the building got the same treatment. Light shone through the windows of the main building, signifying that the occupants were still awake despite how late the hour was.
Inside the house was as plain as the outside. Furniture, not shabby yet nowhere near exotic, made the living room less empty than it looked. Shelves lined the walls although there were no pictures on them, only the occasional flower vase here and there. The only thing that stood out was the larger than normal bookshelf that occupied the entire west wing of the room.
Michael sat on one of the couches, a book open on his lap as his eyes pored over its pages. To his left, the only other occupant of the room Dean lay on his back with his eyes closed. He was so still he could have been thought dead, if not for the small yet consistent rise and fall of his broad chest. In the kitchen adjacent to the living room, Lee reclined on a wooden chair tipped far back enough to stand on its back legs with his feet on the table.
The place was quite, the three men relishing in the silence and the peace of mind that came after knowing they had defended humanity once more. That was why they Hunted. To protect people who couldn't do so themselves, against those who sought their selfish goals without a care for those harmed in the process. The supernatural world was an extremely diverse place, each faction driven by different ideals. More often than not, those ideals usually did not bode well for normal humans.
That was where they came in. For centuries, they had protected humanity from the shadows. Waging a perpetual war against the supernatural world from the side of mankind, despite being part of that world themselves. There was never any particular enemy considering the sheer diversity of unnatural creatures out there. They didn't play favorites either. If a human magician was engaged in activities intended to hurt people, they spared no effort in eliminating him as well. After all, humanity could sometimes be its own worst enemy.
A large purplish black circle appeared in the middle of the living room, right in front of Michael. A slender leg showed itself first as Jade came through the portal, Olivia following soon after before the gateway shut itself.
"Well that movie was the worst," Jade complained to no one in particular as she tossed her purse on the couch.
"I'm not so sure about that," Olivia countered in her normal mellow voice as she took a seat beside her leader.
The darker haired girl shot her teammate a dry look. "It was basically two and a half hours of stupid romantic sappiness. I don't even know how you talked me into seeing that...."
Jade's voice trailed off as her eyes went vacant for a second, then narrowed considerably. This had not gone unnoticed by everyone in the room.
"What is it?" Michael asked, shutting his book and setting it aside. Across the room, Dean had shot up from the couch to sit upright, his body primed for immediate action should it be required.
"Something's coming," Jade answered as she reached into her connection with the runes plastered all over the building. She was the one who had drawn them originally to prevent anyone finding the house or infiltrating it. The runes were identified to her, meaning that she would be alerted if anything sought to enter the house.
Just like now.
Lee got up from the table and made his way into the living room, rolling his sleeves along the way. "Who is it this time? I don't exactly feel like doing two Hunts in one night. Besides I'm surprised we were found at all." He sent a sly grin on Jade's direction. "Guess you're not as good as you think."
She returned the grin with a withering glare. "Be quiet you. We haven't been compromised. It's only a letter. And I have a good guess as to who the sender is, seeing as they're the only ones who can track us."
Lee's grin morphed into a slight frown. "Why would they reach out to us again after last time?"
Out of the corner of his eye, Michael noticed Olivia shudder slightly in discomfort and decided to speak up.
"Lee, drop it. Jade, send the letter back-"
"I don't think we should do that. Michael, it has that seal on it."
The young man went silent at that and thought over his reply. The presence within him beckoned on him to receive the message as soon as he heard about the usage of a seal.
They know what that seal symbolizes, Michael. If they're willing to use it now, that means this is something we cannot in good faith ignore.
Listening to the words of his predecessor and weighing the pros and cons made Michael sigh tiredly as he ran his fingers through his hair.
"Alright bring it in. Let's see what this is about anyway," Michael agreed reluctantly. Turning to face Olivia, he saw her biting her lower lip anxiously. There were slight traces of uncertainty in her eyes and she wrung her hands together.
Michael covered her hands with his and looked at her softly. "Hey, it's going to be alright."
Jade had an uncharacteristically tender look in her eyes when she patted the other girl's shoulder.
"You know we don't exactly have to do this? We didn't make that promise so we don't have to do anything for them-"
Olivia raised a hand to stop her mid sentence. A weak laugh escaped her and she smiled sadly at the floor.
"No. It's just...after all these years, I-I still can't..." She let out a small sigh and separated her hands. Her nervousness had decreased a bit when she spoke again.
"Let it in. You guys always said you wanted me to get better right? I'm willing to give it a shot. Who knows, it might be something important?"
"Are you sure?" Michael asked. She replied with a nod and he looked over to Dean and Lee for their opinion. The former simply nodded while Lee waved his hand for them to go forward.
Jade met her leader's eyes one last time and he gave her the go ahead signal. Raising her hand, she summoned a version of the portal that had appeared earlier only much smaller in size over her palm. A white envelope fell out into her waiting hand. It was sealed shut with a wax seal of a rather peculiar design; a sword lying at the foot of a cross that stood before a full moon.
Jade handed it over to Michael in a show of deference and went to take a seat on his other side. He gazed at the seal for a while at the request of the presence within him to see the symbol that had once held much meaning to him. Then he carefully broke the seal and opened the letter. Dean and Lee had come to stand behind the couch at some point and they all read the letter together.
Five minutes later, they had all read the letter three times and were doing so again for the fourth time. Finally Lee threw his hands in the air and let out a small laugh.
"They can't be serious?!"
"I'm pretty sure they are," Jade replied dryly. Her eyes were still fixed on the letter, or more specifically the bottom of it where three signatures from three different parties lay. One was quite simple, a red drop of blood while another was an intricate magic circle and the last, a beautiful cross. These symbols belonged to the three biggest and most powerful factions in the supernatural world; vampires, witches and the Holy Church. The three groups were not official enemies but there had always been underlying tensions among them, resulting in something of a cold war between the factions. Of course the war was not always cold. Every now and then, loyal fanatics would pop up in a fit of madness and attack another faction in an insane attempt to 'purify the world'. Things like this ensured the mutual hatred continued and although there were times tensions sprung so high a war would seem very probable, none of the factions had ever dared launch a full scale attack on another.
The reason was simple: fear of a mutual enemy.
The Hunters did not discriminate in their activities. As far as they knew there were only two sides, humanity against the rest of them. And they were on humanity's side. An all out war among the factions would inevitably claim human lives. That would lead to the Hunters interfering to declare their own war against whichever faction they felt was responsible for the war in the first place.
Nobody wanted to fight the Hunters alone, never mind together with the other groups. Such an act would culminate in the utter destruction of said faction. Their fear of the Hunters was not unfounded. They were individuals of great power on their own. Together, they become a nigh unstoppable force capable of things best left unspoken of.
For these three long time enemies to seek the help of another enemy, it meant something serious was happening. The contents of the letter only served to strengthen that concept. For all its seriousness though, some parts of the message seemed more than a little absurd. The letter has hinted of an incoming danger, one that threatened the lives of the younger generations of each faction. Thus they had put aside their differences and in a show of solidarity, each group had brought their most promising prodigies in one place. The situation became even more absurd as at some point in the letter, the higher ups of the factions had asked the Hunters to lend them their aid in safeguarding these prodigies.
It would seem reasonable to an outsider; entrusting the future of the next generation in the hands of older, experienced, not to mention powerful individuals. However, take into account the fact that the individuals in question have spent multiple centuries exterminating such people, and the whole thing just loses any semblance of sense.
Thus Lee's less-than-subtle reaction.
"They're asking us to do babysit their kids?!"
"In a nutshell, yeah pretty much," Olivia affirmed.
Lee simply shook his head, muttered "Unbelievable" under his breath and went straight to the kitchen and the wine cabinet in it.
The rest of them were all equally shocked but that was not all they thought of the proposal. Olivia found it honestly interesting. It would be quite the experience to interact with other supernatural individuals without having to rip them apart afterwards. Dean felt the whole thing was a sham, an elaborate scheme to get them to lower their guard in a seemingly comfortable environment. Still he did not voice his thoughts. It was not his style to do such. He preferred to let his actions do the talking most of the time. It would not matter what he said anyway. In the end the decision was Michael's. He was the leader, his word was law as far as Dean was concerned. Jade simply thought the request amusing and made sure to voice her opinion. In her eyes, it was an opportunity to entertain herself. There was nothing as fun as watching children misbehave once they thought they were free of their seniors.
When it became obvious that they were all waiting for him to decide, Michael shut his eyes and sought the counsel of the presence dwelling alongside his soul. Personally he did not want to agree to this. He liked things the way they were currently. Being around these children for an indefinite period of time would inevitably affect him in the enactment of his duties. The veiled threat in the letter did not do much to help either. The subtle hinting of a combined war against the Hunters should they not comply was nearly enough reason for Michael to reject the proposal there and then.
The threat did not faze him in the slightest. It was pretty much the same thing they had been doing for so many years now. The only difference would be the increased publicity of their encounters. Which would in turn lead to the involvement of human innocents and that was something Michael would rather avoid. There was something to be said about the countless lives that would be lost in such a war. Despite their reputation as brutal and ruthless, the Hunters were not completely indiscriminate in their activities. A war would mean they would have to kill a lot of innocent people forced into an unwinnable battle by their stupid leaders.
He did not want that either.
"Accept it. You know they're right. Something has been stirring up for sometime now. This may be a chance for you to figure it out."
Begrudgingly Michael agreed with his predecessor. He had noticed that things were getting increasingly suspicious lately. Dangerous groups and equally dangerous people had begun to make appearances in a manner that had kept him up through more than one night in the week. The summoning of Saraces further cemented this uneasiness and prompted him to make his decision.
"Jade, send them a reply; we'll accept their proposal but with only after they accept a few conditions of ours."
The reactions were mixed. Lee stared at him in sheer disbelief while Olivia looked positively joyful at his decision. Jade seemed even more amused if that was even possible but not really surprised, as if she had already expected his answer. It would not surprise him if she did. She was the closest to him after all.
Dean on the other hand, kept his usual stoic face as he gave his assent. However, Michael knew something was bothering him inside even though he did not say a word.
"What is it?" he asked.
Dean's reply was short. "They'll betray us."
Michael raised an eyebrow at his friend. That was his biggest worry? Well it was not totally unfounded seeing as they were dealing with their long time enemies here. But Michael had already given that thought some consideration and had since come up with an answer.
A vicious smile, one that did made even Jade shudder slightly, spread his lips to reveal elongated razor sharp canines that gleamed brightly in the illuminated room.
"The answer to that is simple. They betray us..." Michael began as he looked at the rest of his pack from the corner of eyes that glowed an ethereal shade of red, showing him as the Alpha he was.
"We annihilate them all."