What did Caylin do to deserve this life? Shaking her head, she pondered the good and evil in the world around her. Unfortunately, Caylin came into contact with very little good. Not when the shadows soaked up every ray of light. As she walked the streets every night, she watched the mass of innocence disappearing around her, as shadows invaded under the cover of night. They stole the souls of those who were too weak to defend themselves against it. Their spirit had been lost long ago. The darkness targeted those who society had written off without notice—the homeless, the ill-stricken, the undesirables. Each one was treated like yesterday’s trash.

  When she first met Remie, she was nothing more than a girl with a little magic in her veins, with several lifetimes of memories in her head that made no sense. He had changed all of that when he brought her into his fold. When he told her she was special, Caylin had almost laughed in his face. What could he possibly think made her so damned special? No idea. She wasn’t much different than your everyday person, aside from her belief that all energy around her could dissolve the light from the brightest heart. The magic inside her made her different, but many times she found herself completely defenseless, sometimes at the most inopportune times. It was not until she made it far away from this earthly beginning that she had come into her own where her powers were concerned. Caylin was not even sure there were others like her. Half of her hoped so. The other half doubted there was anyone else like her left in this world. Perhaps that was the anger inside her revealing its ugly head.

  Caylin faced her future each day, with the knowledge that her life might end around every corner, bringing her soul full circle once again. She prayed that her soul would always remember the strength of the convictions she held dear, for Caylin refused to compromise herself. She would find a way to fight the darkness that no one else seemed able to see, even if it meant she had to do the lioness’s share of the work.

  Chapter 5

  As Caylin walked down the street, she found the lights that were normally on were extinguished from the bar windows. Had they lost electricity? Not that it mattered. Traveling in darkness was something Caylin was used to. Nevertheless, this seemed different. Caylin felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up and knew this was far more than a power outage. Caylin stepped into the closest alley and peered around the corner.

  “Where is she?” A man in a long black trench coat held up some kind of shining orb in his hand.

  “Hell if I know,” the one next to him answered through gritted teeth. “Why did they send us to find her anyway? Don’t they know we have better things to do?”

  “Shut up, Mannie. If you want to be part of the Craven, you have to follow orders. Don’t be a dumbass. You’ll ruin it for both of us.”

  “Right, Mick. And what exactly has joining up with them done for us?” The man was clearly annoyed.

  “Mannie! You know what happens if you choose to leave, right?” the man warned him. Caylin saw him hold up his hand under his chin and slide it slowly across.

  The man shuddered. “I should never have let you talk me into this.”

  “Face it, we’re stuck now. Where did that bitch go to?”

  Bitch? Caylin felt the need to teach them some manners, but she had already dished out a fair amount of discipline tonight. Right now, she really just wanted to go home. But there was that part of her that was curious about who they were talking about.

  Caylin followed her curiosity and stepped out of the alley. “Who are you looking for, boys?”

  “There she is! Get her!” Mick reached for something in his coat.

  Caylin did not hesitate. She pulled Asodio from its sheath and held it in front of her. “Bring it on.”

  Two on one, those weren’t bad odds really, but at that moment, a friendly voice called out to her. “Mind if I join you?”

  “Remie! Damn it. I can take these assholes,” Caylin bit out through gritted teeth.

  “I know, but I was bored.” Remie flashed her one of his annoying grins, and she rolled her eyes at him.

  “Fine, but I get the fat one.”

  Remie chuckled. “He’s probably slower anyway.”

  “Who are you calling fat?” Mannie now had a dagger in his hand.

  “Isn’t it funny how he thought we were talking about him?” Caylin taunted both of them. “How do you know I wasn’t talking about him?”

  The other Craven, Mick, snickered. “Well, clearly, he’s bigger than me, but that doesn’t matter because Mannie could take both of you.”

  “Right. In his sleep, maybe.” Caylin sidestepped Mannie’s first attack as he tried to slice her with his dagger. She slammed the hilt of her athame against his cheek and tripped him with her foot. When he fell to the ground unconscious, the other man seemed to rethink his odds.

  He held up his hand as if to give up, but then pulled some kind of orb from his pocket. He held it up as if he were trying to look deep inside it. Then he pulled his necklace up and spoke into it. “It’s her, she’s here—”

  Caylin did not wait any longer. She swung Asodio through the air and sliced the crystal in half.

  The man looked at her in horror, as if she had eradicated his one lifeline. “You don’t know what you’ve done!” His face contorted in pain, and flames started to gather around his feet. In a matter of seconds, he was completely surrounded by fire. The orb he was holding in his hand came flying through the air. When it was about to smash on the ground, Remie held his hand up, and the orb floated up to it.

  “This could come in handy.” He smirked at Caylin, who was still in shock. The man’s last agonized screams were now fading from the air, and all that remained was a small pile of ash on the ground.

  “Wow. Remind me to go for the necklace first next time.” Caylin kicked her foot through the ash.

  “Who’s to say there will be a next time? Unless you’re moving on from the shadows?” Remie’s eyebrows rose as if curious about her next moves.

  “I make no promises.” Caylin winked at him. Remie was digging for information about her whereabouts, and Caylin did not feel the need to cue him in. He was the one who had set her on this path, after all. What did it matter that she had handled Marlow’s problem without him? Remie had often hinted he would be leaving eventually anyway.

  “Still….”

  “What, Remie? Are you worried about me? If you haven’t noticed, I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.” Caylin gestured to the man groaning on the ground. She picked up his necklace just as his eyes flew open.

  “Wait…don’t….” Mannie tried to reach for the crystal she held in her hand.

  “What do you think, Remie?” She didn’t even bother to look over at Remie to see what he wanted her to do. It was not in their nature to kill other mortals. At this point in time, Caylin simply wanted to know who was looking for her. She ripped the necklace from his neck.

  “Please, don’t—”

  “Tell me who’s looking for me.” Caylin ran the crystal through her fingers, taking in every intricate detail in a matter of seconds. The crystal was clear like quartz but had something trapped inside it. When she tilted it up and down, a smoky black trail moved up and down it.

  “I can’t tell you….” His voice was near hysteria.

  “I see. Well then….” Caylin lifted her hand up as if she were going to smash the crystal on the ground. She never got the chance, though.

  A shadowed figure popped up next to her out of thin air, ripped the necklace from her hands, and threw it on the ground. She rolled out of the way to avoid the fire that started before her. As the Craven on the ground became enflamed, the figure gave a haughty laugh. “Newbies….”

  “Who the hell are you?” Caylin gripped Asodio in her hands and was about to attack him, but he laughed in her face.

  “Ah, the fearless Stalker. About time we met. We’ve been looking for you.” He held up his hand and conjured a red ball.

  “Me?” Caylin sneered at him. Clearly, he was not here to make friends. Asodio’s glow was a deep purple, as she put all her anger into it. She was not about to let this low life get to her.

  “A shame. The Revenant has been looking for you. You could work well together.”

  This man wanted her to work with the Revenant? Who or what was the Revenant? If he worked with the Craven, Caylin was sure she wanted nothing to do with it. The Craven was supposed to be a hidden magical organization, that in her opinion, wasn’t nearly as invisible as they thought. Caylin had seen their kind out and about frequently. She had never actually been the brunt of their attacks, but there was always a first time for everything. “I don’t know who this Revenant is, but I want nothing to do with him.”

  “Too bad. Your loss.” The ball in his hand grew larger, and Caylin could feel the heat.

  Remie stepped in front of her as if to block the attack. He held up his hand and cast a shield of light around her. “I’ve got you, Caylin.”

  “Got me? Are you fucking kidding me? Get out of the way, Remie!” Caylin charged at the shield and tried to slice through it with Asodio, but her body was thrown back. Sheathing Asodio, she turned and flew at Remie, ready to spit nails. “You asshole. Stop treating me like a child.”

  Remie peeled her hands off him, trying to hide a grin. “Look, he’s going to destroy this shield. You really need to let go.”

  The man sneered at them. He released the first ball, and the shield flickered. Caylin looked at Remie and shook her head. “Shoddy work, Remie. He shouldn’t be able to get through if you cast it right the first time.”

  “Well, if you weren’t trying to distract me….”

  This time the man’s attack disrupted the shield completely and the remnants fizzled to the ground. The two of them were still in the middle of their argument when he was about to toss another ball at her. Caylin pulled Asodio out of its resting place and held it up as if to ward it off when another body entered the fray. A large bolt of white light shot across the air and knocked the man on his ass. Before his attacker could get another blast at him, the Craven faded from sight.

  “Making trouble again, Caylin?”

  Wait…she recognized that voice. Caylin swung around to find herself face to face with the man from her dreams. Many thoughts swam around her head, but the loudest one made its way out of her mouth. “How do you know my name?”

  He never answered her. A smug smile was plastered on his face when he turned to face Remie. “I thought you had her under control?”

  “Well, I did…until she decided to outgrow my plans.” Remie turned away from Caylin.

  She could not ignore the guilt etched on his face. “Remie, what the hell is going on here?”

  “It’s time to bring her in, Remie. No more excuses.”

  “Griffin, look, she’s not ready yet.”

  “Griffin, is it?” Caylin moved closer to him, with Asodio now grasped firmly in her hand. She grabbed onto his collar, hell-bent on shaking some information from him.

  He pulled her closer to him, and Caylin was ready to pummel his face. What the hell was he going to do, kiss her? Caylin looked into his eyes and found a warmth hidden inside.

  “Hold on, Caylin.”

  “What…?”

  She blinked in confusion. His eyes were almost hypnotizing. She looked away first and tried to gather her wits, but realized it was too late, as her assumption about his actions was completely off. Before she knew it, the air around her turned, and the world slipped out from under her. They were moving through time and space. The scenery changed over and over. Caylin tried to make out the details around her, but her head started to feel heavy. As she lost consciousness, she fell against his shoulder.

  Chapter 6

  When Caylin awoke, she found herself propped up on something hard as a rock. She blinked a few times to adjust to the pitch black around her. Where the hell was she? When she heard the shuffling of feet nearby, she reached behind her back for Asodio and cursed inwardly. Where was it? She needed a back-up plan fast. Her fingers crept along the cold floor, searching for her trusty weapon or anything that might work in a pinch. When she felt a small rock, she curled her fingers around it and prepared to jettison it at whoever was creeping near her. Before she could, a small glow of blue light illuminated nearby. Caylin squinted her eyes to adjust to it.

  “Caylin?” Remie’s voice called to her tentatively.

  Caylin was half tempted not to respond, but that lasted briefly. “Yes?”

  “Are you in one piece?” His concern was palpable.

  Whatever had been going on between Remie and these other people, he did seem to care for her. Caylin wasn’t sure what to think. “I seem to be, but I can’t find Asodio.”

  “I have it here. I just want to make sure you’re not going to use it right away.” His words had a teasing tone, but there was a seriousness buried beneath.

  Caylin ignored the caution in his voice and barreled through with her questions. “Where are we? Who in the hell was that man? And how do they know you?”

  The air around them was thick with a pulse she could not quite understand. She cast a small ball of light in her hand and took a look around her. It appeared to be a cave of some kind. As she moved her hand around her, she saw dark crystals hanging off the walls in different places. That explained the energy she was feeling. In fact, it was so strong she could barely feel Remie’s energy. The stone was sending strong pulses all around them, blocking her senses in a way that made her feel as if her equilibrium was shot to hell. Her head started to pound furiously, the faint traces of energy corroding through her own. Caylin closed her eyes and threw up a shield around her. The purple light ebbed and flowed until it sunk into her skin. This would only last for so long, though.

  When Remie didn’t answer her questions, she tried again. “One question at a time then. Who the hell was that man?”

  “Griffin.”

  “And why was he following me?”

  “That was my fault.” Remie didn’t seem all that concerned about it, though. He had the air of a man who had other things on his mind, things that he had on lockdown, preventing her from probing into his conscious.

  “Why? What did you do?”

  “I called for help.”

  “We didn’t need any help, Remie.”

  “You’re tainted.”

  “Tainted? What the hell are you talking about?”

  “You got too close to them, Caylin. He’s marked you.”

  Caylin let out an exasperated breath. “Riddles with you…always a fucking riddle. Your next answer better be completely truthful. Where are we?”

  “This is merely a holding place until we can make our way to the Watch Tower.” Remie moved closer to her, and the glowing light followed him. It was an orb that he had cast to light the way.

  “Watch Tower?” Why did that sound remotely familiar to her? Like the elemental watchtowers called upon when casting a circle, perhaps? Or some religious order that superseded other beliefs on human morality? There was no love lost with formalized religion, where Caylin was concerned.

  “The Watch Tower. How do I describe…?” Remie’s face grew weary. “It’s an organization of some of the most powerful people on this planet. Their purpose is to destroy the evil entities that are wreaking havoc on our world.”

  “Well, that’s awfully ostentatious, isn’t it?” Caylin rolled her eyes at Remie. A group of people playing God? Is that what the Watch Tower was? No wonder he hadn’t told her about them. Caylin was not the kind of girl who wanted to be fettered to any group. She was much happier on her own.

  Remie did not seem taken aback by her words. “I thought so myself. I’ve learned to trust them.”

  “So…they are from the Watch Tower. Why do they want me?”

  “For the same reason the shadows do. You have a powerful destiny.”

  Oh boy, here we go. Destiny. Well, that explains absolutely nothing. “That’s a crock of shit. I’m not different than anyone else, Remie.”

  “You are the Stalker. Some people are born to do great things. You were born to destroy shadows.”

  “Oh, goodie.” Caylin rolled her eyes. That wasn’t new information for her. She had been taking them out for years now, but what did that have to do with the Watch Tower?

  “You have a long way to go, Caylin. The Watch Tower can help you.” Remie’s face was far more serious than she had ever seen it.

  “I do fine by myself, Remie. I don’t need a faction of self-indulged magicians to help me.”

  “We’ve been keeping an eye on you.”

  “Oh? Really? When exactly did that start? When I was born? When I lived with the trailer trash, who thought I was expendable? When I was being manhandled on the streets taking whatever scraps I could get to survive?”

  “I came when I could.” His words were no real defense for his actions. The guilt on his face made that all too clear.

  “That’s what I thought. Some friend.” Caylin felt a sneer forming on her face. She should have learned not to let anyone get close to her. Everyone was out for themselves and would only screw her in the end. Caylin’s anger was bubbling, gurgling inside her like a geyser ready to erupt.

  “It’s not like that, Caylin. We didn’t know about you until the Shadow Walker had a vision.”

  “Shadow Walker?” Caylin rolled her eyes. She really didn’t care who this Shadow Walker was. Caylin was already making her exit plans.

 

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