Prologue
It’s midnight. The full moon hides behind some grey clouds and only little white light shines through them. The light shines on a quiet town, where everyone’s asleep and gentle snores fill the air. Dewdrops shine on objects and a few stray animals look through garbage, rummaging for food, but that’s the only movement in the town
A man wearing a dark cloak runs out of the forest. He’s out of breath but keeps running. A few meters behind him, a woman emerges. She has a baby in her hands and keeps checking behind her.
Behind them emerges a crowd. Some have glowing hands, some have wolf-ish ears and some have longer canines. Some are boys, some are girls. The one thing they all have in common is anger. All of them have expressions of hatred, arms outstretched toward the couple.
The duo looks over their shoulders at them and turns back to the front to narrowly avoid crashing into a building. The moon comes out from behind the clouds, shining a brighter light on this whole thing.
As soon as the moonlight touches the man, he opens his mouth in an inhuman roar. His ears disappear and reappear on the top of his head and become as wolf ones as feathered wings rip through his shirt, flexing themselves.
When it touches the wife, she utters a single gasp as her veins momentarily emit pink light while some of it forms pink streaks in her fiery red hair. When the moonlight touches the crowd, it begins to transform as well.
The woman looks behind her and utters a few unspeakable words. The man extends the tips of his wings, stretching them to their full extent and takes to the sky with one powerful beat of his wings. As the effect, a gust of air hits the woman, which momentarily distracts her.
The woman has the ghost of a smile as she continues running. Her husband always was a show-off. Two can play that game.
“Subvolo!” she shouted and felt the power surge through her veins. A pink glow emitted from her and, magically, she began to levitate upwards. That peculiar feeling emits in her stomach, the one she had every time she tried a spell on herself.
She shoots a smirk to her husband, who looks mildly impressed. She used this one because the other levitation spell was actually a potion and she couldn’t make it. Also, this spell was cooler and harder to do, since she had invented it herself. She held her child closer to her as she went
The wife looks down and utters words not to be heard when she sees the witches and warlocks pull out flasks from their robes.
They flash evil grins and gulp down the contents of the flasks while the winged vampires take to the sky. Some wolves are left on the ground, confused as what to do.
The family runs to the city, well, more flying than running, and swoop down low in the dark alleys. They press their bodies against each other, not daring to make a sound.
’The chasers pass over them from above and they run out of the valley. The wife whispers something into her spouse’s ear. A look of blind panic crosses his face, but it’s only for a second.
The husband takes a deep breath. He’d been saving his energy all night for this. He channels all his power to his head and sends out a silent echo. Everyone’s position instantly becomes clear when the echo resounds back.
He grabs his wife’s hand and pulls her to an apartment building. The couple runs inside and the husband wraps his arms around her middle. He takes flight and stops on the 5th floor. He smashes his fist into the window, breaking it noisily and they both fly in.
The two fly in and the husband immediately starts searching in the apartment. The room is pastel blue, cozy and modest, with a small sofa-bed and a modest T.V. and there was a warm heater sputtering in the corner. A couple was sleeping in the bed, with only a moth-eaten blanket.
The wife places the child in between them, along with a note. Then she mutters something inaudible and the broken shards fly back to the window. Then she takes out a flask decorated with ropes, containing a suspicious-looking green liquid and pours some in both of their mouths. They both run out through the door.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asks, showing passionate concern. She nods and they both run into the middle of the town, a little park lit by a single street lamp. This was the best spot because they could take the chaos away from the buildings. And their child.
They both summon their powers, increasing their stamina to the max. The husband clenches his fist as his eyes fly open. They have a distinctive glow. The streaks of pink in her hair become luminous.
Their chasers surrounded them from all sides, so quick it looked as though they were popping into existence. Silence settled as the two groups analyzed each other. Suddenly, the group attacks the prey.
The family is fighting for their lives, and they know it. They try and give all their energy and, for a period of time, they’re winning. But fighting the Lators in like fighting a Hydra. Each head you cut off, two new ones grow in its place. Each head stronger, smarter and evolved.
They began losing. Slowly, but surely. And defeat was unavoidable. Sensing that, the man stopped fighting and turned to his wife. He felt like he was sixteen again, watching his wife dance to the music, heart hammering like a caged bird.
And he pressed his lips onto hers. She was all there was in the world and her soft lips responded. She put her arms around his neck in response, just as they were swallowed by the crowd. He didn’t want to let go.
They were forced apart, their hands tied by the crowd firmly. The biggest, meanest head of the Lators came forward. He looked at the various injuries inflicted on the couple and smiled.
“Aww, in love again,” he said in a baby voice, then laughed. “You haven’t seen anything yet.”
I love you,” the husband whispered, trying to comfort her. Her sobs pained him and he repeated it.
