The Search for the Fallen Angel - James Gough (great book club books .txt) 📗

about it for a moment and realized he was full of questions. Where the hell was he? Who are you? What is a Shadow Hunter? Why can’t I remember anything? These questions flashed through his head at the speed of light. Realizing he had too many questions, Damon just went for the first on that came to his mind. “Where am I?” the question hung in the air for a moment and for a second he almost thought they weren’t going to answer. “You’re in a place where you don’t belong. Cause you are a defenseless and worthless mundane,” someone snapped back. Damon turned around to see a man in his mid-twenties leaning on the arm of an old couch while staring back at him with fiery eyes.

He had long dark hair, that ran down almost below his eyes that seemed to fit with his I-don’t care attitude. “Jace,” Lisa snapped in dismay. “You did enough by killing that thing in front of him the least you could do is show some respect,” she retorted angrily.   “What did you expect me to do, wait until it killed him and then kill it,” Jace snapped back harshly. Lisa gave him a look of disapproval before turning back to face Damon. “I’m sorry about that, it won’t happen again,” she apologized shooting Jace another hard look. “But any way back to your question. You are at the shelter, beyond those doors is the entrance to Idris, Home of the Shadow Hunters,” Lisa informed proudly pointing across the room to a set of golden doors. Damon looked at the doors in awe, and somehow he felt as if he could feel a wave of energy flow through his body as if the doors gave out a power like no other.

   Shaking off his mesmerized spell, Damon looked back at the woman. “Ida-what?” the then asked. “Idris, it’s not on any map except for Shadow Hunters,” Collin interjected. “It’s a forbidden city to any mortal soul,” Lisa informed.   “Okay so what is this about Shadow Hunters?” Damon then asked as if trying to get away from the main conversation. A moment of silence lifted in the air giving Damon the time to look around. As his eyes shifted around the room, Damon’s eyes landed on the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. She had long luscious black hair that ran smoothly down her shoulders. Her eyes were the color of dark ocean blue, making it seem as if she had the ocean in her eyes. When their eyes met Damon saw a connection. A connection he had never felt for a girl before. It was a connection of pure affection.

“We have been in this world for over a million years,” she then said as she softly bit on the corner of her lip. Damon let his gaze fall off her and to the floor but he could still feel her gaze on him. “Shadow Hunters is an ancient name from the race called the Nephilim. They came from the offspring of humans and Angels, regenerated to keep peace around the world. They say they were created by the Great Fallen Angel Zagan. He mixed the blood of humans and Angels into one and created Angel Warriors,” she explained lightly. The way she spoke seemed to take Damon into a different world. A world where there was no sin but just peace.

“So he created a different race that was beyond perfect,” Damon made clear. “No, the experiment came with several consequences, one being the most important, we cannot be seen by humans at all,” she pointed out loudly as if they were key words to something. “Yeah, well if I’m not mistaken I can see you,” Damon recalled with clarity in his voice. “Yes we are very aware of that in fact that is what we are trying to figure out,” Collin elaborated.   “You see Shadow Hunters have the ability to make themselves visible to humans. Many Shadow Hunters do this and end up falling in love with a mundane and then find themselves with a baby,” Lisa informed.   “And this would make the child a half-blood Shadow Hunter,” Lisa finished proudly. “Wait…. So are you saying my mother had sex with a Shadow Hunter, cause if you are that would be pretty fucked up,” Damon swore loudly. “Huh, well we can’t tell yet,” Collin muttered, as if disappointed in their lack of information. “So, Damon what is your father’s name?” Collin asked suspiciously.

Damon was about to lie and give them a false name but somehow when he made eye contact with the girl across the room, he felt as if he couldn’t lie to her. “John,” Damon finally gave in not finding himself able to take his gaze away from the girls stunning eyes. “John…..What?” Jace butted-in making Damon look away from her stunning features. “Salvatore,” Damon muttered giving Jace a dark glare of annoyance from butting-in on his transtundent stare.

“Well there you have it the kids a half-blood Shadow Hunter, congratulations,” Jace added harshly.   Damon felt his body go limp. He couldn’t be right. There’s no way he was a… Shadow Hunter. Damon looked over at Collin as if asking if this was true.

He didn’t want it to be true. He didn’t want to believe this was real- in fact he refuse too. Maybe he was joking with him, Damon thought to himself, but when he saw the realness of on Collins face that thought shattered. “I’m sorry to say this but, Jace is right. John Salvatore was once the leader of the conclave a while back,” Collin explained. “So that explains how he can see our kind,” The girl then jumped in excitedly at the newly found information. “Yes, and it also explains why he was attacked by a vampire,” Jace clued in. “John Salvatore was hated by most of the conclave for the choice he had made when he was leader. He had left the city to die when they were in the Dark War against Lucifer’s army. And ever since everybody; either hates him of wants him dead. So since the vampires couldn’t find John they have apparently decided to take their revenge on something that is considered his….. And in this case, his son.”

Yes and it also means what I feared would not come,” Collin added darkly. “So Damon since you are found to be half-Shadow Hunter, it is by law that you be stripped of your human existence and be marked as one of us,” Collin spoke with urgency in his voice. “With this in mind, you will be sent into training and you shall study the dangers and rules of being a Shadow Hunter,” Collin reassured.

Damon couldn’t find himself to take this all in. It was too much in one day. But what had been stabbing at him the whole time was the fact that he was being triggered because of something his dad did. “Wait-what would they want with me?” Damon asked trying to hide the fear that swelled in his chest. “Well isn’t it obvious,” Jace responded coldly. Damon tired of his rudeness stepped forward, “No, would you please inform me,” Damon hissed in a raspy tone.

Jace looked as if he had been slapped in the face. “It means they are going to hunt you down and kill you,” Jace threatened with irritation in his voice. Damon’s body then suddenly filled with the one thing that he hadn’t felt in quite some time…. Fear. “What!” he then yelled in shock. “Calm down, Damon, there is a way we can stop this,” Collin paused as if he had said something wrong. “Well you can stop this,” he then corrected. “And how is that?” Damon asked trying to sound calmer than he was scared. “The only way you can prevent this from happening is by giving up your life as a human and to begin a new life as a Shadow Hunter,” Collin advised. “Are you serious?” Damon asked feeling the anger fill back inside his chest.  “Honey I know this is hard to take in but it is the only way that you can be safe,” Lisa said in a maternal tone.

   Damon not able to control his anger and rage exploded, “Yeah and you just expect me to be calm while a bunch of killer vampires and god knows what else is trying to kill me because you’re wrong,” Damon objected. And before they could say another word, Damon pushed past Jace and ran out of the house before slamming the door behind him.

He had half- expected to be in the middle of nowhere but to Damon’s surprise he was just a couple miles away from New York. He took off toward the city and flagged down a taxi and sat back in the car trying to let his body relax from the fear that crawled on the top of his skin.

The time went by fast, and before he knew it the taxi pulled up in his driveway. He got out and slowly ambled his way toward the house as if he had all the time in the world. Soon as he stepped in the house he felt suddenly safe and secure. He was Home.

   Damon walked into the living room, to find his brother sprawled out on the couch with a bag of potato chips on his chest. When Stephen saw his brother, he quickly jumped off the couch and looked at Damon with a look of concern painted on his face. “Where the Hell have you been, I’ve been trying to call you all day,” his brother said with distress in his voice. The concern look suddenly faded but to be replaced with a smile, “The games on,” his brother then said happily.

   That was one thing that Damon loved about his brother, when times was serious his brother never was. “You’ll never believe what just happened,” Damon spoke with relief. Stephen was just about to respond when all the windows in the house shattered, spraying glass crystal glass everywhere. A moment later a tall muscular man stepped through the window; the sound of breaking glass echoed through the house as the man stepped closer. As the man moved closer and closer to them, Damon suddenly realized the man wasn’t a man at all but something Damon had never seen in his life. It had the body of a human but the look was nowhere close. The flesh on the creature was replaced with green-black scales that looked as if they were chipped. When the creature caught sight of them, it took off in a slithering run. Damon closed his eyes feeling death slowly edge itself closer to Damon’s soul. But when he wasn’t attacked he opened his eyes just in time to see Stephen tackle the creature sending them crashing into the glass table.

Damon heard the sound of his brother wincing in pain as the glass sliced through his arm like razor blades. Damon hoped to hell the creature was hurt as well but shockingly it was unharmed. In fact the creature didn’t even have a scratch. Damon thought for a moment wondering if it was the scales that surrounded the body but pushed that thought aside as the demon-like creature stood up and grabbed his brother by the neck and pulled him to his feet. Stephen tried to pull away from the creatures grasp but its grip was stronger than steel, it slashed down with its claws creating several gashes on the side of his cheek. It then wrapped its scaly arms around his chest and pulled him in as if in a bear hug. It then closed its eyes and a second later it disappeared in the mist taking his brother with it.

Damon stood there staring at the space where his brother had just stood fighting for his life as well for his brothers not seeming to be able to gather what had just happened. And it was then