Dark Times: The Enchanted Compass Desiree The Half Elf Princess Warrior

The Dragon

CHAPTER ONE

Desiree's birthmark seared and burned. With Nathan and Amelia in tow, she brushed pass the demolished entrance and into the foyer of the chapel, where previously it was host to her adopted mother's wake. The place was currently empty after Kera and the Order had invaded the church. But she had more pressing issues to deal with: Genevieve was missing. So far, there was no sign of neither her best friend nor her mystery abductor, as if they simply vanished off the face of the earth. It didn't help matters that the kidnapper's identity was a secret. Not a good sign, Desiree thought. Not a good sign, at all.

Desiree's oval-shaped, emerald-green eyes searched for an avenue that the unidentified individual might have escaped to, isolating any particular place within the chapel the person might have gone that would elude detection long enough to get away without notice. Then a pain like she never experienced before pierced her hand; it was as though her birthmark was on fire. The pain was so intense she collapsed to her knees clutching her fingers. Her eyes had become watery; she closed her eyes shut in agony.

"We don't have time for this. Why are we stopping? Shouldn't we be fleeing for our lives instead of waiting for the bad guys to find out where we are? I don't know about any of you two, but I vote for fleeing for our lives. C'mon, who else is with me?" Amelia said.

There was horror in her almond-shaped, hazel eyes. Desiree rubbed her hand, frowning. "How about asking if I'm okay?" she tossed back, speaking with pain in her voice as she tilted her head to meet the young woman's fearful countenance. "You might get a better reaction."

Amelia rolled her eyes, walked away and leaned against the wall. "Are you all right?" Nathan queried, helping Desiree to her feet. He raked his eyes over her distraught face. "Remember me telling you about my birthmark, right? Well, it keeps hurting---it happens every---I guess what I'm trying to say it's like an early warning system of some kind---you know, like---Spiderman's spider sense for instance."

Nathan held a blank expression. "Oh, okay. Who is Spider-Man?" "Spider-Man is a fictional superhero created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He acquired spider-related abilities after a bite from a radioactive spider, thus where the --- You know what...just---never mind."

Desiree didn't need to be told twice. She snatched Amelia by the hand, and on the verge of leaving when the door crashed to the floor with a loud thud. Standing upon the threshold of the splintered doorway was a pair of officers, holding a small, metal battering ram. The policemen stepped aside to allow a squad of their fellow officers to enter. They scurried into the foyer with their guns drawn. Desiree scanned each and every face of the officers until there was one she recognized among them: Detective William Jackson, the seasoned officer didn't seemed to have recovered from his previous encounter with Isabella and the Order intact. The RuneKeeper pondered the whereabouts of his younger partner, Detective Midori Miyahira. The last time Desiree had laid eyes upon the dark-haired officer she had run off with Rayner. "Freeze," he ordered.

"Hands in the air where I can see them. All of you. " Having dealt with the police once already Desiree immediately comply with the veteran investigator's orders. She hoisted her arms and hands in the air. She gave a furtive look over her shoulders. Each and everyone of her companions had their hands up except for Anthony, who much to Desiree's consternation held his chin up in defiance.

"Anthony? What are you doing?" Desiree asked. "We don't have time for this," he said, flashing his ivory fangs. He made a snarling noise in his throat, and took a step toward the officers, whom pointed and cocked their firearms in his direction. Desiree seized the young man by the arm. Anthony had a mystified expression on his face.