The Formidable Stranger (Trilogy)

عالم الظل

The night passed and the team woke at the crack of dawn; all except Cain who sprung to life at the sound of swords clashing. His estranged son and daughter-in-law had been sparring together in a training session along with the others.

"Good morning.. is this a regular thing?"

Immediately the swords stopped hitting each other. Cas looked to him and answered, "Uhh... we used to train every day, but things have been a little hectic these past few months."

Cain nodded and smiled as he walked away.

"Hey man," Drew acknowledged him, "let's see what you got."

"Oh, I'm not really... tactically trained like you guys."

Penelope clicked her tongue aloud and shook her head showing her annoyance. She then walked over to her husband and ran her hand smoothly along his side before drawing one of his knives.

"You may not be tactically trained as you said," she addressed Cain bitterly, "but I saw you kill around eight cops in a way that's not even humanly possible, so you're going to show me what you can do or I'm going to put that immortality of yours to the test."

Everyone looked at her like she was crazy, but wanted to see for themselves what Cain was all about as well.

"Look," he said, "I promise I'll show you when the time is ri.... Whoa!!" he exclaimed as a knife missed his face. He crouched to the floor. Before he could revert, Penny threw more knives from Casper's suit in rapid succession. The more he twirled and ducked, the more knives hitched themselves into the wall behind him. She hit her bullseye when he eventually got ticked off. Giving the ring on his finger a twist, his body turned to a black mist that charged at Penelope, lifting her from the ground and smashing her into the table ten feet behind her; returning to his form he had his hand clenched tightly around her throat. Not for long though as Tammy wrapped her snakeskin whip around his neck landing him flat on his back where Cas knelt in his chest and told him to simmer down.

"Bravo." the weak voice of Kasdeya chimed in as she watched from her naughty corner.

"Haven't seen that trick in a decade or two."

Ignoring her, everyone seemingly forgot she had been there watching all along. Cas stood to his feet and held out his hand to help his father up. Brushing off his shoulders for him in an aggressive manner, Casper spoke to him quietly.

"Congratulations, you made it through your first training session... but don't ever put hands on her again."

"Understood" Cain agreed willingly as his eyes met Penny's.

"So! Let's talk it out, what the hell was that?"

Drew asked.

"This ring is tied to another dimension; it was given to me by a witch over a millennia ago. My immortality doesn't come with anything else, to be honest, I'm only good for taking a beating, but this ring gives me the power to tap into a dimension known as the Shadow Realm. Essentially my body changes, I can pass through solid walls, I can move swiftly with precision and strength... and if I please, I can knock out a few street lights. Everything is heightened the darker my surroundings are." Cain answered.

"Immortal men, witches, magic rings, and other dimensions... it's hard to believe all this has been going on so long and the world remains oblivious."

By this, the sun was getting hotter and hotter, it was time to move. Penelope and Cain approached Cas with their bags on their backs, ready for the 11-hour journey to Cairo, Egyptonly now realizing that they hadn't spoken about how they'd get there. They were still wanted by the police, especially now with the mysterious death of Chauvin and his cronies moments after seeing the Lee's. The family pilot was out of the question and Kasdeya had stolen their jet but. Cas had a plan which he held onto until the final moment.