Finding Falcon

Chapter 1

It was never meant to happen this way. Losing my entire family in one night as a monster with claws and fangs and fur tore them to pieces. All except my older brother and I, whom he left with a blood soaked grin on his face. But my brother was far from unharmed. He'd been bitten and left to become one of the Children of the Moon.

I had been there the first time he Changed. Watching as his skin tore from his body to be replaced with glistening fur the color of midnight. The shock and horror that had run through me still sent shivers down my spine and caused me nightmares.

Sometimes I woke in the night with a cold sweat dripping from my body as I heard his agonized screams and the crack of his bones as they had remolded and repositioned themselves into that of a monstrous wolf.

My brother had run off, a monstrous wolf with the legs like a bear while I simply stared as tears streamed down my face. I'm sure I had been screaming, my throat had burned for days afterward as his mournful howls rang in my ears. The sound often came back to me, those resounding howls seeming to never leave my mind.

That was nearly 11 years ago now when I was barely 13, but I clung to my past with a fierce tenacity, replaying both events each night in my mind like a broken record. I had to. Those memories kept me focused on my goal.

To find and kill my brother. I couldn't let him live as a monster. I wouldn't

I grimaced as I pushed the needle through my bleeding flesh, but the gaping wound in my side needed immediate attention else I might bleed to death. This wasn't the first time I'd had to stitch myself up. In my line of work getting chunks taken out of you was just part and parcel.

I was a Huntsman, an organization that tracked down and killed the things that went bump in the night. Unfortunately, the things that went bump in the night also liked to bump people. With their teeth or claws or whatever dangerous advantage they had against humans.

My partner, a man by the name Gemini --whom was actually a Capricorn-- stood watch by the door glancing over as I let out an angry hiss. "I could do it," he offered as his dark eyes watched me begin to thread the hole in my side closed.

"I'm fine," I grunted as I pierced my side once again. The pain of the needle as it slid through my flesh was something I was use to at this point and each bite served to remind me that I was looking for my brother who was one of the creatures that could do this very same thing to an innocent person.

Being in my line of work stitching myself up had become second nature and I was done in 5 minutes time. I was so accustomed to the pain that it no longer slowed me down. When I stood with minimal protest, Gemini looked back at me as if appraising my handiwork.

Satisfied, he gave a nod and we headed out the open doorway with no dramatics. As I exited I pulled a pack of matches from the front pocket of my jacket, and with a flick of my wrist the match was lit and I tossed it back into the house.

The blaze started with a miraculous display of orange and yellow flame that I didn't bother to look back at. I never did. Every fire was the same to me. Just another monster burning, another job completed.

We climbed into Gemini's truck in silence and he drove away as the fire began to consume the house. Gemini didn't bother with conversation. I wasn't the talkative type and he knew I tended to brood after a successful hunt.

There's blood everywhere. Dripping from the menacing fangs that seemed to shine scarlet from across the room, sliding down the walls like splattered paint, and congealing on the floor in puddles. My vision is a chaotic swirl of crimson except for those glittering yellow eyes that watch me.

A wolf, nearly the size of a bear rather than a real wolf, snaps his jaws closed around my mother's arm before ripping it off with a swift yank. Blood erupts from the stump, fountaining out for a few seconds before it becomes a steady trickle.

I want to scream, but I can't seem to open my mouth. My body is frozen, held immobile by fear and horror. The beast begins jumping about, throwing body parts in the air as if they're macabre playthings.

These are pieces of my mother and father while my brother lies amongst their pieces but has yet to be shredded by those lethal fangs. A whimper escapes from me and he jerks his head in my direction, the foreleg he was just throwing landing with a sickening wet sound.

His eyes narrow, zeroing in on me and I feel as my breath halts. Our eyes meet and my chest begins pumping but I can't draw any air. I might very well hyperventilate before he even reaches me. That's when something let's out an angry noise and a blood covered arm slaps up into the wolf's chest, fingers curling into the fur.

That's when I hear my brothers voice. "Stay. Away. From her." His voice is gravelly and strained, but so fierce I can feel fresh tears tricking my eyes.

The wolf seems surprised as he draws back, those eerie yellow eyes widening until the whites are visible. And then his ears pin back against his skull and his lips curl upwards into a menacing sneer while the bloody lump that is my brother glares up at him defiantly.

They lock gazes and time comes to a standstill while they stare each other down. My eyes don't move, and once again my breath catches. I can still feel the tears falling. It's dead silent as they remain deadlocked.

"Bryn," a deep voice says from somewhere behind me, but I can barely register it over the overwhelming tension that still builds.

"Bryn," it came again a little louder.

"Bryn," Gemini murmured near my ear, leaning over me hesitantly. The sound of his voice served to draw me from my sleep, and as I started to reach consciousness I could feel my limbs jerking, a helpless noise pulling from my throat.

This was mild compared to most episodes I suffered, I almost couldn't understand why he was even bothering to wake me up since I very rarely slept much at one time before he had to wake me up.

But I knew the reason behind his unusual waking of me. I could hear as I drifted back to alertness before I got control of it. The noise I was making was a soft mewling and such a despairing whimper I doubt he could stand to listen to it. I felt the wetness pooling under one side of my face and dripping off my nose. I'd been crying as well.

I didn't say anything, but my body stilled and my crying had stopped. Gemini needed no further sign of my waking and I heard as his boots thudded against the floor when he walked back to his chair.

Keys of a keyboard began to click again and I wriggled as quietly as possible to adjust my position and try to fall back asleep. After I had settled I heard him sigh quietly, the clicking coming to a stop. Silence filled the space as I felt his eyes on me and tried to keep my breathing steady to feign being already asleep. The click of keys resumed again and I let my mind wander as I waited for sleep to return once more.

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