Shadow Realm

1

" You are a monster and must be exterminated."

"No, wait! I'm like you! There's Nephilim's blood in me!"

A cynical smile and a long sword pierced his heart.

"NO!"

Cassie's eyes flinched open and found herself on the floor in the middle of her room, her fangs visible and sweat pouring from her temples. It had been a long time since she had experienced this dream and the fact that it had happened to her today made her even more afraid.

The phone on the nightstand started ringing wildly. He regained control of himself and picked up his phone.

"What happened to you?"

Cassie looked at the wall clock opposite her. It's too late!

"But, seriously? I didn't pay much attention for twenty minutes I waited for you in front of your house!" he said with cynicism.

"Quick move miss, I'll be waiting for you downstairs!"

He turned off his phone and stayed for a few seconds looking at the screen with a smile. He is the only one who knows the truth about Cassie, yet he never turns away from her.

After elementary school Cassie enrolls in a pre-training school for hunters, but that's not far from the training she'll be taking that morning. Until now they had only taught him how to classify demons and how to kill them, but nothing was practical. The only practical thing he learned was to fight. Potential hunters of different species (Nephilim, vampires, or werewolves) challenge each other in hand-to-hand combat while vampires and werewolves maintain their human forms.

Cassie has never competed in any competition, she doesn't care about things like that. While Cam, is one of the school's champions, something Cassie never imagined given she was a little chubby as a child. A lot has changed over time and, come to think of it, he has also changed.

Everyone at Holding always thinks that the two are in a relationship, but that's not the case. It was not easy for Cassie to keep her identity a secret in such a city, especially given the work she had decided. Not a few were surprised at how delicate her face was considering Cassie was a wolf. To prevent people from noticing that her eyes were too bright, Cassie began wearing dark-colored contact lenses. It did not improve the situation much, but at least now his eyes looked brown instead of green.

Each species has a specific mark. Vampires have red eyes and canine teeth only appear when they mutate. Most wolves have dark hair and dark eyes. Nephilim almost all have bright hair and eyes, they are not all similar, each has a different complexion, and unlike all species, they have very fine features.

"Casalia, hurry!" urged mother.

"Cameron has been waiting for you for half an hour!"

Her mother had not changed at all, other than a few wrinkles, she remained the same as usual.

When they returned to Holding, people recognized him and were a little surprised to see his mother still alive, but especially seeing her with Cassie. They were not fools, there must have been some doubting that she was Jonathan Wistledes' daughter even though her last name had been changed to Weber, but no one dared to ask. One good thing about the city is that everyone thinks about their own business.

"I don't think being late is one of the best ways to actually start training, do I?"

"Please don't stress me out!"

The actual training, as his mother called it, was training beyond theory. After that period Cassie will be inducted and then she will start working. Cassie wasn't worried, she knew she was going to make it. Vampires and wolves used to be much less skilled than the Nephilim. They were made for war, for hunting. As a result, whenever fear does not succeed in mastering her, Cassie reminds herself that there is Nephilim blood flowing through her veins.

"Let me give you a kiss!" his mother kissed and hugged him tightly.

Cassie's mother is a very loving person and especially very patient and optimistic. It wasn't easy for her to raise a daughter alone, moving from town to town for fear that the Wistledes family or someone else would take Cassie away.

They had lived in many human cities before returning to Holding, but there was no place like home, so they were forced to return to the mother city of all species. For years they had gone from there fearing that Wistledes would find and kill them, but it had been twenty years since they had left, now almost everyone had forgotten about it and the danger that came for them had lessened.

Despite this, Cassie never really stopped feeling scared, and the nightmare she had that night was proof of that. He often dreams of being killed by the man he believes to be his father. Yes, it was strange considering she had never met him but something told her that the person who pointed the sword at his heart was a member of his family.

Cassie doesn't know if her father's alive or not. Cassie never takes revenge on him, Cassie knows it's not her fault, but at the same time, if her father is still alive, Cassie doesn't want any relationship with him, Cassie doesn't care.

"Good morning sunshine!"

Cam greets Cassie with his usual wide smile and his chatty mouth. Over time, Cassie begins to appreciate her character.

"Why all this enthusiasm? Did you forget that today I'm gonna smash your ass?"

"No, I didn't forget! You know, these are special days for me!"

"Special day?" Cassie asked while raising an eyebrow.

"Physical exercise, wrestling, and trying to control anger... I like those things!"

"You're not normal!"

The only bad joke with someone else is the one that offends him. But it was Cam, how could Cassie be offended by such a person?

The school they had attended for the past five years was not very big, but it was not surprising given how few of them decided to take this path.

As soon as they enter, Cam and Cassie can feel the tension between their comrades. This morning they will see what exactly the careers of the strongest and most famous hunters and hunters will be there to train them, or so they hope. This is the last stage of their training, which means they are one step away from being true hunters, away from Holding and their families. The time has come when they have to work hard, pour out their heart and soul, especially if they want to survive. There were some who, after training, didn't last long on the pitch, but Cam didn't care about that and Cassie knew it very well.

One time Cam told Cassie that, at first, Cam decided to follow that career to follow Cassie, but little by little Cam understands that that's what he really wants to do and that killing or dying doesn't scare him, it means saving another life. Kill one to save a hundred, that's the motto of the hunters.

"Welcome, man!" The Headmaster said loudly.

The Headmaster had gathered all the seniors in the small courtyard and started giving the same speech he gave every year.

"Welcome to the first day of your training. You know very well what you will find, how difficult it is and I really hope that by the end of this period you will all be great hunters." The Headmaster paused for a moment and placed his hand on his forehead.

"Now I will tell you who will train you all and maybe some of you already know. Robert White."

As soon as Cassie heard the name, she immediately turned to Cam and Cam also looked at her. Robert must have felt that Cassie was different, but obviously he preferred to keep it to himself. It was strange to think that Robert would train them.

Robert looked into everyone's eyes with a sharp look.

"If any of you don't like it, there's still time to go."

Annabelle Richmond and Mark Meyer raise their hands. Robert approached Mark and looked at him.

"A Nephilim who refused to be a hunter. It's against nature, isn't it?" The man said nothing. "I hope you've thought about this decision deeply."

Mark nodded. "My mother is sick sir, no one can take care of her but me."

Robert remained silent for a few seconds. "Dearly enough. You can be a good hunter given your burly physique."

"I know but I..."

"Go," said the man in an ice-cold tone.

Mark looked at all his comrades and left.

"Is there no one else but vampires?" Robert asked, pointing towards Annabelle.

The girl sneered at Robert, but as soon as she met the man's gaze, she lowered her head and left as well.

Three other boys, two wolves and a vampire, left. Now there are only fifteen left and the girl in the group is just Cassie and Crystal.

Robert looked at all the boys coldly again. He did not look like the same person as their teacher during that short time in school.

"Training will be harder than you think and there's no turning back from now on." Robert started walking away but then stopped again.

"And for vampires and wolves, try to control the hot spirits. Mutate and you're out, okay?""

"Yes, sir," said a few of them.

"See you tomorrow at eight. I want you to wear the combat uniform that my assistant will soon give you."

"Are we going to practice here? I thought we were moving.." asked a Nephiilim.

"This year a lot has changed. Humans are getting suspicious, so we can't leave Holding. As soon as possible, the training will take place in the old Academy."

"Why do we start training immediately?"

Robert's expression changed again. Robert approached Cassie and looked her in the eye.

"Casalia" Robert said in a sweet and secretive tone.

"It's been a long time!"