A Sixteen year old boy wandered through the crowded city streets.  Everyone seemed to know their destinations as they walked intently on their way.  Everyone, that is, except Aiden.  Lost and more than slightly confused, he wondered how long it would be before he could leave the city.

The entire reason he was there was only a rumor to begin with. A rumor that would make anyone the street advise mental help if they were asked about it. He was looking for a man.  More specifically, a demon in the form of a man. A former soldier demon, said to have been the guardian of the gates of hell for many centuries, until he fell in love with a fallen angel and they fled to a human city. If anyone could help Aide, it was him.

Once night had fallen, he began his search at the Twin Worlds Tavern, a bar in a ragged area of the city, said to be host to many supernatural beings. Most people stayed away from it. Aiden however had heard that it was also the best place to get information on such things.  For that reason, he had to go. And it was the closest thing to a lead he had.

Upon walking down the stairs into the basement tavern, Aiden was immediately filled with an intense feeling of dread. He pushed open the door, took a step in, and froze as that feeling multiplied. Every person in the bar had stopped and turned to face him. All around the room were support pillars lined with runes and magical incantations, some of which glowed brightly and burned his eyes. A sharp realization made him want to run away from this place. This was a Hunters’ bar.

The men populating the bar, who had hunted everything from vampires and werewolves to demons for their entire lives, all focused on Aiden, knowing exactly what he was. One man grinned and pulled a revolver from his side. Aiden tried to run, but was frozen with fear. Aiden could only tense himself as he watched the muzzle flash a bright red color, unleashing a combination of metal and magic from the barrel. Before he knew it, however, all he could see was a bright blue wall of ice that had materialized in front of him.

Over the resulting shouts and hollers, one man could be heard above the rest, clear, calm, and somewhat dominant, “Quiet! You all know this is not a place for violence! Let the boy have his peace, he has done nothing wrong yet!” Aiden tracked the voice to a man with a black trench coat, short curly red hair, and brightly glowing blue eyes, standing next to Aiden with his hand on the wall of ice that had protected him. He looked down at Aiden and smiled, “I’m Dace. This may not be the most hospitable place around, but they will take no more action against you.” The hunter nodded and walked away, the wall of ice quickly evaporating into the air as he turned the corner and stood behind the bar. He gestured his hand toward an empty seat at the bar, away from most of the hunters. Aiden smiled weakly and slowly made his way to the seat, still feeling very uneasy.

Dace nodded toward another man behind the counter, “Take care of some of those runes, would you? They’re making the boy uncomfortable.” The other man quickly walked throughout the bar, stopped every few feet and wave his hand. As he did, Aiden felt more at ease, the runes that had burned his eyes disappeared. Aiden weakly smiled at Dace, “Thank you.”

Dace put a mug in front of Aiden and filled it with cola, “You’re awful bold to come walking into a Hunter hangout. You must not have known… What are you doing here?”

Aiden took a sip of his cola, “I need help.. I know you can all tell there’s demon blood in me, but it’s only half. I’m trying to get rid of the demon inside me… I need information on a man named Korin. I have to find him!”

Dace smiled, “You know you can’t get rid of the demon itself, but the personality. I have heard that half demons actually have a separate personality, you being here must mean that it’s true. Alright boy, I’ll help you.” Dace took out a piece of paper and started scribbling on it, “I don’t know his exact location, but if you head to this area I’m sure you will find him. Just make sure you find him before that angel friend of his, Abarathel will attack demons even faster than the Hunters here.. Except for Korin, of course.”

Aiden took the piece of paper, which had a few streets written down on them and smiled, “Thank you.” He finished his soda and laid down a few dollars before quickly exiting the tavern and hurrying on his way.

***

As Aiden wandered into the dark neighborhood from Dace’s directions, he felt an eerie loneliness in the fact that there were no signs of life to found anywhere. He noticed a series of runes along the ground, sectioning off a particular area of buildings, mostly homes with businesses further down the road. He stared down at these dim symbols of magic laid across the ground, that normal eyes wouldn’t be able to see. As he walked across them, he suddenly felt the presence of dozens of demons, and franticly tried to hide his own. The presence of one demon stood out above the rest, Aiden thought it must be Korin!

Aiden followed it to a large house, still hiding his own demonic presence, he knocked lightly on the door. No answer. Aiden slowly turned the door handle, to find it unlocked. Inside, the house was dark and tidy. Complete silence consumed the young boy, until he heard a slight creak from upstairs that almost made him jump out of his skin. Aiden slowly walked up the stairs to find a hallway. Another creak from an adjacent room piqued his curiosity, and Aiden turned the corner to peer into the room. Inside he found a large very well built man, nearly seven feet tall by Aiden’s guess, with short bright red hair, wearing nothing but a pair of black boxers. The man had his back turned to Aiden, with a slender pair of arms wrapped around his abdomen. As he crept more into the door frame, he could make out the form that the slender arms belonged to, slim with waist length black hair. Their embrace showed a love Aiden couldn’t even hope to understand.

The floor creaked under Aiden’s foot, and he almost thought his heart was going to leap out of his chest and land on the floor for all to see. The head that was previously resting on a chest was now peering beyond the larger man, bright grey eyes glowing with a power that showed only anger and hate to Aiden. A massive pair of black wings appeared behind them, just as the larger man turned around and got directly in front of the glaring eyes, blocking them from view. His low voice boomed, “Settle down,  Thel!” The wings faded away, and the larger man walked toward Aiden, kneeling down in front of him.

“What are you doing here, boy?” The large man spoke with a gentleness unbefitting his size and intimidating looks. “I won’t hurt you so long as you’re honest with me.”

Aiden choked on his words for a moment, “I.. Uh.. Are you Korin? I’m looking for Korin.”

“I am.” Korin nodded, as the slender man appeared behind him wearing a white robe. “This is Abarathel, I apologize if he frightened you.” He glanced back at Thel, “Why did you do that?”

Thel wrapped his arms around Korin’s shoulders, “He’s a demon, but not fully. He can hide his presence, so you couldn’t sense it. But don’t forget, I can feel a demon presence far better than you can.” He looked down at Aiden almost apologetically, “I’m sorry. Normally when a demon sneaks into your home it’s not to have tea. Though I think in this case, we have an exception. I’ll go make the tea…” Thel snaked around his lover and the boy and went down the stairs.

Korin led Aiden down the stairs into the kitchen, where they sat around a large round table. “Alright, so tell me what you want. I don’t doubt what Thel said, so you’re a demon too.”

Aiden nodded, “He’s right.. I’m half demon. My mother was a human, raped by a Dreamstalker. The demon side of me.. It’s like another person in my head. But he takes over. I become a demon and I can’t control myself. I need your he-”

Korin cut him off before he could finish, “I don’t deal with Dreamstalkers, kid. Sorry.”

“Please, you have to help me! My father, I think he has something to do with it. The night it started he was in my dreams, I think he caused it. Please, I don’t want to hurt anyone anymore…” Aiden restrained the tears building in his eyes as Thel laid a pot of tea between them.

Thel sat down next to Korin, “Help the boy. If anyone can, it’s you. Go to his father. Find out if he can make it stop.”

Korin sighed, “But Thel, it’s a Dreamstalker we’re dealing with here. Even I’m not-”

“No, that’s why you’re the only one who can help him.” Thel interrupted, “Take my sword. If anything happens, you can use that.”

Korin wrapped an arm around Thel’s shoulders, “Fine. I’ll do it.” He looked down at Aiden, who was now practically sobbing, “Rest for tonight. You can sleep in the bedroom at the end of the hall upstairs. We’ll have a good meal tomorrow and then set off. Alright?”

Aiden wiped his eyes and nodded, “Thank you Korin… and Thel.. You don’t know what this means to me!” He bowed his head for a moment, then stood up and ran upstairs to the bedroom.

Korin stared into the bright eyes of Thel, “I hope you know what we’re getting into. I guess our fun will have to wait…”  He sighed again and followed Aiden upstairs.

Thel smiled, “You’l be fine… Wait, what about the tea?”

***

The next morning… to be continued!