Prologue

Two nights before Erin Murcers’ world was shattered and five nights before the destruction of the Grant-Parkson building, the city was buzzing. It had been a cold winter, but now winter was ending, and people had slowly begun to emerge from their houses. There was a sort of infectious energy in the air that spread from the high rise buildings, to the poorest part of the ghetto.

The energy did not effect everyone though. On this night, Julia Bixby felt like she did every night, just short of dying. At this moment, she was standing in her bathroom, staring at the mirror. Her face had become a map of her life, every wrinkle, ever hair on her head, and every pour detailing every single moment.

The crows’ feet around her eyes appeared the day after a police officer showed up at her house to inform her that her parents had been hit by a semi. That she was now an orphan at 16. With a year old sister she would have to take care of.

The lock of gray hair that drooped across her face reminded her of the smack-in-the-face irony of her life. She had abstained from sex because of the teenage girls she had known who had gotten pregnant. She didn’t want to ruin her life like they had. Hell, she abstained from fun, out of fear of getting in trouble. Yet, her parents had died, and she had been forced to become a mother, and all of her future was instantly pissed away. That had been eight years ago.

Her blurry red eyes spoke of the double and triple shifts she worked at Restaurant X, a restaurant that served a frequently changing menu of trendy food. Her pay was small, and her boss was a dick, but at least it was a job. A job from which their was no escape, part of a life of no escape.

She just wanted to die.

“Julia, are you okay?” The voice snapped her back to reality, as it did every night. The voice belonged to Grace, the only thing that kept her from running a knife over her wrists. She turned the faucet on, and quickly splashed water onto her face, before taking one last look at her face in the mirror.

“Show time” A fake smile appeared on her face. Julia opened the door, to be greeted by her still innocent sister.

“You were in there almost an hour!” Grace said, “I was worried” Julia bent down, until the two were face-to-face. She brushed a bit of hair from Grace’s face.

“Don’t worry about me kiddo, I’m fine” Julia didn’t even believe those words. “Come on, let’s get dinner”

Dinner was a pair of flash-frozen corn dogs, cooked in the world’s oldest microwave. The microwave was like every other utility in the apartment, complete and utter crap. The place was cheap though, so it was worth it.

“Okay, dinner is ready” Julia said, as she pulled the corn dogs out of the microwave. She turned, to see Grace had set out both of the plates (unnecessary), both sets of silverware, and poured drinks for both of them. This didn’t surprise Julia any more; Grace did it every night without asking. Julia handed her sister one of the dogs, and sat down.

Grace continuously amazed her sister, and anyone else she came in contact with. The girl physically unimpressive, ten pounds under weight and only fifty inches tall. Grace was smart though. She knew things that no nine-year-old should, and she always seemed in touch with people’s emotions. If you were having a bad day, she could tell you exactly what you needed to hear to feel better.

She had been what had saved Julia. Grace kept her older sister going, her innocence made her forget about just how terrible the world was, if only for a moment.

A sudden knock at the door got both of their attention. Grace stood up, but Julia gestured for her to sit down.

“Don’t worry, I’ll get it” She moved through the kitchen and to the door. Looking through the peephole revealed no one, since the light in the hall was out. “Who is it?”

Silence and then a grave voice “I have to see Grace”

“Well she’s eating, come back later” Julia took one step, before her door was kicked off of its hinges. It struck Julia full body, and knocked her on her side. She heard Grace scream in the back of the room.

A woman entered their apartment, followed by two…creatures. The woman was blond, with a perfect face that screamed surgery, and large, fake breasts. In her left hand was a sword. She turned to the creature on her right.

“I’m going to get the child, if any one comes, kill them”

“Can’t we just kill them now?” A hissing voice, Julia heard a hiss.

“No” The woman growled. “Wait here, this will only take a second” Julia watched the blonde walk off. She heard Grace scream, but there was nothing she could do. Nothing but watch one of the creatures became clear to her. So she could see something that couldn’t exist, that only existed in movies and didn’t exist anymore.

Velociraptor? A dinosaur, standing in front of her, couldn’t exist. Just couldn’t.

“Julia! Help me!!!” Grace screamed. The blond woman held her sister by the collar of her shirt. She walked across Julia, and to the raptors.

“Got the brat, let’s go”

“Grace, no” Julia moaned, struggling to speak. She clawed at the ground, slowly pulling herself out from underneath her door. She grabbed the blonde’s ankle. The blonde looked down at her, smiling.

“Night night” She kicked Julia in the head, knocking her out.

John could see all of the lights in the city from his balcony. He could see figures moving on the streets; a few standing on roofs looking up. None of it mattered though, not a bit.

Ice cubes clinked in the glass in his right hand. Usually when you want to drown in self pity, you down scotch or some kind of alcohol. Booze went through him faster then a bullet from a gun, so he drowned in ice water. Better then nothing, he supposed.

John envied all of the people below him. The humans whose world he shared. His job was to be part of their world, and observer and protector, but never a member of the world. On nights like tonight, it made him lonely and depressed.

John heard a noise behind him. The sound of a wall in his apartment opening up, and someone coming out. It only barley registered with John though, he was preoccupied. The sliding glass door behind him slid, and a new person joined him.

“Beautiful night, isn’t it?” The new comer said, “Warm, but breezy. Enjoyable”

“Nights like tonight infuse people with energy, makes them act like jackasses” John mumbled, taking a sip. “But I doubt you came by to talk about the weather, what do you want Mr. White?”

Mr. White smiled up at him. White was a small man, with a full head of silver hair, wearing an expensive looking suit. Octangular glasses reflected each bit of light from the ground below, blocking out his eyes. In his left hand was a small brief case that he tapped as he waited. Compared to John’s six-foot frame, White didn’t look very frightening.

“You still have not selected a new partner John. You’ve been told to select one four times now. Every novice, every new member of our organization we send your way, you turn down”

“Don’t want a new partner, still grieving over the other one”

“It’s been eleven months John. You need to stop grieving. I know Victor was your friend”

“My only friend” John said with a smirk. “In case you forget, our line of work makes having friends difficult” He finished the last of the water, and poured a couple of the ice cubes into his mouth.

“I know, and I’m sorry” Mr. White said. “Your work though is beginning to suffer. Your search for that Diana woman has been fruitless. You’re depressed and moody, you need someone to assist you” John laughed, as he crunched the ice cubes in his mouth.

“No, no more humans, no more novices, no more partners. Funny thing is, I can look out for myself. If I’m alone in battle, I know what’ll happen. You add someone new, I have no idea. Me and Victor were perfectly in sync, I can’t take on someone who doesn’t know me, and has no actual battle experience” Suddenly, White’s cellphone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket, and looked at the screen, not bothering to put it up to his ear.

“Grace Bixby has been kidnapped,” He said simply. John scratched his black hair, and finished off the ice cubes. He then bit into the glass. “Do you know who that is?”

“No, should I?” White smiled, and clicked his cellphone shut.

“Two raptors and a woman were involved in the kidnapping. Scared the older sister half to hell. None of the neighbors saw a thing; they lived in a building where screaming and begging for your life was a daily occurrence. One of them finally decided to investigate twenty minutes after Grace was gone”

“Why use that much force for a simple kidnapping?”

“Not sure yet”

“Do you want me to investigate” White sighed.

“Now we finally get to why I came here” He pushed his glasses up, and rubbed his eyes. John knew what was coming. “You’re being removed from active duty, until you find a partner. I’m sorry” John shrugged.
“Whatever. I need to get out of here” Suddenly, his entire body began to shimmer. The illusion that was his human body vanished, and in its place was a dragon. His scales were colored like polished gold, except on his belly and underside, which was light yellow. Sparks crackled from his clawed hands. Gold horns and silted green eyes would have unnerved most, but Mr. White was used to it by now.

A lifetime in the business did that to you.

“Please don’t destroy anything, we have so much trouble covering it up” John extended his wings and tail, getting blood flowing again.

“I wont” He leapt off of the balcony, and into the night. Mr. White sighed as the dragon flew off.

Nothing had ever been able to calm John like flight. Away from the world, from trouble, alone with your thoughts. Mr. White was right though; he needed to find a new partner. Not from the organization, someone new, from the outside.

The only question was where?