In the Beginning

I know trouble when I see it, and when I turned around, I saw it.

“What are you doing here?” A girl snapped at me. She was wearing tight skinny jeans, designer no doubt, a golden tank top that most girls would wear to go clubbing, golden heels that were at least four inches tall, huge hoop earrings, and bracelets that had been picked with perfect taste. Her hair was done perfectly, not a strand out of place, and her make-up made it look as if her face was beautiful naturally.

“This is our side of the cafeteria,” she said with considerable attitude.

“Sorry,” I said. “I came over by accident.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see John doubling up with silent laughter. He grinned at me with his perfect teeth, and part of his golden hair was covering one of his blue eyes. By now, everybody was staring at me.

“You nearly spilt your disgusting lunch all over me,” she continued.

“Look,” I said impatiently. “I told you I was sorry. I’m barely a toe over! Couldn’t you just drop this?”

“Excuse me?” The girl looked taken aback. “You’ll have barely a toe left when they’re done with you!” She jerked her head in the direction of several boys who clearly worked out more than they needed to. The biggest one came up to the girl.

“Lacey, what’s wrong?” He asked.

S**t, I thought. I would barely last two seconds against this guy. My eyes began to dart around to look for an escape route.

“This human talked back to me,” Lacey told the guy.

“Really?” The guy mused. “And what does he have to say about it?” The guy loomed over me like a giant tower.

“Sorry?” I squeaked.

“’Sorry’ isn’t enough.” The guy pulled back his hand, and I closed my eyes, waiting for the blow to come.

“Darren, drop it,” a quiet voice said. I opened my eyes. A girl was squeezing on to the Darren’s shoulder. It looked painful, and I was sure that the girl could increase the pressure easily if she wanted to.

The girl wore ripped black jeans, a dark green tank top, old, worn combat shoes, and a necklace with many beads strung around her neck. Her long black hair had been tied back in a ponytail, and her gray eyes looked as if she knew more than what she wanted to. She was breathtakingly beautiful in a graceful and elegant way.

“Why?” Darren snarled. “The human talked back to Lacey.”

“And what’s the point in fighting him?” The girl countered. “He’s going to go down in less than three seconds, and you wouldn’t have gained anything by doing so.”

“You get in the middle of too many things,” Lacey said. “Is it because you’re broken? Fine, we’ll leave him, but if he does it again, I don’t care what you say.” Lacey flipped her hair and stalked away, with Darren close behind.

“Better get your toe back over,” the girl told me. I quickly backed up a few paces. The girl looked at me steadily, and I shuffled my feet uncertainly. By now, John had stopped laughing and looked worried.

“Humans shouldn’t talk back to arrogant Zodiacs like that,” the girl said. With that, she turned and walked away.

I walked to John and punched him in the stomach.

“Oof!” He said.

“Don’t say that when it didn’t hurt,” I responded.

John looked up at me, and an impish grin settled across his face. “Too true.” John’s face turned serious again. “I can’t believe she saved you,” he said.

“What’s so special about her?” I asked.

John looked at me incredulously. “You don’t know?”

I sighed. “If I’m asking you, I obviously don’t know.”

John grinned. He swung his arm around me and led me away from the cafeteria to our next class. “You see, her parents used to be involved in the black market. Then they dropped it. From what I’ve heard, she picked it up again, and now it’s the most influential business down there.”

“How do you know all of this?” I asked.

John winked at me. “There are a few perks to being a noble,” he said smoothly. I allowed myself a rare grin that immediately vanished as we crossed the threshold to my least favorite classroom.

History was the only class taught by a Zodiac. As a result, we had to learn about why the Zodiacs were so much better than us humans.

I sat down in my normal seat, and John sat in the one next to me. I shivered in the classroom. It was in the middle of January, and the windows all had cracks in the sides. Because of their status, the Zodiacs got to sit on the other side of the room, where no cold air could be felt.

Our teacher waltzed into class. I realized that almost all Zodiacs looked like models, but they probably covered up their real faces with a glamour.

“Pop quiz!” Our teacher called. “Jessie, would you mind passing these out to the Zodiacs. Mike give these to the humans.” Sitting near the front, I could see the front of both quizzes she had handed out. The Zodiacs’ contained only five questions, whereas ours was two paged and double sided. I sighed. Colleges weren’t as biased as schools, but we were being ranked against the Zodiacs as well, who got easier work.

I read the first question.

Which Zodiac was known for the Battle of Red-Hill, the battle in which majority of the Zodiac’s power was revealed?

I sighed. Hell if I was supposed to know. I decided to go with a generic answer.

Griffin.

I chewed the top of my pencil and filled out the paper with equally ridiculous answers. About five minutes before the bell was supposed to go, I handed in my quiz. The bell rang almost a second after John handed in his test. All of the Zodiacs had finished, but most of us hadn’t.

I walked out of the classrooms and waited next to the lockers for John. He came outside and we began to fight the wave of students that were trying to get out of the building. We walked out of the back doors that led to a place under the stadium bleachers. A few people were there, waiting for us.

“Got the goods?” John asked them. When it came to business, he didn’t like to waste his breath.

“If you got the money,” one of them said. He was bigger than them and stood slightly ahead, signaling him out as the leader.

An exchange was quickly made, then John tipped an imaginary hat and winked at them. “Tell Lady Dragon I said thank you.”

The lead one flashed a quick smile. He had perfect teeth. “No problem.  Now get lost, pretty boy.”

As we walked away, John stuffed the goods he had bought from them into his backpack. “There’s my dinner for the week.”

“Unless prices at the grocery store get jacked up,” I said.

John snickered. “It’s still more than enough. Now, shall we go down to the Black Market?”

I had to let a small smile creep across my face. “I believe we shall.”

 

 

 

“Left, left, left, right, left, right, and here we are,” John said gleefully. We were standing outside of a solid steel door that was centered at the dead end in between two buildings in a dark alleyway.

“Remember how to get in?” I asked as I scanned the streets and the rooftops for potential followers.

“How could I forget?” John said. “Death to the Zodiacs!” With the final word out of his mouth, he pushed open the door. We stepped inside, and I closed the door carefully behind us. After walking forward a bit, I began to see the torchlight coming from up ahead.

“What’s our stall number?” I asked John.

“83,” John said. “Hopefully nobody’s taken it over. I don’t feel like fighting today.”

We finally emerged into the part where the light was coming from. A small path ran in between hundreds of stalls lining the sides. I looked up and was not surprised to discover that it was pitch black. Without the torches, a person wouldn’t even be able to see their hand in front of their face.

“It’s gotten more impressive,” I said, noticing the number of sellers and buyers had increased since we came last time. “The crime lords must have put some serious magic on this place.”

“Agreed,” John said. “Now let’s do this quick. My parents invited over some people with a potential daughter for dinner tonight.”

We began to walk. Unlike normal street markets, there were no hawkers, and the only thing that could be heard was the quiet murmur of conversation despite the thousands of people in the market. I saw almost every contraband item in existence.

“I thought you didn’t want an arranged marriage?” I asked John.

He smirked. “My parents, however, do.”

We got to our stall and began to arrange our goods, inspecting them at random times. Finally, when it was all set out, John rocked back on his heels and smiled.

“The Lady Dragon really has outdone herself this time,” he said. On the table in front of us were top notch weapons, from guns, to knives, to staffs.

“Excuse me,” a voice said. John and I looked up to see a man in his twenties in front of us. “Did you say these goods were provided to you by Lady Dragon?” He asked.

“Indeed they have, my friend,” John said. “You may inspect them if you would like, but I assure you that these are the best Dragonside weapons one can get their hands on.”

“How much for that?” The man asked, pointing to a knife with a blade about six inches long.

“Adams, would you care to enlighten the man?” John asked me smoothly. I had to suppress a chuckle. Here I was Adams and John was Mr. Smith.

I did some quick mental calculations. The blade was made of refined steel with enchantments, so it can never be destroyed or mutilated. The workmanship was amazing. Most people’s starting price for that was 400,000 gold, not an amount to be scoffed at.

“375,000, Mr. Smith,” I decided.

John turned back to the man. “Have you got the cash?” He asked.

The man wanted to negotiate further. “Can’t you make it cheaper?” He asked.

I shook my head. “I’m giving you a discount of about 25,000 gold, which is enough to rent a plush hotel room for a few days. Most people would sell this from 400,000 gold or up, if they could even get their hands on that much. If you are so desperate for a better price, you could try the next town, but I doubt that the Dragonside stall there would be able to offer you the same price.”

The man hesitated. Not only did he know that I was offering him a fair price, he knew that I was right about being able to find it anywhere else.

“Fine,” the man said at last. He plopped a sack down on the table and tried to scoop up the dagger and leave, but John clucked his tongue.

“First we have to weigh it, no?” He reached underneath our booth and brought out a state of the art weighing machine. The weight of a single piece of gold was put into it, and when someone put a sack of gold on it, it found out the total weight, divided it by the weight of a single gold piece, and then put the answer on display, which would be the number of gold pieces in the bag.

John carefully put the bag on the machine, making sure that the weight of the sack was completely on it. It came out to 250,000.

“Not quite enough,” John said. The man grumbled, fished in his pockets, and brought out another sack. After weighing it, John waved him away with a smile. The rest of the day went smoothly. Soon, John and I packed up to leave.

“We made quite a decent amount today,” John said happily as he opened up the steel door to go back outside. “Or rather, you did.” He did not sound bitter about the fact, yet I felt obliged to offer him some of the money.

“I’ve always told you that you could take 50% of it,” I said.

John sighed. “And I’ve always told you that I do not require it. I’m a noble; I’m rich enough.”

I slung the heavy bag over my shoulder, knowing that John wouldn’t accept money until he was in poverty and close to starvation.

“Thanks,” I said.

“No problem,” John said. We were almost at the end of the alley when I felt that something was wrong. I turned around and surveyed our surroundings.

“What’s wrong?” John asked.

“Nothing,” I said. I discretely made a hand signal that we had come up with. It meant that one of us thought that we were being followed. John’s eyes narrowed. Almost immediately after I had made the signal, three men blocked the path in front of us.

“Well, ain’t this a surprise,” one of them said. They were obviously Zodiacs because they had used magic to cover their faces, and they were all holding weapons.

“It sounds to me as if it’s not a surprise for you,” I said. Silently, I cursed. My tongue was often faster than my mind, a dangerous combination when talking to Zodiacs.

“Being a smart-a*s, are we?” The same one said. “Hand over whatever’s in that bag, and we’ll let you go.” The three men slowly walked forwards.

I clutched the bag tighter. I knew that if we refused to give it to them, they would beat us up, possibly kill us, and then take the money and weapons. If we did give it to them, there was a possibility we could get away unharmed. Judging from the vibe coming off of these guys, they would hurt us either way. I opened my mouth to respond.

“Is there a problem here?” I vaguely recognized the voice coming from the front of the alley. The main guy turned around, and the other two guys watched us. I managed to catch a glimpse of the girl who had saved me from Lacey during lunch. She was casually tossing a knife from one hand to the other, but from the way she held it, I figured she could take out a small gang with just that thing.

“And who might you be to come meddling in our business?” The main guy said smoothly.

“Just someone who happened to pass by,” she said.

“Well, you better get out of here unless you want a fight on your hands,” the main guy said. The two other guys parted a little, so I could see a small group of about ten guys form a loose semi-circle around the entrance of the alley. The girl’s eyes darted around, but is wasn’t from nervousness. She was as fighter.

“Yes, there will be a fight if you don’t leave,” the girl said. “And I’m afraid you’ll come off worse.”

The leader must have signaled something because about five guys attacked at once. Watching Zodiacs fight was like watching a complex dance. They were all fast, graceful, and light on their feet, and they were all superb fighters. The guys were good, but I had never seen any Zodiac move the way the girl did. The word fast didn’t even begin to describe the way she moved. It was more like a wild, reckless dance. They guys never stood a chance. All five were dead or unconscious within a span of two seconds. I didn’t even know it was physically possible to move that fast.

The leader didn’t seem to like the odds all of a sudden. “What are you?” He asked in bewilderment. “You shouldn’t be able to move that fast.”

The girl grinned. Her smile was all teeth. It was predatory and unsettling. “I am your death,” she mused. She moved as if about to break into a run, and in a blink of an eye, she disappeared. There was a puff of smoke where she had been. The girl was moving so fast no one could see her.

“Amazing,” John said beside me. I had to agree with him.

Suddenly, the guys began to drop. I realized that they were all dead. It seemed the girl killed mercilessly. Within five seconds, only the leader was left. The girl came back into view as she stopped in front of the leader.

“Goodbye,” she said softly. She stabbed the man.

Stabbed is too subtle a word for what she did. The more accurate word was gutted. She had shoved the knife through the man’s trachea at an angle that it didn’t appear out of the back of his head. Then she twisted the knife around until entrails and blood began to seep out. Once she was finished, she kicked the body to the side and looked at us with her head slightly tilted.

“I thought you would have learnt to keep yourself out of trouble by now,” she said to me. I stared at her. The girl who had just ruthlessly killed almost twenty men was standing in front of me, talking to me for no reason. However, this was the girl who had saved me yet again. I couldn’t figure her out.

“Why?” I asked.

The girl considered my question before shrugging and turning away. “Why not?” She lifted her hand up as she walked away. “See you.”

“Wait!” I called.

The girl stopped right before the alley ended. I could see part of a tattoo on her back, but I couldn’t discern what it was.

“What’s your name?” I asked.

The girl turned her head around, so I could see part of her face. There was a small smile dancing on her lips. “Shadow X. Bane.” Then she promptly left.

“Damn,” John said.

“Let’s get home,” I said. John nodded, speechless for once.

 

 

 

“Michael!” My little sister stuck her head around my doorframe. “Dinner time!” She said happily. She walked over to my desk, where I was doing my homework. She scrunched up her face and tried to read it. “D-Di-Direc-“

I laughed and ruffled her hair. “Directions, Jane. Directions.”

“Oh,” Jane said. She looked disappointed.

“Don’t worry,” I said. “You’ll get it soon enough.”

Jane looked at me, her wide green eyes looking into mine. She gave a wide, toothy smile.

We walked downstairs. The kitchen smelt of my mom’s minestrone soup and pasta.

“Hey, Michael,” Mom said to me. She gave me a tired smile. When she was younger, Mom must have been beautiful. She had dark brown hair going down to her waste, dark blue eyes, and a smile with a dimple. Even after she had Jane and me, her figure had kept. Now, age and stress was beginning to get to her.

“Hey.” I set the sack of cash we had earned on the counter.

Mom eyed it. “Do I want to know where this is coming from?”

“Nope,” I said.

“Hey, Michael! Can I come with you one day?” Jane asked me.

My mind flashed back to what happened today. “Maybe later.”

Soon, we were all gorging ourselves on food when someone knocked on our door. Mom and I looked at each other. Jane carefully followed our expressions.

“Don’t,” I said.

Mom nodded. In the place where we live, opening a door could very well end your life. I grabbed a vegetable knife and kept it close to me. Jane happily went back to eating.

The knocking came again, more incessant this time.

“Police!” A voice barked. “Open the door or I will have to knock it down.”

Mom and I both stood up. Jane looked at us. Mom smiled reassuringly at her.

“Just keep eating, sweetheart,” Mom told her. Jane nodded and began to eat again, but not with much enthusiasm.

Mom positioned herself in front of the door. I stood behind the door where people couldn’t see me the moment they came in. I gripped the knife in my hand tightly and nodded at Mom.

She swung open the door. “Can I help you?”

I let out a sigh of relief. They were obviously police, but if they came here, they were going to have a hard time getting back out.

“Where’s your son, Michael?” One asked.

I stuck the knife into the back of my waistband and stepped where the men could see me.

“Yes?” I asked.

“We’re going to have to ask you to come with us,” one said.

My eyes narrowed. If these people wanted trouble, I would give it to them right now. I wasn’t the best fighter, but it wasn’t like I was weak. Besides, once a fight started here, everyone in a mile radius would join.

“Why?” I asked.

“Because you’re under arrest,” the other one said gruffly.

I raised my eyebrows, but my heart quickened. I made a living off of the Black Market, so it wasn’t like they were arresting me under false charges. “What did I do?” I asked.

“You helped deal goods for Dragonside,” the other one said. They were playing good cop, bad cop. “Don’t worry. We’re just going to ask you some questions and then let you go.”

I thought quickly. I could go, but it could result in my death. If I didn’t go, I could be endangering everybody I ever talked to. “Alright,” I said. I turned to Mom. “I’ll be fine. I’ll make sure you get something to let you know how I am in two days’ time.”

Mom nodded. “Bye, Michael.” I stepped outside, and she quietly shut the door.

“Where are we going?” I asked the officers. There was no car in sight.

“This way,” the good cop said. He led me to the back of the neighborhood, where nobody could see us. He then proceeded to draw a circle in the air with his hand and mutter a few words. After a few moments, the area he had circled his hand in turned green.

The bad cop pushed me forward. “Go,” he said. I stumbled and stepped into the circle of light. Immediately, everything around me began to spin. I had to close my eyes to prevent myself from getting more nauseous, but I could still feel the spinning. A split second later, I landed face down on a cold floor.

Author's Note

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