He thought back to his days of training and could not remember a single time when his elder had just stopped to think. It had always been action, constant actian. But here on the sea, there were no enemies and Brandon wondered if this is what it would be like when the Hunter's had completed their task.

He was travelling by sea because he hated to fly. He thought it unnatural, something granted only to birds. He had set sail in Spain, travelling the short distance from mainland europe to the British Isles. All the way to Scotland.

He had been raised in Scotland, a green land. His first memory had been of the sea. Perhaps that was why he preferred it.

The boat pulled into the harbor just outside of London and Brandon gathered his few belongings and disembarked. He alit on a wooden dock and stepped away from the other people. He let them pass around him while he enjoyed the rising and falling wood beneath his feet for just a few more seconds.

One week. It had taken him one week to get across the vast part of Europe to this point. One week since he had last seen Tala. That didn't bother him, though. He was going to find her, he knew. That was, after all, the whole point for this trip.

He didn't rush. He had all the time in the world, and he wasn't going to make any mistakes.

"Minicab, mate?" Brandon turned around and looked down at a small rotund man dressed in dark clothes and wearing a black bowler hat. Brandon sneered in disgust. This was a man trying to get attention. The outdated hat, the trenchcoat... He was clean-shaven, at least, but that meant little in this part of the docks.

Still, he had a car, even if it wasn't official and Brandon could take care of himself.

"Alright. Let's go."

The little man frowned at the noticeable accent in Brandon's voice. The cabby figured this was a local and as such, the cabby would not mess with him.

"Right this way, sir."

Brandon walked the short distance behind the cabby to the car and let himself into the back seat. He didn't close the door before checking the locks though and was satisfied to see that they weren't automatic locks.

The drive wasn't long. Brandon had no intentions of staying in the car for the several long hours it would take to drive across the country. He already had a train ticket. It was a push, but he had managed to get into one of the sleeper cars because he wanted to rested up for his search of Scotland. He'd already arranged for there to be no interruptions once he was on board.

The train station came into view. Brandon hopped out of the small car as soon as the cabbie stopped and threw in a couple of bucks through the front seat window.The driver balked at the small amount and was about to protest, but a look from Brandon silenced the little man. He accepted his losses stoically and got away from the dangerous kid as fast as his cheap car could go.

~~~~~~

Brandon did sleep through most of the northward journey. He closed the door to the sleeper he had to himself and locked himself in. Sleeping at any time was a dangerous thing for a Hunter and Brandon savored these times when he could relax. Not fully, but more than usual.

Near the end of the journey he woke up and for the remainder, he watched the scenery pass by. It was quite beautiful, a testament to God. It had been fouled thousands of years ago by the evil beasts he hunted for a living, but some of the beauty had still survived.

The train pulled to a stop and he got off, very close now to the estate he was looking for. It was visible in the distance and it would take a good half hour to walk there, so he started out quickly. He kept his eyes and ears open to everything around him, not wishing for anything to surprise him. He'd been told that when the Hunt had first began, this area had been the most strongly infested. Not anymore, though, the Hunters had chased away or killed most of the demons.

There was no hint of previous woes around here though. Brandon could feel a sort of happy air around this place, and many other feelings too, but despair and loss was not among them.

Brandon knew that because he had always been able to tell the feelings of certain places. He didn't know why, but he felt this gift came from God and he treasured it immensely.

The estate grew larger as he drew closer until he understood that just how big it really was. If Tala had once lived here, he wondered how she could have left it.

The caretaker was near the front gate as Brandon walked up. He didn't seem to hear the young Hunter so Brandon took the opportunity to study the man. The caretaker wasn't that old, really.

He couldn't have been more than 40 years old. His face was mostly hidden underneath a wide-brimmed straw hat, but he had long hair pulled into a ponytail and in the late afternoon light, even brandon could tell there was a slight red-haired tint to it. The man wore baggy clothes that were patched in many places, and cuts and scrapes marred the otherwise flawless skin.

Brandon took in the the whole sight, including the way the caretaker carried himself with a world-weary slouch.

Now that Brandon had all he needed, he gave a small attention-getting cough, which caused the older man to jump and whirl around to face him.

"What are ye wanting," the older man asked, and Brandon could clearly hear the thick scottish accent slurring the man's speech. Brandon could also now see the caretaker's eyes - a brilliant blue the color of the sky on a clear day.

"I'm searching fer someone," Brandon retorted, pulling out the old photo. "I'm looking fer the man who owns this land."

The caretaker narrowed his eyes, then raised one eyebrow. "Ye want the man what owns this place?"

"That's what I said."

The man chuckled. "Yer looking at 'im. Now, I'll ask ye again. What're ye wanting?"

Brandon forced himself to remain calm, though the news had greatly surprised him. He held out the picture instead. "Do ye know these people? They owned this land in the 1500's."

The man took a cursory glance at the picture and nodded. "Aye. I know's 'em." Again, the man's eyes seemed to look right past all of Brandon's mental barriers. "Are ye a relative?"

"No. I'm looking fer a girl who might be related. She looks like the woman in the picture. Do ye recognize her?"

Now the man looked closer at the picture. His eyes widened as he stared at the woman who looked exactly like Tala. Widened in recognition. And now he looked closer at Brandon. The young Hunter wanted to get away from the piercing gaze, but he forced himself to stay still and look stern.

"I see," the older man said finally. "Yer her boy."

"Whose," Brandon demanded to know, frowning. "The woman in the picture? That's impossible."

The man laughed again. "I know who ye are boy. Hunters dun offen show 'emselves round here no more."

Brandon scoffed at the remark. "What do you know about the Hunters?"

"Well," the man said. "Fer starter's, I used ta be one."

~~~~~~

The Hunter stepped forward, facing the griffin head on. Seven years, he thought. Seven years since he had last seen a sign of any demonic activity. And now, within hours, he had killed two wizards and was chasing a magical dog. Then, to top it all off, a great beast appeared before him.

It was like icing on a cake. He put his crossbow away and pulled out his primary weapon, a curved scimitar; the hilt design featured an angel, it's wings spreading out to become the crossbar.

He stepped forward menacingly, not knowing that the griffin he now faced was the same dog he had met earlier.

The griffin moved forward and the Hunter lunged in quickly, driving his sword straight in. It was a move the griffin anticipated and she reared up.

The Hunter switched the direction of the sword, slicing it upward, but his opponent was quicker. A quick jump brought it away from the sharp edge of the blade. The sword found its only mark in a nearby tree.

Tala cursed herself. There was not much room to manuveur in this enclosed space and the grffin was possibly too big. Still, she couldn't have gone smaller or she wouldn't stand a chance. As it was, she saw how cleanly the sword cut through the small sapling, severing the top from the bottom with no trouble. She did not want the blade to go through her.

She stepped back. The thing with griffin's was that they really had no protective armor and nothing but their claws and teeth to fight with. A hatchling would have difficulty protecting itself.

But Tala had trained in many forms throughout her long life, and this was one of her best. Even as the Hunter lunged and parried and attacked mercilessly, Tala was forming a plan of attack in her head.

She watched the Hunter's movements carefully. The eagles' eyes were so good that even jumping around, she could focus directly in on her target. She saw her chance.

The Hunter came in close, and Tala let him. She reared back again, as she had done on the first swing, and predictably, he swunghis sword in an upward arc.

Quick as lightning, she ducked around and under the path of the blade. Diving forward, she knocked the man off is feet and surprised, he dropped his sword.

She gave him no time to recover and raked at him with her deadly talons. They tore past his shirt and drew deep gashes across his chest. He staggered backwards, holding his chest.

Tala moved again and now all she saw was red. This man had killed a friend of her and she was angry. The griffin demanded justice and it was that persona that took over.

The Hunter had no chance now. He didn't even see his life flash before his eyes. All he could see was the pure hate radiating from his deadly foe's eyes before everything went black.

Tala stood over her dead opponent, breathing heavily and coming down off of the adrenaline that had kicked in. Her beak dripped with the man's blood from his torn throat and her claws were already soaked with blood.

As she wrested control back from the griffin aspect, though, she felt a momentary twinge of regret. She never enjoyed dealing death, even to Hunters. She sent up a quick prayer for forgiveness and returned to her dog form.

She'd go back to retrieve the envelope and then she'd find somewhere to take a bath.

~~~~~~

The list pointed her in every possiblt direction. Five people. Each living in seperate corners of the world now. America, Japan, Australia, Canada, Brazil. If she used the normal means of transportation, it would take forever for her to reach them all. Even moving around as a dragon, it would take her at least a month just to get to all of them. Then she had to convince them to help.

She didn't have a month. What she did have was a favor. And she was going to use it now.

The wolf-dragon went into James' parents house. His parents had been wizards, so this house was full of protections. She knew the creature she was abut to call would not be happy being called in from his eternal duties. Even less so for her. Because he owed her. So Tala needed all the protection she could get.

"Gabriel! Angel of Death!" She called out to the heavens.

Calling on angels was very rare because it was so dangerous. Angels, the first children of God, were known to be jealous of Earth. All because of free will. The messengers of God had no choice but to love God, and they did not mind that. But they came often to earth and watched humans destroy themselves and wondered why God allowed such a level of rebellion.

They couldn't understand. Only God knew and He wasn't sharing.

And most of the angels grew jealous. So when other creatures, like Tala's clan, began to learn language, a handful of fallen angels went to the humans and gave them powers, in the guise of being true angels of God.

The intelligent creatures also thought that it was truely the messengers of God who had done that, out of jealousy. Resentment grew in every heart.

Gabriel had been on earth at the time, and he was attacked by a herd of centaurs. He would have been torn apart, but Tala had come to his rescue then. Only her clan had known the truth of the Hunter's gift. And they dispersed throughout the world to spread the news.

The Angel of Death owed Tala for that. Now he could pay her back, for it was well known that angels could travel anywhere in the blink of an eye.

CAse in point, he appeared quite suddenly. He was a being of light and fire and he carried a flaming sword. He was tall, much larger than Tala, and he looked very angry. He did, of course, always look angry, but even more so now as he saw who had called him.

"We meet again," he said, his voice seeming to fill the room.

Tala wasn't intimidated in the least. "You know why I have called you," she stated, her own voice seeming small compared to the angels.

"I do. I believe I have unpaid debt. You have finally decided to collect, I see. Demand your favor quick. I have other duties to attend."

"I understand. A life for a life. You will be helping me to save a life." She wisely left out everything about the city. "I need you to transport me to six different places."

He raised an eyebrow. "Just you?"

"Just the first time. I need to gather some people together. And I need to do it in a hurry."

Transporting an extra body around would be taxing enough, but more than one? Gabriel had a better idea. He reached into his flaming robes and pulled out a small necklace. It was a golden chain with a long glass bead attached to it. Inside the glass bead was a green and silver liquid.

"After this, my debt is paid. Beware for if we meet again, it will be for your death. This will do what you need. Who ever you take with you must be holding hands." His smile was chilling.

"You may use it as often as yu want, but it will cost you."

Tala nodded. She had expected as much. A two-edged gift, but a fine one. She took it. "Our debt is paid."

Such simple words, but the force behind them was strong and both Tala and Gabriel felt a weight lift from their shoulders. Gabriel wasted no time in leaving and Tala slipped the charm over her neck. She was ready.

~~~~~~

Brandon sat at a small wooden table, dwarfed in comparison to the giant dining hall table they had passed to get here. This smaller table held places for eight people, but Brandon and the caretaker sat side by side, with mugs of beer, while Brandon listened to the ex-Hunter's story.

It was an amazing tale, but Brandon couldn't help but feel a bit of disdain for this man who had forsaken Brandon's own way of life.

"No doubt," the older man began, "ye'll think me a traitor. I was raised by th' Hunter's. Me master was a formidable man. All th' other Hunters feared 'im more'n anything. He ne'er gave me a name. Jes told me tae call 'im Master. 'Boy,' 'e said tae me. 'I'll be training ye an' ye'll be listenin' or I'll leave ye tae th' buzzards.' So I was trained and I became a fearsome Hunter jes like 'im. I killed many beasts in me day, but that's not what yer wantin' tae know. An' that's not what I'm wanting tae tell ye.

"While hunting one day, I met a woman. She was jes sitting by th' side of the road. She was th' most beautiful woman I ever saw. Her hair was black as night and her eyes green as th' greenest tree. Now I'd never felt much o' anything regarding the opposite sex. Me master beat it out o' me. Said we wasn't tae waste time on such things. But there was something about her that made me stop.

"When I asked her why she was all alone, she tol' a story of how her horse had thrown her and ran away after seeing a snake. I didn't believe her, o' course. Not at th' time. A woman, beautiful as that? She didnae have a mark on 'er. Her eyes tol' th' truth. She was waitin' fer me. I thought she might be a witch, o' course. Trying to lure me away. But she didnae smell o' such magic. Oh, there was something about 'er that smelled o' the Beast, but I could alway tell about people. I could read humans, sort of. Their feelings, anywho.

"She 'ad no more intent of malice'n I did. So why was she waiting' fer me, I asked meself."

The man stopped as if remembering all of this. Brandon set down his mug. He hadn't drunk any of the beer, only pretending to sip. He was on guard around this man. One thing his own teacher had taught him was that you should never trust anyone, even other Hunters. Hunters liked to steal kill because they thought the more demons you killed, the better your place in heaven would be. Brandon scoffed at the notion. His own teacher hadn't believed it wither, but that didn't matter. If other Hunters believed it, they could be just as dangerous as any monster.

The man downed the rest of his drink, steeling himself, and began again. "Turns out I didnae have tae ask why. She answered fer me. 'I been waitin' fer ye.' That's what she said and she 'ad a voice that could melt ice. 'I lied,' she said. 'My horse didnae throw me. I seen ye around and couldnae stop thinkin' about ye.' She tol' me that even though we was different people from different world's, she couldnae 'elp her feelings and she wanted me tae know.

"Then she turned and started tae walk away and it broke me heart to see her go. Me! A Hunter, and I was sorry tae see 'er go. So I stopped 'er. I tried tae say somethin', but I couldnae even think, when she turned them beautiful eyes on me.

"We were married soon after, and I gave up the Hunter life. We 'ad only one child. A boy. Soon after 'e was born, me wife came to me. A Hunter, me ol' master, was comin' fer 'er. She didnae explain why, but tol' me only that th' boy would be safer if raised by Hunters. And she didnae want tae place us in danger and that she was goin' tae leave. It broke me heart, but I knew me master. If'n 'e was after 'er, he'd kill me and th' boy as well.

"So she left an' I took me boy tae a Hunter nursemaid. She took th' boy wit'out questions and when 'e was old enough, turned him over tae a teacher. Me master showed up pretty quickly after and we 'ad it out. Nasty fight that was. But 'e taught me well an' I killed 'im. But too late, fer me wife an' son both were lost tae me."

Caught up in the tale, despite himself, Brandon leaned back. "Do ye know what happened to them?"

"Not fer a long time," the older man said quietly, looking closely at Brandon. "But I do now."

Brandon stood quickly, knowing almost instantly what was coming up next. "That's not possible," he sputtered.

"Aye, 'tis. Yer me own son. I kin see the resemblence. Look at th' picture agin, boy."

He did look, and Brandon could now tell that the man in the picture was, indeed, this man who sat at the table now. And the woman... The young woman who looked so much like Tala...

"Your wife... what was her name?"

"Tala."

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