CHAPTER ONE

The rain splashed hard on the new years evening causing everyone to stay put in their houses. A shadow lingered in the alley waiting. A red SUV stopped blocking the view. I was standing on my apartment's balcony having a quiet cup of tea, waiting for my friend to arrive. She was on her way to my place about half an hour ago, when I called her. I had made myself some tea to enjoy the rain. When I came towards the balcony, the scene I saw made me suspicious. The SUV drove away leaving my suspicion as it was. I felt an urge to find out what was happening. As my friend would say, I could be the next Nancy Drew because I love to solve mysteries. I mean, who doesn't?. What a great start for a new year right. A mystery!

I, in haste, scribbled a note to my friend Katie; Katie Warner. I put on my coat and my shoes and ran outside the door. The man had disappeared. I went in the alley looking for him. Suddenly, something came in front of me. A werewolf or a human thing, I couldn't find out because all of a sudden, it melted away. Someone was standing behind it, who stabbed it with a thing, which melted him away. I was so afraid that I couldn't even scream and with that I fainted.

"She's knocked out", I heard a voice coming from faraway.

"How could she see it?", someone else spoke up, frustrated.

I opened my eyes, adjusting them to the brightness of the room. "Where am I?". I asked sitting up. I was surrounded by a worried looking girl and boy and another boy stood a little away,  anger written on his face.

"It's okay you're safe. Who are you? Are you one of us?" The boy near me asked in one go.

"What do you mean, you're a human, I am a human, we are the same right?" I answered looking at him as if he had grown two horns.

"No, in a different kind of way. Oh! And by the way I am Dominic Wood" He didn't mind the look I was giving him, instead he introduced himself cheerfully.

"I am Clare James, thanks for helping me" I thanked him to which he nodded and was pushed aside by a girl.

"Move it Dom" She slapped his shoulder, making him stand up.

"Fine" He groaned, getting up.

"Hi, how are you feeling? I am Ivy Xander, their sister" She tilted her head towards both the boys, shook my hand.

"I am feeling fine, thank you" I smiled at her.

"Yo erm" Dom started, looking at the boy

"Yes" The boy with green eyes and black hair, who stood away from me replied back to him.

"That's Jeremy Xander. He is the head here" Dominic introduced me to him.

Dominic had golden eyes which glowed in a warm manner. He had blonde hair. Ivy was a cool girl with black hair and green eyes. She looked like Jeremy's sister because their resemblance was uncanny.

"Who's she?" He asked authoritatively looking straight at Dom.

"That's Clare James .I found her during hunting and she could see dosorllas .She is probably one of us but she doesn't know anything about us that is probably why she had nothing to defend herself." He explained.

"Are you sure she's one of us, could be something else" He gave Dom a piercing look.

"Yup, I am sure besides she drank the potion and she is well" . A frown creased Jeremy's face but he didn't say a thing. They had little chips near their ears. I felt mine. It was also present there but I couldn't feel something unusual due to it. I sighed and got out of the bed.

"Here some extra clothes for you" Ivy threw a bunch of clothes at me . A black top along with a black shirt and pants and black thigh high boots . "Trust me about the boots" She told me after looking at the expression on my face. I left for the restrooms in the corner of the hall to shower and change. "Much better" Dom and Ivy approved my dressing and smiled. I simply shrugged my shoulders and walked towards them.

"Here , put this on" Dom gave me two knives and something that looked like a gear. Ivy took it from me and adjusted the gear on me and the knives in the right place.

"This is for your boots ". Another two knives were handed to me by Dom. Again, Ivy adjusted them for me. I looked in the mirror and totally someone else stared back at me. I looked different but it was not uncomfortable. Ivy walked away saying something to Jeremy while Dom stood there smirking.

"So how do we use this thing, huh?" I asked him, taking the knife out, which weirdly felt comfortable in my hands, like I was used to them.

"Wanna learn?" He asked and I nodded in response.

"Follow me" He got up and I tailed him. Down the hall we turned right and opened a door on the left and entered a room without a ceiling and walls with ivy grown on them. It looked magnificent.

"So how long have I fainted?" I asked Dom looking around at some unusual things

"A week, today's Saturday" He replied, taking out his knives .

'A WEEK , gosh it was Saturday evening when all that happened to me'.

"What was that thing?" I asked him, referring him to the bizarre creature I saw before fainting.

"Dosorllas, creatures that could kill us but they only attack the ones who can kill them. This knife is a special one used for killing them, so don't lose it, Okay" He turned around facing me and I nodded once again.

"Okay, so where do we start?" I asked him, testing the knife. I was really stunned when it hit the target so easily. We both stared at the target where the knife was pinned. Overcoming our startling faces, we started training and I won. I stood their smirking while on the inside, I was doing a victory dance. Nerd me. Dom was shocked how badly he lost against me, well so was I.

"Shocked Mr. Wood, shouldn't be, I am the owner of the Straight Arrow Corner, Amy Daunter. You must be Clare Jane James, daughter of Helen James and Max James."

'How does she know me?' I asked myself. The question though, was questioned by Dom.

"How do you know her?" He asked her curiously

"Her mother and father were in the army. They tried to leave this world but we imprisoned them because they didn't abide by the laws. They left her on the other side of the world but look at her now, fate brought her here. The fighting skills are in her genes." She looked at me in a mocking manner.

"You took away my family. How could you?" I lunged at her with my knife, but Dom caught me. I thrashed against his hold as Amy vanished into thin air. I broke away from his fold, my anger bubbling inside me. I had anger management issues but right now I didn't gave a fuck about it. I only knew that my parents were alive and jailed and I had to find them at any cost and make that woman pay for ruining my life.

'How could she do that . My whole life I was brought up in the dark that my parents are dead while they were alive, to be exact, rotting alive in a prison.'

The wind started blowing in, when I heard a strange humming voice, it felt familiar but I just couldn't find out who?. The humming turned into a voice, someone singing a song, a lullaby. I looked at Dom who was looking at me, concern written in his eyes. I closed my eyes trying to hear what was the song so I could remember it. But instead I started feeling dizzy. I opened my eyes to see everything spinning in front of me and with that I fainted.

"That's my girl" A beautiful woman stood smiling looking at a baby in her arms. She hushed the crying baby and cradled her in her arms singing a lullaby to her. The scene seemed oddly familiar to me and yet I couldn't grasp when this happened or who the people were. I walked towards them to hear it. The way she hummed was the same humming I had heard when the wind blew in. The women rocked the child and gave a tinkling laugh. She bought her lips closer to the baby ear and I leaned forward to hear what she was whispering. It was a lullaby.

"Never turn your back to where you belong,

Hush little one and listen to the song"