~ The Hunter ~
A group of girls no older than five years old danced and twirled around a ballet studio trying to keep time with the soft music playing. "Very good girls, just try and keep those toes pointed." Called their instructor as she watched her girls with a small smile. As the class came to an end, each child ran up to their parents excitedly explaining what they had learned that night. All except one girl. "Ella, honey, can you come here please." A bright blue eyed, brown haired little girl came running from the studio "Yes miss Annie?" She asked, oblivious to the tone in her teachers voice running into the front room, before coming to an abrupt stop. A police officer and a man that she vaguely recognized from pictures her parents had, both with solemn expressions. "Miss Annie?" Ella questioned, looking at her teacher, who stood with a look of shock and sadness written clear across her face. Annie bent down to her level and took Ella's small hands in hers, as she exhaled a breath she seemed to be holding. "Sweetie, do you recognize the man with the officer?" She asked gently gripping her hands. "Only from pictures." She looked over at the man before looking back. "Miss Annie, where are my mom and dad?" She asked, her voice small. It was at this point the officer stepped in. "Ella, this man is you Uncle Alister, he is your mom's older brother." He explained. Shaking her head, Ella looked between all three people. "But where are my parents?" She asked a second time, her voice becoming more frantic. All three adults looked from one another, dreading what they were about to tell her. It was her instructor who spoke first. "Your parents were in an accident at work." Annie left out the details knowing it would be hard enough to hear Ella lost both parents. Ella was shocked to the core, she simply stood there and let her instructor wrap her arms around her small frame. After a few minutes Ella pulled away, wiping the tears from her face with the back of her hand, and turned towards the only relative she now knew. Alister, said nothing as he held his hand out for Ella. Looking up at him, "Can we go home now?" She asked taking his hand. "Yes we can." Nodding, Alister gave her hand a reassuring squeeze as they walked out of the studio.
-Present-
Classical music flowed from the speakers throughout the room, as Ella stood in the middle of it, eyes closed as she counted out the timing of the music. Now in her twenties, she had grown into a slender young woman. Her once short brown hair, now reached past her shoulders, kept in a loose braid, her blue eyes still as bright as ever, even with all she had learned since her Uncle Alister had taken her in. In each hand she held three long knives. As the music played, she let memories of the past play in her mind. ' "Ella, what I'm about to tell you may be hard to understand at first, but I need you to listen to me," Ella nodded her head, "Alright, but what is so important that you have to tell me this very moment?" She questioned him, not knowing what she was about to find out was going to change her life forever. "The accident your parent's were killed in nearly ten years ago...Well it wasn't an accident. They were killed by demons." Ella could tell he was being serious, especially when her parents were the subject.' The sound of three knives hitting their targets could be heard, each at a different point.
'Ella stared at her uncle, a look of disbelief on her face. "Demons? Are you being serious?" Alister said nothing, he only nodded. "Ella, I understand that this is hard to accept, and even believe in itself. But your parents were demon hunters, as am I, and it's in your blood too." He explained. "So you're telling me that my parents were killed by demons, and that they were demon hunters, and you're one of them too? And to top it all off it's in my blood, which makes me a demon hunter?" She clarified. "Precisely." '
The sound of two more knives hitting their targets could be heard. "Ella. Hey El- s**t woman!" The sound of the last knife hitting wood could be heard. "Are you trying to kill me?" Ella turned towards the voice and opened her eyes, noting that every knife except one had hit its target. A small smile made its way onto her face, "Well no, not intentionally at least." She walked over towards the door the knife had hit, nearly missing the person who had pulled her from her thoughts. "What did you want Chris?" She asked getting straight to the point as she pulled the weapon from the door. "Alister said there's a mass demon summoning in progress and wants us to take care of it." He nodded walking past her, scanning over what they would need. "Wait. Hold up for a second. Did you just say mass summoning?" She asked, eyes wide. "Did he say how many?" Chris shook his head. "No, he just said it was going to be a major problem if they get out." She nodded, walking over to a table picking up a folded compound bow, and snapping it into place. "Alright then, let's go kill some demons."
By the time they had reached their destination, it was complete chaos. The two walked into an old run down bar, and the sight before them was gruesome to say the least. Blood and bodies littered the floor, while there were few remnants of the summoning circle itself, the demons themselves wreaking havoc on those still alive. The two looked at each other, "Kill anything that moves, and don't let them leave the building." Ella looked on, never having seen anything like this before. It had taken a few sometime, but the two had managed to taken down nearly all the demons, only one remained, and had proven to be one of the strongest they had encountered in a while. Ella stood before the creature, covered in demon, "You just won't die, will you?" She questioned, three arrows, all within vital area's in its body. It simply chuckled before advancing towards her. "Not much of a talker I see." She shrugged, Ella just needed to keep it distracted long enough for Chris to finish the job. It had been moving slow enough, so she hadn't expected it to lunge at her, throwing her into the shelving on the wall. Shards of glass and wood dug into her skin, leaving a number of fair sized, deep cuts. Once the scent of her blood hit the air, the demon turned back towards her and snarled "Pure...Heart...." As it began moving towards her with a new purpose, "Chris! Hurry up!" She yelled, as she picked herself up out of the glass, looking for some sort of weapon, before it reached her. Finally setting herself on a long knife lodged into a body, she pulled it from its chest as the demon grabbed her by the back of her shirt, lifting her off the ground. "Chris, Now would be nice!" She yelled, "Yeah, I'm working on it!" He called back as he loosed two arrows into its shoulder causing it to drop her and turn towards her partner. Using this as her chance, Ella drove the knife into the back of its skull, killing it. Taking precautions, they sealed and blew the building destroying any evidence of demons or the likes.
Once back at the mansion they called home, the two went their separate ways. Ella went to find her uncle, which didn't take long, as she always knew where to find him. Pushing one of the heavy wooden doors open, she stepped into the library. Walking over to an older man huddled over a pile of old books. "I assume you took care of the demon problem" He stated, before looking up from the book he was reading, finally noticing the state Ella was in. "Dear lord, what happened to you? Are you alright?" The concern for her was clear in his voice as well as on his face. Ella shrugged. "For the most part. Aside from being thrown across a room, we took care of it." Though most of the damage was only cuts, scrapes and some bruising, as well as a few scratches on her face, physically she was fine. Mentally, what the demon had called her, a 'Pure Heart' was bothering her. "Although I do have one question Alister," She began as she took a seat across from him. "What's a 'Pure Heart', and why would a demon refer to me as that, after catching the scent of my blood?" Her uncle's face paled slightly, it was something her mother was known as, though no one was quite sure how it worked. "That my dear, is a question I cannot fully answer for you." He looked at her carefully. "The only thing I can suggest is what the old books may have to offer." He said before picking up an old leather bound book, and sliding it across the table to her. "Hopefully you will find your answers in these old pages." He motioned to it, before placing a hand on her shoulder as he left the library, leaving her to study the old books.
