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A war of good and evil magically Taints LA and the people in it, who are left to clean up. |
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Prologue The Institute, School of the Tainted Friday, April 22, 2011 “…so you see, there haven’t always been people with Tainted Blood. The Great Battle of 1961 changed everything,” Gareth said from where he sat perched on the teacher of the classrooms desk. His calm sky blue eyes scanned the faces of the fifteen Seniors. Some looked bored, having heard the story every year in their history class. Some were staring at him with rapt attention, which he concluded was more for who he was than what he was saying, The Institution, the school for students with Tainted blood, had asked him to come in and do the lecture on the Great Battle and the creation of the Tainted. He had also used it as a chance to get a first hand view of the few students chosen as eligible to train as Guardians next year when they turn eighteen. He knew all about them of course. As the Guardian’s leader, it was his job to keep track of the next generation of potential fighters. One student, a boy with black hair and a rather beak-like nose raised his hand. Gareth instantly recognized him as Jonas Hicks, Councilman Hick’s son, the nose being a big tip off. Like father, like son, he though with a smile as he acknowledged the boy with a nod. “Respectfully, sir, all this gets me thinking every time I hear it. Really, then, we have both the Holy Order and Lucifer to thank for our powers” he stated in a loud, over-confident voice, looking around the room like he owned it and dared anyone to defy his claim. He rushed on saying, “Since the Holy Order would never have fought on earth and left behind the power pockets that Tainted us if Lucifer hadn’t escaped in the first place.” Little know-it-all, Gareth thought, preparing to answer until a female’s voice cut him off, saying, “Yeah, we have Lucifer to thank for hundreds of innocent people being slaughtered in a single week, too, “Mia St. Clair said, tucking her curly brown hair behind her ears. Like Jonas, she was proving to be excellent in combat, but she was more renowned for her brain. She was a quick thinker and an opportunist. She spared Jonas a single sickened glance and added, “Not to mention the lives of five angels.” “Angels, yeah,” Jonas sneered at her, his face becoming slightly red at being challenged. “Do you not think the angels knew what would happen to the earth? We have to hide like cowards because of the results of what they did and risk our lives to clean up their mess. And none of us got a choice in the matter.” Gareth crossed his arms and leaned back slightly; watching two of the more promising students of the senior class go at it with interest. “Without the powers of the Tainted to fight them, demons would savage the earth, you fool,” Mia spat back at him “The demons would never have escaped if the Holy Order, your all-great angels, hadn’t done their magic, which created the magic pockets, some of which became portals that weakened the boundaries enough for demons to cross over,” Jonas hissed, standing out of his seat, his expression livid. “Don’t you think Lucifer would have released the demons himself eventually? Without the Tainted, there would never have been a Barrier to keep the evil in, there would be no one to fight the demons, and evil would no doubt control the world. The Holy Order did what they had to do to save mankind. Whose side are you on, anyway?” As Mia spoke, she also stood. She was a good foot and a half shorter than Jonas’s six foot two and not nearly as built, but she looked ready to cross the three rows of desk that separated them, alert, waiting on him to move. “Me?” Jonas said with a cold laugh. “I’m on my own side. If I see a demon, I’ll kill it. But if I see an angel, I’ll kill that, too.” Mia’s eyes got wide and she looked like she was about to let him have it. Gareth decided it was time to intervene. “Everyone, sit down,” he said, the command resounding through the room. None of the students thought to question it, they sat, all eyes snapping to the front. The authority that came with being the Guardian’s leader was clear and unquestionable in his deep voice and tended to have that effect on people. “The bottom line is the blame game won’t get us anywhere. We’re here, the demons are here, and that’s reality. We’re the only things standing in their way of having free pickings over L.A., so they naturally want us out of the way. In the end, it’s either we kill them, or they kill us, whether you do it’s because you want to protect, or because you want revenge. The point is we have to fight.” As he said it, he looked directly into both Jonas and Mia’s eyes, knowing his direct gaze would make them uncomfortable. He smiled at them, and saw the relief pass over Mia’s face. Jonas just stared back, as if a little surprised Gareth hadn’t told him he was wrong. Gareth pushed off the desk and glanced at his watch. His time was up. “Thank you all for your time today. I hope you enjoyed the lesson. I’ll be seeing some of you soon.” With that, he reached up to the neck of his dress shirt and suit jacket, pulling a leather cord from underneath. A green enchanted crystal pendent hung from the cord. As he touched the crystal, it began to glow bright green, the color seeping out between his fingers, reading where he desired to go as he thought it. The classroom and the faces of the fifteen senior students looking on in wonder at seeing a Faze Stone in action began to warp, the image distorting. It was like looking at rocks in the bottom of a fast moving stream. Color bled out of the image, the classroom fading to black as he disappeared. There would not be noise, no poof of smoke, or show of light. It was just as if he had never been standing in front of the class at all, as if they had all blinked their eyes and woke up from an educational daydream. |
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