Rebirth

The thunder woke me up from my nightmares of two werewolf bitches standing over me. I lay caught still in the nightmare of my last living memory. I could still remember the glowing red eyes of the twin demon werewolves as they sucked the magic of the alpha's roar from my body. My mind was damaged. Twisted between two versions of who I was and other person I had become. Me and the owner of the former body I was now in. Who was I?! I was Marcus.

After my humiliating defeat The demon bitches had spoke to me in my mother tongue of growls and scents but I couldn't understand them. They had stolen that from me as well. I couldn't respond in kind. I closed my eyes crossing my forearms across my chest and fell into a deep sleep as I prepared myself to meet my ancestors in the eternal hunting grounds of the long moonlight.

I hadn't been granted entry however into my ancestors abode. I had found myself in a open grave alive somehow. The rain fell on my skin as I crawled out of the grave and came to level ground before a group of long bearded men in black leather jackets, blue jeans and sharp toed leather boots.

Their leader leaned down and peered at my face. His weathered face felt like I knew. I knew him. My mind was still cloudy and shocked at being alive though. "I know you." I said. Sure of it but I couldn't dig up the memory of his name in my muddy hazy mind.

The old man nodded. "You do. Give it some time. You just woke from your nap. Luckily I got here in time for your funeral or those dumb bitches might have burned your body, Marcus Bitch Boy Williams." He said with a grin.

There was a hint of magic in his voice. I felt it trying to pull at me to tie my soul into enslaving me. Ex Shamon Charlie Angles used to use that trick on me back in the days when I was his student before he went bat shit crazy from overdosing on magic. I hadn't seen the werewolf in years.

"Charlie. Your the last ugly face I thought to see. I must be in hell then." I said realizing I had escaped death only to be facing the devil himself.

Charlie laughed in my face. The sharp smell of human blood and meat was on his breath.

"There you go. My favorite pupil always a quick learner. Now you will be my perfect slave. Don't worry I put your talents to good use." He said adding more magic into his voice.

I dug my hand into the ground as who he was came to me. I breathed in the clean elements. Air. Water. Earth. My mind cleared and all my childhood memories came flooding back into my mind. I called for the strength the wolves through my pack's bound to come to my aid they didn't answer. I was alone and facing my enemy.

"You could have let them burn me and snort my ashes up your nose. Why go through the trouble of saving me?" I said not really caring about the reason. I only wanted to get more time to think. I just needed one chance one opportunity. My hand vibrated with the feel of the earth element. I felt that other side of myself awaken. I also felt a revolver under my suit. Hell brimstone. Somebody wanted to send me off to hell in style.

Charlie shook his head grabbing me by the base of my neck and lifting me up to his 6'6 height. I hung in air by his grasp alone with my feet not touching the ground. His gaze was fixed my face as he continued his spell he never once noticed my hand slip inside jacket. I went motionless. He smiled at me with a mouth of pearly white fangs stained with the blood of humans. "Marcus Blood, Marcus bitch boy Blood. I've waited four decades to consume the magic in your blood and bones. I hope you taste as sweet as your little sister did. I'm going to take my..." He said twisting my body to come under his control as he attempted suck the magic out of me and my soul. No. He was attempting to steal the magic out of Marcus Blood's soul. Not mean.

No. That wasn't who I was. No. I was Danny. Danny Sage. Suddenly, My mind felt clear and I knew what I needed to do.

His words were cut off by an explosion of wild magic and large bullet that blew a giant size hole through his chest.

Shit! I fucking over did it. I could already feel the power drain would limit how many times I could return fire to enemies around me. I made to move fast.

I landed on my hunches and took aim firing at the rest of Charlie's packmates until they were all dead. I heard a noise behind and fired.

I hit the forcefield of wind behind a short little man in a black trench jacket dressed in a black suit. He aimed a similar elemental silver revolver of true steel at my head.

"I came for the bounty on Angles head. I'll be taking the body. I been hunting him for two months now." He said.

I nodded like I understood and searched the mind of the body I was in to place a name to what this man was. "Your a hunter then?! Well. Your welcome to the body. The pleasure of his death is payment enough for me. It was a long time coming for that asshole. I'm Danny Sage." I said.

"That's not the name on the tombstone behind you or the name that dead bastard called you before his timely death." The hunter observed.

I nodded. "The name on the tombstone isn't my name. I'm Danny Sage. Today's my first birthday." I said.

The hunter smiled revealing a mouth full yellow teeth but he didn't drop his weapon. "Happy Birthday. My name is Blake Irons. I wasn't expecting to find another elemental. That trick you pulled with faking your death was smooth who taught you? Grand Sars? Megas Winston?" He said.

I shook my head. "No one did. It's a trick I did when I was a kid when I wanted to skip my lessons under tutors guidance. I always had a natural talent for elements and such. You sound like a educated man. You're a wizard?" I said.

Irons eyed me now with deadly intent. "I'm a retired wizard currently a bounty hunter and you're a Redstone sorcerer?" He said.

The old prejudice and rivalry. Wizards and sorcerers could never get on well together. We were just two different.

"Well how do you want to play youngster." The hunter asked.

It was in his tone. Disdain and caution. He didn't look at Charlie Angles on the ground but I could tell he was wondering if there was a common thread of evil between the two of us.

I wondered the same thing in another life but that life was over. I had gone down that path and it had led me to grave. Time to go down a different path. I dropped the magic that held and bounded with the revolver and holstered my weapon. "I'm Danny Sage. How much does bounty hunting pay?" I said repeating the name it was my shield now against the bastard and monster I had been put in the grave. That bastard was dead now. I was Danny Sage.

Irons frowned at me still having his weapon aimed at me. "You leaving yourself wide open. You still dancing on the edge?" He said.

"No. I don't have the energy or desire to kill someone I have no grudge against you and I'm out of magic to do anything more. Besides another fact I don't have any bounty on my head. Killing me would be a waste of bullets." I said.

Irons sighed. "You've got me there. What do you want?" He said.

"So, I seem to be jobless and homeless at the moment. Are there any warrants on the rest of these shit bags? I'll help you bag them up and get them back to the Watch for a ride back to city. I need to get working and find a job." I asked nodding at the the rest of the gang.

"A couple of hundred silver coins on some of them. I'll let you have three of them but the rest and Angles are mean." Irons said as he holstered his weapon and got up and started walking toward me.

I nodded. "Sounds like a deal to me." I said examining the bodies. closely. That was more then I had been expecting for a fresh restart in my second life.

"I just got one question though. Have you ever seen anything like this?" He asked.

I looked to see him flash bright before my eyes in his hand. I stared at the orb of light as it turned blue in his hand and then became a grey perfectly round stone in his hand. 

I looked up at his confused grey eyes. "Does this mean your not going to give me a ride to the city?" I said.

Iron's face flushed in embarrassment. He waved an annoyed hand at me to start picking up the bodies. "Get to work with ya." He said in gruff embarrassed voice.

"Yes, Sir. Yes Sir." I said giving him formal marine salute. It had been in automatic reflect and I instantly regretted when I saw his automatic reaction.

Irons froze at the jester and then he nodded his head after snapping his fingers. "I get it. Your from another world traveler aren't you? No don't lie. Your not Marcus Blood at all are you. I can see it in your eyes. Okay. I understand. So how much do you know about this realm your in now? How much of Marcus is still in you?" He said.

I sighed and started to haul one of the bodies up and over my shoulder. "I told you my name is Danny Sage that's all I know. Don't know much of anything else about this world." I said.

Irons nodded. "So you're just here on barrowed time renting Marcus' body and memories or were you offered a second chance?" He said.

"How much do you want to know? Because I can guaranty you I don't know as much as would satisfy your curious mind." I asked him.

"If you answer my question then I'll give you an extra body for the bounty. Hell I will even enlighten you about some local history and how things work around here. How about it? Feed me some information." Irons said with grin.

Damn. I wasn't going to make it long as a liar here. "Alright. Marcus Blood is dead so seeing how his body was available I took it because I was in need of it and his memories so I could live again. It is what it is and beggars can't be choosers." I said.

Irons smiled and nodded his head. "Very true." He said.