Chapter 1

October 26, 11th After Fall year - Room 654, A hotel in Moscow

Footsteps...

It was hardly there, but it was still enough to wake her up from her dream. She quickly put on her white tank top and black shorts which she folded near her. She rose from her bed and retrieved a glove, her father's media, as the glove was her most important belonging.

Could be nothing, she thought. It might just be ordinary people going to their rooms or maybe room service.

But it was multiple and careful footsteps, so she knew they were after her. She bolted out of her bed and quickly retrieved her travel case which contained all her personal belongings and a leather satchel which contained the object of their mission.

The footsteps were getting closer and faster now. They must have noticed that she was awake.

She went over to the glass door that led to a small balcony that had a view of the Moskva River. She pulled the curtain to one side, opened the door quickly and cold air hit her hard. Winter was close now making her legs feel like ice. The moon was full, so she can't summon her guardian, which, thinking about it, could have been a part of their plan.

The river below was starting to freeze. Taking a swim there would be the last thing that anyone would do, except her. She's experienced harsher extremities than this just to protect it and make sure it goes to whoever it belongs to. She tried to see if there was a way down to the street. She concentrated her sight on the street below but she couldn't see any sign of movement. There wasn't a single sign of life. But just then a van rushed into the street. The van was black and had no license plates, that enough was saying "I'm after you". The van door opened and a team of a special-ops kind got out and quickly went in the hotel.

How great, more players.

She was standing on the balcony when the door broke open. People quickly went in and pointed at her with lasers. In the dim light of the full moon, she could make out that most of them had SMG's and one in the middle held a pistol. Her silver hair reflecting the moonlight gave them a good view of her.

"Stop right there, Moon." the man with the pistol said.

"Moon" was her nickname or more precise "Silver Moon". She was an abandoned child at birth. She took on this name after her peculiar hair color and as a namesake to her adoptive father Crescent, the Scholar. She is a young girl in her early twenties, has silver hair, a pretty face and a fit 5'6" body. Only she and Arc know what her real name, Eliza Crescent.

The voice was familiar and she quickly recognized the man. "You should quit this, Will. You're getting old." she replied.

"Will" short for William Perkins is a man in his late-fifties, with a good build and a normal face, an ex-SEALS guy turned mercenary. He also used to be Arc's mentor from the war days.

"Give it to me." he said pointing out the satchel.

"I'd rather die."

"I don't want to kill women, even if you're a freak of nature."

"Haven't you heard the news? We're the next course of evolution now. It's already official."

"Unfortunately, I don't agree with you."

"Just because one mage killed your family, doesn't mean all of us are bad."

Willy tensed at this and rage swelled up from inside of him, discarding his usually calm self. "I don't care what I have to do, as long as I make sure that everything comes back to normal." He then pointed his gun at Moon.

"You used to be a good person."

Just outside the room gunfire started, probably the guys from the van. She knew Willy and his team didn't see it because there were no windows in the hallway. Will and his troupe got distracted for a while. Moon saw her chance and quickly raised her media invoking a quick force spell. Swirls of light surrounded her hand and it exploded toward the enemy. The force spell was effective that it pushed Will and company through the wall, it released the sound of what a flashbang the size of a cannon shell would be like. Glass shattered and most of the wall was gone. Her arm felt like lead because of the recoil the spell made. Moon was pushed out of the window and fortunately, recovered quickly. She aimed to fall on the street and quickly performed a gravity spell to slow down her fall.

The coldness of the street froze her feet as she dropped to the ground. She quickly glanced at the black van. There was no one in it. She quickly approached it and looked at the driver's side. They left the keys here, stupid move. She tried to open the door, it was open too. She went inside the car, grateful for being off the street and turned on the engine.

Too bad I couldn't get the travel case. It had my favorite stuff in it. I just hope that Arc got away. Well, at least I'm done with Russia. If he got caught, they would know where I would go next. Better hurry up to rendezvous.

"Now then, where am I supposed to go to again?" she said to herself while holding the satchel in her arms and drove away in the darkness of the night. Little did she know that the leader of the guys from the van watched everything happen from the eyes of a shadow.