prologue

The diner was almost closing but Samantha Martinez's face was still buried in the newspaper. "Excuse me, mam. We are closing. I'm afraid I might have to ask you to leave" she heard a male voice say. She assumed it was an employee working in the diner and obeyed his wishes. 

The cool breeze touched her face as she stared into the night sky. Disappointment crept up on her face as she checked the time and noticed that it was almost midnight but her friend hadn't arrived yet. She started walking towards the nearby bus station but stopped near a street light when she heard footsteps. She turned around to see who it was but there were none. 

She felt someone lightly tug at her robe and she quickly grabbed the hand that held her robe. The man was too fast but her strategy was something he can never catch up to. Samantha held him by his arms and trapped him against the floor. "Your strategy got only more predictable Arnold," she said as she slowly let his arms go. 

"Ugh. I knew you were going to say this" Arnold said in defeat and got up from the ground. 

"You are late, it's past midnight," Samantha said while crossing her arms over her chest.

"I know and I'm sorry. It's the boy's birthday now and I had to stay behind for a while" Arnold answered and turned to look at her. She looked at him in confusion with her blue eyes and lifted her long neck a little bit. 

"So, you haven't told the boy yet?" Samantha questioned.

"No, I never had the chance to. I couldn't take his innocence away, he has a girlfriend whom I guess he is in love with from what I heard, and he aced his SATs. It didn't feel right to take it away from him" Arnold answered, looking at her with his black eyes. 

"I know how you feel, Arnold. But he has to fulfill his destiny. He is the last living heir of the Griffin family, if he doesn't carry the legacy then the Walsh's will take over the hunter's society and you know Oscar. He is cruel, if he takes over then he will kill the innocents too" Samantha reminded him.

"Don't you think I know that?" Arnold snapped. "He is just a boy, who has a lot of life in front of him, and knowing that he might die fulfilling his destiny, it's hard for me to do this," Arnold said, looking away from her and before they knew it the bus to Toronto union had arrived.

"Alright, if that's what you think. But remember one thing, whether he is ready or not. The boy's destiny will come searching for him" Samantha said while boarding the bus. 

Arnold let out a breath and started walking back to his home.