Chapter 3

Topher was stunned after he finally saw what had been communicating with him. He stood transfixed, staring at the creatures in awe, not knowing what to say, what to do or how to react. He was just stunned.

"Come, werewolf!" The creature demanded angrily and began to move towards him with slow deliberate steps

"No, thanks. I think I've seen enough for today." Topher managed to say, taking a few steps back as the creatures approached him. He glanced about him warily, taking a couple more steps backward, ready to make a run for it before a blinding white light engulfed the alley, and the creatures scampered away frightfully, trying to get away from it. Topher looked behind him (shielding his eyes from the blinding light with the back of his palm) to know where the lights were coming from, but what he saw surprised him. He saw a lady about the same height (and age) as Penelope, but with dusky skin and dark auburn hair, holding forth a lustrous crystal prism with one hand, and shielding her eyes from the light with the other. And when he looked harder to study her beautiful face, he recognized her!

"Jane?!" he called her, completely stunned.

"Hey! Get outta here!" she scolded him as they crossed paths.

"But...." he tried to oppose

"Just get the fuck outta here. I can handle this," she assured him, then he left with one thing in mind: to grab Penelope and get the hell out of this place.

Topher walked hastily, looking behind him occasionally to know if someone (or something) was following him as he made his way to the cinema. In his subconscious, he wondered if Jane was doing okay. If things were going okay back there, and then he shifted his thoughts to fragile Penelope because he knew Jane could handle herself. He finally let out a sigh of relief when he saw Penelope coming out of the cinema.

"Come on Penny, get inside the car. We need to leave now" he instructed, still glancing about him warily.

"No, I won't! Where have you been?" Penelope refused stubbornly.

"Penelope, please not now," Topher growled through clenched teeth.

"Nice try mister. Just where the hell have you been? And what's wrong with you? You've been acting weird. Topher what's going on?" Penelope demanded

"Penny there's a lot going on that I can't tell you now or here. Please stop being stubborn!" Topher scolded her

"Then I'm not moving an inch."

"God, your so stubborn! You tiny little witch!" Topher cussed underneath his breath. "Fine!" he surrendered. He glanced about him warily again, then he closed his eyes for a couple of seconds, and when he opened them, they were glowing bright yellow (or more accurately, golden). Penelope's jaws dropped to her chest as soon as she saw them.

"Great! Just great! So you left to go get yourself some fancy contact lens?" She asked after she bridged the gap between her vocal cavity and her brain.

"What? No! Godammit, I don't have time for this now, Penny! Just get inside the car!" He yanked her by the arm and dragged her inside the car.

Topher sauntered across the compound of a cool gray mansion, moving precisely as he walked up the porch, and then rang the doorbell. He glanced at his phone (more out of habit than necessity) as he waited for someone to attend to him, and a few seconds later, the door was opened by an old woman.

"Is the alpha here?" He asked her

"Yes, he's inside. He's been waiting for you," she replied with a smile, and Topher nodded in appreciation and entered the house.

"Topher! Thank goodness you're alright?" A muscular 6ft man with black hair (and a one-week-stubbled short-boxed beard), and blue eyes sat up to meet him.

"It's nothing, Bale. I'm alright." Topher shook hands with his alpha.

"You're one lucky man. You would've been dead meat if your beta here, had not sensed that you were in danger" Bale said, pointing at Jane.

"So what the hell were those things?" Topher asked and immediately Bale's countenance changed.

"Fucking reptiles" he answered.

"What?"

"They're called Nychdaes. Gotten from the Greek word 'Nychterinós', meaning night, and a Latin word 'Daemonium', meaning demon. They're called night demons because they appear mostly at night. And just like us they have intense superhuman abilities and exist in packs. The only problem now is that they haven't been around here for centuries, so why return now?"