Snippets from FRACTURE The Secret Enemy Saga

Tegrin waited until midnight before he slipped into the caves and through to the other side, wanting to avoid humans at all cost. Darkness would be the best cover. He did his best hunting at night.

       He thought his knowledge of this place was very good but he did not expect the beauty that surrounded him. It could almost be home if he did not know better. His catlike eyes adjusted well to the dim light of a half moon. Tegrin’s excellent hearing picked up even the tiniest sounds.
       He sniffed the air, taking in every smell around him. Small rodents and birds nested close by. His eyes narrowed. Another scent filled his nostrils. The one he was looking for.
      The Couton, and they were heading towards the lights of a city. Urgency gripped him as he headed for the town below. He stayed in the brush along the road to conceal himself and tried to work on a plan of capture.
      Just before dawn he came across a cold, lifeless dwelling. He sniffed the air and the smell of death filled his nostrils. Tegrin circled the building, listening and sniffing the air, but found no life was present. He walked up the steps pushing the door open. Inside were two bodies, one male and one female, both had been murdered. He knew by the scent that the Couton had been there.
      The hair on his arms stood up. He was not alone and knew it. A young woman lunged from the shadows, a knife in her shaking hand.
      “You killed my parents!”
      Moonlight reflected off the long blade of a Bowie knife slicing through the air. Tegrin was too fast for the hand that wielded it.
      He deflected the knife, pulling her close to him. She had a whiff of something strange before darkness enveloped her. A deep voice faded away.
      “I did not kill your parents,” Tegrin whispered.
      He carried her back to the caves. This was a complication he did not need. “By the Throne of Patwain, what am I to do with this human?”
      He studied the woman for a long time. She looked to be about nineteen, maybe less. Long fiery red hair fell across her face. Quite pretty, he thought, in an unusual way.
     Those green eyes, he sighed, they had been filled with hatred for him before she blacked out. The wait for her to regain consciousness chewed at him. He knew he would have to tell her the truth.