The Dark Watch.

     The world is filled with opposites - black and white, good and evil, hot and cold, fire and water, day and night, old and young, man and woman, beautiful and ugly...angels and demons. Each pair completes each other entwined in a never-ending circle of harmony. Imbalance between contrarieties brings destruction and chaos to the human kind. 

     There are two Gods, who are maintaining the harmony, being in a battle at the same time. Their "game of Chess" has been going on for many centuries, but both "Kings" won't stop until they've lost all of their pawns. The God of Light and the God of Darkness. Their game became more violent and sophisticated, involving weak and fragile humans. 

     Who will make the final call: "Checkmate!"?

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     Middle of the night is the time, when most people are locked inside their supposedly safe homes, and only the biggest fools are drunk enough to leave the safe walls of bars and clubs. Night is the time when Darkness comes out to hunt for souls.

     A small motorcycle sped down the road like a bullet, clearly violating the speed-limit, as both driver and the passenger didn't even feel the growing speed. The soft humming of the engine was slowly lulling Darnelle to sleep as she dug her nails deeper into her partners leather jacket. Raindrops began to stain her helmet, making it harder for both of them to see where they were going. Though really they didn't "need" to see the road, they could feel the Cry calling out to them, nudging them to go faster.

     If they didn't hurry... Sharp nails cut through his jacket and dug into his ribs, gaining a low howl out of him as his eyes filled with blood. Darnelle quickly retracted her nails and whispered quietly to him: "Sorry, I-I...I got carried away. What if we're late?"  

     He didn't need to reply loudly, their hearing was far better than average humans'. 

"We won't be. I can still feel the Call."  

     His deep voice faded to the end as the bike turned sharply to a narrow road, leading into the forest.

     The Darkness was everywhere, consuming the life of creatures and some humans, who stayed in the woods for too long. That's what happened to this lost traveller, who ended up here, in the worst imaginable place to spend the night.

     He stopped by a tree and took off his helmet, giving freedom to his short pony tail across his scalp, the sides shaved out. Darnelle took off hers too and stretched out her sore muscles. Total silence could be felt in the air around them and once she opened her eyes, which were turned ruby red with narrow almond shaped pupils, the sweet fragrance of human soul filled her lungs. Darnelle saw a sleeping figure on the grass almost dead from freezing and starvation.

      The natural impulse was too strong and her leather gloves were completely ripped apart by her long nails, as she approached the body. A quick glance at her partner, standing close, was the last reassurance that she needed to take his soul.

     Darnelle kneeled and rolled the body over, deeply sucking in the sweet cinnamon and caramel scent of this soul. With a quick hit, her long nails were dug into the man's chest, who gave out a soft grunt and went dead. She moved closer to the man and slowly pulled out her now bloody nails, which were pulling out a small sphere. It resembled a ball of ghostly substance, which was giving out trails of mist. Darnelle moved the small white soul closer to her and with one quick movement swallowed it whole, enjoying the cold sensations in her throat.

     She licked her lips and pulled out a handkerchief and wiped her nails of blood. The metallic stench still would remain, but she didn't want to get it on her clothes. Lee was still standing by the bike and the same grave look across his face. His pale, grey skin contrasted with his coal black ponytail.

      "Let's go. We have other things to do."

     He said coldly to her as he narrowed his eyes at something far away. Darnelle suddenly stopped as she felt a third presence very close to them. The air was getting hotter, sizzling in front of her eyes, sweat breaking the surface of her pale skin. They have been spotted.

     A loud bang was heard right behind her as she tried to dodge the bullet, but the small metal ball was quicker. Darnelle dropped to the ground, clutching her shoulder with clenched teeth, as she cursed in her mind. They should have been faster.

     Immense pain shot through her body as the poison started to take its turn, slowly boiling her from the inside. 

     "Now, now. Who do we have here?" 

     The smug voice of the attacker reached her ears. Darnelle managed to open her eyes to see a pale face with blue eyes staring back at her with a smirk. The corners of his eyes had a slight golden sparkle and the feathery texture of his hair indicated only one thing.

     They were caught by the Angels.