Huntik Trilogy. Volume 1 The Battle Against The Specter

A Revealed Destiny

Outside Vale's home, two voices of children could be clearly heard.
"Marcus, stop it!" the first shouted annoyed.
Zhalia, inside the house, shook her head listening to the voices from the open window.
"Why?" the secondasked.
"Because you're boring!"
"Come on Clara, it was just an insect!" Marcuslaughed.
"I'm gonna tell this to mummy!"
"You are the usual touchy!"
The two children opened the door and Zhalia was already there, ready to welcome them.
"Hello children! How was school?"
"Everything is fine with school, mum!" Clara smiled hugging Zhalia. "The only problem is my brother!" she soured sourly.
"Don't listen to her." Marcus replied, dropping his backpack to the ground. "She's as touchy as usual."
"You put an insect in my hair while I was talking to Anna! You are treacherous and I hate you!"
The door opened again, interrupting the quarrel.
"Hello, children. Hi, Zhalia." Dantegreeted taking off his coat and placing it on the hanger at the entrance. "May I know why you are screaming? You can be heard all the way down the road."
"Ask him, Dad!" Clara exclaimed, beating her foot on the ground. "It's all his fault!"
"Why when you play jokes, I have to shut up and, instead, when I play them, you are always giving me a hard time?"
"Because your jokes are stupid!"
"If it comes to that, yours too!" Marcus defended himself.
"It's not true!"
"Lier!"
"Ok, now that's enough!" Dante and Zhalia shouted.
"You are siblings. You should cooperate and not scream against each other." Dante explained.
"Your father is right." Zhaliaadded. "In two days you will be eight years old. You are not little kids anymore!"
"Yes mom! Yes, dad!" the children answered in chorus.
"Now do your homework. In two hours, I'll have dinner served and I hope that in the next hours you'll have solved the matter between you two." Zhalia suggested.
Dante's cell phone rang and he rushed to answer, moving toward the living room.
"Metz! No, you're not disturbing me! Yes, it's all right here, but why do you ask? Did something happen?" Dante was silent for a few minutes, listening. "No, it's not possible! No, it can not be! That means we're in danger!" he exclaimed incredulously to what he was listening to. "Ok, I'll see what I can do! Talk to you soon. Bye, Metz. "
The two children from the stairs had heard everything.
"Daddy says we're in danger. What do you think he means to say, Clara?"
"I don't know. Perhaps he will talk about it..."
Even Zhalia had listened, but she knew what was the matter.
"What did Shadow do?"
"He unleashed Leones on a house in Milan. He was able to understand how to control it. Eathon has lost other members of his team." Danteexplained.
"He doesn't have complete control of it just because you have Protector. Where was he all this time?"
Dante sighed.
"Eathon had never traced him safely, he always just assumed his position. According to reconstructions, in Switzerland, Austria and now he's back in Italy."
"He's approaching us!" Zhalia anxiouslyexclaimed.
"Yup. Maybe it's time for the children to know."
"We said we would have waited until their tenth birthday!"
"No, Zhalia, we can't wait any longer! They'll know it in two days because in a week Shadow will be here in Venice." Dante said showing her on his Holotome the 3D realization of Shadow's movements communicated by Metz, on behalf of Eathon.

Two days later, the birthday of the children of Dante and Zhalia took place. Den and Harrison had sent their presents, since they had left for a mission a few days before it.
In the evening, after the birthday dinner to which even Lok and Sophie participated with their three-year-old son, Samuel Jason Lambert. Dante and Zhalia gave their presents to the children.
"Happy birthday, kids!" Danteexclaimed, watching the children receive a box each from Zhalia.
Cherit was also at the party, hidden in Lok's backpack. He had spent the last few years at the Huntik central base in Venice. The group had decided to keep their lives as seekers and the titans away from their children, so neither the twins nor Samuel had ever seen Cherit or knew about the existence of magic.
"Cool!" Marcus exclaimed, taking Caliban's amulet in his hand. "Look here, Clara!"
"Ah! Mine is beautiful too and more than yours!" his sisterreplied holding an amulet of a Litho-Titan, Polar Bear.
"I have one too!" Samuel said jumping up on his chair and proudly showing the amulet of a titan that Lok had said he had found near the port.
"It's time for you to know the truth, kids." Dante began. "Those who have been given to you today are amulets that contain a titan each."
Zhalia took the floor immediately afterwards.
"The four of us are seekers and we are part of the Huntik Foundation."
"Mom, Daddy are you saying that we are seekers too?"
"That's right. You showed some signs when you were younger." Zhalia explained.
"Marcus, at the age of two you jumped on top of the cupboard and started looking for cookies." Dante said. "You would never have let yourself be discovered if you hadn't been crying because you didn't know how to get off."
Marcus blushed.
"And what do seekers do?" Clara asked.
"They recover titans and, in our personal case, save the world." Lok explained.
The three children had incredulous faces.
"I mean, have you saved the world?" Marcusasked.
"Not cats on trees or cakes from the oven?" Clara asked, laughing.
Zhalia frowned.
"Listen, miss, just because your father is a private eye and I can't cook, it doesn't give you the right to..."
Dante blocked her and pulled Caliban's amulet from his trouser pocket.
"Daddy, you have one like mine!"  Marcus incredulouslyexclaimed.
"Since you don't believe it..." Dante smiled mockingly "Come out to play, Caliban!"
Caliban appeared at his side, the other three seekers imitated him by showing their amulets, except Sophie who simply extended her hand.
"Come on, Kipperin!" Lok merged with his powerboded titan in front of the children.
"Sabriel!"
"Fight for your lady, Kilthane!"
"Unbelievable!" Samuelexclaimed.
Cherit appeared from Lok's backpack. 
"Finally I can get out!" he exulted. "Hi, guys! I must say you've grown since the last time!"
"Why does this one talk, dad?" Dante's son asked.
"I can speak because I'm a little bit particular, Marcus!" Cherit explained. "Ouch!" he suddenly exclaimed.
Clara had grabbed him by the tail.
"Old habits are hard to die. Isn't it true, Clara?"
"What do you mean? I've never seen you before."
"You were too young to remember me!"
"Cherit had the honor of being your baby-sitter." Dante said.
"Yeah and he spent one of the most hellish afternoons of his long life. Didn't he, Dante?" Zhalia reminded him.
Lok could not contain his laugh.
"Why?" the girl asked.
"You just took my tail for an entire afternoon."
"Why don't you try to get your titans out?" Sophie asked.
"Yup! Come on, get out Caliban!" Marcus called, raising his arm upward.
Dante and Zhalia had surprised faces.
"Then, I'll try it too!" Clara whispered with a touch of envy towards her brother. "Polar Bear, destroy your opponents!"
"I call you to me, Neptunia!" Samuel commanded.
"Incredible! Without any difficulty!" Danteexclaimed, still amazed.
"Why are you surprised Dad?" Marcus asked, laughing.
"Because the first titan I invoked, when I was a child, was not as powerful as Caliban."
"It took me a long time to understand how to summon Sabriel. I started when I was younger than you." Sophie said.
"I invoked mine as a child too and it was not Kilthane. I'll show him to you." Zhalia explained, taking another amulet with a green stone. "Appear, Gareon!"
The powerbonded titan flanked his seeker in his golden armor.
"Well, when I was sixteen I summoned my first titan, but my story is a little different." Lok said. "Kipperin is the first titan I got bonded to, but the first titan I invoked is another one. Now he's in Den's hands. "
"So even the uncles Den and Harrison are seekers..." Clara hypothesized.
"It is precisely the daughter of Dante!" Cherit exclaimed.
Marcus looked at his father's Caliban, noting that his was less imposing and massive. Sensing the question that was about to be asked, Zhalia anticipated it.
"Our bond with the Titans is called Powerbonding, it takes time to set one up. I don't have a bond like that with Kilthane, as you see. "
"Do you know what I think?" Marcus laughed at his sister and Samuel. "Our parents are less strong than us!"
The others laughed with him.
"It's not all here, guys." Dante added, clearing his throat to bring back some order. "The seekers also possess magical powers." he realized that it was enough to name the magic to attract attention again. "For example, Boltflare! "
The fireball created by Dante was above the heads of the children who stare at her curiously.
"Raypulse!"
Zhalia had never been for a direct approach, but in that case she chose to show one of the most lethal spells.
"Mom, you destroyed the candles!" Clara pointed out.
"Sophie, take care of it!" said Zhalia hastily.
"Faindshape!" and the candles appeared as new.
"And finally, Bubblelift!" Lok imprisoned what was left of the birthday cake in a bubble and made it fly through the house; the children appeared amused.
Dante burst the bubble and retrieved the cake.
"Tomorrow your training begins!" he announced placing the cake on the table.
"How come tomorrow, dad?" Clara asked in amazement.
"We'll stay home from school!" Marcus exclaimed in seventh heaven.
"Are you sure it's your son?" Lok asked in a low voice to Dante, who didn't have time to answer him.
"I promised Anna that we would have seen each other!" Clara complained.
"Clara, the enemy before us has already tried to kill you eight years ago." Dante clarified. "I don't want anything happen to you. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, dad!" Clara snorted, looking down.

That night Cherit stayed in the children's room to tell all the adventures of the team.
"Time to turn off the lights. Everyone in his bed!" Zhalia ordered the children who were already wearing their pajamas.
"Mom, you and dad have done some really cool things!" Marcus exclaimed.
"Yes, but we also hurt ourselves!" Dante pointed out. He hadn't touched the scar for seven years.
"Anyway..." Zhalia said, taking Dante's hand "We've always made it through!" she didn't want Dante to start remembering what he had gone through.
"Cherit will remain here with you, as long as he reserves  his next stories for tomorrow night!" Dante stared at him with a threatening look.
"But dad! He was about to tell me about my titan, about the mission at the island of Oodaaq, about the Blood Spiral and Lord Casterwill!"
"You'll wait until tomorrow night, my girl." Zhalia said, tucking her blankets.
"Good night, children, sweet dreams!" Danteexclaimed turning off the light.
"To you too!" the two children answered together.
Zhalia closed her and Dante's bedroom door and put on her nightgown, preparing to lie under the covers.
Dante took off his shirt and noticed the scar in the reflection of the mirror. He took his head in his hands and sat on the ground with his back against the wall. Zhalia approached him and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, what's wrong with you?" she bent down next to him to cheer him up.
"I'm afraid Zhalia! I feel I won't be able to protect you!" he said, beating his fists on the ground.
"You are not alone; I'm with you!" she reminded him, taking his hands and meeting his eyes. "Do you remember what I told you in Canada?"
"That we would have beaten him together."
"Yup! I won't miss my promise!"
"Thanks, Zhalia!"
Zhalia helped him to get up and dragged him by the arms towards the bed.
"Come, it's time to sleep! Tomorrow there's training to be planned."
Dante leaned on the bed with Zhalia at his side who turned off the light and held him close to her until he fell asleep.
"You cannot let Shadow change you like that, Dante." she whispered, pushing a lock of his hair away. "You are stronger than him."