Huntik Trilogy. Volume 1 The Battle Against The Specter

Shadow's true aim

Zhalia entered the children's room and opened the shutters. She breathed the morning air from the open window and then turned to the beds.
"Children, wake up!"
Clara stood up, waving hello, and left the room, while Marcus lifted the covers up over his head.
"Mom, please! Five more minutes!" that was his reply.
"Come on, Marcus, get up!" Zhalia urged him, sitting down on the bed and lowering the covers.
"Your mother is right." Cherit added, pulling a lock of his hair. "I don't know anyone so lazy in your family. Dante always woke up early after a few hours of nighttime sleep."
"Cherit, not you too!"
"If your father could now sleep a whole night and wake up early I would jump for joy!" Zhalia commented.
"Were you talking about the fact that I don't sleep almost anymore during the night?" Dante asked, appearing at the door.
Clara joined him soon after at the height of enthusiasm.
"Ready! Dressed, washed and combed! When do we start?" she asked.
"Start with going down with Cherit and your mother. I wake up Marcus."
Dante approached the bed of his son who had gone back to sleep and began to take away the covers from him.
"Daddy, what are you doing?"
"You will be interest to know that your sister is having breakfast with your cereal and she is drinking her juice in your glass!" he exclaimed maliciously.
"How dare she!" the kid shouted, getting up and getting dressed to find out that it was all a lie.
"At least you got up!" Dante told him smiling.
Marcus didn't have time to tell him anything that Dante went to open the front door.
"Hi, Dante! Are we late?"  Lokasked embarrassed.
"No, Lok! There are those who still haven't had breakfast yet."
"Dante, I want to start!" Samuel exclaimed jumping from side to side.
"Quiet, Sam. We'll start soon!" Lok assured him.
After breakfast, the children were ready to learn what it meant to become seekers.
"Well today we will focus on the use of magic and hand-to-hand combat." Zhalia explained. "Let's see what are your skills and we evaluate who you are comfortable with."
Dante was a good teacher and the twins learned in the morning to use the basics of martial arts, to become good they would have to train for years. In the afternoon they had learned to use every kind of basic magic, to attack, defend and flee. Everyone was happy with the progress achieved.

Everything went well and, if in the evening Dante's cell phone had not started to ring, the day would have ended in an absolutely perfect way.
"Everyone in the house, hurry!" Dante ordered opening the door.
The team positioned itself in the living room in front of the screen that lit up.
"Hi, Dante!" Metz greeted him.
"Hi, Metz! Any news?"
"Shadow has been seen in Venice. Get ready!"
"Daddy, who is this gentleman?" Marcus whispered in Dante's ear, but not quite softly because Metz heard him.
"I forgot, Marcus! You were too young to remember me. My name is Metz, I'm your father's mentor. It was me who gave him Caliban!"
"And now I have one too!" Marcus smiled showing his titan.
"So, you, children, have already learned something. Good job!" Metz looked at the clock at his wrist "I have some business to do for the council. You're very much missed, Dante. I hope one day you can join us again."
"I don't know. I'll have to think about it. I don't want to involve the council members too much in my personal problems."
Metz looked down and sighed resignedly.
"I'm sending you the latest data that will surely be useful to you. Don't do anything impudent and, if things go wrong, give Lok the task of telling his father."
"Don't be afraid, I will do it. See you soon, Metz!" Dante greeted him.
"See you soon, Dante!"
The communication closed.
"I don't understand. Is there a council somewhere?" Samuel curiouslyasked.
"Yes and Metz is at the head of it!" his father replied. "And Dante has been part of it for a while, but then he chose to retire because..."
"Seekers, we have a mission!" Dante interrupted him by pulling out his Holotome. "Mission: Stop Shadow before he destroys Venice."
"Dad, what's this kind of PC?" Clara asked.
"It's called Holotome. It is useful to analyze Titans, create maps and summarize the missions." Zhalia explained.
Dante swung Caliban's amulet over the Holotome's optical reader, and the computerized voice immediately analyzed the titan.
"Caliban Powerbonded.
Attack: 7 Defense: 7
Type: Meso-Titan Warrior
Size: Average
Special skills: Martial arts. "
"Can I analyze Polar Bear?" Clara asked.
"Go ahed!"
"Polar Bear.
Attack 4 Defense 3
Type: Litho-Titan Warrior
Size: Large
Special skills: sudden rage and incendiary breath. "
"Wow!" Marcus exclaimed.
"Do you want to analyze Caliban?" Zhalia asked, noting her son's interest.
"As long as you ask me..." the child smiled as he stretched the amulet up to the Holotome.
"Caliban.
Attack: 8 Defense: 4
Type: Meso-Titan warrior
Size: Avarage
Special Skills: Power Attack "
"Let's go!" Dante said closing the Holotome and putting it under his coat. He left the house for last to close the door.
"Sophie is it all right?" Lok worried about seeing Sophie hold her head.
"St Mark's Square! Shadow is in St Mark's Square!"
"Let's hurry to go there! Hyperstride!" Lok invited them, immediately overtaken by Dante.
Dante was surprised to see two other seekers join them.
"Harrison, Den! What are you doing here?"
"We're helping you, of course!" the two answered in unison.
Harrison flanked Zhalia, smiled at her and took her hand.
"Did you miss me?"
"Hey!" Marcus exclaimed. "You're too fast for us!"
"It would be better if you three stayed behind!" Den invited them.
"And today's training?" Clara asked.
Den stopped Dante.
"Did you train them?! They're just kids! There's gonna be a war in that square!"
Dante sighed.
"I don't want them to be easy targets for Shadow, I want them to know how to defend themseves."
"Like you defended yourself? Am I wrong, or without the team that came to rescue you, you would have died?" Den provoked him.
Dante didn't answer and went away with Hyperstride to return to being at the head of the group.

In St Mark's Square Dante and the team found themselves face to face with Shadow and Leones.
"Hi, Dante Vale!" he greeted them with a mocking smile.
"Shadow!" Dante growled grimly.
"And so these are your children!" Shadow hissed scrutinizing the two children. "And the miget must be the son of Lok Lambert and Sophie Casterwill!"
"Why did you come here?" Lok asked, standing before Samuel.
"Not to fight! Not today at least. The fight will be held when I'll have the Arc Ring and the three seals to find the Three Legendary Titans of Antiquities." Shadowsneered. "With those I will make the world become a place occupied by the darkest darkness. Forget the Nullifers! I can get to enslave the human race and the titans in one move!"
"Don't think you can do it, Shadow!" Harrison addressed him.
"We will see! Darkfog!"
As soon as the black fog cleared, no one saw the enemy and his titan anymore.
"Disappeared! Where did he go?" Marcus asked, looking between the rooftops, remaining alert.
"We got rid of him for now, Marcus! You can calm yourself down. Let's go home!" Dante said.

The children, as soon as they got home, rushed into the kitchen to get some food, while Dante opened the Holotome in the living room and called Metz to inform him of what he had learned.
"The Ring of the Arc? Are you sure of this Dante?"
"Apparently, Metz, there's always that ring involved..." Dante commented remembering the many problems thatthe ring and the titan Ark, contained in it, had caused.
"I will move him from Paris to Turin and you will go to retrieve it. I can not do more than that." Metzsaid.
"That's fine. We'll get there..."
"Well. See you soon Dante!" Metz greeted him, closing the call.
Dante turned to Lok and Sophie, listening to the entrance hallway.
"You're going to stay for dinner, right?"
"Of course, Dante! I don't want either Le Blanche or Santiago to suffocate us with their questions." Sophie said.
"We're staying too!" Den announced.
"It's been a while since we've enjoyed some time with the twins." Harrison added.
"We're also planning to come with you to Turin." Den explained.
"Good!" Dante smiled as he watched the twins draw chips from the same bag. "Stop gorging, or you will ruin your appetite; rather, let's add seats to the table!"
After dinner, Zhalia sat down to talk to Den.
"Don't be so strict with Dante, he's doing his best with the children."
"They're just kids, it's not fair that they are on the front line in a conflict of which they barely know the name of the enemy."
Zhalia sighed.
"Since they were born I fear they must suffer what happened to me or to you."
"I remember what it means to lose parents..." Den said, clenching his fists. "Has it ever occurred to you that maybe you could be the only one to survive, in case Shadow had to win?"
Zhalia opened her eyes in surprise, realizing that she was the one who had the most to lose.
"Den, you won't tell me you're scaring her!" Harrison scolded him as he sat with them. "You don't even have to consider the possibility that Shadow can win. We will prevent it!"
Zhalia looked out the window at her children playing with Samuel.
"They have something different from what we had. Let's get involved in protecting it."
Dante and Lok went out with Cherit to join the children's game and then take them by weight inside home.