Excerpt
Julian followed the Hunter as he rounded a dark corner into another alley. The surroundings would have been dark as pitch had it not been for one lonely, sick looking florescent light flickering in the night.

Julian froze as he felt an abrupt coldness run through his body. Heightening his senses to an extreme state of readiness, his nose picked up a sour odor. Immediately, his intuition told him it was the smell of death. He looked at the Hunter. The man slowly moved further down the alley. His patience and silence resembled that of a cat stalking its prey.

A second later, the older man stopped. I should have known. MacGregor looked back at Julian. Heres the bait. This is why the Shadow Demon is here.

Julian made a face of uncertainty. He had no idea what the Hunter was talking about. Only after responding to the other mans beckoning gesture did he realize what he was referring to. There, lying in a dark, damp corner was the dead body of what was once a young man. The deep red puddle around him was still in liquid form. Judging by the cold, he guessed the man had died recently otherwise it would have froze.

You see. MacGregors words called back Julians attention. The damn thing feeds off misery, death and pain. He looked around. Its here alright, I just cant see it.

Julian nodded. Me neither, but I can sure feel it.

There was a brief silence between the two of them until the Hunter pulled out two of his deadly blades. The sound echoed through the alley.

The Hunters face held the grimmest look Julian had ever seen in another person. Were not here to save this thing, its beyond saving. All we can do is slay it and hope that this time it leaves our world forever.

Whats the odds of that happening? Julian pondered the futility of the inevitable confrontation.

MacGregor nodded. Pretty good, lad. During the moment of death, Ive been told many things happen very fast. We see who we are and who we were. Others come to help us on our way and we see that it is time to move on. Only a few get stuck behind. With a little luck, this abomination will leave, for good.

Julian nodded and exhaled a deep breath. As he did so, the Hunter drew in a deep one. Now, boy-o. You know what to do.

Again Julian nodded before closing his eyes. He reached out with his mind, psychically feeling the world around him. It didnt take long to find the demon. It was there, watching them. From it, Julian felt pure anger, hatred, dread and fear. The Hunters description was accurate, it was an abomination. He moved to the next step.

It took several moments to reach the demon. Just as MacGregor had said, this creature had nearly slipped too far away from their plain of existence. However, it was still there, hurting and manipulating people.

As he drew in closer to the creature, Julian felt an incredible smugness about the demon. It seemed to mock him. Rather than resisting being manipulated back into physical form like other negative energies, the thing seemed to cheerfully wait for it to happen. It didnt have any fear of the upcoming battle. As a result, he was easily able to plug his life force into that of his target.

In an instant, Julian felt his energy being transferred from his body into that of the creature. It flowed at an incredible speed, like a thirsty child slurping soda through a straw. As hard as he tried to fight it, the fourteenth could feel himself slipping away into unconsciousness.

No! He thought. I have to stay alert and able to fight. The Hunter could get hurt, he needs me. We could both die! Stay with it!

Despite his efforts, Julian fell on the verge of blacking out. He released his connection with the demon, not knowing if the thing sucked enough life to become physical or not. Once the chord was broke, he felt himself fall to the ground. Although his eyes were open, everything was black. His stomach turned and he felt close to vomiting.

Fighting it all, he tried to snap out of the daze. Very faintly, like a voice at the end of a long tunnel, Julian thought he could hear the Hunter talking. What he thought he heard wasnt very encouraging. The man seemed to be yelling and swearing. He was engaged in combat. The Shadow Demon had been materialized.

Now things were serious. Even in his drained and partially unconscious state of mind, Julian knew it. He fought to calm himself, to meditate and focus his energy. Desperation pressed hard on his whirling mind. With great effort he fought to overcome it. He had to be calm if there was any way hed be of help. He cleared his mind