Shadow Hunter
Ch.1

The moon shone brightly, with no clouds to obstruct it. The light made her knife glow.
“Shit…”
The young girl held up her hand. There was a deep cut that ran the length of it. She had been holding her knife too tightly. Blood was now running down her arm.
Not good.
The shadows running along the walls told her she was not alone. She gripped the handle of the knife with her good hand. There was only one; no challenge.
Quickly, she turned, only to be knocked to the ground. In the light of the moon, she could see his face, his fangs clearly visible.
“What’s this?” he asked in a low hiss, “a hunter caught off her guard?”
She tried to kick him, only to make him laugh.
“You really think that hurts?”
She managed to get her arm free. Holding up her knife, she plunged it into his shoulder. He screamed, and moved back enough that she was able to free herself. She kicked him again, this time in the stomach. He was knocked back. She did not let go of the knife, letting it tear through his skin.
She pulled it out, then stabbed him again, this time in the heart. He screamed again, bursting into flames as he did.
She pulled out her knife, and stepped back. In a matter of seconds, he was nothing but a pile of ash. Smiling, she put her knife into her pocket.
Then, Madison Leitzen took off into the night.
‘Damn vampire.’
Her dark hair flew behind her as she ran. Her brown eyes did not sting, despite the speed she was running at.
Madison’s brother liked to call her a cat. She had been born with the ability to run at speeds faster than a normal human. She also had extra sensitive senses. These things were very helpful for her. Her training had only taken a year; short compared to how much longer brother had been training for.
Madison’s house was only a block away. She could hear her younger brother’s voice calling her.
“Maddie?”
In addition to that, she could hear loud arguing, followed by her older brother’s voice.
“Maddie, get your ass back here now.” Madison sighed. Reaching her house, she saw that it was her younger brother waiting for her at the front door.
Kevin was only a year younger than she was, yet he already stood at eye level with her.  His hair that was slightly lighter that hers. He was standing in the doorway, constantly glancing over his shoulder.
“Maddie, where were you?” he asked.
“Hunting,” said Madison, slowing down, and coming to a stop. Kevin’s eyes widened slightly. Madison smiled and walked past him.
“Seth’s pissed, Maddie.”
“What else is new?”
The living room was dimly lit. There were only a few lamps on. Standing in the middle of the room was Madison and Kevin’s older brother. Seth Leitzen was very different from his siblings. His hair was the darkest out of all of them. He was a full foot taller than Madison, and his eyes matched theirs. Anyone could easily tell he was their brother.
What set him apart was his attitude. He acted cold and reserved, even to his siblings. He didn’t speak much. And he wasn’t as enthusiastic about killing vampires every night, as the other two were.
At this moment, he had his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes narrowed into a glare. Madison and Seth stared at each other in silence. Madison waited.
Kevin stood in the doorway, waiting with anticipation for the argument he knew was about to start.
“Maddie,” said Seth, “does the word ‘danger’ have any meaning to you?”
“Of course it does,” mumbled Madison, “danger is what makes the job fun. The threat of constant death. I can’t imagine anything better.”
Kevin’s eyes widened. If it were possible, Seth’s eyes narrowed more. None of this affected Madison. Her face fell into a smile as she stared up at Seth. Seth closed his eyes.
“Maddie,” he said again, “do you know how close I came to tracking you down tonight? And you know when I track…”
“You would have killed me, I know, I know,” said Madison. She knew very clearly about Seth’s abilities (and limitations).
“Madison, that’s not the point. You obviously don’t understand just how dangerous it is to go hunting alone.”
“You’re one to talk,” Madison’s voice was rising, “you never used to let us go with you. You always went alone-”
“Because you two were too young, and not properly trained,” said Seth.
“Too young and not properly trained? Give me a break Seth, I finished training-”
“Much faster than any of us thought you would,” Seth finished, “if we had known it would have been so easy for you, training wouldn’t have begun so early for you.” Madison rolled her eyes.
“Next time,” she said, “I’ll let you guys know when I go hunting. Does that work for you Seth?”
“It’s a start,” said Seth, “but I would prefer-”
“Yeah, yeah,” said Madison, “don’t go alone. But I’ll work on that one. I’m not all that ready to be taking someone along with me.” Seth looked like he wanted to say more, but Madison had already skipped past him, and was about to go up the stairs.
“Maddie?”
“Yes?” asked Madison annoyed.
“Your hand?” Madison looked down. That’s right; her knife had sliced it open.
“I’ll take care of it, don’t worry,’ said Madison, escaping to her room.
Older bothers. He always found something to lodge a complaint about. Madison began to work on cleaning her hand. She winced when the ointment touched her hand. She finished, and collapsed onto her bed.
Madison remembered all too clearly the argument they had had last night. Eloise Telera wasn’t all that happy with a few “comments” Madison had directed to the vampires at school. Not that they had done anything to deserve them. It was something she just felt like doing…