Enter: The Shadow.

When the sun sinks below the horizon and the moon rises to take its place, most of the Earth’s creatures fall into slumber until the sun rises again. However, there are a few who await the departure of the sun and dwell in the moonlight and darkness. John Salgado was one of those few.1

It was currently midnight, the hour of which most people are inside and sleeping safely in their beds; save a few who were partying or were insomniacs. For John, however, this was the hour that he enjoyed most. Being the living dead, it was expected, though. Vampyres can't exactly stand the sunlight, but he wasn’t completely that either. Unfortunately, John never found out what made him so special as to be able to roam in pure sunlight and only feel a mild warmth that irritated him after a few hours of constant exposure instead of burning to ashes the second he stepped out from his door.2

At the moment, he was making his way to an apartment complex to deliver a requested item to his most common employer and superior: Max.3

As he walked down the sidewalk, his heavy, black boots only made a light tapping as they connected to the ground. The large black coat helped to fight off the cold (that didn't really have much affect on him) and to hide his various weapons, including a few guns, knives, and even a few poisoned darts. In his left hand, he held a small, suspicious, black bag that seemed to be dripping a little, but the substance never touched the ground.4

John made a living (or an after-living) as an assassin in an organization. His unique powers enabled him to excel in his profession, but being an ex-airman of the United States Air Force has its benefits as well. He was a pro and only accepted from those who were willing to pay a high price.5

Since the day he "died," almost 230 years ago, he has always looked the same: a 22 year old male with dark brown, almost black, hair and dark brown eyes. His skin was still tanned, less so than when he was alive, but that has to do with the whole Vampyre thing.6

When he turned the corner of the street, he sighed as he came in view of the apartment complex. This last job wasn't in the least bit time consuming, nor did he use much energy, he was just tired of his job. Killing random people for almost 200 years gets uneventful after a while. John vowed that, as soon as he had enough money to retire, he would go into hiding and hope to be forgotten by the organization he worked for (The Devil’s Messengers) and the Universal Organization of Non-humans.7

The UON was first erected a few thousand years ago and was meant to create order for non-humans (monsters) who ran around like wild animals, killing masses of innocent people in their wake. It’s quite a long story, so we'll get back to that later on.8

John leaped over the ten-foot high, stone wall and made his way through the complex toward the accommodations of one Maxwell Hughes. Max for short. The Vampyre knocked on the wooden door and waited, making sure nobody was around.9

The door opened just a crack, then all the way when he was recognized as a friend. John stepped into the apartment and seated himself on a leather couch and plopped the bag, unceremoniously, on the small coffee table in front of him. He looked up with a half-hearted attempt at an innocent face as the man in front of him scowled.10

"I do wish that you would take more care with those." Max growled as he lifted the bag and headed into the kitchen that connected to the living room that John was currently occupying.11

Max stood about 5'10" with a thin, but muscular build, and had straight, black hair that reached his chin, tanned skin, and bright green eyes. He was handsome and young-looking, but he was almost 400 years old and was a ruthless killer with a few tricks up his sleeve. They weren't a bunch of parlor tricks, that’s for sure.12

"And I wish you would give me a mission less gruesome. I wonder, sometimes, why I even do these things for you." the Vampyre retaliated, a light playfulness in his tone that could only be detected by the Alchemist whom he had befriended 125 years ago.13

"Hey, I pay you a pretty penny for these bounties." Max retorted, holding the bag up as if to make a point.14

"Why do you even want me to bring you the heads of the victims? You're going to need another freezer pretty soon." John pointed out as Max opened the large ice box and stuffed his newest addition of dismembered heads that had just about filled it to the top.15

"Call it a fetish, if you must have a reason. I'll buy another one the next time I go into town." the Alchemist replied, closing the freezer of heads and going towards his bedroom. "Well, I'm turning in now. I'll have another job for you tomorrow, something a bit more challenging. You seem to be getting too good at this, it only took you four hours to go 57 miles by air, find the target, kill the bastard, make sure no evidence was left behind, and come back." And with that, he entered his bedroom and closed the door, mumbling about something or other.16

John stood and glanced disgustedly at the large ice box before turning and leaving the apartment, making sure it was locked when he closed the door behind him. With technology nowadays, the doors locked on their own and you didn't even need a key to open them, you're DNA was programmed into the knobs and when you came in contact with it, it would unlock automatically.17

John blinked as he remembered his appointment with a member of The Devil’s Messengers who had decided to drop by and have a chat with him at their usual meeting place (a club ). Grinning, he became enveloped in a black haze and was gone.18

…………………………………………19

El Nido de Cuervo was a club that was open from 10pm to 6am and only for Non-humans. A special detector was built in the door that would not open for Humans. Of course, if that failed, there was always another devise, which looked like a metal detector, that was placed in the entrance hall which would alert the owners and they would personally ‘escort’ them out.20

John passed through without a problem, being a Vampyre and all, and took his usual spot in a booth that was located near the back in the shadows. Tonight, the club was moderately busy, as usual. Unlike the clubs that Humans were used to, a Non-human club was more orderly and less chaotic. The music wasn’t painstakingly loud, due to most Non-human’s sensitive hearing, and most only came for a bite to eat, to hang out with friends, or to do business.21

Tonight, John was meeting a friend from The Devil’s Messengers, the special organization he and Max were in. He was expecting Ryuko, the Dragon from Japan.22

The organization was made up of Vampyres, Werewolves, Alchemists, Sorcerers, Veela, Dragons, Shapeshifters, Necromancers, and Demons and each of them had their own base located around the world. Each race had a superior who also made up the council; they were the ones who discussed business and made rules and reported to their superior (Max). The Council members each had a nickname and a code name which they used when dealing with outsiders (employers mostly).23

John Salgado was the head of the Vampyre division and was also a Council member. His nickname, Johnny (which he hated), came from Max a long time ago when they had first met, and his codename, The (Devil’s) Shadow, was given to him after his special abilities.24

Ryuko Takahashi was the head of the Dragon division (which was located in Japan) and member of the Council. Like most of the Japanese, he specialized in electronics and martial arts (of all sorts), which came in handy when they needed a background check on an employer, employee, or target. His hacking skills were unmatched and he only used his skills as a last resort.25

A waitress came up to him to take his order. John could tell she was a Demon, the aura that radiated off her wasn’t as strong as another Demon he knew, but it was proud and demanding. She had tanned skin that was covered in symbolic tattoos and a pair of black horns stuck out from her deep red hair and twisted back until they reached the back of her head where they curved inward; her glowing crimson eyes would make a human think that she was seeing right through them.26

“A glass of B+.” was all he said and she jotted it down on her notepad and walked off.27

Not five minutes later, he spotted his friend entering the club. Ryu spotted him and made his way toward the booth that John was occupying.28

Ryuko was tall for an Asian. Standing at 5'9", he towered over most and stood out like a sore thumb with his maroon hair and bright green eyes. His tanned skin contrasted immensely to the pale complexions of the Japanese humans.29

He made himself comfortable on the seat opposite of the Vampyre before grinning, showing off his large canines that were larger than John’s, and getting right down to business.30

“Hey, John, any news from Max?” asked the Dragon, a slight accent hanging on his words.31

John sighed and leaned back. “No, nothing tonight except he promised to have a more challenging assignment for me tomorrow. I doubt it, though. It’s been years since I’ve actually had a good hunt,” he mused aloud.32

“Eh, he probably has another boring ‘secure this target’ assignment for you. Did anything new happen while I was gone?” Ryu asked, smirking.33

Again, John sighed. “No. This city has become so boring. I’m almost tempted to turn a hobo on the streets and set him loose in a highly populated area!”34

Ryuko laughed at the exasperated look on his friends face and shook his head. “You’re hopeless.”35

John just grinned, the tips of his fangs poking out from his upper lip.36

The waitress returned with his order and turned to the Dragon to take his.37

Ryu smiled up at her and said “I’ll take a pound of beef, raw, and some sake.”38

She scribbled on her notepad and sauntered away once again. John sipped the glass of blood and took a deep breath before looking at his friend with a blank look.39

“Now, let’s get right to business…”