Tales of Gale: The Dark Hunt: Tales of Gale, #1

By Halt ArkLight

One of the best in the business in dealing modern-day retribution to creatures of the night: Gale Warden, a revered bounty hunter, monster slayer, and a blood-born warrior from an ancient creed known as the Shepherds.

His private company, the Order of Zissuru, has been on the front lines battling evil mythological beings for thousands of years. A recent werewolf sighting has been spotted in the forests in Michigan and the company has sent Gale to hunt down the target.

After tracking down the beast he finds himself walking into a horrifying death trap. In the midsts of mortal combat, Gale discovers an esoteric conspiracy that threatens the very fabric of society.

But as the storm rages, with seconds to act and little to work with, there's no telling which animal will prove itself to be the apex predator… The Shepherd, or the Wolf?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Halt ArkLight
• Release date: Aug 17, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386669487

Book preview

Prologue

Many ages ago , an event happened called the Great Fire that sundered the earth and caused the underworld to awaken. A massive army of creatures erupted from the depths and brought with it war and the apocalyptic destruction of mankind. A being that the people called The Denouement led the monsters until the humans were on the brink of extinction. When all hope had seemed lost, a young hero by the name of Dizu and a group of brave Shepherds came to do battle with the fiends. When the hero and his shepherds defeated the beasts, Dizu cast away the Denouement back into the earth and saved humanity.

As time had passed, factions formed and alliances were made. Humans and a secret organization called the Order of Zissuru work together to keep the forces of darkness from destroying the world. When the heroes of old stopped the war, all of the monsters dispersed numerously across different realms. Many of which have learned to live with humans, however, some still yet choose to live the life of evil pursuits. The ancient warrior Shepherds, who swore an oath to serve and keep the balance of harmony, had all but disappeared past countless millennia.

Since then our ancestors have lived amongst monsters, telling stories of legend and serenading tales of heroes throughout history. What most do not see though is that a Shepherd's work is never done.

And a wolf will always lurk in the shadows... waiting.

Chapter 1: The Dark Hunt

Freezing turbulent rain was bearing down now as the afternoon sunlight slowly began to fade from the darkened clouds. My boots trudged through the soaking wet leaf and pine covered forests of Huron-Manistee, Michigan. A flash of lightning crossed the sky, rumbling the ground and letting out a loud boom moments later. This leather coat was great for keeping out water, but I’d have to be in a completely sealed water-proof bag to stop the rain from seeping into my clothes. It was getting harder to see the fresh tracks now with all this rain.

I let out a long sigh, watching the warm air leave my lips as I came into a row of tall pine trees, trying not to think about how good it would be to take a hot shower. By the end of today, I’m sure I’ll need a good clean scrub, I chuckled thinking to myself. My shoulders were beginning to ache from all of this tracking and hiking, but I knew I was close to finally finding the mysterious target that was terrorizing the locals. Reports of a large dog or bear had been seen killing pets and livestock around the county, along with cases of people suspiciously going missing. I was tasked by the higher-ups to conduct the investigation, and if possible, neutralize whatever it was that was terrorizing the locals.

In a flash, the atmosphere lit up again signaling for another arc of lightning above. The sound of twigs breaking flicked my ear, and I swung my head around behind me to focus my view down the maze of trees. My eyes adapted well to see into the dark environment, and I vaguely caught the shape of