An excerpt of The Warriors: Crimson Chaos

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I wanted to share a portion of the first chapter of the urban fantasy novel I am working on. I have been working on this novel for a while now, particularly the last month. Writing gives me a sense of freedom and a purpose. I like to think I was born to write. Chinook shivered as a cold blast of unnatural wind swept through his indigo kimono the moment he stepped off the subway train onto the platform in the San Francisco subterranean subway station. He shivered for a moment and gripped his hand tightly against his staff as he carefully moved forward to take his only carry on from the attendant. Behind him several more travelers disengaged, grab their luggage, and quickly disperse. "Arigatou gozaimasu," he said with a polite bow to the attendant. The attendant blinked several times, cocked an eyebrow and said, "What?" "Thank you very much," Chinook said with a small smile. He carefully placed his small knap sack over his shoulder and walked away from the subway train. Several travelers quickly passed him, all heading toward the flights of stairs leading to the street level three feet away. He shivered again as the same unnatural cold wind swept through him. Around him, no one seemed to notice, but simply carried on with their business as the norm. This was Tutock's way. Subtlety was one of his many weapons. Chinook hurried toward the escalator stairs where ahead of him four older teenagers dressed in black leather jackets were slowly ascending to the upper levels of the subway station as fast as the escalator was taking them. He did not pay attention to them, lost in thought about his mission. So far his only clues were that there were eight of them, born the same day, month, and time, and that eventually each one would have a unique symbol that would appear in their forehead that was a representative of their power. In a city of a population of 900, 215 they would be a challenge to find. The life of an auiarar Mystic was never easy. Chinook had been given the responsibility not to only find them, but to train them too. A tightening grip in his gut proved the task was not going to be easy. He climbed onto the escalator, a few steps behind the four teenagers. Behind him a young mother struggled with her child who fussed and cried until she picked him up and held him on her hip. He smiled warmly at her. She looked startled and uncertain. "It is never easy traveling with children," he said in English. The young woman relaxed and nodded her head slowly. "It never is," she said. No more was said and they reached the top of the second level. The woman parted to the right with her child while Chinook went straight ahead toward the food concession stands. The flight from Japan to New York City, then the subway train ride with several stops on the way had been of little comfort to Chinook, but he had preferred to get off the plane as quickly as possible and back on ground. The food offered on all hadn't been all that satisfying either, and if he were to be asked, he would confess that American food had too many preservatives. Still, any food was better than none. Chinook waited in line at one of the food concession stands and when his turn came to order, he bought a small chicken wrap complete with a tea beverage and took it with him. Under normal circumstances, he would sit down, give thanks, and then eat. Alas, there was no time. There was never enough time when it came to Tutock. 'He may already be moving ahead with his Guardians in preparation for the upcoming war,' he thought to himself, as he walked out of the subway station and out into the city, eating at the same time. 'I fear though that if I do not train the Warriors properly, they will fall shadow to his evil.'