The Guardian Chronicles 2: Dark Horizon by Matthew Burkey Page A

she names it,” Ryan explained, twirling the blades around. He seemed to handle the weapons as if they were mere extensions of his own body. Along with the daggers, there were several other items in the case, including several parts of what looked like armor and a very futuristic looking shotgun.
    “ Reaper,” Ryan smiled, hefting the shotgun after placing the daggers back in the case. “Designed it myself, it has increased range and even an increased ammo capacity.”
    “Wow,” was all that Gabriel could say. “Why do they glow like that?”
    “It’s blessed metal,” Ryan explained.
    “Blessed metal?”
    “Blessed metal,” Ryan went on, placing Reaper back in the case. “Is the only metal in the world that can permanently kill a demon.”
    Gabriel just stood there, assuming that they would fill him in later on how important this blessed metal was and exactly how you killed a demon with it.
    “Over here,” Tony motioned.
    Gabriel walked over to another case, this one with T. Rawlins stenciled above it. Unlike the daggers that Ryan used, Tony’s case held a katana, which like the daggers gave off a silver/blue glow.
    “Stormbringer,” Tony said, taking the katana from the case. He handed the weapon to Gabriel, who took it reluctantly. It felt odd in his hand, nothing like the toy swords that he handled when he was much younger. Tony directed his attention back to the case and a pair of futuristic looking handguns.
    “I haven’t made many modifications to these,” he stated, taking them out. “But they are Aegis’s latest version the M9 Enforcer.”
    Gabriel pretended to know what it was that Tony was talking about. His limited knowledge of firearms barely allowed him to know the difference between a handgun and a rifle. Tony placed the weapons back in the case before locking it back up as well. Looking down the rows he could see several other cases, each containing a variety of weapons.
    “We learn to use every weapon,” Ryan explained, as they continued to move through the room. “But you do a lot of specialized training with your personal weapon.”
    They stopped in front of Ethan’s case. Inside were two swords, he was about to ask what they were called when a voice rang out behind them.
    “Avenger and Soulwolf.”
    They all turned around to see Ethan standing there. It appeared as though he had showered and changed. He was wearing dark jeans, a dark tee-shirt that clung to his muscular frame, and what looked like a very well-worn leather jacket.
    “They’re based off the Roman gladius,” Ethan explained, striding forward. “Found the fun room, did we?”
    “We were just showing him around,” Ryan shrugged.
    “Cool,” Ethan nodded. “And what do you think of it so far?”
    “Seems…interesting,” Gabriel offered, hoping that he didn’t sound too lame.
    “Interesting is good,” Ethan chuckled. “You take him to the weapons master yet?”
    “That was our next stop,” Ryan responded.
    “Maybe he can make you a nerf bat or something.”
    “Stop being an ass,” Tony growled.
    “Well, that is one of the finer parts of me…or so I am told,” Ethan said, winking at Tony. Tony rolled his eyes in annoyance.
    “You do know that arrogant stuff is completely lost on us, right?” Ryan asked, folding his arms across his chest. “On account of the fact that none of us want to jump into bed with you.”
    Well, that’s not entirely true of all of us, Gabriel thought.
    “First off, you make pretty dumb decisions when you drink,” Ethan stated, pointing at Ryan. “Secondly, we both know that Gabriel here hasn’t been able to take his eyes off me.”
    Gabriel felt himself blush instantly; he looked down at the ground, avoiding all eye contact with Ethan.
    “Anyway, I need to get going people to see and hearts to break and all that.”
    Ethan headed out of the room but not before tossing a wink over his shoulder toward Gabriel. Again, Gabriel blushed and Ryan sighed