Chapter 1
Mark Gannon had a smile on his face as he walked down the street with his friend Alex. Mark held an unopened pack of Epic Warriors cards in his hands. He rubbed the cellophane wrapper.
Mark and Alex had just left the local comics and gaming shop. While there, they’d each bought a new deck of playing cards. Alex had already opened his. He flipped through his new cards as they walked.
“Score,” Alex said, grinning. He held a card up in Mark’s face. “This armor card is going to boost my Warrior’s defense to the max,” he boasted. “AngerHeart will be unbeatable now.”
AngerHeart was the Warrior Card Alex always played. He was the best warrior that Alex or Mark knew of. Mark was tired of getting smashed whenever they played.
Mark tapped the unopened deck in his hand. “We’ll see about that,” he said.
“Then let’s see what you got this time!” Alex said, pointing at Mark’s deck.
“I never open mine until we get home,” Mark said. “You know that.”
Alex shook his head and grinned. “Whatever, man,” he said. “Doesn’t matter — you’re not going to get a new Warrior Card good enough to beat AngerHeart.”
Alex’s apartment was just ahead. He lived above Ravens Pass Grocery on Main Street. When they reached the door, Mark and Alex sprinted up the three flights of stairs, into the apartment, and to Alex’s bedroom. As soon as they were inside, Mark tore open his new pack of cards.
Slowly and carefully, Mark flipped over his first card to reveal an armored shield. “Garbage,” Alex announced.
Mark’s next card was a pair of leather gloves. “Hmph,” Alex grunted. “Useless.” Mark rolled his eyes.
Mark lifted another card to reveal a wooden battle-axe. Alex shook his head. “My hero’s war mace is ten times better than that weapon,” he bragged. He jabbed Mark with his elbow. “This is a terrible deck — so much for good luck, huh?”
Mark sighed. He flipped several more cards, with Alex ridiculing each card after each flip. When there was only one more card left, Mark turned it over very slowly.
Mark’s eyes went wide. “What — what is this?” he whispered. The card looked different from the others. Its edges were adorned with gold, making the borders dance with light. Along the top, the words that Mark had been hoping to see were written in silver letters: Epic Warrior!
This one’s name was DeathBringer, and he was no ordinary Warrior. The monstrous figure stood in a blazing inferno, swinging a wicked morning star over his head. Dark steel armor — the strongest armor type in the entire game — covered his body. Red, burning eyes seemed to be smoldering right through the card itself.
And the best thing? DeathBringer wielded a Skull Shield that doubled his Armor Class.
“I guess it’s a new Epic Warrior,” Alex said. “But look at that.” He pointed at the bottom of the card, where the hero’s faction was written: Demon.
“I’ve never heard of a demon faction,” Mark said. “AngerHeart is human, and my other warrior, GraceBlood, is an elf. But a demon? There’s no such thing.”
Alex shrugged. “How are his stats?” he asked.
Mark flipped the card over and read through DeathBringer’s stats and special abilities. “Wow,” he said. “His Armor Class is twice as high as AngerHeart’s.”
“What?” Alex said. He snatched the metallic card and looked for himself. “Thirty-nine AC?!” Alex cried.
“Yup,” Mark said. He nodded. “And look at his special abilities.”
Alex read, “Cascade of Fire. Armor Decay. Coma Blow. Presence.” Then he handed the card back to Mark. Mark took it, smiling, and gazed at the demon figure on the front.
“AngerHeart has the Presence ability too,” Alex said. “I don’t even know what Presence does.”
Mark shrugged. “Me either,” he said. “Probably has something to do with an expansion pack. That would also explain why DeathBringer is the only demon I’ve ever seen. Maybe the new expansion will come out next year?”
“Maybe,” Alex said. “Either way, you’re going to be unbeatable with that Warrior — even without using his special abilities.”
Mark’s smile got even bigger.
“I’m going to challenge Greg tomorrow,” Mark said.
There was a knock on the door. Alex’s mom called out, “Mark, your father’s on the phone. You’re late for dinner.”
Mark pulled his phone from his pocket. The battery was dead. “Oops,” he said. “I’d better get home.”
“Hold on a sec,” Alex said. He sat at his desk and turned on his computer. “Let’s check the forums to see if anyone’s heard of this card or a demon faction.”
Mark sat on the edge of the bed and handed Alex the card. “All right,” he said, glancing at the clock. “But make it fast.”
“I will, I will,” Alex said. He quickly scanned the card, and then posted the image to a discussion board about the game.
In the subject line, Alex wrote the word “DeathBringer.” In the post itself, he attached the image of the card and wrote, “Does anyone have this card? Since when is there a demon faction?”
Alex handed the card back to Mark. “There you go,” he said. “Hopefully someone will reply.”
Mark scooped up the rest of his deck and grabbed his bag. “Okay, tell me tomorrow,” he said. “I’ll see you at school.”
“See ya,” Alex called out. As he turned back to his computer, he saw that a reply had already popped up on the forum. In bold, red letters, it read, “THAT CARD MUST BE DESTROYED.”