Hunter Circles Series Complete Boxset: An Urban Fantasy Adventure

by Jessica Gunn

  The demons to either side of me turned in their seats, their red eyes watching carefully. I ignored them. As long as my magik still worked in here and as long as no one landed a requirem on me and blocked that magik, I’d win this fight. You know, as long as all thirty demons didn’t attack at once.

  “Sid,” I said, leaning closer. “Please. I’m not here to cause trouble. I’m looking for dharksa.”

  He laughed once bitterly. “The last time you came in here you were selling it. I find it hard to believe that a Hunter such as yourself can’t find it elsewhere.”

  Except that the dharksa Sid and clientele often carried or sold came directly from demons attached to Landshaft. Which meant a higher quality product, a better high, and less of a chance of you trying to be a superhero and jumping off a building thinking you’d fly. Or, you know, having a bad trip like Ben had had a few months ago.

  “I want quality, Sid.” I looked past him to the liquor on the bar behind him. Pretty much all of it looked good right now. “That’s why I came here. You also have the best alcohol. Rum and coke, please?”

  Sid placed his palms on the counter. “Not happening. Leave, witch. I don’t want any part of whatever Hunter operation is going on.”

  “No Hunters,” I said. “I’m not one of them anymore.”

  “Once a Hunter, always a Hunter. Even if you’re telling the truth, you’re allied with the Betrayer, and that’s enough for me. Now, get out. This is your last warning.”

  The demons beside me shifted, each producing a blade.

  I rolled my eyes. “Sell me the dharksa and I’ll be on my way. That’s all I want.” I reached back into my pocket to grab some cash when the demons to either side of me jumped off their stools, blades brandished. “Whoa, guys. Just getting cash. See?” I pulled out my wallet and shook it in front of their faces. I pulled out almost all of the rest of the money that I’d taken before I left Hunter’s Guild six months ago. The last money I had to my name. “Here. Three hundred dollars for whatever amount you have.”

  Sid’s eyes narrowed again. “All that for a dharksa trip?”

  “A good one, yeah.” I held out the money over the bar counter. “Deal or no, Sid?”

  He stared at me for a good thirty seconds as his henchmen to either side of me stood stock-still, ready for whatever order Sid might give. I didn’t budge. Neither Sid nor his buddies scared me, and I needed that dharksa a lot more than he’d ever understand. It was my last chance to take action in this war. My only option left. Without his dharksa, I’d never see my freedom. And freedom was what every dharksa user got, good quality or not.

  Finally, Sid reached across the counter and snatched my money from my hand. He examined the bills, probably to make sure I wasn’t totally screwing him, and then turned to head into the backroom. “Wait here,” he said over his shoulder.

  My body relaxed. There’d been no guarantee Sid even had any dharksa. Least of all that he’d give it to me for any price.

  A minute or two later, he reappeared with a small bag of cinnamon-colored powder in his hands. “Here. Now get the hell out and don’t ever come back.” His red eyes were on fire, darting around from patron to patron. It was only then that I noticed how silent the bar had gone, the audience we’d attracted.

  Grabbing the bag from him, I gave him a wink. “Thanks, Sid. I owe you one.” Easy words to say, but I shouldn’t have even spoken them. I guess it’d become habit after working with so many demons in bars like this.

  “You can get the fuck out of my bar, then we’re settled,” he said, pointing to the door. “Out, witch.”

  I nodded, pocketed the dharksa, and left without another word or any trouble from the other demons.

  Now, hours after I’d first disappeared, I used teleportante to bring me to Hunter’s Guild. For a room on neutral ground.

  For my freedom.

  Chapter 14

  Ben

  The war isn’t black and white. That’s what Krystin had said. I knew that—we all did. On this team alone, that idea had been challenged ever since Krystin and Shawn had joined up. And with each and every demon we’d faced, others grew less evil.

  I knew the war wasn’t black and white. Obviously, shades of gray existed. But to the extent Krystin was saying…

  We were soldiers for Good. Maybe not for Jaffrin or the Fire Circle, but for the Powers. We fought demons; we didn’t ally with them. Which meant that maybe Rachel was right.

  But it also wouldn’t matter in nine days. If Shawn and Krystin didn’t work together to unlock their magik or if we didn’t figure out a way to get to Alzan and stop Lady Azar, all planes of existence would burn when Cianza Alzan did. It was only a matter of time.

  I’d spent most of the day waiting for Krystin to come back, as if she’d change her mind like that. I knew she wouldn’t, and I knew she was likely more gone than when she’d left six months ago. But still, I waited. Maybe I just didn’t want to admit how exhausted this all had made me.

  Or maybe that was leftover aura sickness talking.

  “She’ll come back.”

  I looked over my shoulder. Nate stood at the bottom of the stairs looking at me as I sat, unmoving, on the couch. “Doubt it.”

  “Krystin might hate the Circles—”

  “And us,” I chimed in.

  “And Rachel,” he stressed, “but she doesn’t want to see the world be ushered into an era of rule by Lady Azar, either. She’ll be back before the end of Autumn Fire.”

  I rubbed my face with my palms. “Not sure it matters anymore.”

  “We’ll see.”

  I turned so I could face him straight on. “What makes you so positive about all of this? You were convinced of Krystin’s innocence and now you’re sure she’ll come back?”

  He shrugged, though a shrug from Nate was never an admittance of apathy. He stepped closer to me and slid his hands into his pockets. “I wasn’t with the ether-shaper monks in Tibet for very long. A few years, most of it spent learning the advanced techniques. I also learned a lot about Buddhism and peace. Karma.”

  “Okay,” I said slowly. I didn’t understand what any of this had to do with Krystin. “So you’re saying she’s doomed because she’s done horrible things?”

  He shook his head, a small smile emerging on his face. “Unlike the Buddhist monks of the area, the ether-shapers didn’t believe in a karma-based fate, not wholly. They believed your alignment, whether you’re good or evil or something else entirely, was based on your actions. Your rebirth into this world. But the big stuff? The world-shattering events and ideas? You can’t base that on karma.”

  Nate moved around to the coffee table and sat across it. “I can be confident Krystin will return because I know both her and the Alzan prophecy. Krystin might hate everything the Circles stand for, and she’s definitely expressed more than once that she’s not a fan of her life being based on this prophecy, but she’s never run from it specifically. At the end of the day, the battle at Alzan will happen and Krystin will be there because she’s meant to be. Good and evil don’t impact fate, not in the way Darkness and Lady Azar believe. That’s what the ether-shapers taught me. The magiks that binds the ether tethers of this world don’t care about karma or morals. They care about fixed events. Prophesied events. Krystin will come back, whether or not Rachel wants her to.”

  I had to admit, most of Nate’s words went straight over my head. Gods and wars, the intricacies of ancient history and destiny and all that—I’d never been any good with it. My brain simply wasn’t built for abstract thought like that. But I did get part of what he was saying.

  “You mean that que sera, sera stuff right? Whatever’s gonna happen is gonna happen, no matter what we do?”

  He nodded. “This war is bigger than any one Hunter or team of Hunters. It’s been fought since before Alzan fell the first time thousands of years ago, and it’ll likely be waged for another thousand years.”

  “We need to win the battle, not the war.”


  “Yeah,” Nate said. “Exactly.”

  Guess that made sense. I stood up and stretched out my back. “Guess it’s about time we finish this team battle, then.”

  My phone rang before thoughts of how to fix my team formed in my head. Shit. I tugged it out of my pocket and looked down at the caller ID. “It’s Jaffrin.” I glanced up at Nate. “He’ll know I’m back after all.”

  Nate pointed to my phone. “It’s charged and ringing. He already knows.”

  “Shit,” I said as I swiped the screen and connected the call. “Yes, sir?”

  “Headquarters—now,” he said, his tone low and hurried. “Bring your whole team.”

  My stomach dropped. I didn’t have my whole team. But he didn’t need to know that. “Be there in a minute.”

  “Now, Ben.” The call clicked, disconnected.

  I pulled the phone away from my ear and stared at the screen. “Well, that’s not good.”

  “What?” Nate asked.

  “He wants to see all of us right away.”

  “Think it’s about the Landshaft house?”

  “I have no idea.” I pocketed my phone again and moved to the stairs. “Get ready to go. I’ll get Rachel and Shawn.”

  We filed into Headquarters three minutes later and were immediately ushered into the great hall in the basement. All of the Fire Circle’s official business and special meetings were held here, although it’d recently seen use for more than that. If Jaffrin had us gathering here to discuss Krystin or the bounty hunters’ house from last night, then he must want to use the protection magiks that made it so no one could listen or teleport in on our conversation. Just like he’d done when Jaffrin had ordered us to break Krystin out of Ether Circle Prison. They still hadn’t forgiven him for that, although I was sure the tension between our circles had only grown after Kinder and Krystin had destroyed Fire Circle Headquarters earlier this year.

  I walked down the stairs first, half-expecting to see a large contingent of Ether Head Circle representatives again. But instead of pale yellow robes and holier-than-thou attitudes, what awaited our team seemed far more innocuous: people with CIA jackets.

  “Well, crap,” Nate said as we descended the stairs. “That can’t be good.”

  “No,” Shawn agreed. “But this means whatever he’s called us for isn’t about Krystin.”

  “You don’t know that,” Rachel said. “Maybe she did something that caught their attention.”

  “They’re not supposed to be up here.”

  The CIA was tied to the Water Circle by way of a mission gone awfully wrong many years ago. They’d formed a partnership as a response, CIA agents mixed with Hunters into an organization called Hydron. Months ago, when Kinder had attacked Boston, we’d discovered Hydron had been running operations up here to track what Landshaft had been up to. But the Water Circle covered the lower half of the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. As far as I knew, the CIA only knew about the Fire and Water Circles, not the rest. And surely not the parent Circles back in Europe.

  “This isn’t their territory,” I said. “Even with the new agreement.”

  “Then it means another leak has occurred,” Nate said. “That’s the only explanation.”

  “Glad you could join us,” Jaffrin said as we finally reached the bottom of the stairs and clamored onto the stage platform. The Hydron agents and Jaffrin had gathered there, Jaffrin with both hands behind his back.

  Deferring to them, interesting. “We came as fast as we could.”

  Jaffrin’s gaze wandered past me to my team. “I see Ms. Blackwood is missing.”

  “She’s busy,” I said, meeting his glare with one of my own. “You have nothing to worry about.”

  He lifted an eyebrow, but I didn’t back down. Jaffrin didn’t scare me and neither did these Hydron agents. Krystin hadn’t done anything wrong since returning to Boston. If he wanted to arrest her, Jaffrin and all of his new friends would have to go through me first.

  “We’ll see about that,” Jaffrin said finally. He turned and gestured to the Hydron agents beside him. “Our friends from Hydron have come to apprise us of a growing situation.”

  “Max?” Rachel asked, stepping around me.

  “Max?” I asked.

  But she was looking at the group of four Hydron agents. One had turned at Rachel’s voice and he winced. “Er. Hey, Rachel.” He was as tall as me, but tanner with nearly black hair and dark eyes. He took a step but paused, looking back at not only Jaffrin, but also the other agents.

  Rachel stared at him for a long moment before saying, “I didn’t realize you were a Hydron agent.” Her eyes narrowed. “I assume that means you knew I was a Hunter, though.”

  Max frowned. “Yes, but it’s not what it sounds like.”

  Heat lapped my neck. I’d known Rachel was seeing someone, but she hadn’t told any of us the details. And that he’d messed with her on top of it all. Not a good first impression. I locked eyes with Max. “Why were you interested in my cousin, then, Max?”

  Rachel pressed a hand against my arm as my muscles tensed. I was just about done with all these assholes messing with those I considered family. “Ben, don’t. It’s okay.”

  Max sort of smiled and reached out a hand. “You must be Ben. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  “I’m sure you have.” I kept my hand to myself.

  He didn’t miss a beat but did pull back his hand. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

  “I’m sure.”

  One of the other Hydron agents cleared his throat, an older man with graying hair cut short. “You can figure out your love life later, Max. If we could get back to the subject at hand, that’d be preferable.” The way he said “preferable” made it very clear what would happen if Max didn’t get his shit together.

  I fully agreed. Asshole. Lying to my cousin like that. I’d see to it he never lied to her again.

  Rachel squeezed my arm. “Back off, Ben. I’m warning you.”

  “Sure,” I said, not intending to follow through at all. She knew it as well as I did. “If your brother were here, he’d act the same way.”

  “Well, he’s not, and you’re not my brother, so back off.”

  Jaffrin dropped his tablet louder than necessary onto the podium at the center of the stage. “We called you in because there have been breaches in information regarding keeping the Hunter Circles a secret.”

  I looked to him. “We know that. Saying the warehouse burnt down nine months ago because of a gas leak was a shitty idea.”

  The older Hydron agent turned to me. “It was the best, quickest option we had at the time.”

  “Agreed,” Jaffrin said. “But this concerns something else. Agent Dennis here has been watching our specific situation closely for the past few months.” Jaffrin’s gaze settled on me. “Since Riley was taken by Zanka and Sandra was attacked.”

  I closed my eyes and waited as my gut twisted over itself. A cold sweat broke out on my brow, as if I’d never recovered from the aura sickness at all. First, Jaffrin had sent me to that Landshaft house by myself. Then Giyano had brought Riley before me as a demon and said he was scared of what Jaffrin knew. And now this.

  “What the hell could possibly be wrong now?” If it wasn’t about Krystin and we knew where Riley was, I didn’t see what the problem could be.

  It was Max who spoke this time, his expression falling. “Sandra’s been talking. A lot.”

  I opened my eyes and stared at him. “She wouldn’t. Sandra knows what’s at stake now. Where Riley is and why.”

  “But not that he’s a demon,” Jaffrin said.

  I glared at him. “Don’t talk about Riley anymore.” My words were harsh, but after last night, I didn’t want to hear jack shit from him.

  Max walked toward Rachel and me. “As far as we know, she’s told her mother, who doesn’t believe her. And a friend. But she’s alluding to plenty on social media and it’s concerning because of how close she is, and because of what happened here i
n Boston nine months ago.”

  Agent Dennis held out a file folder to me. “Inside are all of her social media posts. They’re starting to pick up traction, even though, from what we can tell, very few people believe her. Stories about demons stealing children are hard to believe. But Riley’s been back and forth to her care many times now, and her suddenly moving to Canada doesn’t exactly work in our favor.”

  “We moved her and Riley to protect them,” I said, shaking the file folder with every word. “That wasn’t even my decision. Why are you telling me this?” If it’d been my choice, they would have stayed here, wards of the Fire Circle inside Headquarters.

  And they probably would have burned in Krystin and Kinder’s attack.

  “Ben,” Jaffrin said, pulling me out of my thoughts. “You need to go to her and tell her to stop.”

  “Have you ever tried telling Sandra to do anything?” I snapped. “Because I have. Plenty of times, none of them successful.” All throughout high school and college, even after Riley had been born. The only person more stubborn than myself or Krystin was Sandra. At one point, I’d loved her for it. Now… I ran my hand roughly through my hair. “I can try, Jaffrin, but I doubt it’ll work.”

  “It needs to. If the Fire Circle is revealed to the world, so too are the rest of the Circles. Darkness’s empire. The war.” Jaffrin shook his head. “The chaos caused by the revelation alone would allow Darkness the in they need to win. If you can’t convince Sandra to keep quiet and cooperate with us, then you might as well doom us all.”

  “Except that you screwing Krystin and me over fucked us all already,” Shawn snapped out of nowhere. I looked back at Shawn, shocked. We all did. He stood there with his hands clenched at his sides, his jaw locked and back straight. Red blotches had appeared on his cheeks. “You had the stone. It’s fucking gone because you didn’t just hand it over to us. Alzan will burn in nine days because of what you didn’t do. What the hell does threatening an innocent woman scared about losing her child get us? Honestly.”