by Jessica Gunn
“Not sure why you felt the need to dispose of the victim’s body.” The comment came from the lightning wielder.
“What was I supposed to do about it? Let the human police find her and find out about demons?”
The female Hunter stepped in front of him and introduced herself as Rachel. “Seems you got here just in time. Where are you from?”
“Outside the city,” I answered.
The third Hunter cleared his throat. Rachel rolled her eyes. “And that’s Ben, my cousin and our team leader.”
I nodded at Ben, who continued glaring. Okay. Come on. “You didn’t have that alone. He threw you all around like ragdolls.”
“Caught us off guard,” Ben gritted out.
Lifting my hands in surrender to his idiotic defensiveness, I said, “Okay, whatever. Jaffrin sent me to meet you. I met you and here we are. I only stepped in because I heard you three blocks over and thought you were dying.”
Wrong word choice. Ben’s face flushed bright red and I saw him physically swallow his anger as if it’d been a large glass marble slipping down his throat. The electricity zipping between his fingers brightened. Forget inexperienced, this dude was downright undisciplined. If his emotions had that much control over his powers, I wouldn’t want to see him at max.
I pointed to his hand. “Chill before you burn yourself. Or us.” To show I meant well—and prove to this guy he could at least tolerate if not trust me—I moved the knife in my left hand to the sheath on my back. There. Unarmed. “Can we talk?”
Nate shook his head. “Not here. We need to get out of here before people call the cops.”
“If they haven’t already, you mean,” said Rachel. She also sheathed her Fire Circle knife, the blade given to those who officially pass the testing to become Hunters. The redwood handle had been etched with the Fire Circle’s brand, a dancing golden flame that continued up onto the blade itself. I had the exact same knife. So did everyone on this team.
My team. My first one ever. Jaffrin and my mother hadn’t trusted me with the freedom—the chance to actually live—that a team would have given me until I was too old for it to matter. They’d much rather have watched me squirm in the face of their relentlessly close watch.
I stifled all the emotions that thought churned up and thumbed over my shoulder. “Is the house nearby?”
The Fire Circle provided housing for every one of their teams. Live together, train together, and hopefully not die together—that was the unofficial motto. Unfortunately, teams tended to do the latter.
“I need to talk to Jaffrin first,” Ben grunted. “I knew we were getting a fourth team member, but—”
“But what?” Rachel walked past her cousin and joined me near the mouth of the alley closer to the street. She crossed her arms, closing her unzipped jacket as cold October wind swept into the alley. “She’s a great fighter, which we need.”
“And a magik user,” I chimed in as I zipped up my own leather jacket. “Looks like you guys are too. Right?”
Rachel nodded. “Yeah.”
“Whatever,” Ben huffed, brushing past Rachel and me on his way to the road. “Let’s get out of here.” He disappeared around the corner before anyone moved.
I glanced at Rachel and Nate, then back to the street. “Is he always like this?”
Rachel rolled her eyes and went after her cousin. Nate chuckled. “Usually. Especially when people undermine him.”
“I didn’t do that.”
He held up his thumb and forefinger. “Just a little bit—by singlehandedly taking down a demon we couldn’t.”
Actually, if Ben hadn’t jumped in at the end, the situation would have gone south. Even still. “You were out of your league.” No sense in hiding the truth. “Did you see how fast he burnt up? Not saying you wouldn’t have eventually taken him down alone, but—”
Nate interrupted me with a wave of his hand. “I know, I know. And so does Ben. It’ll be fine; give him time to cool off. He’ll get over it.”
“Hope so. We’re a team now.” Hopefully, Ben wouldn’t go straight to Jaffrin and have me removed.
I needed this freedom more than any of them knew.
TO BE CONTINUED… in The Hunted, Book One of the Hunter Circles Series!
Also by Jessica Gunn
The Hunter Circles Series
The Hunted
The Traitor
The Changed
The Hero
The Power
Hunter Circles Series Books 1-3 + Prequel Boxset
Hunter Circles World Standalone Novellas
The Healer
The Atlas Link Series (New Adult Sci-Fi/Fantasy)
Gyre
Landlocked
Driftwood
Riptide
Countercurrent
About the Author
Jessica Gunn is an avid science-fiction and fantasy fan. Her favorite stories are those that transport the reader to other, more exciting worlds. When not working or writing, she can be found binge-watching Firefly and Stargate, or feeding her fascination of the ancient world’s many mysteries. Jessica also holds a degree in Anthropology.
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Connect with Jessica Gunn:
www.jessicagunn.com