by Jessica Gunn
She wasn’t kidding. Until I’d first set foot in Fire Circle Headquarters, I wasn’t sure I believed any bit of it. And now… now I knew exactly what I was up against.
“Just one more thing,” Rachel said as Amanda approached, pot of coffee in hand.
“Yeah?” I asked.
She looked to me, determination shining in her eyes. “Ask that Fire Circle guy if I can train and hunt demons with you. For Riley.”
“What about your job?” I asked her. She’d started a photo-journalism position right after college.
Rachel shrugged. “With what they’re paying me, I’m sure this Fire Circle can cough up more than that. Besides, I think finding Riley is my job now, too.”
CHAPTER 16
Three months later…
I stood amongst three rows of five recruits, Hunters brought into the Fire Circle for training with me five months ago. Incense and smoke filled the air, wafting from golden containers strewn throughout the great hall on the first floor of Fire Circle Headquarters. The wooden banisters had been draped with fire-red banners that flew with the Fire Circle’s symbol on them in gold.
A dais stood at the front of the hall adorned with two tables of knives. Jaffrin stood there at the front with his second-in-command, an older man beyond Jaffrin’s years, at his side. Behind the rows of Hunters waiting to be initiated into the Fire Circle stood every other Hunter who could attend. Every available member of the Fire Circle. Including Rachel, who would graduate initiation in two months herself.
Jaffrin took center stage and raised his hands, quieting the room’s chatter. “Today we welcome fifteen new Hunters into the Fire Circle. They take the sacred oath to protect not only our city and our Circle, but all of humanity from the Empire of Darkness.”
A small but serious applause filled the room, then Jaffrin began calling us up one at a time. My heart raced after each of us knelt before him and spoke the oath before being given our own Fire Circle knife, the symbol of a Hunter.
“Ben Hallen,” Jaffrin said.
I walked forward on sure feet despite the sweat trickling down the back of my neck and my heart pounding in my ears. This was it. This was everything I’d worked since Sandra had kicked me out.
I knelt before Jaffrin and said, “I pledge to fight the Darkness, keeping true the tenets of the Hunter Circles: protect the innocent, fight with bravery, and never leave a Hunter or innocent to the clutches of Darkness. I pledge my life before my fear and my blood before retreat. My body and my life belong to the Fire Circle.”
Jaffrin’s mouth twisted into a small, proud smile as he reached to the table and retrieved one of the knives. He gestured for me to stand and I did. “You are now a Hunter of the Fire Circle. Be true, Ben Hallen.”
He handed me the knife, a steel blade with a red marble handle. A fire had been carved on it in gold, imbued with magik to make it look as though the fire were dancing in the light.
I returned to my spot in the lines and waited for the others to give their oaths and receive their knives. When the ritual was complete, Jaffrin returned to the center of the dais and addressed the hall.
“The initiation is now complete. Please welcome your new brethren,” he said.
The room erupted into cheers and applause. Jaffrin let it carry on for a few moments before he raised his hands once more.
“These Hunters will be added to teams at the start of next week,” he said, glancing over each of us with the expression of a proud parent on graduation day. “All with the exception of two.”
Wait, what?
I looked over at my fellow initiates, and everyone’s expression said no one had any idea what he was talking about. Had we all gone through the oath rites for nothing?
“Two of those standing before you will be awarded their own teams,” Jaffrin continued. “Initiates who most express initiative and cunning, power and the determination to see Darkness extinguished, are traditionally awarded the position of team leader and are given the ability to pick their own team. Today, that reward goes to Cassie Demont and Ben Hallen.”
My stomach dropped as I met eyes with Cassie, one of the other initiates. She shrugged, grinning, and together we were brought in front of the hall.
My own team. He’d given me my own team. When I’d explained to Jaffrin about how I’d gone off on my own, he’d been furious and put me almost back to the beginning of my training period. But I’d worked hard in that time, and the past three months had been dedicated to proving my new singular focus in life: fighting demons to find Riley.
The determination must have paid off. Still, I didn’t feel like I’d deserved it. Not after all the lies and shadows I’d wandered through to get here.
I looked up at Jaffrin, questioning his decision.
He leaned down toward my ear as people continued cheering and said, “You deserve this, Ben. I don’t make this decision lightly. Truth is, I knew you’d be a leader the moment I met you. You will find your son, and you will deal painful blows to Darkness’s empire while you do. I believe in you.”
Calm washed over me with his words. In some ways, I guess I’d always been a leader. A quarterback. The oldest of my cousins. Father to my son. Back then, everyone believed in me and because of that, I believed in myself.
But today, I was just a Hunter. Today, only Rachel and Jaffrin believed in me anymore. I didn’t even have faith in my own abilities. But in three months, I’d progressed so far, I had to believe that Jaffrin was right.
And so I would.
I would become the leader of my team, and together we’d fight Darkness. We’d find Lady Azar and we’d rescue my son.
Today, that mission started with me becoming a Fire Circle Hunter.
Also by Jessica Gunn
The Hunter Circles Series (Urban Fantasy)
The Hunted
The Traitor
The Changed
The Hero
The Power
The Atlas Link Series (New Adult Sci-Fi/Fantasy)
Gyre
Landlocked
Driftwood
Riptide
Countercurrent (TBD)
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.
Let’s Connect!
www.jessicagunn.com
Table of Contents
Copyright
Table of Contents
World Key
Book One: The Hunted
About the Hunted
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Book Two: The Traitor
About The Traitor
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Book Three: The Changed
About The Changed
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Prequel: The Hunter
About The Hunter
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Also by Jessica Gunn
About the Author