Hunter's Beginning (Veller) Page 13

  “And it worked?”

  “It took a while, and it didn’t harden it all the way, but it was enough that I could climb out, and as I said the floor was at an angle, but it wasn’t all that steep.”

  It appeared that everyone was able to use some form of the mystic arts Kile thought, even if it wasn’t to any great degree. Alex could create the illusion of himself, quite convincing one from what she had seen in the combat portion of the exam, and Daniel was able to harden the mud with his skills, she had to use a knife and a fork to climb her way out. It would appear that everyone had an advantage during the test but her. Her only consolation was that if she had caused the earthquake, and she wasn’t admitting that she did, she would have been ahead of Daniel, and she did it without any trickery. Of course, it didn’t mean very much, since she wasn’t sure when Daniel actually started his test, or for that matter, if the tests were the same.

  “Well…?”

  Kile looked around and then down at Alex. He had clearly been asking her something but she had been lost in her own thoughts.

  “I asked how far you got.”

  “Me?”

  How far did she get. She didn’t dare tell them that she was the one that made it all the way through, that she was the only one to solve a test that had no solution. It was bad enough that they were calling her a jinx, betting that she wouldn’t succeed. It would definitely make them think twice if she did announce it, but on the same grounds it would just widen the gap between them and her. What would they think of her then?

  “Oh come on, it couldn’t be all that bad, did you get at least as far as the tilting room?” Alex asked.

  “Uh yeah… yeah the tilting room.”

  “Well… what happened?” Alex pressed.

  “Hey Al?” Daniel interrupted. “You said the mystic was just as scared as you were in the pit when everything started shaking.”

  “What? Oh… oh, yeah, well, he sure sounded it and he got us out of there pretty quick.”

  “That’s a bit odd.” Daniel remarked, seemingly to himself but loud enough for the others to hear.

  “Why’s that?” Kile asked, not that she wanted to know anything more about the earthquake, but anything was better than her trying to fabricate a story, she had never been very good at story telling, or lying for that matter.

  “I just thought that mystics influenced by the sphere of earth would have known when an earthquake was about to happen, they should have felt it in the stone or something. They would have warned the other mystics.”

  “So… what does that mean?” Alex asked.

  “It means that what happened couldn’t have been an earthquake, not if the mystics didn’t know about it before hand.”

  “Then what was it?” Alex asked

  “How should I know?” Daniel exclaimed, “Do I look like a mystic.”

  “Well… yeah, sometimes you do, especially when you scratch your chin like that.”

  Two doors on the far side of the room suddenly opened, and a gust of cold air blew in. It seemed like ages since Kile had smelled the fresh air, even if it was air that passed over the city first. Two men in full green livery entered, standing on either side of the door. They had tall leather boots, olive green slacks and dark brown leather tunics trimmed in that same olive green. A third man, shorted than the other two but still dressed in the same uniform, stood in the opening.

  “If you will follow me.” He said in a sharp clear voice.

  It took Kile a moment to realize that these were not mystics. There was no trickery in what they were doing. They were actually walking not floating, they had to open the doors physically with their hands instead of waving at them. These were real people which meant, for better or worse, the mystic tower part of the exam was really over. She followed the boys, keeping to the back of the group as best she could. She watched as they all tried to push through the doors first, everyone wanted out of the tower, and she couldn’t blame them. It was truly one of the most frightening and depressing places she had ever had the misfortune of being confined in, of course it was still the only place she had ever had the misfortune of being confined in.

  As she stepped out into the light of day, the sun was already over head, it was just past noon. She had lost all sense of time inside the tower and she tried to work it out in her head, but it was no use. Master Latherby had told them that the test would take three days. Had it actually been three days? It was hard to tell, but for now all she wanted to do was stand under the warmth of the sun, if just for a moment, but that wasn’t going to happen.

  “If you will please find a seat in one of the carriages, we can get rolling.” The short man in the green livery said, waving to a line of horse drawn carriages bearing the mark of a yellow arrow and a sword crossed on a field of green. Kile was sure she had never seen the mark before, but for some reason it did appear familiar. The test was going on the road she thought as she looked up and down the line of carriages. Most of the boys were scrambling to get into the ones at the front of the line, so she headed toward the one at the end.

  The last carriage was smaller than the others and it wasn’t so much to carry passages as it was to carry supplies since it was burdened with boxes and crates of various sizes.

  “Excuse me sir.” She asked the driver who appeared to be lost in thought. He was a young man, or at least he had youthful features with long blond hair that was tied back, away from an angular face. There was an age about him, one that she had only seen within the mystics, as if he was hiding behind a youthful facade. He looked down at her as if he was surprised that she had even spoken to him.

  “Would you mind if I rode in this one?” She asked.

  “Supplies.” He said as if the one word explained everything.

  “Yeah, I know.” She replied, wanting to tell him that the boxes kind of gave it away, but she thought better of it. “There is more than enough room for me, I mean, if it’s okay.”

  “Okay with me.” He said with a shrug and then turned to stare forward again.

  Kile returned the shrug and pulled open the carriage door. The boxes and bags had been loaded off to one side, as if somebody had purposely left the seats vacant, she just hoped she hadn’t taken somebody else’s place.

  “Excuse me sir.” She called again, leaning out the window.

  The man turned his head slightly not enough to actually look at her, more like his head had just fallen off its pins and hung there for a moment.

  “Where are we going?” She asked.

  “Azintar.” The man replied and up his head went without another word, as he continued to stare forward.

  Not a conversationalist she thought as she settled into her seat, and where was Azintar. She had never even heard of the place so she had no idea how long the trip was going to take, but it wasn’t like she had anywhere else to go. Just another part of the exam she figured as she reached into her shirt and pulled out the small ebony box.

  She wasn’t sure why she took it, or what she was even planning to do with it. It wasn’t very big, but it was pretty she thought as turned it over in her hands a few times. She had never had anything this nice before as she traced the intricate patterns with her finger, a lot of work had gone into it, it seemed a waste to just leave it behind, and besides, she had earned it. She was the only one to get it out of the testing area, and this proved it.

  She held the box at arm's length and closed her eyes, gripping the lid tightly she slowly opened it. If Daniel was right there should be a loud bang, a puff of red smoke, and a rather confused mystic standing in the carriage with her. She wasn’t sure if she was relieved or disappointed when nothing happened. Kile opened her eyes slowly and looked into the box. There, at the bottom, wrapped in silver foil was a peppermint imp.

  It was a curious thing to find in the bottom of the box and was on a very short list of the last things she would have expected to find. She was sure it was just a coincidence, giving the fact that she loved peppermint imps. The
first time she had one was when Erin Silvia found her in the woods back in Riverport after she had gotten lost following her brother. It was the first time she had ever seen a Hunter. The woman had defied everything Kile was forced to believe, all of the limitations that had been placed upon her because of who she was, what she was, where she came from. Erin had found her when no one else could, built a fire to keep them warm and protected her from the wolves. She had even produced a bag of peppermint imps for them to share. The Hunter was surprised when Kile had told her she had never had sweets before. Candy was a luxury that her father thought was unnecessary and wasteful, so it was something she had never indulged in. When Erin brought her home, she gave Kile the rest of the bag; it was something that Kile never forgot. She had kept the bag hidden, even from her brother, and only ate one when she really needed to, like when she was having a really bad day, unfortunately that was most of the time so the bag didn’t last as long as she would have hoped. She had savored each one and when they were finally gone, she felt as if she had lost something of herself.

  “Hey, what are you doing back here?”

  Kile dropped the peppermint imp back into the box, closing the lid and slipping it into her shirt. She wasn’t sure why she was hiding the box, the mystic told her she could have it, it just seemed like the right thing to do. She looked out the carriage window, thinking she had done something wrong, or the person whose seat she had taken wanted it back. When she saw Daniel staring up at her she breathed a sigh of relief, and then scolded herself for being so jumpy.

  “I figured it was best for everyone. This way they don’t have to fight to see who gets to sit next to me.” She said with a grin.

  “Yeah, right, I can see that happening.” Daniel replied as he glanced down the line of carriages. The larger boys were already starting to push the smaller ones aside to see who would get the best seats. By Kile’s way of thinking, it was a very un-Hunter like behavior, which only supported her theory that they were among the ones who had failed and were being taken away.

  “You got room in there for one more?” Daniel asked.

  “Sure, climb aboard.” Kile replied pushing the door open. “Won’t Alex miss you?”

  “You’d be surprised, Alex can take care of himself.” He said as he pulled the door closed. “What were you doing anyway? You looked like you were lost in thought.”

  “Thinking… of home.”

  “Do you miss it?”

  That was an interesting question Kile thought. The obvious answer would have been yes, it should have been yes but it wasn’t. She really didn’t miss her home and she felt bad because she didn’t miss her home.

  “Do you miss yours?” She asked, not wanting to answer the question.

  “Sure I do.” Daniel replied.

  She envied him, he didn’t even hesitate.

  “What’s it like?”

  “What, Procton… I guess it's not much different than any other town. It’s probably not much different than Riverport.”

  “What about your family. Do you miss your family?”

  “Well… yeah.” Daniel replied as if the answer was obvious. “Don’t you miss yours?”

  “You have any brothers or sisters?” She asked, again not wishing to answer the question.

  “No, I’m the only one. There’s just my father, my mother and me.”

  “What’s your father like?”

  “My father… He’s a good man I guess, I mean I never really thought about it, he’s my father so I guess I would think that way. He works the mines, like most of the people of Procton. There are times he would come home so covered in coal dust, it was hard to tell where he began and his clothes ended.” Daniel laughed.

  “What did he think when you told him you wanted to become a Hunter?”

  “It was kind of his idea… well that not exactly true, it was more like Quigley’s idea.”

  “Quigley?”

  “Quigley is the town healer. When my parents found out that I had the gift of healing they asked Quigley to teach me, but there was only so much the old man could do. His way of healing and my way of healing are a bit different. He suggested going to the mystics to inquire about further training, but when that went nowhere my father suggested the Hunter’s Academy. He knew that mystics trained Hunters. I don’t think he thought I would actually pass the exam, but at least I would be known to the mystics.”

  “He doesn’t think you’ll pass the exam?”

  “Oh, don’t get me wrong, he will be thrilled if I passed the exam, but it was just a way of getting noticed, not an actual career choice.”

  “Did he… help you get into the exam?”

  “I was sponsored by Quigley if that’s what you mean; I guess he knows people on the board or something.”

  “No… I mean… did he support you, help you get to the examination.”

  “Well… we all came out together, my mother, my father and me, along with Alex and his father as well as Carter and his family. When my mother saw the oni door she was ready to take me and Alex back home, but my father talked her out of it, not that she really would have, but it did unnerve her.”

  “So your whole family was here to see you off.”

  “Well yeah, it's kind of a big thing, taking the Hunter’s exam and all, I mean, your parents came with your right.”

  “Yeah… yeah something like that.” She replied as she looked out the window.

  “Why the sudden interest in my father?” Daniel asked.

  “No reason, just… trying to make conversation, if you don’t want to talk about your family that's fine with me. What do you know about Azintar?” She asked, trying to change the subject.

  “Azintar, large city as far as I know. I’ve never been there myself but it is where the Hunter’s Academy is.”

  “Really?”

  “Well yeah, these carriages belong to the Hunter’s guild, you can tell by the crest on the door.”

  “We’re going to the academy?”

  “I think so.” Daniel said “Maybe we’ve already passed the examination and we’re full fledged cadets, we just don’t know it.”

  “I seriously doubt it.”

  “You’re one to talk.”

  “What’s that suppose to mean.” Kile replied, taking the defensive.

  “You are the one that blew up the testing area just to pass an exam, kind of extreme, don’t you think.”

  “I don’t know what you mean.” She replied shaking her head and looking out the window. Why wasn’t the carriage moving, at least she could pretend she was looking at something.

  “Oh come on, I know it was you.”

  “What makes you think so?”

  “Don’t worry” Daniel said, as if reading her mind. “I just reasoned it out, that’s all.”

  “How?”

  “So it was you.”

  “I didn’t say that, I just asked how you could have figured something like that out… if it was true I mean.”

  “Wasn’t that difficult really. I figured that if one of the other boys had done it, they would be thumping their chests and bragging about it, but you, you would be the opposite. You don’t want to bring any more attention to yourself than you already have, and frankly I don’t blame you. So you would remain quiet about it and tell everyone that you never even got to the end of the testing area, which… I know you did.”

  “How?” She asked again, he was a lot smarter than she had first given him credit for.

  “Because when I told you and Alex what Carter had done to try and get out of the room, you asked me why he didn’t just open the box...”

  “That doesn’t mean anything, it was just common sense.”

  “No, it wasn’t. Only someone that knew, or at least reasoned, that it was the box that caused the doors to close and not just somebody in the room would have suggested taking the contents out of the box. Only somebody who had been there, with the box, could have figured that out.”

  “No… You said Carter t
ried to make a run for it…”

  “With the box, he didn’t think the box was what triggered the door. He thought he triggered the door. I mean, Carter’s good an all when it comes to a fight and he is fast, but logic was never one of his strong points, but you figured it out, you had to be in the last room, with the doors open, with the box in your hand and you had to make the final decision of the test. Leave the box, open the box or try to get it through, and I have a feeling you chose a fourth option, one that nobody thought of, one that had… shall we say… consequences.” Daniel said as he shook the carriage to demonstrate what he meant.

  “Stop that.” She hissed as she looked out the window to see if the driver was taking any notice.

  “So, what did you do… did you use your arts?”

  Before Kile could say a word, the carriage suddenly jerked into motion and the wheels began to creak as the cab began to sway. They were finally leaving the mystic’s tower, a place Kile hoped never to visit again, but in spite of herself, she had to take just one more look back.

  “So?’

  “So what?’ She asked turning to look at Daniel.

  “I asked if you used your mystic arts in the last room. Sometimes arts from different influences don’t mix very well, is that what happen?”

  “I already told you, I don’t have any… arts.” She said, shaking her head. Why couldn’t he understand that?

  “Then what did you do?”

  “I used the gem.” Kile admitted in defeat. “But don’t tell anyone.”

  “What gem?”

  “The gem… the stone… the large red ruby… what ever you want to call it, the one in the middle of the room filled with chests of gold and silver.” She replied a little annoyed, it was bad enough she had to confess, but surely he had to remember that room, it was hard to miss, but by the look on his face it was clear he didn’t. “The room right before the one with the door.”

  “That room, there wasn’t any gem in there… or chests of gold and silver for that matter.”