Disappointment washed over me. I wasn’t done with the screen yet, and I didn’t know how to get it back since I didn’t have a Guide.

The phone screamed again.

Tired and irritated, I marched over to the phone. It rang one more time while I took a second to calm myself down enough to at least sound like I didn’t want to rip the other person’s head off. I picked up the phone, “Maveric Armor–”

“Ria!” My dad gasped out on the other side of the phone. “Baby, are you okay?” His voice wobbled, like he was on the verge of crying.

I froze, thrown for a loop. How did he know where I was?

“Ria?” Dad asked. “Are you there? Ria?”

Mentally, I shook myself and gripped the phone. “Ah, yes. Yes, I’m here, dad.”

“Baby,” he sighed, his breathing stabilized. “Are you okay?”

In the background on the other side of the phone, I could hear Uncle Maveric’s voice, “Why is she in the shop? What happened?”

I could hear Micah too, but couldn’t make out his words.

“I’m fine,” I said. It didn’t matter that I almost died today. I was going to take that secret to the grave. No matter what my family asked, I was fine. “Things got a little complicated today–”

“What happened? Why didn’t you come home?” Dad cut in. There was fumbling on the other side of the phone. “Hang on, just a second.” The phone beeped then my dad spoke again, this time his voice was a little distant. “Can you hear me, Ria?” Oh, he’d put me on speaker. “What happened today?”

I sighed and walked over to the couch. I didn’t have to ask to know that he was going to pester me about every detail that happened today. I loved and appreciated his concern, but I was exhausted. “After I found the fire martens and finished the task, I found a little girl lost in the woods. By the time I got her to Boulder’s hospital, the gates were already closed and I couldn’t leave.” Maybe if I glossed over the whole story, he’d let me off for now. Quickly, I changed the subject. “How did you know I was here?”

“Your uncle received a notification when you unlocked the barrier around the shop, and then another one when the security cameras inside picked up your movements,” Dad answered.

Which meant that they were probably watching my every movement right now. So they could see what a total mess I was. So much for hiding how roughed up I was. “Uncle Maveric,” I said before Dad could question me back, “do you mind if I spend the night here?”

Uncle Maveric spoke up, “Yes, Ria. Stay there tonight. The gates open at seven, so I’ll be there at seven thirty to get you.”

I winced and dropped onto the couch. The soft cushions bounced before folding around me like a hug. “That’s okay. I’m not hurt.” Sorta? I thought I was sore from the long day. Honestly, I thought I’d be hurt more, given everything that happened today. “You don’t have to come get me. I’ll be home around ten, after I stop by the Hunter’s Association.”

There was a minute of silence on the other side of the phone before they all spoke at the same time.

“What?” Micah’s voice cracked and jumped an octave.

“No!” Dad yelled.

“What’s this?” Uncle Maveric demanded. “Ria, I told you I would support you if you finished the task that I gave you. And you didn’t.”

“The task is finished,” I insisted. “It’s in that canister on the table by the door. You can see it in the security camera, can’t you?” I motioned towards it without getting up. I wanted to get up, but now that I was laying down, I just didn’t have the energy to move. Even so, if they could see me through the security camera, I knew they could see the canister, too. “The fire sac is whole and undamaged. I would have gotten it to you in time if I didn’t stop to help the little girl. Are you telling me that I should have left her there to die, just so I could complete my task in time? I’m going to be penalized for saving a life?”

I didn’t want to lose Uncle’s support. If I wanted him to forgive me for being late, I had to play the compassion card. But honestly, I was going to join the Association tomorrow no matter what, especially now that I was part of the Getting Stronger Quest thing.

“No, no,” Dad stuttered. “You should help…” His voice died out. Honestly, most Hunters would have left her there. But Dad raised me to be compassionate. I bet he never thought his own teachings would bite him in the butt. “But that doesn’t change the fact that you failed. If your uncle was a client, you would have lost that job. Little girl or not. I don’t think you’re ready to be a Hunter, Ria.”

I agreed with him in failing the contract. But I refused to give up. “I understand that. However, the fact that I could get the fire sac, and save the girl, and stay alive proves that I’m ready to be Hunter, Dad.”

That was a lie, even to myself. I didn’t think I was ready yet either. The disaster today with the mud golem was concrete evidence. It was a miracle I was alive. Again. But with the Getting Stronger Quest, maybe I could be the Hunter I always wanted to be. Right now, I was willing to bet everything on it.

Uncle Maveric sighed. “Ria baby, I…” He sighed again. “I’ll see you in the morning and check on the fire sac. If it’s in perfect condition, I’ll continue to support you. But right now, as much as I want you to follow your dreams, I’m seriously regretting this deal.”

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My stomach sank. Things were going to get a lot harder if Uncle Maveric didn’t support me. “I understand. I’m tired, so I’m going to go,” I said before they could keep talking. “Love you. Good night.”

They said their goodbyes and I hung up.

I dropped the phone on the coffee table and covered my eyes with my arm, hiding the tears that collected in my eyes from the security cameras.

Think positively, think positively. Things will work out, I chanted in my head and I tried to remember my psychiatrist's teachings. But I was tired. So very, very tired. Emotionally and physically. The dark cloud of doubt still hung over me as I lost consciousness.

*****

A startled feminine scream awoke me.

I gasped and jumped to my feet, blinded by the sudden light but ready to take action. I over compensated in the foreign environment and smacked my shin right into the corner of the metal coffee table. Yelping in pain, I grabbed my shin.

“Who the hell are you?” a man demanded. A heavy, oppressive A ranked Hunter aura spread out in the room and smothered me.

My knees gave out under the pressure and I planted my hands on the table to keep from collapsing to the ground. My lungs seized up, making it hard to breathe. Gasping for air, I looked up and found the point of a broadsword inches from my nose.

A man in full armor – minus the helmet – stood on the other side of the coffee table, holding the sword. He was already built like a bull, and his armor just made him look more imposing. His dark hair was cut short and square-topped on his broad face. He glared at me and motioned with his sword. “Who the hell are you?” he stressed.

A woman with a blond bob hair cut – obviously the one who first screamed – stood behind him, holding a staff. She wore a white blouse and khaki shorts under an open, loose maroon mage robe. Red mage magic swirled around her, but she was smart enough to not let it out inside a building.

I recognized them from the employee folder that Dad gave me before we moved out here. It made sense that they were freaked out to find someone in here so early in the morning. Unlike me, who could open the magical barrier around the building with just my DNA, these two each had half of the token to unlock the barrier. Both of them had to be present to open it up.

“I’m Ria Moore,” I said slowly. It wasn’t just the heavy aura that was squashing me, it was never good to startle a Hunter with a weapon. Especially when that weapon was pointed at you. “And you are Brody Mack and Hatty Cooper.”

Brody stiffened and lowered his sword, but continued to stare at me with confusion as if he was trying to place my name. His Hunter aura was still out in full force.

Hatty gasped and her staff disappeared. “Oh my god, Miss Moore. I didn’t recognize … You’ve grown since … What are you …” I couldn’t tell what I should say to her, since she never actually finished a sentence. Then Hatty glanced at Brody and smacked his steel covered shoulder. “Hey. Put away your aura and sword. This is Maveric’s grandniece, remember?”

“Oh? Oh…” Brody was still confused, but the oppressive aura evaporated and his weapon disappeared. He stepped back and looked around the room with vigilance, taking in the canister by the door, the bag of uneaten food on the table, and my messy armor slumped on the ground. Then he looked at me, his gaze measuring … and found me lacking. Not only was I a disaster after a hard day, as an A ranked Hunter, he could undoubtedly tell how weak I was.

As long as I was weak, his expression was something I was going to have to get used to. Hopefully, that Getting Stronger Quest could help somehow. The name implied that I’d get stronger. As for how, I was going to have to wait until I got a Guide. But who knew how many years it would take to see results. If there were results at all.

I took a breath to steel myself and straightened up. “Good morning,” I said lightly, rubbing my throbbing shin against the back of my other leg. “What time is it?”

“About seven fifteen,” Hatty said and walked forward. Unlike Brody, there wasn’t any disdain in her actions. “What are you doing here? When did you get to Colorado?” She shoved a lock of her short hair behind her ear, but it fell right back into place. Now that she wasn’t flustered, her movements were graceful.

So I had fifteen minutes to get ready before Uncle showed up. “We got here a couple days ago. Yesterday, I ran into trouble and had to crash here for the night.” I hurried over to the table and started to pick up my stuff.

Brody walked to the other side of the table and sat down, then simply watched me move.

I ignored him and focused on Hatty. Whether or not he was pleased with me, he was going to have to listen to what I said since I was the assistant manager of the shop. I wasn’t going to bow my head to him just to get on his good side. If I lowered myself in his eyes, I’d never get out of that weaker position. That was how the Hunter hierarchy worked. The weak bowed to the stronger. If you don’t want to be weak, don’t bow – and hope that your knees don't break in the process.

But if he wanted to talk and actually get to know me, like Hatty, I’d be happy to oblige.

I set my gear against the wall beside the door. “I take it you're the morning inventory evaluator?” I asked Hatty then pointed my thumb over my shoulder at Brody. “And he’s the morning security?”

Hatty nodded. “Yes. The shop doesn't open until 9 a.m., but it can take a couple hours to organize the new inventory and get it ready to be transferred to Mist Haven.”

I nodded slowly. It was the same as the Eden shop. Hunters would bring in their trophies from monsters they killed during the day. The evening shift evaluator would judge and pay the Hunters then store the parts in a commercial Items Bag. Then the morning evaluator would come in and organize things by grade and get it ready for shipping. The Eden store sent things to Colorado once a month, but the Boulder store sent things weekly – or daily, depending on what Uncle needed for his current project.

Evaluators were always mages, because only a mage could clearly see the magic on an item without technical help. Which meant that they could be trained how to handle the monster byproduct without ruining the magic in it. For obvious reasons, the more magic in a product, the more it could be sold for. It was a big enough deal that some mages specialized in monster dissection, instead of battle magic. They’d just hide in the back of the team, until the fighting was over, then come out and do their part.

When it came to actually making things with the monster parts, it didn’t matter as much if the Hunter was a melee or a mage. There was equipment that could help melee Hunters see the magic and, as long as they were well trained, they should have good results. But it was true that the best equipment was made by mages. Genius armorers could even somewhat manipulate an item’s magic to enhance it.

I glanced at the clock. I had ten more minutes before Uncle Maveric showed up and my fate was sealed. Too bad I didn’t have anything to change into, but at least I could clean up a bit and get some food in my stomach. Right now there was a bottomless pit in my gut, reminding me that I hadn’t eaten in almost twenty-four hours. Ugh.

I limped over to the bathroom, the bruise forming on my shin screaming with every step. There wasn’t much I could do, but I did wash my face, rinse out my mouth and use my fingers to straighten my ponytail a bit.

Resigned that it wasn’t going to get better, I opened the door and stepped out.

And came to a screeching halt.

Dad and Uncle Maveric stood in the middle of the room, frowning at the state of my armor against the wall.