My breath caught in my throat as panic flashed in my mind. A Hunter task? Already? I wasn’t ready yet! I was in shorts and a flowery blouse. They were summer clothes, not forged pattern steel. And I didn’t have a weapon. My bow and sword were somewhere in the moving truck. Who knew when I’d find them?

Still, Uncle Maveric said that the task had to be completed by sundown today. Would he still support me if I asked to push it back a day? I looked into his steady brown eyes. He was testing my tenacity. He wanted to see how determined I was about being a Hunter. Instinctively, I knew that if I asked to wait a day, he’d dock points on whatever mental score card he was keeping.

I swallowed the acidic nerves that bubbled in the back of my throat and steadied myself. “What task? I can do anything you want me to.”

I said big words, but I didn’t feel that confident inside. A part of me whispered, even if I did have my weapons, would I really be able to do it? I wanted to be a Hunter. I’d planned on being a Hunter for a while now, but after I got tested, my confidence plummeted. What could an E, the weakest rank of Hunter, do?

Maveric smiled, liking my response.

Dad, on the other hand, scowled.

My uncle touched the glass display counter next to him. A folded paper map appeared out of thin air where he touched.

It wasn’t just a magic trick, it was another testament that he was a Hunter. All Hunters were given Items Bags, like a dimensional backpack, where they could store things and take them out when they needed them. Items Bags were attached to the pearls embedded on all Hunters’ temples, which was given to them for free when they joined the Hunter’s Association. The Guide was to help them navigate the world, see monster intel, view their own physical state, and even communicate with other Hunters without a cellphone.

It wasn’t that normal humans couldn’t have a Guide or Items Bag, they couldn’t use them even if they had one. It would simply be an accessory, nothing more. Humans were not compatible with magic. No matter how much they tried, they couldn’t activate it. Scientists couldn’t figure out why. It wasn’t a matter of DNA or mental capabilities. Half the people on Earth had an aptitude for magic – even if melee Hunters couldn’t use it in battle – and the rest didn’t.

Modern technology was improving daily, trying to blend magic and technology together to make magic usable for everyone. I’d even heard some rumors that it was successful. But that was for the uber rich people. Not the people around me.

“I know you scored high on your Hunter courses in school?” Uncle Maveric looked at me for confirmation. When I nodded, he went on. “Good. So you remember the two basic types of Hunters? The first one being the kind of Hunter that goes into the wilds and kills randomly until they think they have enough, and live on a prayer that they got something worth exchanging for money?” He didn’t sound that impressed. “The other type are the mark Hunters. Since you want to help your brother in the future, I assume it’s the second kind that you want to be, correct?”

“Yes.” Not every kind of monster byproduct could be used in a weapon. It wouldn’t be helpful for anyone if I wore myself out, hunting monsters that Micah couldn’t even use. Mark Hunters were given a task to kill a specific monster or retrieve a particular monster part, and bring it back to the client.

“Very good.” Uncle Maveric smoothed the map out over the glass. “This is a map of Boulder and the surrounding areas,” he explained and pointed out several towns on the map. “Boulder is here and Mist Haven is here.” He ran his finger over the black line that indicated the road that led from Boulder and through the canyon to Mist Haven.

I leaned in, easily recognizing the map layout. Since I was going to live in the area, I’d spent a lot of time studying this location. Especially since I was going to travel the canyon road every single day. It didn’t matter if it was the army shop or the Hunter’s Association, both in Boulder, a twenty-five minute drive from Mist Haven. The reason why we moved to Mist Haven was because Micah was too young to drive. It was better to be next to the smithy, so he could safely go to and from it on foot or bike.

My uncle slid his finger back to the middle of the canyon. A red pen appeared in his hand and he marked a spot right next to the road. “A richness of Fire Martens were seen a mile south of the road yesterday. I need a Fire Marten’s fire sac for a client’s request. I was going to put up a bounty for one, but then you showed up.” He gave me a serious look. “Fire Martens are E monsters. If you can’t handle this, you can’t handle being a Hunter.”

I swallowed. “Yes.”

I could practically feel Dad fidgeting behind me, but I refused to look at him. My nerves were already high strung, I didn’t need his affecting mine any more and causing a panic attack.

“The fire sac is in the Fire Marten’s chest and very delicate. The slightest injury to the torso can cause it to break, so you need to avoid hitting it,” Uncle Maveric explained. “Do you have any questions?”

Fire Martens weren’t unique animals, there were actually quite a lot of them – depending on the location – since they bred quickly compared to other monsters. I’d read about them before in the monster handbooks. But there was one word my uncle said that I didn’t get. “Um, what’s a richness of Fire Martens?”

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Uncle Maveric blinked and snickered. “A group, a family, a pod. You get it?”

“Oh,” I said slowly and couldn’t resist asking, “That’s a weird term. Why couldn’t they just call it a family or group? Who coined the term ‘richness’ for them?”

He shrugged. “Someone dead.” He folded up the map and handed it to me. “You get this. And …” He motioned to the weapons room. “Pick out your weapons of choice. Since you don’t have an Items Bag, make sure you only take what you can carry. You can consider it a free rental service for the day, since I know your stuff is still packed away.”

“For reals?” I gasped, looking around the room.

There were so many gorgeous weapons, I didn’t even know where to start. Still, I only had one day. As much as I wanted to pick up and feel every single weapon, there wasn’t time. Instead, I automatically looked at the bow that drew my eyes earlier. The compound bow was made with a blend of black and red metal. Black wire looped around the pulleys at the end of the bow. I knew at a glance it was a powerful weapon, stronger than the one I owned. Since I couldn’t damage the Fire Martens’ chest, I had to go for a headshot. A one and done shot. The weapon I chose needed to be strong enough to accomplish that.

I walked over and picked the bow off the wall. It felt good in my hand, a solid weight that wasn’t too heavy or light. The draw strength was a little more than what I was used to, but I could handle it without trouble.

“Is that what you want?” Uncle Maveric asked.

I nodded.

“You should take a close-ranged weapon too,” Dad said, his voice clipped and almost hard. His pores practically oozed with discontent, but he wasn’t arguing. That was something, I guess. “Bows aren’t much help when…” He gritted his teeth and nearly bit out the rest of the sentence. “When the monsters are right next to you.”

I nodded and grabbed a hanger that looked about the right size. Unlike other swords, this one shouldn’t get in the way when I was wearing my bow and quiver.

Maveric nodded and glanced at Dad, as if judging if he was going to flip out or not. When nothing happened, my uncle nodded to a door to the left of the bow display. “Let’s get you dressed up.”

It almost didn’t feel real to be able to walk around in my uncle’s armor. I mean, I had a set that I got for my sixteenth birthday. But it wasn’t the real deal. Not exactly. My studded leather armor was good enough for sparring lessons and Hunter classes – like training pants. It wasn’t strong enough to fight a monster with, but I’d been practicing with un-awakened kids and professionals that knew how to pull their shots.

But the brown studded armor I wore now was different. The underbody suit was an earthy green color, matching the quiver strapped to my back. The studs' colors ranged from blue to green, and every single stud gleamed with magic, creating a damage-deflecting shield around my body. I couldn’t decide if I felt like a little kid playing dress-up or finally felt like a Hunter. A little of both, I think.

Uncle Maveric gave me one more once over with a meticulous eye – this was the third time since I’d walked out of the fitting room. “Good.” He reached out and tugged on the strap that kept my shoulder guards in place. It didn’t move. Again. “If a Fire Marten hurts you in this, I’ve failed as an armorer.”

I almost sighed. Even though Uncle Maveric was supporting me in my quest to be a Hunter, he was still babying me. Be grateful, I reminded myself. No E Hunter would ever be able to afford the gear I had on my body. Not in their entire lives.

I grinned brightly. “It’s perfect.” Not that most Hunters cared – well, kinda – but even the colors were my best colors to wear.

He nodded to the side. “Almost,” he muttered to himself, eyeing the armor critically. “The fit is about right. It’s a quarter of an inch loose on the shoulders, but it shouldn’t rub a blister. The magical elements aren’t one hundred percent compatible…” He trailed off then blinked out of his thoughts and looked up to find me staring at him. He cleared his throat, as if embarrassed to be caught in ‘work mode’ around me. He patted my shoulder and motioned to the door. “Let’s go piss off your dad.”

I winced and fell into step beside him, matching his limping pace as we walked around the forge to a back door behind the furnace. “That sounds terrible.”

“Yes, it does,” he agreed. “But do you really want to hide away forever?” He looked at me out of the corner of his eyes, as if he could see my thoughts. And knew why I wanted to be a Hunter.

I nearly tripped on my own armored boots. I blinked up at him in surprise. A small smile spread across my lips and I looked down. “So you knew.” He knew that I wanted to prove to myself, as much as my dad, that I could do this.

He looped an arm around my shoulder and pressed a kiss to the side of my head. “Of course I know. I also know that you’re too amazing to hide away your whole life. I want to see you fly higher than anyone else.” He pulled me to a stop. “You know, Ria, don’t let a silly letter dictate your life. I met a young woman years ago, an E like you. That young woman changed the world, in ways that you can’t even imagine.” He gave me an encouraging smile. “You can do the same. Just have confidence in yourself.”

I nodded slowly, taking his advice to heart. I didn’t know who he was talking about, and what she actually did, but it was nice to think that someone like me could do something great. Even if it just affected the people around me. “Thank you.”

“Now,” he said. “Let’s go get your present – the one that I actually had planned for you.”

“There’s more?” I gasped. My mind was already running in circles with everything that he’d given me.

He laughed. “This stuff is just borrowed,” he reminded me. “But this is yours to keep.” He pushed open the back door and motioned for me to go out.

On the other side of a stretch of grass was a padlock and barn. Inside was a silvery-gold deer a full head taller than me. Navy blue antlers crowned its majestic head. Its long, slender legs were tipped in navy blue hooves that gleamed in the sun like steel. On its back was a brown leather saddle, matching the harness set.

Micah stood next to it, nearly dying of awe. The deer didn’t even seem phased by his jittery excitement. He patted it everywhere, talking so fast that I couldn’t quite follow his words.

Dad leaned on the wooden fence, supervising.

My jaw dropped. “Is that a Raindeer?” Those monsters were really hard to find in this area.

“This is your present,” Uncle Maveric said proudly. “The one that your father actually knew about. I bought Shiva as soon as I found out you were moving back to Mist Haven. She’s had the best training available. She’s a C ranked monster.” He handed me a small whistle. “If you blow this, she’ll attack any monster you tell her to. Just don’t get in front of her antlers, they shoot ice.”