Page 10 of Hunter

“Move your big head! I can’t see!” a young voice hissed, as if the child was trying to be quiet but hadn’t yet mastered that skill.

“My head isn’t big! And maybe if you did something with your crazy hair, you’d be able to see just fine!” a second voice growled back, his skill in whispering just as poor as the first.

“Come on!” a third voice said, and this one didn’t even bother to try being quiet. “I wanna see too!”

Ember’s severe expression didn’t soften, but he rolled his eyes briefly before shoving the pocket door open. Two kids, a boy and a girl, maybe eight years old, tumbled into the room. Marc, the only kid Kana recognized, was left standing in the doorway, gaping in surprise at Ember. Shannon was leaning against the kitchen counter a few feet behind Marc. His blond hair was still ragged and long on his shoulders, but with new clothes, Shannon looked a lot more put together.

Octavius, the vampire leader Kana had helped Ember defeat, had decided kidnapping the pack’s children to coerce Ember into behaving was also the only way to punish Ember for his insubordination. One of the kids had been Marc. Octavius had also gone on a spree, killing humans and changing them into vampires, and hundreds of newly turned vampires completely under Octavius’s control had attacked the second Ember had been distracted by the kids. At some point, Octavius had discovered Shannon, who was already a vampire, and brought him along too. Octavius had been arrogant enough to believe he could control Shannon the same as he controlled the newly changed vampires, but Shannon hadn’t engaged in the fighting. According to Marc, he had instead protected the kids from the blood-hungry vampires.

After the battle, Ember had allowed Shannon to stay, and Marc had adopted him. Apparently, that included eavesdropping on Kana and Ember when Ember was about to cast a spell. Although, Shannon looked mildly amused at Marc’s antics rather than interested in what Kana was doing.

Kana suspected, and he thought Ember agreed with the supposition, even though they had never spoken about it, that Shannon was far older and incredibly more powerful than Octavius. Having him on their side, and keeping Shannon somewhere they could keep an eye on him, was all Kana really cared about. Besides, Shannon seemed to like Marc, and Marc certainly dragged Shannon along pretty much everywhere.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Ember growled, his voice firm and angry, but not threatening.

“We wanted to see the magic,” Marc answered. His tone didn’t waver under Ember’s growl, but he did bare his neck in submission. The other two kids were shaking on the floor, unable to stand with Ember glaring down at them.

“Then you should have asked, rather than sneaking around at the door,” Kana said in admonishment, trying to support Ember’s dominance while also attempting to defuse the situation. “It’s not very nice to me or to your alpha.”

“Sorry,” one of the kids on the floor squeaked out.

Ember continued glaring, and then let out another short growl when no one else said anything.

“I’m sorry too,” the other kid on the floor babbled, her words tripping over each other as she rushed to get them out.

Ember turned his glare on Marc, who resisted for a second before dropping his eyes.

“Sorry for eavesdropping,” he said.

“And?” Ember asked in a sharp bark.

Marc’s shoulders slumped. “And for sneaking.”

Ember didn’t quite glare at Shannon when he looked up, but Shannon nodded his head once in acknowledgment of the slight he had watched occur. Formalities done, Ember’s glare vanished, and he stepped back.

“Well?” he asked them in his normal voice.

Marc glanced up at Ember, saw Ember wasn’t angry at them anymore, and smiled. He turned to Kana, his eyes shining and eager.

“Can we watch you do your spell?” Marc asked.

Kana smiled back. “Sit against the wall, where you won’t disturb the chalk.”

The kids rushed to obey, scrambling to find spots where they could see the circle and not be in the way. Shannon stepped up to the doorway and leaned on the jamb, but he didn’t enter the room. Ember stepped back to the wall, standing next to where Marc was sitting.

All eyes turned toward Kana, who turned away, ostensibly to study the spell lines again.

Have I ever cast a spell with an audience before? Kana asked.

Mika laughed. Not like this. Last time, you were in the middle of a fight and didn’t have time to worry about them watching you.

Don’t worry about it, Sora added. You’ve cast this spell before; you know what you’re doing, and their watching you doesn’t change your abilities.

The growing tightness in Kana’s gut loosened at Sora’s words. He let out a breath and actually focused on the chalk rather than staring at it blindly. None of the lines were disturbed.

Kana carefully stepped over the lines and sat in the center of the big circle. Mika and Sora curled up together in the middle of the smaller one. Kana pressed his palms flat to the ground on either side of his body and called up his magic. His circle started glowing, and then the lines of the pentagram in the order he had drawn them. The smaller circle lit up too.

Kana faintly heard oohs from behind him, but the hum of the magic kept him focused. He poured more magic into the circle, and the candles abruptly lit themselves, the protective illumination from the flames joining with the glowing circle until both lights combined into a solid circle surrounding Kana. He pushed magic into the runes next, and the circles thrummed as if Kana had hit them like a drum. The chalk lines on the floor slowly lifted into the air until they reached the height of Kana’s chest and the circle became a sphere.

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