Heart of a Hunter Read Free

of the bag. “Enough of this. You’re wearing out and losing focus. Let’s move on to something I’m sure you’ll enjoy.”
    “Chocolate-covered caramel drops and Jerry Springer on tv?” Her voice held a bit of longing. That sounded great after two hours of throwing punches. She took off the gloves, tossing them to the cement floor. Her curls were pulled back into a slipping ponytail, and she brushed the errant strands away from her sweaty face.
    Tagas returned from the corner of the room, carrying a large crossbow and a handful of arrows. All thoughts of chocolate and trash tv vanished, and her eyes widened. “Yes!”
    He motioned for her, and she moved in place next to him, about twenty yards from the large target board. He put his foot in the stirrup of the crossbow, reached down and pulled back the string. Deliberately taking aim, he shot the first arrow and hit the bullseye. He repeated the motion twice more, both arrows hitting dead on target with a dull thud. He looked at her expectantly. Elle shook her head.
    “Tagas, I can’t do that. I’ve played with these things before with my dad years ago, but…I don’t think…”
    The angel gave her a warm smile and placed the crossbow in her hands, adjusting her arms and legs into the proper position. “Young Elle, you’re not an angel, true, but you’re almost superhuman in ability and strength. Ignore your doubts and just do it. It will all come naturally to you in time.”
    Her first two arrows thudded into the wall next to the target board. She realized that she had expected to do much worse and began to feel bold. She lined up the target again and nearly hit the bullseye with her third arrow. Grinning, she high fived Tagas, dropped the crossbow, and did a little happy dance. “I was close! Sooo close. Awesome!”
    Tagas walked over to one of the two tetherball poles. He grabbed the yellow ball on the chain and drew his arm back. The ball’s chain wrapped around the pole, the movement a blur, until the ball lodged at the top of the pole, the chain embedded into the pole. Tiny wisps of smoke rose from the deflated ball. “Soon, you’ll not only hit dead center with every arrow, but you’ll do what I just did with that ball.”
    Elle’s mouth formed a perfect little “o” in speechless amazement.
    ****
    “You aren’t going to get a wink of sleep tonight. This is your third cappuccino.”
    Elle and her best friend of two years, another social misfit named K.D., sat across from each other at the small wood table in their local coffee shop, the Daily Grind, which like most of the businesses, was located in the better part of the city. It was a small place with wood furniture, cream walls, and tasteful accents on each table, with no cookie-cutter booths. The owners were going for a more homey, comfortable ambience. As usual, K.D. had her short blond hair covered with a well-broken-in knit beanie and wore an infectious grin.
    Elle smiled and waved a careless hand. “School’s back in and this is October, the month to indulge in pumpkin spice cappuccinos. I need all the caffeine I can get to wade through all that homework.”
    K.D. snorted. “You got that right. I need the caffeine to stay awake in our second period history class. Booo-ring.” The two clinked mugs in agreement.
    Elle listened with half an ear as her friend began to relay all the problems with public high schools in Los Angeles County. She trained with Tagas five days weekly after school and was enjoying Friday, which signaled the end of her hectic work week. Being a fledgling demon-hunter-in-training slash high school senior was not without its troubles. Sure, it sounded kick ass, but even as she had progressed into a pretty decent fighter, every remaining failure knocked her self-confidence a bit. Can I actually do this without taking a dagger to the throat or having my head knocked off by something stronger than me?
    Her musings were interrupted by K.D. tapping her hand. She nodded