Hunter's Beginning (Veller) Read Free

lights just below the surface of the stone, the only problem was that it hadn’t even gone past noon yet, and the sun was still up. Magic wasn’t natural she said to herself as she pulled her gaze away from the courtyard stone and turned it toward the door, but that wasn’t any better.
    The closer she got the more the oni smiled, looking down on her with that self righteous grin. She could see her father’s face in his features, his nose, how it turned down, and his pointy chin and narrow eyes. He even bore that same surly look. The one that told her she was going to fail, the one that asks why even try. There was no way she would ever become a Hunter, there was no way they would ever let her into the Academy. The Hunters would never accept the likes of her. It was the same look that her father had given her almost every day of her life, the look of disappointment. Useless, the word echoed in her head, filling her with shame each time he said it, Useless. She stood under the doorway and stared at the oni. How easy it would be just to turn around and go home, to live the life that her father had planned for her.
    “I’m not useless.” She told the grinning face as she stood up straight.
    She defied the oni and stepped through the threshold, into the darkness beyond, and it was dark. It was unnaturally dark, and the hallway was narrow and damp, pretty much what she had come to expect from viewing the exterior of the tower. She was forced to feel her way through the twists and turns, keeping one hand on the wall, slowly putting one foot before the other so as not to trip on something unseen in the gloom. She was positive that even if she had a lantern to light her way, it wouldn’t improve the situation, and it might even make it worse. This had to be more of the mystic arts. Only through the use of the arts could darkness be so perfect. She hated the mystic arts.
    As she continued through the darkness she was beginning to think that maybe the guard had led her to the wrong place. Was it an accident, or was it done deliberately? Could it be a trap, could someone be waiting for her somewhere in the darkness, ready to grab her, maybe hold her for ransom. She had heard of such things happening to naive individuals who visited the larger cities. The idea should have made her laugh but she wasn’t laughing. Her family were farmers, if what you could call the land back home a farm. It was more dust than dirt. No, they wouldn’t hold her for ransom, she wasn’t worth anything.
    She preceded a litter farther into the darkness, and doubt se emed to close in on her. Could this be her father’s doing? Was this another way to keep her from becoming a Hunter? Did he have this whole thing planned from the start so that she wouldn’t arrive at the exams on time? She could turn around now, she should turn around now, she might even be able to find her way back to the entrance, this had to be the wrong place, this couldn’t be where they were holding the examinations. She was foolish to even come here, foolish to even try. Her father had been right from the very beginning. She was useless. What would the Hunters want with her? She could never become a Hunter, she wasn’t good enough, she wasn’t strong enough, she wasn’t smart enough, and she was useless. She should give up, go home, and marry that little troll of a boy that lived next door like her father had told her to do in the first place.
    The darkness became thicker , like thick black strands of molasses holding her back and every step she took was a struggle against some unseen force. It was whispering to her, telling her to go back home, that was where she belonged, not here, not among the worthy. They didn’t want her, they would never want her, she was useless.
    This wasn’t right. What was happening to her? Why was she suddenly filled with so much doubt and self loathing? She forced herself to face the darkness. She had come this far, she couldn’t turn back now.