was wearing one of those robes that all mystics seem to enjoy wearing, the ones with the hoods that are pulled down over the head, obscuring any facial details.
“I beg your pardon?”
“ Veller… Kile Veller.” She replied again.
“Veller?” He repeated the name over and over, each time sounding more and more confused as his finger slid down the pages of the open book. “Who is sponsoring you?” He asked.
Now what? She could try to lie but if her name wasn’t in the book it wasn’t in the book, and how far could a lie get her? She could use Erin Silvia’s name, but she feared that would do more harm than good. It would be a poor start on her path to becoming a Hunter.
“I don’t think I have a…”
“Oh, here it is. Kile Veller… fool put it in the wrong column again, that’s what you get for hiring a teenager.”
Kile stood in silence, staring at the man who was now scratching something in the book with a large quill pen. A door on his right , that she would have sworn wasn’t there before, slowly swung opened and a shaft of pale blue light entered the room, created a path from the lit circle to the open door.
“You may enter the next stage of the examination.” The man said with a wave of his hand that clearly said she was being dismissed.
“Seriously?” She heard herself say.
“I beg your pardon?” The robed man asked, looking up one more time.
“Um… nothing, thank-you.” She replied and quickly made for the door.
“Good luck.” She heard the mystic say as the door swung closed behind her. She suddenly remembered her belongings and quickly turned to ask the mystic about them, but found herself staring at a solid stone wall.
She really hated the mystic arts.
The hallway was empty, except for a light at the far end, and seeing that there were no other doors or any other directions she could have gone in, she headed toward the light.
Kile stepped into a room that was even larger th an the last, well lit and full of people, all of them about her age. These must be the rest of the hopefuls taking the examination she reasoned. Some of the other kids turned to see who had entered, but that was about as much interest as they gave her. There were a few groups of two or three standing off to the sides and talking in hushed whispers, but most stood alone. They were staring at the walls, the floor even the ceiling, anything to keep from looking at each other. If Kile wasn’t so nervous she would have found some humor in it.
It was the table on the far side of the room that caught her attention. It was filled with an assortment of fruit s and cakes along with pitchers of what she hoped were something to drink. She wasn’t really hungry, she was still too nervous to be hungry, but her mouth was dry and she could use something to satisfy her thirst. As she walked among the other kids, they appeared to go out of their way to avoid making any kind of eye contact with her. It seemed a bit odd, but at the moment she didn’t really care as she reached the table. She had just picked up one of the pitchers of what looked to be a type of juice when the sound of laugher caught her attention. It seemed so out of place in such a tense atmosphere, but it wasn’t a laugher of mirth, rather a laughter of spite.
She quickly looked around the room, and it didn’t take her long to find the source of the commotion. A dark, greasy haired teen, older th an the average age of the room, was picking on a much smaller boy, someone even smaller than Kile if that were possible. She could tell from where she was standing that the greasy haired teen had taken something from the other, and was refusing to give it back. There were even two other boys standing off to one side laughing as they egged the greasy haired boy on. One was a rather round child with a haircut that looks as if it had come off the end of a mop, the other was a tall, thin kid with a long neck and sharp nose who stooped were he stood. It wasn’t
“I beg your pardon?”
“ Veller… Kile Veller.” She replied again.
“Veller?” He repeated the name over and over, each time sounding more and more confused as his finger slid down the pages of the open book. “Who is sponsoring you?” He asked.
Now what? She could try to lie but if her name wasn’t in the book it wasn’t in the book, and how far could a lie get her? She could use Erin Silvia’s name, but she feared that would do more harm than good. It would be a poor start on her path to becoming a Hunter.
“I don’t think I have a…”
“Oh, here it is. Kile Veller… fool put it in the wrong column again, that’s what you get for hiring a teenager.”
Kile stood in silence, staring at the man who was now scratching something in the book with a large quill pen. A door on his right , that she would have sworn wasn’t there before, slowly swung opened and a shaft of pale blue light entered the room, created a path from the lit circle to the open door.
“You may enter the next stage of the examination.” The man said with a wave of his hand that clearly said she was being dismissed.
“Seriously?” She heard herself say.
“I beg your pardon?” The robed man asked, looking up one more time.
“Um… nothing, thank-you.” She replied and quickly made for the door.
“Good luck.” She heard the mystic say as the door swung closed behind her. She suddenly remembered her belongings and quickly turned to ask the mystic about them, but found herself staring at a solid stone wall.
She really hated the mystic arts.
The hallway was empty, except for a light at the far end, and seeing that there were no other doors or any other directions she could have gone in, she headed toward the light.
Kile stepped into a room that was even larger th an the last, well lit and full of people, all of them about her age. These must be the rest of the hopefuls taking the examination she reasoned. Some of the other kids turned to see who had entered, but that was about as much interest as they gave her. There were a few groups of two or three standing off to the sides and talking in hushed whispers, but most stood alone. They were staring at the walls, the floor even the ceiling, anything to keep from looking at each other. If Kile wasn’t so nervous she would have found some humor in it.
It was the table on the far side of the room that caught her attention. It was filled with an assortment of fruit s and cakes along with pitchers of what she hoped were something to drink. She wasn’t really hungry, she was still too nervous to be hungry, but her mouth was dry and she could use something to satisfy her thirst. As she walked among the other kids, they appeared to go out of their way to avoid making any kind of eye contact with her. It seemed a bit odd, but at the moment she didn’t really care as she reached the table. She had just picked up one of the pitchers of what looked to be a type of juice when the sound of laugher caught her attention. It seemed so out of place in such a tense atmosphere, but it wasn’t a laugher of mirth, rather a laughter of spite.
She quickly looked around the room, and it didn’t take her long to find the source of the commotion. A dark, greasy haired teen, older th an the average age of the room, was picking on a much smaller boy, someone even smaller than Kile if that were possible. She could tell from where she was standing that the greasy haired teen had taken something from the other, and was refusing to give it back. There were even two other boys standing off to one side laughing as they egged the greasy haired boy on. One was a rather round child with a haircut that looks as if it had come off the end of a mop, the other was a tall, thin kid with a long neck and sharp nose who stooped were he stood. It wasn’t
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