The Hunted: Hunter Circles Series Book One Read online

  But he was alive. And safe. That was all that mattered.

  Sandra stood, too, and grabbed my arm as I turned for the door. “Ben—you can’t just leave us. This is insane. If this is about your parents, about your father dying and your fear of following in his footsteps—” A sob cut off her words.

  My fists balled at my sides, and it took everything within me not to admit that Sandra was right. Because she was. This was insane. And I didn’t want to leave now that we were together again.

  But there were still demons in Boston. And a crazed woman with a plan to end the world by destroying Alzan.

  “This is the only way,” I said as I kissed Sandra on the forehead. “A man named Jaffrin will be getting in touch with you regarding the logistics of the move.”

  I took a few steps toward the front door, each an immense weight on my heart. Each another step farther from Riley. From Sandra. From everything that had existed before the Hunter Circles came into my life.

  I turned to her when I reached the door and glanced over my shoulder. “Goodbye, Sandra. Once I slay the monsters, I’ll come back.”

  “Or you could stay for good,” Sandra said, desperate but firm. Still trying to reach me past a decision already made.

  “The world’s not safe for him yet.”

  She smiled solemnly, as if she’d accepted our temporary fate. “So make it safe.”

  I nodded slowly, determination setting in my heart. A faith I’d see this through. And like Krystin had said days before, faith was the only thing that separated us from the demons. “I will, Sandra. I promise.”

  I didn’t break my promises, no matter how long they took to fulfill.

  Chapter 27

  KRYSTIN

  Ben pulled into the driveway around 8 p.m. that night. We’d been waiting around for him to return. Jaffrin had summoned all of us to Fire Circle Headquarters four hours ago, even though he’d just seen Ben this morning. Something urgent had happened. Something incredibly important.

  The team and I waited in the kitchen for him to enter the house, his eyes wide and concerned the moment they found ours.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked. “What happened?”

  “Not sure,” Nate said. “Jaffrin’s summoned us.”

  Rachel lay a hand on Ben’s shoulder. “How did it go with Sandra?”

  Ben’s face fell through guilt and sadness straight through to solidified determination. “She’s keeping Riley for now. They’re going to head up to her Aunt Betty’s in Toronto for a while before moving elsewhere in Canada. She’s not going to tell me the location until they’re settled—if at all.”

  Rachel frowned and hugged her cousin. “I’m so sorry, Ben.”

  He squeezed her tight. “I’m not. He’s safer that way. I’ll let Jaffrin know and he’ll alert the Canadian branches. They’ll be watched while we figure this out.”

  “At least he’ll be safe,” I said. I didn’t know much about the Hunter Circles branches outside the United States, but that didn’t mean they were any less efficient. The Circles had started in Mesopotamia anyway, spreading into Europe and eventually over to North America. “The rest we can work on.”

  Ben nodded, eyes hard. “Exactly. Now, what did Jaffrin want?”

  “He didn’t say. But I figured we’d better wait until you were back to go find out,” I said.

  “Probably a good idea. Come on; let’s go.”

  The four of us joined hands and used teleportante to get us to the lobby of Fire Circle Headquarters instantaneously. Lissandra, Headquarters’ secretary, jumped.

  “Sorry,” I offered with a smile.

  She smoothed down the arms of her blouse. “Jaffrin will be happy you’ve arrived, however nerve-wrackingly you’ve done it.” Ben smirked as Lissandra called Jaffrin’s office. “Yes, they’re here. Okay. I’ll send them right up.” She hung up and set the phone down again. “He’ll see you straight away.”

  “Excellent,” I said.

  We climbed the stairs to the second story and made quick work of the hallway leading to Jaffrin’s office. The door was open, so we strode on in and stood around his desk.

  “Ah, good,” he said, standing as we entered the room. His mauve shirt made him look a lot less menacing than usual. “You’re here.”

  “We are,” Ben said. “What’s with summons? I was here nine hours ago.”

  Jaffrin nodded quickly. “Yes. I’m sorry to call you back so soon.” His gaze fell to me. “There’s been a development in your situation, Krystin.”

  I lifted an eyebrow. “A development? Which situation in particular are you referring to?”

  “The prophecy.” Jaffrin reached for his phone and called someone in another room. “They’re here. Please send him in.”

  Him?

  “Jaffrin—”

  “We’ve found him, Krystin,” Jaffrin said, eyes wide and ecstatic over the news.

  “Him who?” Nate asked. “Is this about the Son and Daughter of Alzan thing?”

  I nodded. “You found the Son?” My mind whirled. Where had they found him? Was he raised in another Circle, waiting for the day someone figured out who he was? With any luck, he’d be as up to par as I was with all of this stuff and we wouldn’t have to waste time on the basics. The faster we fulfilled the prophecy, the quicker we saved Alzan, the less time either of us would have to spend in the Hunter Circles under Jaffrin’s watch.

  Jaffrin’s focus shifted to the hallway and he smiled. “Come. Meet your new team.”

  “Wait a second—” Ben said.

  Great. He’d added me without telling Ben three weeks ago and now he’d added another person? “This isn’t exactly the best time for this, Jaffrin.”

  But even as we all turned to greet the newcomer, a tall, built man my age with long, dark hair, my heart did this sort of flip-flop motion. And when his brilliant brown and golden eyes met mine, a lightning flash of recognition zipped across my subconscious. Like we knew each other somehow, even though I’d never met this man before in my life. It wasn’t attraction, not love, not magik. It was soul-deep, but that’s all it was. A recognition.

  The man strode in on unsure feet, his dark jacket falling off one shoulder, a plaid shirt beneath it, and a chain hanging around his neck. Dog tags. There wasn’t a lick of magik to him, though. Not like when I first met magik-users, or when I’d met my team and felt the power rippling off each of them.

  Hold on. If the two of us were supposed to save Alzan from Darkness and Lady Azar, he had to have magik. That’s how the prophecy went. One Son and one Daughter with the power to save Alzan from Darkness.

  Power. Power meant magik. But this man, this “Son,” was the plainest, most human person I’d ever met. He didn’t even have an aura.

  “Jaffrin, I don’t understand,” I said just as he started to introduce himself.

  “I’m Shawn,” he said. “Shawn Jacques.”

  I spun to Jaffrin, questions swimming through my mind. If Shawn didn’t have magik, he couldn’t be the other half of this ridiculous prophecy. Was Jaffrin screwing with me because I’d led the team into Shadow Crest’s lair without permission?

  Jaffrin smiled and clapped his hands together once. He didn’t seem to have a worry in the world, and that alone was enough to terrify me. “The Son and Daughter Named are reunited. Perhaps we’ll save Alzan and stop this war after all.”

  I looked to my teammates, hands shaking, wondering if maybe this was nothing more than a bad dream. But they had no more words than I did. So I turned to Shawn and said, “Uh… hi.”

  He smiled at me, this non-magikal human that was supposed to save Alzan with me. Somehow. It seemed impossible.

  And to think we’d just gotten out of an impossible situation, even if temporarily, with Shadow Crest.

  At least this time I’d have my team behind me, magik or not.

  Thank You For Reading!

  The team’s fight against Shadow Crest continues in The Traitor, Book Two of the Hunter Circles Seri
es, releasing July 10th. Pre-order now!

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  World Key

  Also by Jessica Gunn

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  Riptide (August 2017)

  Countercurrent (October 2017)

  About the Author

  Jessica Gunn is an avid science-fiction and fantasy fan. Her favorite stories are those that transport the reader to other, more exciting worlds. When not working or writing, she can be found binge-watching Firefly and Stargate, or feeding her fascination of the ancient world’s many mysteries. Jessica also holds a degree in Anthropology.

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  www.jessicagunn.com