Magic Trials (Half-Blood Academy #1)- Meg Xuemei X Page 0,3

game.

I assigned Circe to be my shadow. Her role was to confuse bigger predators by sending our scent in the opposite direction with her homebrew spells.

A rapid stream of fire poured out from between the shimeras’ serrated fangs.

I’d underestimated the beasts’ speed. Though we’d hunted them for a while, the shimera, being mutants, had upgraded.

Jasper, the wolf, rushed toward us from behind the beasts, yelping in warning.

I was in the direct path of the beasts’ fire.

If I’d hunted alone, it’d be easy to sidestep the shimeras’ fire stream, but Circe was right behind me. If I lunged or ducked, the fire would hit her.

I threw myself backward, slamming the young witch to the ground with me. At the same time, I sent my arrows flying, three of them at once. Each hit a shimera’s eye.

The buggers had also underestimated me. They’d thought their twin fires would barbeque a dinner. But the pair had been quite good. It’d been a close call. I’d felt the heat of their fire.

Circe whimpered while my body still shielded her.

I was up in an instant and gave her a hand. She scrambled up when Jasper reached us.

We didn’t take time to savor our victory or regard the fallen shimeras with my arrows pierced through their skulls.

Circe and I quickly stuffed our hunt into a backpack while Jasper stood guard. We were ready to leave the forest before the witch’s spells lost effect and the bigger predators followed our trail.

I grinned at Jasper and Circe. We would have full stomachs tonight, and we could trade the other shimera for a loaf of bread and a bag of potatoes.

Despite the fact that the three of us could hunt, we kept it to once a week. We were the only hunter team in Crack that still came out of the woods, and none of us wanted to take more risks than necessary.

The thought of dinner made my stomach grumble. Circe smirked at me, elbowing my belly teasingly, and Jasper rolled out his pink tongue, his way of laughing.

Suddenly my back stiffened.

Foreboding sent a chill up my spine. Then a heat wave, like invisible fire, chased away the chill that had so quickly sunk into my bones.

The sensation was so unfamiliar and terrifying that for a moment, I almost thought I had magic.

The stench of brimstone, sulfur, and acid hit my nostrils. Jasper stared at me with a question. Then next, he tensed, his light amber eyes turning dark.

Something was hunting us.

I straightened slowly, my eyes searching the dark. Even though I was a human, I seemed to have better night vision than average.

I met a pair of red eyes between the brown trees.

Darkness whirled in the demon’s eyes, hungry to devour every light and possess every bit of soul until the monster had drained his victim completely.

I swallowed with difficulty.

I’d survived the streets on my own until I was ten, when Vi took me in and trained me to be a hunter. She’d drilled the necessity of staying the hell away from both demons and gods and never ever letting either one get close.

I’d never questioned her edict. What Vi had warned me was common sense—even a fool would avoid this planet’s two top predators.

Thinking of Vi brought a sharp pain and longing to my chest. She’d given me, a stranded street rat, a home. But after four years, she’d disappeared without a word, leaving no trace. I’d searched the entire Crack for her and almost hadn’t made it out when I’d then scoured the forest.

Gradually I’d accepted that I’d been dumped again, just as my parents had abandoned me to the streets before I was old enough to remember them.

I’d inherited Vi’s old library since then, and her ward had prevented anyone or any creature from getting into it except the ones invited by me. After living and hunting alone for two years, I’d rescued Jasper and Circe from a brutal criminal lord, who no longer breathed, and they’d become my people ever since.

I dragged my memory away from my old guardian and the aching sense of loss she’d left behind. Across the dark space, I stared at the demon.

He had long, dark horns, black eyes, and red lips.

This was a grade three demon in their power hierarchy. The highest rank was ten, and that would be Lucifer. I blinked, not sure why suddenly I had this knowledge, since it was the first time I’d seen a demon so close.

His obsidian gaze met mine, and shock flitted