As I neared Blake’s team, Penny shifted and glanced around, the long brown hair of her high ponytail swaying with each turn. Her eyes flicked over me then moved away then back. But she was the only one that even came close to looking at me. A wakizashi appeared in her hand and she shifted, ready, but couldn’t seem to pin down my presence.

“Penny.” Blake barked. “Do you see anything?” He glanced around wildly with the rest of Hunters.

“Something…” she muttered, unsure.

The Moth Monster Trace burst out of the bushes with a screech. The instant that it appeared, the Hunter’s auras intensified. It was like the air suddenly turned into lead, making it thick and hard to breathe. My body became sluggish, but I didn’t stop running to them. I really didn’t want to stand in the middle of a battlefield.

I skidded around Blake, who stood at the front. For a second, the world seemed to slow down as I looked into his face. God, how I wanted to stab him. I could see it so vividly in my mind. Lifting my kindjal, the whisper of the blade slicing between the expensive magi-steel breastplates, and then a slight resistance as the blade hit his skin and pushed through.

But it was just a thought, and it was gone as I dodged behind him into the middle of his team. Right now was not a good time to give myself away. Plus I needed his aura to conceal me. It was a risk attempting to use one enemy to get rid of another, but both would tear me apart if they detected my presence.

From the center of his group, I looked around at Blake’s party. There really was no rhyme or reason to their defensive positioning. It was like a group of individuals just standing next to each other, and just somewhat worked together.

The Moth Monster rose into the air, the antennas on its head twitching wildly. Then its focus shifted around until it stopped, aimed directly at me.

Quietly, I moved a little farther into the group, putting nearly all seven Hunters between me and the hovering Moth. Since they were distracted with the monster, right now would be the best time to sneak away.

“What is that thing?” A girl in light armor at my side asked in disgust.

The monster dove, focus still locked on me. From an outsider’s view, it seemed like it was aiming at the party as a whole.

A level 70 Hunter in red mage robes raised his hand. “I don’t know, but it’s dead now.” An arch of lightning exploded from his palm.

The lightning hit the moth in the abdomen and spread until the entire monster was lit up. It convulsed and writhed in the air, wings folding, then it dropped to the ground with a thud. Smoke rose from its body and the smell of burnt … rotten eggs filled the air. As soon as it was dead, the heavy air dissipated and I could breathe again.

I gaped at the carcass, shocked that the Trace-Monster was dead just like that. I glanced around, looking at their levels. Blake, at 67, was the only one that was lower than level 70. The rest of his team were between levels 71 and 82, even Mark and the two men standing by the carcass at the edge of the clearing. Did I really make the right move, jumping into the midst of this group?

Still, they didn’t seem to know that I was there. Why not? They were so much higher leveled than me, so what was the difference? Pondering right now was not the thing to do. My Stealth could run out and I’d be revealed to a man who behaved worse than a monster. I slowly started to back out of the group.

Just as I left their scattered circle, Penny turned her head and looked in my general direction. “I swear…” Her voice trailed off as she started to weave through her team.

“What is it?” Blake glanced at her.

The curvy mage who’d dragged me and Emma’s team through the jungle like a kite yesterday tsked and folded her arms across her chest. “Jumping at ghosts, again?” she mocked.

Penny shot her a glare. “Shut it, Daniella.”

Daneilla glanced at Blake coyishly and smiled.

The rest of the team shifted around Penny as they walked towards the fried monster and she walked in my direction still holding her wakizashi. I continued to move backwards, keeping my eyes on Penny while I tried to get closer to a huge tree at the edge of the man-created clearing.

The Hunters grouped around the dead moth monster.

Blake nudged it with his foot, making the stiff carcass rock back and forth. “So, no one knows what this is?”

The Huntress who first asked opened her Guide and started flipping through it. “It’s not in the Monster Guide.”

Blake smiled. “Perfect. Take it apart carefully. We’ll turn it over to the study geeks. It’s not a bad thing to get credit for discovering a new monster.” He glanced over at Mark, who stood over the two Hunters skinning the large carcass on the other side of the clearing. “Are they done yet?”

Mark shook his head. “In a minute. We don’t want to ruin the hide, right?”

Blake jerked his shoulder. “Well, hurry. We still need to find that crystal.” He glanced around at his teammates and pointed. “Start taking care of this monster.” He motioned to the moth at his feet. “Don’t ruin it.”

“Seriously, why can’t you just put a whole carcass in an Items Bag?” one of the Hunters complained as he crouched and pulled a knife out.

All of this was happening while I slowly continued to back up and Penny came closer and closer. Five more feet then I could sneak around the closest tree. There were two more minutes left of my Stealth and I only had 15 MP left. I didn’t dare take my eyes off Penny. She couldn’t seem to pinpoint me, but that made her more on edge, and that put me more on edge.

The back of my boot hit thick tree roots.

A System window suddenly flashed in my face. [Task: Prevent the Energy Crystal in Feng Jungle from crossing into Earth.]

I was so tightly wound that I jumped, my heart nearly stopping in shock. At that very instant, Penny swung her wakizashi, her blade slicing air where I’d just stood. My nerves saved me from being hit. I landed soft and stumbled back over the root. I clung to the tree trunk to support me.

Penny struck out once more, her blade severing the whole ten-inch thick root from the tree. The root flung to the side and silvery sap began leaking from the gash.

From the hole created, a pale blue glow faintly radiated.

My eyes widened. I recognized the color.

Penny gaped, obviously at a better angle to see inside the hole. “Ah, Boss?” she whispered and looked over her shoulder.

Blake didn’t hear her. He was too busy talking to Daneilla while supervising the Hunters taking apart the moth monster.

“Boss!” Penny yelled.

He frowned and looked at her. “What?”

Penny shifted to the side and pointed to the blue glow coming from under the tree. “I think I just found the crystal.”

“What?!” Blake hurried over.

I scrambled around the tree putting it between me and the running Hunters. Any noise I made was overshadowed by their excited whoops. Blake peered closer to the hole, the pale blue light illuminating his face.

He gave a short laugh. “Let’s check it out.” He stood up and motioned to Daniella. “Move the tree.”

Memories of her levitating me in the air yesterday came to mind and I leaped away from the thick tree as fast as I could. I landed next to another tree and swung around that just in time to activate Stealth again. Behind the safety of my cover, I leaned around and watched.

Daniella held out her hands towards the tree and muttered under her breath. A second later, the giant tree shuddered. Its branches rattled striking the branches of surrounding trees, causing fat leaves, twigs, and pieces of silvery bark to rain down on my head. Several rainbow crystals fell from the quivering treetops and the shards stabbed into the rich soil on my right.

Not concerned at all, Daniella lifted her hands higher in the air. The tree groaned and shuddered until it was vibrating. It lifted inches into the air, but stopped when its roots were pulled taunt. Dirt rained from the bottom of the tree, but that didn’t subtract from the brilliant blue light that radiated from the gap beneath it. It lit up the space like a second sun.

I gasped along with the rest of the Hunters. I could only see a little bit, but the whole top curve of the energy crystal covered nearly the whole width of the tree’s roots. If it was circular, and not oval, the crystal had to be at least fifteen feet around.

“Damn,” Mark muttered. “It’s huge! And we can’t even see the whole thing yet!”

Blake gave a short, gloating laugh. He tapped the shoulder of two big Hunters beside him. “Cut it loose.”

The men stepped forward, their huge, full armor clanking as they stepped. Oversized double-sided axes appeared in their hands as they moved closer to the tree. They raised their weapons and with quick moves, cut all the roots loose.

With a jerk, the tree levitated higher in the air. More branches snapped, raining down debris on me. The trees around it swayed as their branches were caught and pulled at by the ripped out tree. Connecting vines whipped loose. Daniella flicked her hand and the hovering tree was thrown to the far side of the clearing. It landed with a crash like thunder, the trunk cracked in half.

Blake smiled as he stepped forward, getting a good look at the crystal. He leaned down and brushed dirt clods off it, his fingers caressing the stone, his focus intense as he stared at it. “Perfect. It’s perfect,” he breathed.

He stood and looked around his team. “Looks like that finding bonus is ours. I think this deserves a celebration.” He waved his hand and several cases of beer appeared. “Just don’t over do it. We’re still technically on the job.” He laughed at his own joke.

I frowned. Even if it was hard for a Hunter to get drunk, did he seriously think that it was impossible for his group to be attacked? Then again, they were so high leveled, was there really something in this forest that could hurt them?

Mark picked up a bottle and walked over to Blake. “Do you really need this to get a bonus?” He nodded at the crystal. “I mean, doesn’t President Price give you whatever you want anyway?”

Blake took the bottle that Daniella handed him. “Not lately.” He scowled and took a swig. “Jordyn has been such a tightwad lately. All he does is count money and talk about improving the Guild. Yapping on and on about recruiting all the best new Hunters during the next graduation and what not. I get it. But, shit, he could loosen up a little.” His mouth kicked up at the side. “But now he can’t say no to me anymore.” He glanced over his shoulder at the energy crystal. He handed the bottle back to Daniella. “I gotta let him know the good news.”

Blake walked a little farther away and held out his hand. A rose quartz oval appeared in his hand, nearly the size of his palm.

My eyes bugged out, shocked. Cell phones didn’t work in the Gate. Hunters could text message each other through their Guide menu, but it didn’t work on just the friends list, they had to be partnered together. Which was why I hadn’t messaged Emma yet. I wasn’t officially in her team. There was a difference. But for those that didn’t want to deal with messages, for a small fortune, they could get communication stones. Apparently they were hard to make and a pair could run in the millions-of-dollars range.

“Hey, Jord,” Blake said to the pink stone. “I found it.”

A voice responded from the other side, but I couldn’t make out the words.

“Yeah,” Blake gloated. “And it’s bigger than we thought. I bet after the hospitals take their cut, there is still enough to make another fortune.” He snorted. “Forget the White Wolf Guild, we should be able to jump the Thundercat Guild.” He paused and laughed at something President Price said. “Just get your ass over here and help me dig it up.” Then he put the communication stone away and walked back to Daniella.

I flicked a look between the Hunters and the energy crystal, gauging the distance. Then I checked how much time I had left in Stealth. Cautiously, I slipped around from my hiding place and silently crept towards the crystal. The Hunters were too busy laughing and joking and drinking to feel my presence. Well, everyone but Penny. Unlike the rest of the team, she didn’t have a beer in her hand. She glanced in my direction, frowned and looked away. Then glanced at me again.

Every time she turned her head, I’d freeze, my heart in my throat. Finally, I stepped to the edge of the crystal and looked down. The System must have known that I was near the crystal when my heel hit the tree that was on top of it. That was probably why the message popped up right then. Luckily, it also happened to save my foot from getting cut off by Penny.

It was time to destroy this thing. Now that I was here, I felt torn. The crystal was bad, it was going to help a parasite destroy my planet. But it was also going to be used to power two hospitals, and save people’s lives. My own mother was in one of those hospitals, the Garden City Hospital. I let out a silent breath and focused on the energy crystal.

Was there really a choice? It was an easy answer.

Still, it was so big, how did I destroy it? I glanced at my kindjal and dropped to one knee beside it. I glanced up to make sure that no one detected me, then I looked right at Blake. A sneer curled my lips as I lifted my hand and flipped him off. For a second, I wished that he could see me, but it was too risky.

Instead I raised my kindjal and thrust down.

*****