Edited by: tommyjl7, flubbykin

We left the mayor’s house discussing the next actions that we were about to make.

- “Jasper, take Andrew and Siegfried and go find Johann. Remember, it would be best to catch him alive, with as little damage done as possible, but your safety comes first. If you are not able to catch him unharmed, then harm him, and if he would pose a danger to your life…” he made a pause and looked at Marie “… then retreat and wait for reinforcements.”

Rest of the team nodded, yet I was pretty much sure that he did not mean what he just said. No, he ordered them to kill him if the situation would turn ugly, he only changed his words to give Marie a glimpse of hope. I can’t blame him for that. He is just a human, he puts his life in danger to help others. If I was standing in his shoes, I would most likely do the same, or maybe I wouldn’t even care for witch’s feelings and simply voice my thoughts.

- “Me and Sam would escort Marie to the altar. We will try to… persuade… the spirit to leave this realm.” Leader continued

Once again, hearing the word rest of the hunters grinned like madmen.

- “Sam, you got everything?”

- “Sir, yes, sir! Salt, wolfsbane, lavender, jasmine, silver, candles…” man started counting the content of his bag.

- “Spare the details, kid, if you forgot something it will be your head that would roll.”

Leader was around his middle forties, though he looked much older his hair was almost completely silver, with only spots of grey which claimed that they used to have other colors, yet his body, especially eyes, were burning with a vigor of a young lover, also his moves were so filled with energy, that if you wouldn’t see his face you would bet that the man marching in front of you is a kingdom knight at his peak.

I cleared my throat.

- “Gisele, go help Jasper’s team. Me and Lanele will join Rupert because of our connection to the nat…” I started looking at the leader whose name I learned a few moments ago.

Yet Gis cough few times irritated.

- “Something’s wrong sweetie?” I raised my brow

- “No, I just reminded myself that I am a party LEADER, thus I should be the one ordering around…” she pouted truly irritated

- “Fine. Go on.” I sighed covering my face with palm, trying to hide smile.

- “So… I was just wondering… that you and Lana can help with spirits, cuz, you know, you are magicians and such, and in meantime, I will keep myself occupied with a much more entertaining matter, like hunting.”

- “Gisele…” I was simply lacking words

- “What!?”

- “Nothing. It’s a great idea. I am proud of you.”

And then she showed me that huge, innocent, yet a little bit dumb grin which made my heart and will melt.

- “So, ready boys?” Rupert asked his men

- “You can never be fully prepared!” They all yelled like one being

- “Attaboys. Let’s do it.”

And we moved into deep, dark forest that grew south of the village.

The very aura of the forest appeared strange to me, so very unfamiliar, weird, and twisted. As a druid, I simply couldn’t feel bad while being surrounded by trees, I could never get lost within woods, because every single leaf, every blade of the grass was almost singing to me.

Yet this forest was quiet. Even though I could feel exactly the same life energy behind plants, even though I still felt a connection… The forest was not welcoming.

It wasn’t singing, it wasn’t blooming. The music of insects walking over the tree trunk, crescendo of birds calling their mate from the upper branches of the trees. Nothing was present.

Though it usually is dark in forests, especially as dense as this one, the lack of vision was greatly disturbing. It shouldn’t be THAT dark!

And smell. It was the smell of a forest, yet it simply did not fit. The current season of the year, the geographical location of the forest… it should smell like berries and dry branches. Instead, it smelled like a bog. The moss under our feet was heavy and bloated with water, almost swallowing our legs each time we stepped on it. In some aspects, it resembled Forest of Dread.

- “It’s… wow.” Marie let out a muffled gasp

- “I assume it didn’t look like this when you were here last time.” I more stated than asked her

- “Indeed. When I was here a month ago, I had no problems with finding the altar, I mean, everyone knows where it is, that was the point – allowing everyone to find the place of worship! There was a path leading there, nothing great, but it was clearly directing the way… yet, it’s gone. It… overgrown with weeds.”

- “No villager tends that path? Keeping it clean or…”

- “No. It did not require that. Nothing ever grows on it because… just because! Almost as if the forest wanted to keep this path.”

I cursed quietly

- “Apparently one unwanted guest started affecting the forest, but how? His powers should be limi…” realization hit me hard in very next moment

- “Night of Three moons?” Rupert asked smiling sadly with the corner of his lips

- “It seems so. Truly, a cursed night.” I repeated his words which previously I treated as blasphemy

Eventually, we reached a small clearing, yet even though fewer trees grew here, the surroundings appeared to be even darker.

- “I… I don’t understand. It should be here… but…” Witch started looking in confusion left and right as if looking for something “… altar should be here. Yet…”

- “Shh, easy child. Focus. How did it look like?” Rupert put his palm on Marie’s shoulder calming her down a little

- “It was… it looked like a pedestal for some stone tablet. It reached my chest, around half meter long and wide….”

She started waving her hands showing us the approximate shape of a structure. And here our troubles already started. The clearing was filled with dozens, if not hundreds of broken tree trunks covered with vines and roots, all of them were similar in shape to the mentioned altar.

Apparently, the spirit was smart enough to hide the altar, cover it with moss and plants in a mass of similar structures. If we wanted to recreate the summoning rite, first we had to find the structure. And that meant that we would have to get rid of plants covering it.

How much time is required for a group of five people to clear hundreds of trunks from vines and roots? A lot. These will not give up easily. And I bet that this is not the last surprise that annoying spirit prepared for us.

As if only waiting for my words, the clearing slowly started filling with dense fog, covering our field of vision.

You must be kidding me!

Maybe I could just burn this place to the ground…

… no, no, no. The last thing I want is burning down the sacred grove. Even as an Oracle I will not be left unpunished by the Guardian Spirits of this place. I start regretting not taking Gisele with us, she is not the sharpest tool in the shed, but if she is good at something – then it definitely is destroying stuff.

With an annoyed groan, I looked left and right. Hunters and Marie were relatively far away, at least far enough not to notice my nails turning into long, curved claws I used to tear the resistant plants. Of course, behind those, all I saw was a piece of tree. I cursed loudly and stepped away from it, just to noticed that vines that I have just tore into shreds once again started climbing the structure, completely covering the tree.

So, we will have to remember which one we have already checked? I have no problem with that, I have the memory of a nerd. But, I am pretty much sure that my companions will not have same advantage.

- “Oh, come on!” I heard annoyed yell from the side. The other hunter – Sam, seem heavily frustrated “… this shit keeps re-growing!”

This spirit starts to annoy me.

A single vein started pulsating on my forehead.

Where is shadow-clone skill when you need it most?!

Jasper was moving around a dozen steps in front of the rest of the team. Every member of the brotherhood specialized in bit different branch of dealing with evil beings. Some could recognize a mimic which turned into tiny chest in the warehouse of trade company, another one was able to find a succubus before she actually started to lead males toward their demise, and some were masters in finding monsters that live in the forest.

That was Jasper’s ability. He was able to recognize which footprint belong to warg, and which to a werewolf. Just by throwing a glance at deer’s carcass he could tell if it was killed by cave bear or Goliath.

And actually not too many people can do that. Most likely because warg’s paw and werewolf’s paw were identical, the only difference was the way creatures balanced their bodies, making most of the werewolf’s footprints “incomplete”, while warg was pushing his whole paw in the dirt, and when deer encounters cave bear or behemoth almost nothing remains for further inspection.

Yet Jasper saw these fragile, almost spiritual differences. For him, the world was vibrating with different frequencies of magic. On that half-eaten bone Jasper could notice an invisible magical signature of creature that did it.

Yet, right now, he had a problem. The forest was different. So much magic was in the air, that his 6th sense was raging from madness within his head. Also, his enemy is a former hunter that became a beast. He could only guess at the intentions of the creature.

And then he noticed it.

He raised his hand with a clenched fist in the air, ordering the rest of the group to stop.

In front of him, in the middle of the path, a piece of clothing was laying – a leather jacket that Johann was supposed to wear the day he left the village hurting a dozen of men that tried to stop him.

Normally, he would rush to check it, such a piece of cloth was a limitless source of information! Was he bleeding? Was he tired? Why did he throw it away?

Maybe his change accelerated, his body shape shifted and he could no longer keep it on his back without a constant feeling of discomfort?

But, there was one thing that kept bugging him. It was too obvious. The creature was crazy, but definitely not stupid. He knew that villagers would come after him, yet he didn’t rip it into pieces and throw them all around the forest to mislead the hunting dogs. No, it was lying untouched in the middle of the path, in the plain sight. Almost like a bait.

Jasper picked quite heavy stone from the ground and rolled it toward the jacket. Yet nothing happened. He looked left and right, looking for some ropes that would send a log tied to the tree to break his body into a bloody pulp. Yet there was none.

Yet he was still not convinced. He moved to the tree, broke off one very long branch, and used it to touch the jacket from a safe distance.

And that saved his life.

Jacket was tied to the stone covered by it. While moving the jacket, it pulled the stone off the trigger of the trap, which also remained under the jacket. About one meter tall and wide platform with dozen of sharpened pieces of wood jerked up and down, like a mousetrap, smashing the ground where he would be standing if he had decided to take the jacket with his own hands.

Trap was nasty, made so the trapped person would die, yet not right away. Dozen of sharpened wooden spikes would dig deep into the flesh, yet wouldn’t let him bleed out right away, working as “bungs”. If someone would try helping him, then he would die within a minute, if not, he would be waiting for hours in terrible agony waiting for the hunter to come.

An angry growl could be heard from the bush two meters away from the trap before some creature jumped from it and ran away. First dozen of meters it ran like a human, but then it dropped on all fours like a wild animal. Strangely, this way it was much, much faster.

Jasper’s heart jumped to his throat.

He didn’t sense that creature. It was around four meters away from him, watching all this time, yet he didn’t see it, didn’t hear it nor “tasted” it. That never happened before.

Also, he was still separated from rest of his team. He was sure that creature could jump at him, slash his throat open and run away uninterrupted. Yet it didn’t. Why?

There was only one logical answer – the creature was playing with them. Like a cat that is tormenting a mouse that can’t escape. He was completely underestimating them!... or maybe it really was this way.

- “Go! Catch him before…!”

Dragoness yelled seeing back of the beast trying to chase it, yet Jasper stood on her path.

- “Get out of my way, why do you…”

He pointed at the trap

- “If you would follow him, you would most likely end in one of those. We need to follow it, you are right, but unless you can detect traps and ambushes, you are following my orders.”

She wanted to curse and yell at him, yet in the end she just gazed angrily and let it go, going back into her place in the formation.

She was a great warrior, there was no doubt. The way she moved, the way she held her weapon. She is going to be a great help if they would eventually confront the monster, but to do so, she must survive first.

- “Whatever, it probably already ran away.” She pouted.

With a corner of his lips, Jasper smiled. He knew this kind of attitude. When he was but a child he would yell at Rupert which kept teaching him how to sneak and detect traps instead of fighting. Back then, Rupert said.

- “You are right that forces of evil are strong, Jasper, that they have claws and fangs and you will have to learn how to fight, but the true reason why they are so dangerous is because of their cunningness. The brave warriors die before they are able to challenge the beast because beasts are NOT playing fair. So, before you would learn how to swing a sword, I will need to teach you to survive long enough to live up to the moment when you could actually use it.

Then, there were other lessons.

- “Everyone has his role, Jasper. You will never kill a vampire alone. Never. This is impossible. In my life, I killed three of them, all the times we were fighting in groups of eight men, Jasper, if half of the team survived, we were lucky. Listen, it is not your duty to KILL the beasts, you have your comrades for that, your duty is to keep them alive, to warn them before the threats that await them kill them. Very often, when you will finally catch the beast you were tracking for days, you will have to step back and watch the fight.”

- “BUT WHY!? I want to kill them! Vampires killed ev…”

- “JASPER! You. Will never. Be able. To kill. A vampire. Alone. These creatures are extremely fast, inhumanly strong, most of the blades can’t hurt them, they can use deadly magic and their enchanted senses make them impossible to ambush. Humans will never reach this level of power. This is why you have to choose one specialization and allow your comrades to fill the gaps. You were born with extraordinary talent, Jasper, you can see things I can’t even imagine! You HAVE TO step back during battles because you are too valuable. You are our eyes, Jasper, without you, we are blind. You can either act like a child, risk life of the whole team to get your silly vengeance, or you can become something greater, something, that will allow us to kill not three, but thirty vampires! Or three hundred!”

Young Jasper would clench his fists because of helplessness and sob quietly

- “Don’t be selfish, Jaspy, the creatures that will be killed by your team are YOURS. Without you, not one of them will succeed. Just like healers job is to hide behind the lines, as yours is to step off the ground and watch the surrounding, because in the shadow, monsters may have allies, waiting only for the moment when attention of all of you would be focused on the monster you were hunting, to wipe all of you in an instant. Mind over body, my child. Keep your hatred on the leash, and it will be more powerful than any blade.

Jasper snapped out from his memories, yet his smile did not vanish from his lips. This girl, she surely could use some lessons of anger-management.

For now, Mind over Body.

Hunt begins, and they are not prey.