The rain started to fall in earnest as the team leaders consulted. Big, fat drops plopped against the forest's canopy, the water collecting together and connecting into thin streams that poured down on the hunters. My lodge brothers and sisters crouched among the trees waiting to hear how we’d respond to what Borba had done.

Everyone looked pensive. It didn’t stop them from being alert and keeping their eyes roving over the woods in case something dangerous approached, but there was a distracted air to the gathered hunters’ spirits, revealed in the physical world as narrowed eyes and intermittent glances to the northeast.

In the meantime, Yuki kept me busy, since I was their transport between each of the Siphoned trees. Their tendrils dug into the areas where Borba’s qi had wormed into the trunks, following and taking it apart before eating it. I caught echoes of the taste: a mixture of blood, earth, sour, and spicy, with the texture somehow damp and dry at the same time. Yuki wasn’t a fan—apparently not much compared to my qi these days—but they didn’t find the flavors as distasteful as I did.

I washed my mouth out with water, and did my best to ignore the sensations coming from Yuki. That got me some sympathetic looks from the other hunters, but it was because they thought I was the one having to deal with Borba’s qi. Of the people present, only my team knew about Yuki, and the role they played in my life.

Each tree took about ten minutes to de-Siphon, not including the time it took to climb up, climb down, and travel in between. The consensus, though, was that it needed to be done. The more Borba fed, the more dangerous he became. A single tree might not count for much, especially if it was being drained slowly, but dozens, hundreds? They’d give him qi for days. Even Yuki and I wouldn’t be able to keep up.

No, we needed Borba hungry, so that he was both weaker and more likely to make stupid decisions as a result. None of us expected him to do anything truly imbecilic, like attacking a creature outside of his ability to handle—a dragon, perhaps—but it was easy to make careless errors when truly hungry.

After the third tree, Mumu brought everyone together to announce the team leaders’ decision: “The rain works against us and muddies the signs of Borba’s passage. At the same time, what Eight is doing to weaken our prey is critical to the success of the hunt. Therefore, we have decided to split our efforts. Haol, Tegen, and I will pursue Borba’s trail, moving quickly so that we do not lose him. We will leave signs, so that everyone else can follow, taking care of the trees and other creatures that Borba left behind to power his abilities.”

Teila raised her hand. “I understand Eight staying behind, but why me?”

“The Way of the Hunter is strong within you, but you are an apprentice. The pace our team will set is still beyond you. The three of us,” Mumu said, gesturing to include Haol and Tegen, “are the strongest hunters in Voorhei. We have the best chance of fighting or fleeing successfully.”

My ego poked me, but I shushed it right away. Yes, my skills and abilities put me firmly in the group that would be going ahead, yet I was needed for clearing the Siphons, and Mumu didn’t need to complicate her speech with a bunch of explanations and exceptions. She was doing her best to draw a clear line, so that people could easily understand the rationale. I got that.

From the look on Teila’s face, she also didn’t like being left behind, but she didn’t say anything either. Then, she shook away whatever she was thinking, and sent a rueful look my way, which I returned.

“What other questions do you have?” Mumu’s eyes shifted from hunter to hunter, her spirit thrumming with the intensity of her feelings.

The hunters gazed back at her. There was just the sound of the rain falling in response, the muted music of the forest around us. On the surface, all were steady, but a few spirits wavered. She was still young, our Mumu, just barely twenty. She was so capable, I sometimes forgot that fact, but clearly there were hunters who missed the seasoned experience of Inleio and Kesa.

“That’s well, then,” Mumu said. “Be safe, and catch up when you can.” Then she gestured to Haol and Tegen, and the three slipped away. It took only a breath or two for them to disappear into the forest.

Once they were gone, a sigh went through the gathered hunters—not so much a physical exhalation as release of tension.

“Dura? Is this all right?” The person asking was behind me, so I didn’t see who it was.

The other hunters must’ve also been curious to hear the question's answer, because their attention turned towards the team leader. Dura rubbed the back of his head, and glanced aside to Susu while gathering his thoughts.

I’d done my best to network within the lodge, but I didn’t know either of them super well.

My impression of Dura was that he was the friendly sort, with smiling eyes and a gentle spirit. More often than not, whenever I encountered him in the village running errands, he’d be carrying either a child on his shoulder or a young animal in his arms. It’d been a while since I’d last checked him with my Status camera, so I took a quick look:

Durasta the Hunter (Human)

Talents: Easy in the Woods, Practiced Spear, Friend of the Small

Susu, on the other hand, was tallish and thickset. Her eyes were set in a broad face, and usually looked like they’d poke holes in whatever she was looking at. Her most notable feature, though, was her hands. They were soft and smooth, almost like a baby. It was such a weird contrast to her personality, which was coarse, and yet that rough manner was what was apparently needed to keep the hunters on her team organized and motivated. I looked at her talents too:

Susunou (Human)

Talents: Natural Butcher, Get ‘Er Done

After a while, Dura finally said, “Our lodge master is young, but her spear is sharp. Wily too. Do you remember the musk oxen from a season ago? It was her plan that saw them defeated. She’s led many successful hunts.” Dura nodded to himself, as if recognizing the wisdom of his own words. “If you trusted Inleio’s judgement, then you must trust Mumu because he chose her for the position.”

“But to go with just three?” This time I caught who was speaking; it was Miri, Teila’s mother. “That’s reckless. We all saw how Borba was able to fight the King of the Forest almost all on his own. If the apprentices need to be held back, fine, I understand. But then reshuffle the teams. Both you and I can use qi-magic. She should’ve taken us with her, and kept five as her team’s number.”

“That would leave us without any qi-users,” Ahlrein said.

“Just like any other hunt for your team,” Miri countered.

“Not every prey is Borba,” Ahlrein replied, starting to heat up.

“That’s enough—” Susu started to say, but Dura held her back.

“A hunter is flexible. Think of it this way: Mumu's not leaving team members behind; she’s entrusting their safety to us, which is why she didn’t bring Miri and me along with her.” Dura glanced from hunter to hunter, but his eyes were a lot milder than Mumu’s had been. “For now, we shouldn’t delay any longer. The more we talk, the farther we fall behind.” He turned toward me. “Eight, if you please, continue cleansing the trees. Teila, you should stick with him, since the two of you are used to working together.”

I saw a few heads nodding along to Dura’s speech, but not everyone seemed convinced. They still dispersed, though, to take up positions in the area, and Teila jogged to where I was standing.

“Which tree is next?” she asked.

The closest was an ash surrounded by a leafy halo of oranges and reds about fifteen yards away. The mark on its trunk looked to be within easy jumping distance. I gestured in its direction, and we began to walk side by side.

Teila had a thoughtful expression, and I wondered if it was because of what had just happened.

“Is everything all right between your parents?”

She shrugged. “It’s just the way they are. My father is annoyed that every team has at least one person who can use magic except for his. It’s something he wishes he could do.”

“Ah, I understand.” And I did too—it’d be awful to live in a world of magic and not be able to use it myself. “And the talk questioning Mumu’s leadership... that didn’t concern you?”

A sly grin spread across her face. “Is this the Little Pot questioning the appropriateness of questions?”

I chuckled. “Maybe. I know it’s hard seeing people not trust someone you care about.”

It’d never been lost on me that Teila frequently mimicked Mumu and her mannerisms—the braids in which her hair was woven, the way she arranged her gear, and even her postures when sneaking and hunting. It was true that both of Teila’s parents were hunters, and I saw bits of them in her too, but it was Mumu who she most aspired to be.

Teila ducked her head and shook it. “I asked once—not long after you’d first arrived at the village, I’d found Inleio and Mumu talking, and asked about your nickname. I was upset at our hunters for making fun of you, but they explained it was a name of honor. That the best hunters were curious, and that questions were tools, just like our knives, spears, and bows.”

She paused, and her spirit shimmered, as if something sacred was being brought to the surface. “Inleio said that the real prey of any hunter was the truth of themselves and the world. Our skills, talents, and practices are just how we get there.” She turned toward me, and her eyes were bright with unshed tears. “So, no, the questions didn’t upset me. Our hunters were testing the truth of their understanding and the way we do things, like checking the solidity of the ground before walking on it.”

The glow surrounding her spirit peaked, and then settled just under the surface.

“That meant a lot to you,” I said.

“It did.” She then laughed at herself. “And what I am is frustrated at being left behind just now. I see you and Mumu always moving ahead, and I worry about being able to catch up. I don't want to be a weight upon our team’s back.”

By that point, we’d reached the tree to be cleansed, and I confirmed that Borba’s mark was within jumping distance, then leapt up with a burst of Bear’s Strength. The nearest branch to the mark wasn’t thick enough to hold my full weight, so I wrapped my legs around the trunk and loop an arm around the branch as a brace.

As Yuki went to work, I turned back toward Teila to continue our conversation, and saw her with her arms folded across her chest, glaring at me. “Show off.”

I cringed at my poor timing—not that she was wrong. I knew myself well enough to recognize that I did like showing off, but it was the harmless kind. I never intended to demonstrate a spell she didn’t know. Besides—

“You’re not exactly slacking,” I said. “You’ve earned two new spells in the past season.”

“Compared to the hunter who contributed a basket full of eltaak so that he could learn all the spells available to apprentices?”

I felt myself blushing. “I couldn’t help myself.”

“And six talents,” Teila said. “That’s not something you can earn from the lodge.”

Well, I actually had eight talents, but no one else knew that, except for Diriktot, the Fallen God of Order. It was his System we were all using, after all. Speaking of which, I checked Teila’s Status through the camera in my mind.

Teila (Human)

Talents: Wood-Wise

Nascent Talents: Stealthy, True Hunter

I’d seen that shimmering in a person’s spirit a couple of times before, and in both instances, it presaged a change in their Status. The first case was Ben from Kesa’s team. He’d been spending a lot of time practicing his spells, and I happened to be present when he managed to unlock a new talent called Balanced Magician. According to the lodge’s records, it’d help him grow his capacity for either qi or mana, depending on whichever was smaller.

The whole lodge celebrated that night, since that was Ben’s fourth talent. It was the same number as the village head and the world speaker; one more than the reeve.

The second case was actually one of my own kids—Aluali’s Wisdom attribute hit rank 10 early, and he picked up the Introverted talent on reaching the milestone. The whole family had been lounging in the Glen watching one of Ikfael’s shows, when I’d spotted a flare of spiritual energy coming from him. Then, he’d suddenly stood up, his eyes wide, and said, “Milestone. It has to be a milestone.”

We’d clustered all around him, curious, and listened as he described how it felt—like a fruit growing until the skin burst—and his impressions of the new talent—like there was a starry sky inside him. I thought Billisha might be jealous, but she was nothing but happy for her adopted brother, and we put together a feast to celebrate.

Anyway, I saw a new nascent talent in Teila’s Status: True Hunter.

“It’s true the lodge can’t give you talents, but with enough practice, three is the direction of five.”

Teila quirked her head. “What are you saying, Little Pot?”

“That effort matters, and you should keep pursuing the truth of being a hunter. There’s a talent in you for it.”

Her eyebrows rose in surprise. “Is that something you see with your eyes.”

I nodded. “Just now.”

Teila smiled in delight. She also looked immensely pleased with herself, and immediately ran away, ostensibly to share the news with her parents, leaving me alone at the tree. A moment later, though, she came running back.

“Thank you, Eight.” She cleared her throat. “You’re a true blessing.” Then she took off for real.

Inside me, Yuki snickered. They’d caught Teila blushing, seeing it through my eyes.

Shush, you. She’s nine.

Teila and Ollie/Eight kissing in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love—

I chuckled. Okay, okay, that’s enough. Joking aside, it’s just childhood. Kids fall into and out of infatuation all the time.

If you say so.

I do. Now, more importantly, how’s it going?

Almost done, Yuki said, and then I felt their qi withdraw from the tree. There we go; time to move on to the next one.

###

Another thirty minutes went by before we finished. It would’ve been forty, but Yuki sped up as they became more familiar with the process. When I reported the last tree cleansed, Dura gathered everyone up for a head count and quick briefing before we left to follow Borba’s trail.

I thought I might join Susu’s group, so that they’d at least temporarily have a caster with them, but Dura assigned both Teila and me to the center—the protected area—of his group. That had the two of us looking askance at each other again. I mean, that was where we were positioned on our own team, but on Dura’s?

I brought up the idea of traveling with Susu’s team, but Dura nixed it right away. “Apprentices are in the middle of the formation,” he said, and as the most senior team leader present, he was in charge. So, that was apparently that.

At least we were able to move relatively quickly through the woods once we departed. Mumu and the others had left signs for us to follow. Their marks on the trees were a lot more innocuous than Borba’s.

The rain lifted, and the sun played peekaboo from behind the clouds, its rays cutting through gaps in the tree cover to speckle the ground. A few of the trees were shedding their leaves early, creating puddles of light on top of the clutter around their trunks. They had sleepy spirits, and barely seemed to notice us as we passed them.

We crossed a couple of small streams—little things that were easy to cross—before we eventually stepped out from under the forest’s canopy onto a cleared passage with a road running through it. The trees to either side had been chopped down, leaving the stumps behind, and the road itself was about twenty feet wide and paved with flat rectangular stones joined together with concrete.

This was the highway that led to Albei. All we’d have to do is turn right to follow it, and we’d eventually arrive at the city. We waited just inside the tree line for Susu and her team to catch up, and used the opportunity to drink from our water skins and enjoy the sunbreaks. Once they arrived, we’d cross the road to see what marks Mumu left behind for us.

It was about then that Teila caught sight of something—I saw her head snap to the west—and she whistled. The lodge used a number of them, as well as animal and bird calls, to communicate in situations where Signed Diaksh wouldn’t work. One of the most important was an alarm meant to get people’s immediate attention and get them into hiding right away.

The hunters melted into the trees, and I did the same, casting both Camouflage and Scentless Hunter.

A smear of colors made its way cautiously toward Teila, but I recognized the spirit behind the Camouflage spell as belonging to Dura. “Is it Borba?” he asked, whispering.

“Cutter hawks,” Teila whispered back. “Forty yards west, north of the road.”

The forest shifted as all the nearby hunters turned to look. There were a series of century-old oaks, their canopies wide enough to partially cover the road. Movement flickered among them as a kettle of—what looked like—miniature red-tailed hawks repositioned throughout their branches. They were about a quarter the size of the ones in my previous life, and I had to enchant my eyes to see how the beaks were longer than a regular hawk’s.

Cutter Hawk (Animal)

Talents: Sharp-Beaked, Prey for Life

Cutter Hawk (Animal)

Talents: Don’t Blink, Ten Thousand Cuts

Cutter Hawk (Animal)

Talents: Aerial Superiority, The Widening Gyre

There were three to four dozen of the birds, and the ones I checked with my Status camera possessed talents similar to the first three—looking like they provided bonuses to things like maneuverability while flying, rending flesh, and working together.

The spirits of the hunters around me colored with dismay, and my own gut tightened with alarm. There were just so many of the cutter hawks, and from what I’d been told they attacked like aerial piranha. They were supposed to be able to strip the flesh from a man in less than a minute.

A group of massed hunters could potentially shoot some down, but not all and not unless the arrows were empowered; the birds were agile enough to avoid regular ones. No, the traditional response to cutter hawks was wide-area magic, which was usually provided by the element-touched. In the past, the village had relied on Woldec and Grunthen, but they were dead. And while Sheedi helped defend Voorhei during the Long Dark, she didn’t get involved in lodge hunts.

I heard someone whisper, “What do we do? We can’t leave them this close to the road.”

Another voice whispered, “Not just the road—the village isn’t far by air.”

“This is why you’re not supposed to split the party. Mumu—”

“Enough,” Dura whispered. “Remember your trail discipline.”

“Susu’s team will arrive any moment,” Teila whispered. “If they miss us and step out onto the road, the hawks will spot them.”

Dura’s spirit roiled as he considered his options. I caught him looking between the hawks, the hunters around him, and the trailed behind us. A feeling like ice grew at the center of him as he came to a decision.

“Teila, make your way along our backtrail to warn Susu’s team of the danger. Miri, you go with her. Both of you stay Camouflaged until you’re well away. The rest of us will stay here to track the hawks in case they move. If, for some reason, they catch sight of us... I’ll draw them off. The rest of you stay hidden.”

“But—”

“Losing one is better than losing all,” Dura whispered.

“And losing none is even better,” I whispered back. “Send me instead, I can draw the hawks away, and then lose them.”

Dura shook his head, his Camouflage smearing. “I won’t risk our most promising apprentices. Inleio would have my hide.”

“Inleio’s dead,” I said, forcing my voice to stay steady.

“He’d still find a way to take it.” Dura turned to Teila. “Why haven’t you left yet?”

She didn’t respond. Instead, she asked me, “Eight, what about your Spark?”

Spark? The spell had worked well enough on the giant owl, but there’d only been one of him. Technically, it was capable of jumping from target to target, but only if the caster’s control was good and there was enough mana to power it. In practice, I’d gotten the bolt to jump three times from a single cast. But if I kept the mana flowing...

What do you think? I asked Yuki.

Their qi revolved around itself as they thought it through. It’s not possible to create an aurora like the kalihchi bear. We’d be working against the runes to do that—the spell is designed to focus the electricity into a single bolt.

That’s not something we know for certain, I said.

No, but the intent is clear enough from the spell’s results. Hmm... instead we could—

—use my affinity to affect the lightning after it’s already been generated by the spell, like using a splitter on a line. Yes, I see. That should let us branch it—

—it’d literally be like branches extending from the trunk of a tree—

—and if we both cast, using both hands, that’s double the output.

Yuki’s qi flipped in anticipation. The spell would look like burning hands from D&D, except with lightning.

I couldn’t help smiling at the thought. I mean, there was a death blender just down the road, and that was scary as hell, but cool was cool.

Teila was deep within her Camouflage, but my spirit eyes caught her shaking her head. “It looks like the answer is that you can make Spark work.”

I ducked my head, embarrassed. “Ah, yes, I think so. I should be able to cast the spell wide enough, but we’d still need to kill the hawks after they’ve been stunned. And maybe a few hunters to watch out for any hawks outside the affected area.” Wait, I’m Camouflaged. How did she know I was grinning?

Ollie/Eight is predictable.

Not that much, surely?

Yuki shared an image of a raised eyebrow, but before I could respond, Teila spoke again.

“I’ll leave now to get Susu’s team. We're going to need all our knives unsheathed once Eight goes into action.” She made sure to face toward where Dura crouched listening. “I’m sorry if I overstepped, but I thought I’d help make our capabilities clearer.”

“No one has said anything about Spark being used in this way,” Dura said.

“It hasn’t ever been,” Teila said. “Eight just came up with it now.”

Dura’s confusion manifested as a purple haze around his head. “How did you know to ask?”

This time it was Teila’s turn to smile. “I’ve seen him play during a thunderstorm.”

The haze didn’t go away, but Dura must’ve chosen to accept Teila’s words, because he said, “Then I thank you for contributing to this hunt. Now, you and Miri go to find Susu’s team. We’ll put this plan into action once they’ve arrived. In the meantime, we continue as I’ve previously instructed. If the hawks notice us, I will lead them away.”

I started to talk, but Dura's gaze hardened. “Not Eight, me. He is needed for this plan of Teila’s. We will not risk him unnecessarily.”

I sighed and put away my objections. Susu’s team shouldn’t be that far behind, so hopefully Dura wouldn’t have to make that sacrifice. Still, I said a short prayer to speed Teila and Miri along as they slipped away.