“So you want to be a sorceress?” Lacie asked.

“Yes,” she said with firm conviction in her voice as she did she heard a chime and the library seemed to speak in her head.

“You have become a Sorceress level 1.” She felt odd as her body seemed to adapt to the changes that the system required and then she felt something more, a strange energy that seemingly flowed through her. Then she saw the notifications flashing.

Sorceress Level 1;

Mana Level:180

Health: 170

Bloodline Magic Received:

Spells Received:

Detect Monster - The caster is able to detect monsters and creatures in a 20-foot radius

Detect Poison - The Caster is able to detect poisons.

Light Orb - The caster is able to create a globe of light.

Lesser Healing - The caster is able to heal himself or an individual.

Energy Dart- The caster is able to shoot darts of energy.

“Victoria Vivian Leighton. You have been registered with the system. We welcome you to the hall of hunters and look forward to seeing your deeds. At these words, the light that made up the great library began to fade and was soon gone. Victoria found herself standing in the middle of the winter-bare garden Eyes wide with a small shining form hovering nearby.

“You know what this means.” Lacie sang mischievously as she started to fly around the shocked girl. “Shopping trip.”

Victoria did the only thing she could logically think of. She held out her hand and cast Energy Dart s bolt of energy shot from her hand and struck a stone in the yard she had been loosely aiming at. The stone parked and dirty fountained up from where the bolt had hit, slightly off-center of the object. The young girl found herself excitedly rushing over to the spot. Where she saw what appeared to be black scorch marks on the rock. “It was so easy.” She said her voice filled with excitement ash she raised both of her hands up in front of her examining them in fascination. “Why have I never heard about this before? She asked Rhetorically.

A small voice answered her. “Because when the unexplained happens, or you get that cold feeling in the one place. There is a deep understanding in all humanity, that there is something far older than us here. That it doesn’t care about us particularly and could kill us or leave us at its own whim. So humans look the other way consciously or unconsciously. You pretend that it's not there and that you are safe.” Victoria saw the small pixie hovering. “That's where the hunters come in.”

“We stop the bad things?” She asked in a small voice.

“Yes, we do. We tell them it isn’t real, that its safe while telling them to not screw around with the weird, to ignore the creepy lights in the sky and to lock up at night and not to be fucking stupid.” Lacie’s voice was calm, soft and creepy as hell. For some reason, Victoria found her mouth was dry. “In a modern sense, you don’t talk about Fightclub.” The teenager found herself nodding at the pixie's words. “Ready to practice some more spells?” For the next hour, Victoria found herself casting spells then resting and casting again.

“Lacie,” she finally asked. “What can I tell my friends?”She was thinking of Luke and Caroline.

The pixie flew around her in what appeared to be deep thought. “There is no rule that you can’t tell anyone.” But she sighed. “Either they will believe you or they won’t. Some may seek out the strange and unusual and die of it and others won’t.” She patted the young girl on the cheek. “Most hunters find themselves with few normal friends but maybe you will be the exception.”

Victoria laughed bitterly. “For now I will have to be, I don’t know any other hunters.”

X X X

The teenager found her dreams were troubled that night. She saw herself battling through the halls of the Texson Methodist hospital and creatures popped out of the patients' room or road on the shoulders of staff and patients alike attacking her. She threw bolts of energy around but all to soon she was overwhelmed and born down by the bodies. Dream after a horrid dream she finds she can not wake, she found hundreds if not thousands of ways to die as a hunter. Dragging here poor abused body out of bed she sighs. “Was it all just a bad dream?” She wonders as she examines herself in the restroom mirror. She sees herself but at the same time, she senses small differences in herself.

“Well, the school uniform can’t exactly help my charisma.” She snorts as she looks at the gray plaid dress, knee-length black socks, and white top and sighs.

”You know throwing on some makeup would help or seek a boyfriend in japan I hear the dirty old men go for that sort of thing…” Victoria's eyes were wide when she heard Lacie’s voice. “Come to think of it I think that goes for the dirty young men too.”

“I thought you were done with helping me last night.” She said, her real thoughts were that she may not have been insane after all.

The pixie flew around examining Victoria’s room. The furniture was handed down. The twin bed had been lovingly refinished. The dresser was needed and tidy with only a few bottles on top next to the small jewelry box she owned. The room was worn but comfortable and on the small side. The room reflected the changing tastes of a teenager on the cusp of adulthood. The desk held her books for school while the nightstand held a novel she had been told was fantastic. “Hey, Lacie is Twilight real?”

“The book? No thank the library. vampires don’t sparkle.” She said musingly.” Though they can walk about in the day time if they chose their powers are diminished, however.”

There came a knocking on her door. “Hey sis, get the lead out mom wants to make sure we get to the bus on time.” Looking at the time she found that she was indeed running late something she almost never did. She was always reminded of her dad's words. Being late was the prerogative of the rich and lazy. Soon she had a breakfast burrito and found herself waiting at the bus stop. Vincent had left already to the middle school and so she found herself waiting on the corner perusing her attributes and spells, wondering when she might get the opportunity to use them.

She pursed her lips as she saw the first spell and she decided to try to cast it. She felt something leave her, the energy, she found ti hard to describe. Then she felt it she thought about what she felt around her and realized it was almost like sonar, then she remembered that when you used sonar the enemy could hear your signal just as well as you could. “There's so much I don’t know about hunting.” She said aloud.

“And that's why I’m here”. Lacie replied. “It is my pleasure to train you.” The teenager sighed as she felt a bit of dread washing over her.

“Where do we get started?”

“First we establish baselines for your spells.” The small pixie said. “We can do that after school.”

“Thanks, I guess.” She sighed. “ I never realized how had it was to be charismatic. How do popular girls do it?”

The small pixie muttered semi-audibly. “On their knees.” The smiled brightly. All the new hunter could think was at least she was being nice to her for now.

All to soon the bus pulled to a stop and Victoria boarded to head to school. Pushing her way to the middle of the bus she took a seat and tried to blend in. She never noticed the small paid of beady deep-set eyes that had followed her down the street, never saw the small hand doff its blue cap and scratch at its rough stony hair. “This is gonna put a cramp in my plans.” It said as it faded into the bushed once more.