Sunny was had her hand over her eyes and was rubbing her temples for all that she was worth. “Fairies, ghosts, gnomes, insects and talking rats.” She sounded pained. “Why me?”

“Why you what?” The teenager asked confused.

“Never mind.” The older woman looked around the room. The other students had grown bored and seemed to have filled out the questioners. “Let me collect these.” She said waiving a few of the questionnaires. “Tehn we can go talk.”

“I thought thats what we were doing?”

“You were talking, I was listening now I have to talk to you and…”She looked around the room. “There are far to many ears here.”

Victoria looked then shrugged. “I guess but let me talk to Ryoka and see if I can get the names of the missing girls.”

“Do that.”

The teen rushed over to the Asian girl and had a very animated conversation. Then handed her a note book waited while she Cora and Ryoka conferred reached an agreement then wrote out what appeared to be the names and addresses of the four missing girls. Victoria Hurried back to the older woman. “What did you tell them?” Sunny asked the younger woman.

“A lie. That you had asked me for the names of the girls from yesterday and that you wanted to check to see if they were out of school because they were being bullied.” She said with a smile as she offered up the notebook with five names.

“Five names? I thought only four girls were missing.”

“They included Caroline since she wasn’t in class today. I saw her at lunch earlier but she said she had an appointment and ran off.” The teen said musingly. “Do you want to visit them?”

“Yes…” Sunny said as she eyed the teenager. “You can’t go like that though.”

“Like what?” She said looking down at herself.

“You don’t have protection do you.” The older woman asked.

“I hope you arent’ implying…”

“I mean a gun or armor kid.” The woman said hotly.

“Oh. I have a knife at home I got this morning off the gnome I told you about, my magic, but no armor.”

Saundra rubbed her chin in thought. “Right the Gnome. Would you be comfortable with me going and checking out the Gnomes den?”

“Yes I’m uncomfortable.” Victoria replied then took a deep breath. “But I’m more uncomfortable thinking that there are more of the murderous little bastards out there.” She looked the older woman in the eyes. “And you can probably get my home address from the school if you needed to.” She said blandly.

“Probably.”

Before ten minutes was out Victoria found herself in a car with Saundra. The notifications had stopped flashing partway through their conversation. “Can you talk now?” she asked the older woman.

“Yeah, I’m just trying to think of what to tell you that you need to know.” She said looking askance at the teenager in her car. “So first for most of us the Akashic library in a myth.”

“What do you mean its a myth?”

“We are born and grow up shaped on a path chosen for us by our parents. When we hit the age of majority which for us is seventeen we have our class already and never interact with the Library.” She said eyes on the road as she drove. “You I’m guessing needed the library because you had never interacted nor had you ever had training.”

“Yeah, but I don’t know how it could have happened.” She looked perplexed. “The library siad my parents were great hunters. I can’t even imagine my father hunting a mouse.” She said with a snort. “I don’t even think he believes in monsters.”

“Thats a good thing. The fewer people that believe in monsters the fewer monsters we have to deal with.”

“What?” The teen asked in surprise. “That makes no sense.”

“Only if you don’t understand the Akashic field.” Sunny said as she blew through an intersection, Victoria grabbed the door handle tightly.”The field is influenced by human thought both positive and negative.”

“Okay.” Victoria said neutrally.

“The more people believe in magic the stronger it becomes. The more they believe in monsters and evil things the more monsters and evil things you get.” The teen nodded at the womans words.

“Now the Akashic field is strongest in cities, areas where people live in abundance and the mass of minds the more people the stronger the field. Got it?” Victoria Nodded as she tried to remain calm as the woman took a corner at speed. “More minds, greater preasure and a weakening of the field. A field already under strain due to the damage to the field from rifts.”

“S,s,so more people more monsters.” Victoria stammered.

“Right. Also the more access to magic.”

“And the more people know about magic and monsters the more pressure you get straining the field.” Victoria concluded.

“Good.” Sunny said with a warm smile for her protege. “I wasn’t around for it but the stir that happened in the seventies with dungeons and dragons.” She said shaking her head. “It was a panicked frenzy in some places with ministers talking about the devil in the game scaring parishioners”

“And the hunters come in how?”

“We are usually the only ones who can track them down and close the rifts.” She replied and looked at the teen. “Are you scared?”

“Not of being a hunter.” She said as her knuckles went white of the handle. “You uh might want to slow down some my house is the next block over.” The woman didn’t respond but Victoria could feel a easing of pressure as Saundra let up on the accelerator just a bit. Turning onto the street they saw a row of police cars partway down the street. “Oh my god they are in front of my house.” Victoria cried in horror. “Oh no. What are they doing there.” As the two women pulled up behind one of the illegally parked cruisers one of San Antonios finest walked up and knocked on the Drivers side window.

“How may I help you officer?”

“You can’t park here. You need to move on.”

Sunny motioned to her visibly distressed passenger. “I’m sorry. Miss Leighton lives here. She’s my apprentice.”

The officers hand came up and they heard a snap, as the officers hand rested on the butt of his pistol. ”Miss Leighton we have some questions for you.”