Victoria woke early in the morning with a groan. The sun had barely risen and she a self-respecting teenager was up early before the crack of noon. Osgood had told her that Saundra would be there in the morning to mentor her, she had thought it best to be up early and ready to go. “This is so unnatural— “ She grumped as she threw on clothes for the day. Sturdy jeans her hiking books and a shirt she wouldn’t mind getting dirty. Because she couldn’t fathom monster-hunting not being a nasty business.

She found herself in the backyard and practiced her spells mentally she reviewed the spells she hadn’t used yet. “Detect poison and light orb.” She said aloud musingly. Looking around the morning bright gardens he shrugged stretched and concentrated then with a flick of her wrist she cast light orb. A small ball of light hung in the air in front of the tips of her fingers. It appeared to have the lumens of about a forty-watt bulb. She spent some time trying to manipulate the light. She found she could make it brighter and dimmer, elongate the light, and if she concentrated she could make the light burst from her fingertip like a flashlight. Her last spell she was much more unsure of. She wasn’t sure why detect poison had been granted her. “Surely it’s not that useful.” She said thinking to herself. Reluctantly she looked at her mana and seeing that it was only about a quarter of the way don. She began once more by gaining her concentration and then casting the spell. Though she felt it was useless, she still believed she should understand the spell so she could use it effectively. As she cast the spell Victoria felt her senses broaden around the yard and then she felt the wrongness of some plants. The Wisteria plant made her feel queasy, as did the lilies just peeking their heads up out of the ground. “That can’t be right.” She said as she stalked off toward one bulb just peeking through. “What can’t be right?” She heard a voice say from the deck. She turned guiltily and saw Saundra. “Oh, hey.” She said coloring in embarrassment. “My spell Detect poison. It’s telling me that these plants are poisonous, I think.” “You think?” She asked with a smile. “Yeah, I mean I don’t know I’ve never used this spell before—” the teenager said. “And it’s better to know how to use a spell and what it tells you than to not,” Saundra said as she sat down on the steps. “That’s actually a good call and part of what Osgood wants me to work with you on. So what makes you think those plants are poisonous?” Her trainer asked. “This is going to sound kind of dumb. But they make me feel sick to my stomach.” The teen said feeling embarrassed that she couldn’t elaborate more. “That’s a good start,” Saundra said. “The lilies are poisonous as in the gardenia. But they aren’t going to kill you unless you eat a lot of them.” Victoria eyed the woman critically. She had dressed much the same as she had; jeans, practical shoes, a warm shirt, and a leather jacket rounded out her ensemble. “Are we ready to go?” The teen asked. “After you get anything, you need. Osgood said you would be getting lessons in how to fight with a blade?” The older woman asked. Victoria nodded. “I did, last night, and I got the skill for Blade fighting.” “That’s impressive. You must have a great blade master teaching you.” Saundra replied, looking at the girl speculatively. “Is he taking on other students?” She asked casually. “I don’t think so. I made a deal with him and now have to keep up my end of the bargain.” “Oh? What is your end?” “I need to find out how he can move on. He’s stuck here.” The teen said nonchalantly. “Stuck? What do you mean stuck?” “Um, Osgood didn’t tell you?” Victoria asked the older woman. “Not bloody likely, he called me up at midnight and told me to come to get you for today’s adventure in hunting down the Ensec Larvae. Then told me to test your skills with a knife and that you had a new blade master teaching you.” “Oh, well, yeah, though my master isn’t really new. He’s been hanging around the city for close to two hundred years.” “He’s what?” “He’s a ghost. Um.” The teen reached a hand up and rubbed the back of her head. “Yeah, Jim Bowie is teaching me how to fight with a knife but I have to help him by finding out how he can leave this plane of existence.” Saundra just sighed. She shook her head in exasperation and then said three words. “Damn it, Osgood.” For the next few minutes, the two women planned their day. With Saundra’s phone, they planned out the route they needed to take. “I was able to find one girl, Carla Sands, that larvae was still immature.” She had explained that left the women with two more students to track down. It also left them with time for the very inquisitive teenager to ask questions of the more experienced hunter. “So one question and this is something I’m dying to know. How is it that the hunters get paid?” To that question, Saundra laughed. “Hunters will never live high off the hog, it truly is a calling, a lot like being a priest. But we get paid a little better, and we can get married and have kids. That last part is encouraged, actually.” She said laughing when she saw the teenagers face. “But how? I mean who pays us?” “The organization has been around a long time. They taught the Templars about banking and compound interest. We have found treasures, sometimes won from monsters, and usually, it’s been invested wisely around the world, from shipping and banking in Italy to caravans and spices. “ “So we are part of a super-secret organization that fights monsters and is self-funded?” Victoria asked skeptically. “Pretty much.” She said with a laugh at the girl’s face. Get in the car our first stop should be about twenty minutes away.” Victoria reluctantly complied as she recalled the terror-inducing drive of the day before. * * * Less than twenty minutes later they pulled up in front of a nice newer home. “I’ll take the lead on this,” Saundra said as she tapped Victoria on the arm. “Okay.” The teen replied hesitantly. “What are we going to do?” “I’m from the school board and we’re doing a welfare check.” The older woman said. “And you are with the student body and wanted to check up on the cheer squad.” Victoria thought it was a pretty transparent lie but that it would probably work. “And then what?” She asked. “You use your detect monster spell. We kill the monsters and save lives.” Saundra said with a smirk. “No cowboying up and getting paid?” Victoria quipped. “This isn’t some pulp novel.” She said with a sigh. “Now wheres your knife?” Victoria held out her hand and smiled as she prepared to cast her new spell. “Right here.” Saundra looked at her empty hand strangely then gasped as a foot-long blade appeared in the young girl's hand. “That’s, that’s impossible.” The older woman said as she gaped in shock. “No, just a spell.” The teenager preened. “Not the spell, but you are too low level to learn that one. Or should be.” There was no mistaking the concern in the older woman's tone. “Get a backup in case the mana runs out. But wow.” Her mentor shook her head. “If this keeps up you’re going to be beyond my teaching.” “I have the feeling, that I’ll always have something to learn.” “Well, for now, let's teach you how to deal with these insects. The queen bee syndrome is real in most schools and it boils down to these queens of destruction ruining people's lives.” “That's pretty much what our job is, Huh,” Victoria stated. “Yeah,” The walk up to the front of the home was short. “Who lives here?” Victoria asked. “Lane McMaster's,” Saundra said. “She joined the cheer squad about a month ago when they had an opening.” She gestured at the home. “As you can see her family is middle class with both parents working. She was pretty much a “b” student up until she joined the squad and her grades and attitude dipped.” “I think I recall that one of the girls moved?” The teen mused. “We should probably check out where she moved to. Right in case, she had a mature form of the larvae?” Saundra looked glum. “Yeah, more than likely that girl is gone replaced by an ensec queen wearing her form like a mask.” They drew up to the door. “Here goes.” She said as she rang the doorbell. The could hear shuffling inside before the door opened. “What do you want?” A tall older blond-haired man said. Victoria didn’t think he sounded like he had been awoken. Se looked at him closely and saw tired blood-shot eyes. Saundra held up an identification card. “I’m Miss Lovejoy. I’m with the school central office. Your daughter hasn’t been to school in a few days and we hadn’t been informed. The cheer coach wanted us to drop by for a welfare check.” “she's sick,” He grunted, then glared at them. “Probably picked up some crud from there at the school. But god willing, she will get better,” He said angrily. “Do you mind if I come in and check on her? Victoria has a list of the assignments she missed.” She said gesturing to the younger girl behind her. The man thought about it and then grunted. “Sure come on,” He said gruffly as he gestured them in. The home was dark and had a faint odor that Victoria Couldn’t quite place. The man led them through the house into a back bedroom. “We’ve been praying for her.” The man said as he opened the door. They had decorated the room in shades of cream and pink. A form lay on the bed when they drew closer Victoria vaguely recognized the teenager from her class. Though she was very pale and her cheeks were sallow and shrunken in. “Good god,” Saundra said looking at the man accusingly. “She should be in a hospital.” “She’s sick. “He said defensively. “God will provide.” He said with a strange earnestness that Victoria could hear in the man's voice. Thinking about his words, she spoke up. “He will provide.” She had the man's attention riveted on her. “It’s also said that God helps those who help themselves.” Dumbly he nodded at her words. The teenager noticed Saundra creeping up behind the man, so she worked to keep his attention on herself as the other woman readied something. “Perhaps I could pray over her? Would you like to join me?” “Yeah, her mom is out, but I c—” He started to say and then crumpled to the floor. As he did so Victoria saw Saundra standing behind him with a needle in her hand. “What did you do?” She asked. “A knockout toxin he will wake up in an hour or two. “She said as she turned to the bed. “Quickly cast you spell we need to see if she’s to far gone.” Victoria looked at the girl that lay on the bed. They hadn’t been friends or even acquaintances. “All right.” She said as she cast the spell. When she did so she could feel the wash of power out of her through the room. She felt the nearness of Lane but was certain she hadn’t been devoured. More disturbingly however she felt other creatures in the home. One was clasped to the back of the man's neck, then others were down below in the home's basement. “She’s still human.” She said rushing over to the bed. “He has one on his neck.” SHe said as she helped Saundra roll the girl onto her back. A scalpel materialized in her hand. Reaching out, she delicately cut the creature off the back of the girl's neck. Then she moved to the crumpled heap of a man and did the same. “Good,” Saundra said. ” they should wake up in about an hour or two.” She said smiling. “A nice easy mission for your first time out.” “Now all we have to do if find the rest of the monsters in the basement,” Victoria said with a wan smile. “Ah, crap.” The older woman said with a heavy sigh.