(Rachels’ POV)

 

“Damn”

 

“Rachel, the Strangers are steadily pushing us back. What are your orders?”

 

Uhh, these guys are giving me a headache. The Bureau really needs to get their guys together, that leader needs to realise the consequences for letting his followers do as they please. “Stay in formation and hold them off, we need to keep them back until William has finished the spell”.

 

“Right”

 

Watching Keel run off to give orders, I can’t help but bring my hand to my head. Apparently this is the Bureau of Spiritology’s domain and so any and all hunting is illegal without permission from the head. We do, of course, have a permit for this but the head soldier of this particular group insisted it was forged. The greedy pigs just want to get their hands on the Netherian Boar to sell its leather and meat, both precious resources.

 

The Strangers battle force is 2-1 meaning they double our numbers, including the storm spirits and those pesky guns of theirs we normally wouldn't stand a chance without me here. We only brought a small hunting party after all but nonetheless we cannot afford to abandon this beast or The Prince will have my head (or something else).

 

“Ma’am, the spell is ready,” the boy I spoke of, William, comes running towards me while clutching his staff near his chest.

 

“Well cast it, don’t come running to me!” The boy is still young and immature, having been a hunter for only a week yet his firepower is undeniable. This mission has also served as a good experience for him in teaching him that nothing is easy.

 

“Un- understood,” a large mass of blue magik particles begin to take form and dance around the end of his wooden staff. The boy has reached a point where incantations are practically unnecessary, he merely needs to say the name. This is common among the adept but for such a spell as this one, you could say he is a prodigy.

 

When the dense, blue specks are at their brightest, William launches the spell towards the centre of the enemy group. The gathered magik moves towards a single point, then spreads out in two directions, transforming into water in under 30 seconds. 

 

“Tidal Clash!”

 

Suddenly, on either side of the enemy lines, two large waves take form. They spiral upwards and spread out, taking shape where they proceed to crash towards the centre and simultaneously engulf the enemy soldiers. This is a class B spell that can literally turn the tide of battle yet it requires a solid three minutes to prepare, with enough training Will should be able to shorten that time and turn this spell into class A though.

 

After around five minutes the water calmed down and disappeared, turning into light blue particles of light. The Strangers were flopping around on the ground like fish out of water, coughing and gagging. The storm spirits were nowhere to be found.

 

Nodding my head at the wonderful sight I start giving orders. “Keel! You and six others, grab the boar. Will, gather everyone else, we’re heading back”.

 

“Uh, what about the Strangers?” Turning towards Will, I ask what he means. “Well, won’t they tell their bo-boss.”

 

“Ha, not if they know what’s good for them. The leader of the Bureau of Spiritology gave me this permit himself.”

 

“Oh,” I cannot help but find this boy to be adorable. Perhaps when he is of age I’ll make him mine, I can wait two years and I’m sure a young man like him will need an older woman such as myself to educate him.

 

“Rachel, you better hide those thoughts of yours. I can see them on your face.”

 

“Shut up Keel!”

 

After the boar is loaded onto a carrier where it can be easily wheeled, a burly male hunter who I believe is Greg walks towards me with a large lump on his back. His curly hair bouncing up and down with each step.

 

“Miss Rachel, I found a girl in Strange clothes by the forest. She appears to have been shot by one of our arrows.”

 

“We literally just fought Strangers Greg, she’s probably one of theirs.”

 

“It’s Finlay and I do not suspect her to be one of theirs. I think she may be one of the Unexpected”

 

“You mean those who are transported from the otherworld on accident?”

 

“Yes ma’am.”

 

“Very well Greg, take her with us and get her healed up. We may be able to extract information from her if she is one of theirs anyway.”

 

“Very well ma’am. And my name is Finlay”

 

“Do not talk back to me!” I yell. Honestly I do not know where these brutes get their manners from. It’s always, ‘that isn’t my name’ or ‘do-don’t touch me there’, honestly they need to learn more respect, I am the leader of this group after all.

 

Waiting around for around twenty minutes or around that, we begin heading back towards the Hunters camp by the Swyn River that flows through the Forest of Wintyr. That doesn’t mean that it’s always winter here but it is always foggy which makes the ground seem as though it is covered in a sheet of snow. 

 

We all walked together in a group, I was at the front while my second in command, Keel, was at the rear. We still have a while to go so I decide to hail over Greg and Sven who was a Stranger himself so he should be able to help us decide if this kid we found really was spirited away.

 

““Yes?””

 

“Greg, show me the kid”

 

“It’s Finl- uhh, here”

 

Looking down at the girl (boy?) in his hands I do start to think it is an Unexpected. She/He had shoulder length blonde hair that was tied into a ponytail and was fitted into strange blue pants and a white shirt. A grey coat like thing hung over one arm while the other was wrapped in bandages from when the medics healed her/him.

 

“They are jeans ma’am”

 

“Thank you Sven but please stay out of my mind”

 

“Sure thing ma’am,” Sven says with a blank look. I don’t think he took my advice to heart.

 

“What do you think about this anyway, Sven. You are the expert after all” I ask, hoping he can enlighten me on the situation.

 

“I believe she is an Unexpected. Her magik signature seems low at the moment which is a known side-effect after transportation from one world to another.” Sven says this matter-of-factly, what a know-it-all.

 

“I was talking about the gender. Actually, Sven pull down those gene things” I say this as an order but of course I get barraged with accusations and reasons why it is ‘a bad idea’ from Greg. I can also feel the disappointed gaze of Keel from over thirty meters away which happens to be a new record. “Very well, we can ask her when she wakes up. Take her to tent seven where the other youngins are when we get to camp. I’m sure people around her age will settle her nerves a bit.”

 

“Yes ma’am, what will you be doing?”

 

“I have the sensational job of reporting today’s incident to The Prince and I am sure he will be exhilarated in what I have to say.”

 

The Hunter Camp is made up of eight different areas with a multitude of tents to house our multitude of members. Tent seven is located in area two which has always been something I hate, why is tent seven in area two when tent thirteen is in area one. Things have been out of whack ever since my cousin Prince became the head hunter, I should have been given the title because all he does is sit in his tent and play with girls. The camp is in a large cloverish shape with area one in the centre and the other areas in leaf shapes surrounding it. Lit by magik lamps that can be easily be stored as it can extend and shorten with a simple touch of a button. The tents too, can be magikally stored which allows us hunters to constantly be on the move until the lazy Prince decided to stay.

 

Walking through the camp to the centre, I enter a large clothen castle that is lit by orbs of magik. His desk is littered with papers and Prince himself is nowhere to be seen, so I decide to walk through and enter the back room covered by a magik cloth door. Immediately I see him surrounded by three stark naked beauties all laying on a bed playing with him. My entrance was noticed by the girls and soon Prince also bothered to look my way.

 

“Hey couz, wanna join?” He asks me with a bright smile on his face.

 

Ew.