The Immortal Hunt

Book One of the Hunter Series

Victoria Chen
Prologue
Diane Callaghn crouched in the snow, her soft deer hide boots sinking up to her knees in
the snow. A black cloak enveloped her frame. She grimaced at the mark she made as
snow tumbled onto the footprint, knowing it would ruin the tracks that she had been
following for the past few days.
Diane was a Hunter, possibly the best and most beautiful Hunter alive. And I was
destined to it too, she thought wryly, thinking of her name. Diane. The Goddess of the
Hunt. A soft snuffling at her side announced the arrival of her familiar, a great white bear
that she had grown up with.
You ruined the track, Ronan accused. The big bear nuzzled the edges of the fresh
footprint, causing some snow to spill into the indention to join the rest of the edge that
Diane had pushed into the shallow hole in the shape of a footprint.
Diane laughed and pushed the bear’s nose away. You made it worse, she retorted.
She got up from her crouch and readjusted the quiver on her back, filled with deadly
black arrows. She drew her powerful oak longbow into her hands and checked to make
sure it was securely strung. We’re getting close – let’s go.
With practiced movements, she swung up onto the bear, straddling the bear’s
wide back in the same way most would ride a horse. She settled herself into his thick
white fur and grabbed onto a fistful as he lunged forward, pounding down the snow-
covered path.
The wind caught her cloak in its teeth and dragged her hood off of her head and
pulled the cloak out behind her, fluttering like a pair of wings. Long locks of straight
black hair streamed out behind her as the woman leaned forward to make it easier for the
bear to gallop through the forest.
The soft pounding rhythm of his large powerful paws hitting the ground vibrated
up his legs and gently rocked her body. Riding a large white bear was different from
riding a horse. A bear generally had a smoother gait and moved faster too. Not only that
but bears could run for days without stop or rest and cover more ground. They tended to
eat less while they were traveling and their backs were wide enough for a rider to sleep
on as they moved through the terrain – which said something more about the
characteristics of their movements.
Closing her eyes, Diane laid the length of her body against the warm fur under her
as the snow-covered landscape slipped by them rapidly in a blur. Ronan was the fastest
white bear that she had ever met. In fact, he was the only white bear she had ever met.
You aren’t getting bored with this are you? Ronan asked her, amused.
She laughed and opened her eyes, pushing herself up a little. Not at all, ma cherie,
she replied with a grin. I just like the rocking motion. Reminds of the times before the
Immortal Era – before we were Hunters.
The bear smiled with her at the memories they both shared and flashed across
both of their minds through their mental link with each other. Ah, yes – those afternoons
in the meadows and traveling across the landscape and exploring the land, he mused.
Suddenly the interest in his mood shifted and he slowed his movements until he
came to a stop in the shadows of the low branches of a tree laden down with snow. The
bear lifted his head and sniffed the air. Diane sat up on his back and pulled her hood over
her head once more, her slender hands tightening their grip around the bow. She touched
two fingers to her left arm to check to make sure that the leather armguards that protected
her soft flesh from the backlash of drawing a bow was there.
What is it? The bear didn’t respond to her question so instead, she entered his
mind and became one with him.
Ronan’s/Diane’s eyes blinked together and a flash of colors came to his senses,
but it wasn’t as strong as the smell of horses that lingered in the air above the sweet
frigidness of the scent of the fresh, untouched snow. Together they inhaled again and
Ronan/Diane filtered the smells through their nose. Underlying the smell of horses and
water clinging to every surface, they both smelled the unmistakable burning smell of the
burning wood of a campfire and the juicy taste of cooking meat.
So remind me again why we’re following a band of trained soldiers? the bear
asked grumpily as she withdrew from his mind. She slid herself off of his back and
checked the bow again and made sure that her knives were in place.
Because they are costing the realm some sore losses by leaking information to the
Immortal Army. And they’re also renegades and deserters, she replied with a grin.
Satisfied with her examination, she bounded into the shadows of the woods and seemed
to disappear within. Get ready to attack the camp when you hear the attack start.
Ronan was left standing alone in the snow as Diane moved farther and farther
away from him as she climbed the treetops and used them to position herself in a place of
advantage in the camp. He heaved a sigh and walked off to the direction of the campsite,
his large paws barely making a sound on the packed snow.

The soldiers sat huddled around the fire, clutching their thick cloaks around them. “I
can’t wait to get out of this hellhole,” one man muttered as he swallowed his last bite of
his share of the meager rations for the night.
“If hell was as cold as this,” another agreed. He was obviously from the south
with his tanned skin and the clothes he wore. The cloak he held around his body had been
borrowed from a man who was long dead – one of his last victims. “I’d rather be in hell
than in this freezing place.”
“Oh shut it, you ninnies. It’s only the chill – there’s worse coming up,” another
said crossly, leaning back against a log behind him. He was the only one in the group that
hadn’t donned his cloak and was sitting shivering in the cold conditions. Obviously, he
had been living in the north his whole life and was used to the climate.
The fourth man could only sit and shiver as his teeth clattered together. He glared
up at the northerner but there was no need to speak – the others had the same thoughts.
“Colder!” the first man yelped. “Hell, if we get out of this, I’m going to find myself the
warmest beach on the Icara Islands and lie on it until my skin is red from burning and
cooking in the sun.”
“Or accepting a position in a nice large desert would be good too,” the second
man agreed. He pulled the borrowed cloak around him. The cold seemed to have gotten
to his head too as he found himself strangely agreeing with everything his southern
companion was saying.
The northerner chuckled and raised the tin cup filled with a bit of coffee. “If I get
out of this, I’m buying a drink at the next tavern I come across,” he chuckled. As he set
the cup’s lip against his own to drink down its contents, it was suddenly knocked from
his hand. Bewildered, he looked at his hands for a few minutes and then on the ground.
The coffee had spilled out onto the snow, caused by the tilt of the cup, now
pinned to the earthen ground by a black arrow with a flat hard head. The northerner
swore and scrambled to his feet. The other three had seen what had happened too and
reached now for their weapons. They looked around them wildly for the source of the
arrow.
Around them, it was silent. The men were panicking now – how could they attack
something that they couldn’t see or know where it came from?
Then there was a soft twang of a bowstring and a soft thud as an arrow struck
home. With a groan, the highest branch above them dumped a load of snow all over the
small campsite, immediately putting out the fire and spraying everyone else underneath,
throwing them into the darkness.
The northerner swore. “It’s a Hunter. They’ve sent a Hunter after us,” he hissed.
The men panicked then and ran for their horses. They turned to where the horses
had been tethered but stopped. The horses were no longer there. The first southerner
swore. “This Hunter’s good,” he hissed, bringing up his weapon as if it could fend off
attacks he couldn’t even predict, let alone see.
There was a choking sound and they whirled to it as an arrow bloomed from the
chest of southerner who had raised his weapon. The man’s countrymen caught him and
lowered him to the ground where he left them, his blood pooling onto the ground, turning
a scarlet pink as it contacted with the snow. His dead eyes stared up at the stars.
All three men turned to find a small hooded figure striding towards them, seeming
to have appeared out of the shadows, an arrow drawn back on the powerful longbow the
figure held expertly and with ease. “Drop your weapons,” a female voice said from the
hood. This caught them off guard.
“You –” one of them began.
“I said drop it,” she warned them. “Move an inch in any way and you’ll wish you
never moved.” And they believed her.
One by one, they each dropped their weapons onto the snow. When they looked
up again, the girl was still watching them with intense blue eyes. Then a large white bear
bounded out of the forest behind her and the men cried out at the sight of the monster and
flinched as it approached. Ignoring the girl, to the men’s bewilderment, it came straight
for them. Sniffing at each of them, it regarded them with baleful blue eyes.
“You’re late,” the girl told the bear, never lowering her bow. Her head snapped up
at them. “Remove all of your weapons and slide them forward.”
The three of the men, remaining from the group of four that had set out that
morning, looked at each other, and then the northerner. “We have,” he replied.
The girl glared at them. “Don’t try it. Ronan can smell the metal on you. Take off
your weapons and slide them forward, Jarl Adiærf,” she said coldly. His eyebrows raised.
“How do you know my name and title?” he asked her as he and his men removed
their weapons and slid them forward. The bear watched them warily.
“I’m a Hunter,” she replied, as if that explained everything.
Chapter One
Can’t say I miss the city, Diane commented, as she sidestepped a merchant who had
stepped forward to bellow into her ear that he was selling love potions. Ronan walked
beside her, careful to not tread on anyone’s feet.
Horses hitched to the colorful wagons in the street rolled eyes at him in warning
and stamped their hooves into the hard-packed dirt of the street. Ronan ignored them and
eased his bulk through the crowd, which wasn’t hard as most tended to avoid him through
the instinctual fear of large creatures – especially bears.
Ronan grunted in response to her comment and sidestepped a horse who flashed
its hind hooves at him. Its owner yanked the horse’s bridle, pulling the creature’s head
down, as he yelled a steady torrent of words at Diane to “control her creature”. Diane
sighed and pushed through the crowd, nearly getting trampled by two large men who
pulled a large rickshaw through the street. On it was seated a lord and his lady, both
observing everything with hooded eyes and looks of slight disgust at the scene around
them. As the wheels of the rickshaw rolled by, it sprayed the two companions with mud
that resulted from the last snowfall, and the constant churning of the ground by the busy
feet of pedestrians.
Get up on my back before you get trampled again, the bear told her, moving to
shield her from the moving river of people. She scrambled up onto his back without
hesitation, and they were moving again. The noise of the day market buzzed around them
and scents of cooked foods wafted in the air, stirred in the still air by people rushing past
to wherever they were headed to for the day.
Shoppers busily lined the streets, perusing through the carts of various merchants
and stores. Children weaved in and out of the people and colorful structures, tossing
colored balls between them, laughing as they ran. Diane saw all of this with the curious
fascination that all who visited the markets seemed to be afflicted with as she sat atop
Ronan’s high back.
Yet, despite her daze of the colors around her and the sun beating down warm on
her back, she wished that she and Ronan were running through the forests, hunting down
some fugitives, rather than facing so many people in the city. Let’s get out of here then,
Ronan growled, reading her thoughts.
Diane sighed. It was a good suggestion but she had work to do here. Is there a
quicker path to the Magistrate’s office? she asked him. He thought for a moment and
then with one bound, he leaped over the heads of the crowd, to their amazement.
Someone screamed as they flew by but he hit the ground running with a spray of water,
snow, and mud, jolting Diane on his back slightly. He lunged for the opening of a small
back alleyway and then the two of them disappeared into its darkness.
She breathed out a sigh of relief as the sounds of the market faded away into a
distance until it was just a pleasant hum in the background. Her skin, warmed by the sun,
now grew cool in the shadows of the alleyway, as the sun couldn’t penetrate the mortar of
the walls of the surrounding buildings. Here, whatever snow managed to penetrate
through the narrow openings of the tight alleyways covered the ground in a thin layer,
often turning into water and mud as the heat of the day increased.
 They flew by several people who dozed in the shade of the walls, some sleeping
off their drinks from the previous night. Those who woke and saw them fly by blinked a
little, and then dismissed the vision of the girl riding astride a large white bear flying by
as a hallucination, caused either by a trick of the light or the side-effect of their drinks.
Girl and bear sped through the tangled maze of the back streets to their
destination. Diane didn’t know where they were going but she trusted Ronan’s very keen
sense of direction to get them there on time for their meeting.
Buildings rushed past them as they made their way across the city and finally,
Ronan stumbled into daylight, sliding to a stop and kicking up mud and snow as he did
so. Slowing his pace, Ronan trotted to the entrance of an impressive building guarded by
two burly guards who eyed the appearance of the white bear and the girl nervously. Diane
clambered off of Ronan’s back and dusted her clothes off. Then without hesitation, she
strode up to the door, followed closely by the bear.
“I’m here to see Magistrate Walsh,” she announced to the guard. The man eyed
the bear nervously and Diane smiled, putting her all of her charm into it. “Ronan won’t
hurt anyone – I promise.”
Finally, the guard gave her a nod and let her through. Stopping before she entered,
she scraped off most of the mud that caked her boots before she entered. Ronan followed
her example with his paws so that they wouldn’t track mud all over the inside of the
building.
Together, they entered the building. They treaded carefully across the plush
carpeted floor and came out to a large room – almost like an antechamber – lined with
benches that face a podium and an arrangement of chairs and tables. She passed that
room and entered through a side door and walked into the magistrate’s office.
The man sitting inside looked up and then smiled at seeing the beautiful Hunter
enter the room. Thanks to the young woman, most of the criminals and enemies of the
realm had been caught and brought to justice here, at Palace Court. “Diane,” Magistrate
Walsh greeted her warmly, rising to walk around his desk as she entered his office.
He noticed that Ronan, Diane’s large familiar, hesitated at the door, eyeing the
small room, its walls covered to the ceiling with shelves of books that threatened to fall
over. “Hi there, Ronan,” he greeted the bear, reaching out to touch the bear’s fur. The
bear took a step back from his hand but after a moment, he almost seemed to smile at
him.
“Walsh,” Diane greeted her old friend. They had been friends ever since she had
begun working as a Hunter, almost ten years ago, when she had first begun her training.
“It’s nice to see you again.”
The man chuckled and indicated for Diane to sit down in one of the two chairs
facing his desk. She sat, pulling the chair around to face the other one and he did the
same, to face her. “I assume I have you to thank for bringing in the threesome that we just
tried here last week?” he asked her.
“How did you know?” she replied with a smile.
He chuckled again. “Well, your work always leaves its marks.”
Diane couldn’t help but grin and she felt Ronan doing the same. After they had
caught the renegades, they had tied them up and it took them a week to bring them in for
their trial. They had tried to escape several times but Ronan always caught them and
slung them back down again, leaving bruises on their skin where his teeth had closed
around their arms. At the end, they had been forced to tie the three together like a large
parcel and Ronan had to drag them, literally kicking and screaming, to the awaiting arms
of the squad that would take them back to be tried at Palace Court for the crimes they had
committed.
“What’s our next mission then?” she asked him eagerly. He could see the look in
his old friend’s eyes and he knew he didn’t have to be her familiar to know that she
wanted to be out of the city as soon as possible, hunting down the next enemy and
bringing them to justice.
Instead of teasing her even more about this, he got up and walked to his desk and
picked up the leather folder containing several papers he had just been going through and
handed it to her. Diane took the folder and opened it. Scanning it through, she memorized
the contents of the page within the seconds she was reading it and tossed it back onto the
desk. “A wolf problem?” she asked, disappointed.
Walsh shrugged, his hands coming up in a gesture of helplessness. “Hey,
wherever they send you, you go. You know you don’t ever turn down an assignment
from the Hunt.”
Diane glowered at the mention of the mysterious Hunt. They were a group of
people that surrounded themselves in mystery. They seemed to know everything that was
going on in the realm even before it’s happened or even before anyone has had any wind
of the situation. She suspected them to be a group of sorcerers and wizards and had felt
uneasy about them from the start. After all, they did show up at her doorstep on the eve of
her sixth birthday with a white bear cub in their arms. All in all, the Hunt made her
agitated and annoyed.
“Yes, we all know about that,” she sighed, getting up. “All right, I’ll be seeing
you around then, Walsh.”
The man nodded and waved to her, his hands already picking up another folder,
returning to work. “Come visit me more often, Diane – I do get lonely here on this empty
street,” he called after her retreating back. The girl gave a wave of her hand to show that
she had heard and disappeared down the hall.
A wolf problem, she said again to Ronan. The bear shrugged his massive
shoulders, almost in a human-like way.
Just think about it this way – the sooner we can deal with these creatures, the
faster we can get another even more exciting one. I know that we’re the best team and all
but we were bound to get some boring missions at some point too, Ronan soothed her
reasonably. Diane sighed and pressed a hand against his warm neck. Her fingers
disappeared into his white fur.
“Come on,” she said out loud, leading them down the street. “I know a really
good place to eat down here.” The bear perked up at the prospect of food.
Behind them, a shadow detached itself from the wall and after a moment, it
followed the pair down the street, clinging to the shadows.
Chapter Two
There was a cry of disbelief as the three arrows struck the center of the target dead on,
right in the bull’s eye, one right after the other. The three arrowheads clustered together
at the center of the target, buried halfway up their shaft into the straw target.
Money exchanged hands as a man ran down the lane to the target – nearly five
hundred meters away – to cut loose the arrows. He returned and handed the three arrows
back to Diane who inspected their tips for bluntness before she stowed them away in her
quiver with a smile, her white teeth flashing in the setting sun. The first flakes of snow
began to fall again as the sun moved closer to the horizon.
We should get a move on, Ronan grumbled, forgotten by the gathering crowd at the
edge of the firing range. He peered over the railings that kept spectators from coming too
close at the girl who adjusted the armguard on her left arm and opened and closed her
fingers to loosen them up inside the archer’s gloves she was wearing.
Oh don’t be such a downer – I’m just having some fun, she teased the bear.
Ronan grumbled something and then ambled off across the grass. The crowd hadn’t
noticed their silent conversation and was murmur stirred their shocked silence as they
saw her hoist her quiver full of arrows onto her shoulder. She put away her bow, slinging
it across her shoulders, and jogged after the bear, clearing the high railing as gracefully
and easily as any horse – or white bear for that matter. She caught up to Ronan. All right,
fine, let’s go.
He gave her an incredulous look. You said that last time.
She sighed. Okay, maybe it’s because I don’t really want to go hunt wolves, she
admitted. Ronan looked at her for a moment.
Just get on and we can get this over with. Who knows? It might not be hunting
wolves but werewolves – or something really dangerous. They wouldn’t give it to us for
no reason – it’s a rookie mission, true, but there might be a reason why the best on the
Hunter force got what seems like a rookie mission, the bear soothed her again as he
moved forward in his gallop. He brought them out of the city within several minutes and
they were on their way down the road, heading towards the village.
That night they made camp in a secluded clearing as the snow began to fall in
earnest. It would hinder their passage and Diane knew that it was dangerous for Ronan to
be running in falling snow as it could easily turn into a snow storm and they could get
lost. Not only that but the snow might cover any traps or hazards they need to avoid while
traveling at Ronan’s speed, such as upturned roots or frozen water under the snow.
The Hunter settled down against the white bear’s warm side and stared into the
embers of the cheerful campfire. They had covered a lot of ground – by late tomorrow
morning, they would reach the village if the snowfall slowed and allowed them through.
Why does the sky turn dark when the sun goes down? Ronan asked her suddenly, looking
up at the star-studded sky.
Diane’s eyes closed. My mother told me of a legend that talks of the sky god who,
when he opens his eyes, lights up the whole world, and at night, the sky god closes his
eyes to rest, as having lights coming out of your eyes can be very tiring if you keep it up
for a whole day, so the sky is dark because the light is being blocked by the sky god’s
eyelids. When he wakes up, the light will return when he opens his eyes again.
 The bear mused this piece of information over. It makes sense, he agreed, setting his
heavy head down on his large paws. Diane nodded and settled herself more comfortably
against him. Together, girl and bear fell asleep under the sky.
They weren’t alone. The shadow that had been tailing them finally caught up to
them halfway through the night. The bear had put a lot of distance in between them
without knowing it. But he easily tracked the large unmistakable tracks of the bear across
the snow-covered terrain. He had made it just in time. The snow had settled in and would
have covered any tracks they had left behind.
This time, he had a companion. A beautiful white wolf stood at his side. Like the
Hunter’s bear, the familiar was over-exaggerated in size compared to their own species.
The wolf’s head reached his shoulder.
Only another Hunter could follow a Hunter and not get caught, the man thought to
himself proudly.
Any more pride like that and your chest is going to explode, the wolf, named
Sheera, told him crossly. She settled down next to him in the snow and put her beautiful
head on her paws. Sheera was a beautiful creature with silky white fur and beautiful
green eyes.
Oh, lighten up, my sweet, Bryce told his familiar with an affectionate tone in his
voice. You’re just angry that you lost their scent when the snow fell and your nose froze
in the frigid air and that I managed to track them using the old-fashioned way.
The wolf grumbled and fell asleep. Bryce stayed awake for a little while longer.
Why did the Hunt send them to follow Diane and her bear, Ronan? he wondered to
himself, watching the two figures sleeping against each other in the dying firelight of the
campfire. He pulled his thick white cloak around him as he felt the fingers of the chilly
temperature around him creep under his clothes.
The white cloak attributed to helping him blend in with his surroundings.
Everything he was wearing was white – he even had a white half-face mask hanging
around his neck that would cover the bottom half of his face. He knew that if he had lay
down in the snow as still as he possibly could, if someone had passed within one foot of
his position, they still wouldn’t see him, no matter how deeply they searched the area.
That is, unless they didn’t come searching with shovels.
Diane may be the best Hunter with the largest count in Hunting, but Bryce was the
best in the area of stealth. He had a reputation of not being ever found when he was
moving around – no spot would ever have a trace of him after he had left it. And thanks
to Sheera’s help, he could also disguise his scent fairly well.
Bryce sighed and settled down to wait out the night. Eventually, his eyes closed
sometime in the night and he fell asleep, leaning against the tree, one hand on Sheera’s
fine white coat.

They woke the next morning with groans for stiff limbs that came from sleeping in the
snow. Ronan got to his feet and Diane brushed off the snow that had fallen onto the folds
of her clothes while she had slept. Looking around them, Diane realized with pleasure
that the snow had stopped falling and it had blanketed the world around them with a
white powdery layer – such was the beauty of untouched snow. As a result, the sky was a
clear blue, with not a cloud in sight. It was as if all the clouds had fallen to earth in the
form of snow.
She made to break down their camp and brush away each of their prints in the
flattened grass as quietly as she could and instructed Ronan to stand at the edge of the
clearing. The bear watched her as she cleared away his paw prints with a long branch of
leaves that she had cut from the trees above them with one of her knives.
After a few minutes, she was satisfied with her work and dropped the branch.
Careful not to ruin the clearing she climbed out using upturned roots as stepping stones
and she even climbed a tree when she had to in order to make her way over to Ronan.
Once she reached him, she dropped onto his back from the height of the tree and he
caught her easily on his back. Both of them looked back at the clearing which, in fact,
had been cleaned so that it looked like nothing like a large bear and a young woman had
spent the night there. Even the fireplace from the night before was nowhere to be seen.
Nice job, Ronan commented approvingly. This is why I like traveling with humans.
They make us less easy to track.
Diane grinned. Thanks.
Then they set off across the forest floor. Girl and bear disappeared together into the
quiet and cool shadows of the forest.

Sheera suddenly bolted to her feet as the smell that had plagued her all night suddenly
began to fade quickly – the smell of wet bear. In the process, she knocked Bryce, who
had somehow ended up sleeping on her, to the ground. “Ow!” he cried out as his head
struck something hard.
He sat up as the wolf glared at him. He glared back. Shut up and stop making so
much noise! We might have been heard, the wolf growled at him. Come on, they’re
moving again.
What was that for? he demanded, seething as the pain on his head spread to the rest
of his skull. He touched a finger gingerly to the tender spot on his skull and winced as
sharp pain laced his skin.
Sheera yipped at him and danced in circles where she stood, her powerful legs
churning up the snow. Bryce sighed and straightened his clothes, patting off the snow and
dew that clung to them. All right, let’s go, he sighed, trudging after the wolf. The wolf
bounded ahead of him out of sight. With a sigh, he pulled his hood over his head and his
mask up and ran after her.

I wonder how far apart we can maintain our link to each other, Diane wondered as they
sped through the forest with Ronan’s effortless strokes on the ground. Daylight was just
beginning to break as they moved closer to the edge of the forest – and beyond that, a
high plateau where the village they were headed towards lay.
Hmm? The bear had been lost in his own thoughts and hadn’t heard her question.
She repeated them again and he began to wonder this too.
I mean, we’ve been together for ten years now and never once had we been
separated – when you were still a small cub, you slept with me in my bed and when you
got bigger, you slept on the floor – remember? We never were really separated, she
mused.
That’s because every time I left the room, you would start crying and then you
would stop once I was brought back in, he told her with a smile. You were so adorable
back then.
She smiled at the image that came to his mind of a little girl who happily hugged
him when he had been a cub. Aw, thanks, she replied, tones of love and tenderness
rippling through her mental voice. She could feel Ronan smiling. So, back to the original
question – how far –
She cut herself off as she heard a cry in the distance behind them that sounded too
human for her comfort. Instinctively, she reached for her bow as Ronan braked and
stopped moving. The two of them stood stock still as they listened hard for the sound
again. I think it’s nothing, she said after a few more minutes. When Ronan didn’t
respond, she looked down at him. Ronan?
He gave a low growl that she had heard before only when he had caught the scent of
another large predatory animal while they were sent on a Hunt. I’m going to bring us
back. I sense something there – maybe another familiar, he growled softly. Turning
around, he bounded back the way they came for a few more minutes before he stopped.
Get up into those trees.
Diane obeyed. She scrambled off of Ronan’s back and clambered up easily into the
tree, as she had done many times before. She found a thick branch that had grown bent
and twisted over the path they had been on. Fortunately, it was covered with enough
greenery for a coniferous tree to shield her from view. As she watched, Ronan
disappeared under her without even a sound, a surprising feat due to his heavy bulk.
What are we waiting for? she asked him quietly, careful not to disturb his uneasy
thoughts. They were running through his brain and began to make her uneasy as they
reflected over their link.
She could sense Ronan deep in thought below her, processing all of the information
that he was receiving through his excellent senses that were superior to hers. We are
waiting for another Hunter, he finally said.

Bryce jogged after the wolf who was impatiently urging him on. Several times she
offered to take him onto her back so that they would move faster but he knew that his
weight on her would take all of the advantages they would have if she were free to move
without and hindrance, so he turned down the offer each time she asked him.
Hurry up, she whimpered, actually dancing on her toes. Or we’ll lose them.
He sighed and sped up to keep up with her.

Now, no more talking for now until we see them – I don’t know how good this Hunter
and his familiar is at intercepting telepathic thoughts and exchanges between us. If he is
that good, then we don’t want him to know there’s an ambush waiting for him, Ronan
instructed her. She nodded and settled down to wait.
How do you know it’s a male Hunter? she asked him curiously.
 He glared at her through the link. Male and female humans have different scent.
Now stop talking.
Diane couldn’t help but hide a smile.

Bryce finally caught up to the white wolf, panting heavily with his efforts of struggling
through the thick snow that kept holding him down and trying to keep at the same pace
the wolf had leapt and bounded across the surface of the snow, barely even skimming it.
He was about to say something crossly to her when he realized she was staring at
the path ahead of them, as if contemplating something very deeply. Gradually, his
breathing eased and he was able to catch his breath, though his heart pounded in his
chest. Must you be so loud? Sheera asked him crossly just as he was about to ask her
what she was thinking about.
In answer to his thoughts which the wolf heard loud and clear in her head, she
sighed. I caught their scent. They stopped her a little while back but they’ve suddenly
disappeared ahead. Either they backtracked or they really did just vanish, she said
finally.
But couldn’t we –
The wolf sighed again with impatience. It would be no use in trying to track them
using their trail, she pointed out, looking critically at the mess they had made coming to
where they were now.
Bryce groaned. If the Hunt found out that they had lost their target –
Don’t even think about it. They’re still here so don’t panic, Sheera interrupted his
thoughts crossly. I just need time to find them.
Bryce nodded and stayed where he was and allowed Sheera to carefully pick her
way over the snow, poking her nose into random cracks and folds of the forest floor.

A white wolf! Diane thought excitedly as she carefully leaned forward to look at the large
beautiful creature beneath her.
She could feel Ronan sharing her excitement as well. As exciting as this is, we’ll
still need to take them by surprise. When I attack, drop from your branch. The human is
right under you. I’ll take the wolf.
What happened to staying quiet? she teased him as she shifted slowly into place,
careful to not disturb any of the snow hanging on the branches. She peered down to see if
she could spot the human. It took a moment to adjust her eyes to the bright glare that was
thrown off by the white of the snow, and she finally noticed him. The man was dressed in
complete white – so white that with the blinding light of the snow, she hadn’t spotted
him, or couldn’t differentiate him from the rest of his surroundings.
Ronan ignored her and she chuckled inwardly to herself as she felt him move
around to a better position. Then there was a loud deafening roar that shook the forest
floor, shaking loose snow from all around them. It was a roar of defiance – one that
would have struck fear into any creature who heard it.
Without hesitation, she dropped from the branch and landed on the shoulders of the
man below her, bringing him to the ground with her even as something big and white
flew past her. With a high pitched squeal, the wolf found herself being attacked by a huge
white bear, almost twice her size. Ronan swiped at the wolf, snarling and gnashing his
large curved teeth at her. A growl erupted from the wolf’s throat in response as the two
large creatures circled each other.
Diane tumbled with the mysterious man in the snow as each of them scrabbled for
some purchase in the uneven footing while keeping the other pinned down. A blow
landed on Bryce’s jaw, making his head spin with the pain that was already there in his
head from earlier that morning. Wincing, he never relented and grabbed a fistful of silky
black hair and hauled back on the shiny rope.
Gritting her teeth as her head was pulled back, the moment a face appeared in her
vision, she drew back a fist to punch it but then the two of them froze as they stared at
each other – a green-eyed gaze boring into her blue ones. During the fight, the man’s
white hood had fallen off. The man’s dark brown hair was tousled from their brief
struggle with each other in the snow.
Suddenly there was a cry of surprise as one of the familiars got the better of the
other. Not daring to look to see who it was, both Hunters stared at each other. She
struggled against his hold for a moment but he held her close. Her movements brought
her closer to the other Hunter’s face and she froze as his intense green gaze bore down on
her and then she gave up fighting the hold on her hair. He yanked her forward with a
mischievous smile and kissed her mouth just once, quickly.
Despite the brief touch, her lips felt like they had been branded by iron. She stared
at him as he released her. “Victor’s kiss,” he grinned. His green eyes dared her to
challenge him.
“Hardly,” she growled, moving away from him. She rearranged her clothes and hair
and stood, the other Hunter standing with her. The two of them turned to watch the fight
between the familiars.
Ronan had grabbed the white wolf by the ruff of her collar with his teeth and he
pinned her to the snow as her legs kicked and struggled to get free. There was a whine of
protest and after a moment, Ronan let her go and the wolf rolled onto her back, exposing
her belly to Ronan, who looked down at her with some satisfaction and trotted over to
Diane.
“Who are you and why are you following us?” she finally demanded as the wolf
managed to join them, slinking close to the ground, wary green eyes on Ronan. Diane
could still feel his lips on hers and unconsciously swiped at her mouth while Ronan
looked at her curiously.
Bryce looked at the woman who put an arm around the large bear’s neck, barely
circling it because of the bear’s size. Both of them looked at him with guarded
expressions, their eyes demanding answers. Go on, tell them, Sheera growled, licking a
paw. They won.
No they didn’t, Bryce protested, remembering the burning touch of the woman’s
lips on his. Sheera snorted.
The bear won – that’s what matters. You won yours only because you grabbed her
hair – which is not a fair lever of advantage because she never grabbed your hair. You
know that if you had faced her one on one and hair-grabbing was not allowed, she would
have won, Sheera admonished him. Bryce sighed. The wolf was right – as always. Now,
tell them. It couldn’t hurt – after all, we’re on the same side.
 Bryce turned to the other Hunter. “We were sent by the Hunt to follow you.
Apparently that mission’s failed since you caught us,” he said in reply to their question.
The two had been unaware of the rapid silent conversation that Bryce and Sheera had just
had. Diane nodded.
“Who are you then?” she asked again.
Bryce ducked his head slightly as he realized that he had only answered part of their
question. “I am Bryce Forester, of the Freeman Hills. This is Sheera, my wolf familiar,”
he replied. He nodded to them. “And of course, you are Diane Callaghn, the legendary
Hunter, and the bear is your familiar, Ronan.”
She frowned at him. “I don’t know about legendary, but we sure have made our
mark in history,” she amended modestly. “Ok, so what do we do about this situation we
have on our hands? Technically, if you come with us, you are still following us, so….”
Sheera looked up with interest at the girl’s words. She’s not holding a grudge
against us for following her and the bear, the wolf stated with some surprise.
Of course n –
“How long have you been following us anyway?” Diane asked, unknowingly
interrupting the silent conversation. She absently tugged on one of Ronan’s thick white
ears as she watched the other pair.
“Since you left the Magistrate’s office,” Bryce answered absently. To Sheera, he
said, Of course not – we all know that wherever the Hunt sends us, we go, whether we
want to or not.
I know, I know – I’m just saying. If it were me, I would be really annoyed to find
someone following me, the wolf grumbled, settling onto her belly in the snow.
They are an interesting pair, Ronan said to Diane, nuzzling her leg gently and
affectionately. She smiled and gave him a scratch behind one of his ears. He tilted his
large head towards her to allow her fingers more access. And we didn’t even know they
were there until now. They may come in handy when we need them – if we need them in
the future.
Indeed.
“We’ve decided that we’ll go with you. I don’t know what you’re getting into but
this area’s been reported to be strewn with bandits, renegades, and the like – and many
others who don’t think that Hunters are here to do good,” Bryce finally said, looking up
from Sheera’s piercing green eyes.
Diane nodded her approval. “I know the type. Let’s get going then.”
What an odd morning it certainly has turned out to be. I fully expected something
more interesting to happen later in the afternoon when we get down to hunting those
wolves, not early in the morning before we even arrive, the bear commented as Diane
climbed up.
She grinned at him. Things have their own way of unfolding, she agreed,
remembering the touch of Bryce’s lips on hers.
Chapter Three
The wind had picked up as they arrived at the small village on the flat plateau
overlooking a high valley. The dying fires and light from the lanterns the night before
still glowed in the windows of the houses and multiple buildings and all seemed normal
but Ronan’s and Sheera’s hackles were raised. Both human Hunters felt a chill go
through them – one not caused by the biting winds.
There was no movement in the streets of the village.
Where is everyone? Diane wondered as they stood at the tree line, looking down at
the unnaturally still scene. She looked at Bryce who returned her look with a confused
one of his own.
“Sheera,” he murmured, summoning the white wolf to his side. He and the wolf
shared one look and then the wolf disappeared down the hill, running across the distance
between them and the village. The three of them watched Sheera approach the village.
The wolf bounded across the snow, her white plume of a tail wagging as she ran
lightly across the untouched snow. Untouched....I have a bad feeling about this; be
careful out there, Sheera, Bryce’s thoughts echoed anxiously in her mind as he read her
thoughts. Sheera could feel her partner’s mind in hers and realized he had joined her in
the short journey to the village.
She snorted. I’m more careful than you are, you lout, she told him with a grin.
Sinking halfway up her legs, her paws contacted something hard – contrasting with
the soft grass that had lay underneath all the snow she had come in contact with.
Stopping, she slowed and realized she had come in contact with the snow-buried road.
Slowly, she cautiously followed the road into the deserted village.
She ran with her belly close to the snow in the way that most wolves ran when
chasing prey. Every once in a while, she sniffed the air for any sign of human inhabitants
and when there were none, she moved forward once more.
As she reached the village gates, she knew, even for a wolf, that there was
definitely something wrong with the village. It was not just that it was abandoned, but
there was something there. As these thoughts rebounded across her link with Bryce, he
decided to lead them all closer in case Sheera decided she needed help. Beckoning
silently to Ronan and Diane, the three of them crept closer to Sheera until they were only
a few feet away from her.
What is it, Sheera? Bryce asked her.
Shush, Sheera snapped in reply. He had ruined her line of thought. There was a
smell about the village that she had encountered before. She crept closer to the village.
As she entered, she straightened and walked inside. Each house and building was
abandoned. Sheera found things left on tables as if their occupants had just gotten up and
walked out of the house.
There was hardly a sign of any struggle. One house had left its windows open and
snow had blown in, covering the floor and furniture. She entered one house and sniffed at
the food on the table. It was clear that whatever had befallen the villagers had happened
around dinner time – night fall. Come, she called to Bryce. A moment later, he was
behind her. He picked up the bread on the table and tested it with his hands.
 “Well, it’s frozen but not more than two days old,” he said. He had heard all of
Sheera’s thoughts and agreed with her analysis of the situation. He had shared them with
Diane as they waited outside of the gates for Sheera to call them.
Diane and Ronan were exploring the rest of the village as Sheera and Bryce went
from house to house, checking to make sure that there were no villagers. “Wait, we
haven’t checked upstairs yet,” he told her. Sheera nodded but stayed where she was.
Bryce waved for her to follow and she stubbornly shook her head. You know what
happened last time I went up the stairs, she reminded him. I don’t want to be stuck up
their again like last time.
He chuckled. “Very well, suit yourself.”
Diane appeared at his side as he began to climb the stairs. He almost jumped with
surprise. The other Hunter was rather good at being quiet, almost as good as Bryce. She
grinned at him as if she could read his thoughts and bounded up the stairs ahead of him.
There was a gasp and Bryce ran to follow her. “What is it?” he asked as he came to the
top.
Diane stood beside a child’s bed. The wet blanket had been pulled aside and in the
bed laid the frozen body of a child. Bryce could not help but stare with Diane. Both of
their familiars saw the child through their eyes and began to become restless downstairs.
“I don’t think we just have a wolf problem,” she whispered. She turned and flipped away
the thick blankets of the double bed beside them. In the bed were the bodies of the child’s
parents, holding each other.
“I’ve heard of frostbite, but this is a bit extreme,” was all Bryce said as he backed
away from the scene and down the stairs. Diane met him outside as he sat down against
the wall of the house as his legs collapsed under him. He put his head in his hands and
Sheera nudged him worriedly. He waved her away and she sat down beside him.
“It’s the ice dragon,” she finally said. The other three looked at her. “The ice dragon
is a creature only in legends – an immortal. It’s said that when it rises, it can freeze and
entire village in seconds and no one would know what had happened, and no one can
escape it. It’s an extremely deadly creature and nothing can fight it because if you get
close to it, you would freeze instantly as well.”
“There must be something to stop it,” Bryce muttered.
The fire dragon, Ronan said smugly. Diane looked at him. Well it seems to make
sense doesn’t it? The only thing that can melt ice is fire, so in order to fight the ice
dragon, we would have to gain control of a fire dragon and set it against the ice dragon.
The only problem is, the collision of both against each other would mean both would be
eliminated, but hey, at least we get rid of two problems with one rock, right?
“It’s ‘two birds with one stone’, Ronan, but yes, I think you may be getting at
something here,” Diane said out loud thoughtfully. Bryce and Sheera looked at her
curiously and Diane quickly explained what Ronan had said. “But the only problem is
that we don’t know where to get a fire dragon. I should think that a fire dragon would just
be as rare as an ice dragon.”
“So what about the ‘wolf’ problem?” Bryce asked. “Wasn’t that your original
assignment?” Sheera cocked her head and Bryce scratched one of her ears.
Diane looked up thoughtfully. “I have a hunch about that,” she finally said. “I do
believe that when some of the villager flocks didn’t return after the shepherds went to
collect them, they thought that there was a wolf pack hunting around in this area.
However, it was actually the ice dragon waking and eating up the flocks. So by the time
they sent for the Hunt to send someone to help them, it was too late. The ice dragon had
already been awoken and had frozen the whole village.”
Sheera sniffed and Bryce laughed and scratched her head. Even Ronan snorted in
amusement. Diane looked at them curiously. “Sheera says that humans always blame
wolves for everything, and that it isn’t fair to a wolf’s reputation,” he explained. Diane
couldn’t help but smile.
“All right, we better get back to the city to explain all of this to Magistrate Walsh,
and talk to the Hunt,” Diane said with a sigh. She climbed up onto Ronan’s back and
Bryce got to his feet.
As they were about to leave they heard a great earth shattering cry from above.
Alarmed, the two Hunters looked up for the source of the sound. Get on, Ronan snarled.
Without hesitation, Diane leaped onto his broad back. As Ronan swiftly brought her
away from the village in long bounding strides, she caught a glance of white running at
his side. She leaned forward into Ronan’s back and turned her head to catch a glimpse of
Bryce next to her, similarly mounted astride Sheera’s back.
His face was pale but the wind whipping into his face brought a flush into them. He
didn’t need to tell her for her to know that the ice dragon was in pursuit.