Hunter Academy - Book 1

THE OFFICE

Samuel

I get a text from Leo explaining what happened with Jessica, and asking us to get some things ready to keep Fovos from getting to her in her sleep. She's extremely lucky that nothing bad has happened to her other than losing some sleep. Her mind must be pretty strong to be able to hold off what the demon is doing to her, especially since the other people only had short run-ins with her and died pretty quickly. To go weeks of never ending dreams is miraculous. Leo's idea of Ashwagandha Root was brilliant. She'll drink some before bed every night, and poof, no dreams.

"I'm going to the storage locker to grab some things," I tell Dane, as I grab the car keys, slipping my phone into the front pocket of my jeans. The Lore behind Ashwagandha Root is based in the Hindi culture. A Daayan, a female witch, would grind the root into a powder and mix it with milk and honey, making the person drinking the concoction have a dreamless sleep. Luckily, we don't need the supernatural powers of a witch to make it, just the ingredients. I close the door behind me, and walk to the car. I drive the ten minutes to the storage locker. I enter the passcode for the gate and drive to number 275. I shut the car off and make sure I have the padlock key before getting out. Opening the locker, I turn on the light. Thanks to Dane, everything is neatly organized. No sense in not being able to find anything when you need to. I go the mystical roots area. I pull open a drawer and take out what I need, and close the drawer, locking everything back up.

On the drive back to the office, I start thinking about why we need this. Our girl is in danger. My fists clench around the steering wheel in frustration. Leo and I have known about her for a long time. Like my brothers, I don't normally believe in psychics, but Miss Moseley knew too much about us for it to be a coincidence. While we didn't know what Baby Girl would look like, when we met her at the bar, instinct took over. All I wanted to do was wrap her up in a cocoon and never let her out of my sight. When those pale green eyes looked at me I was a goner, and I know my brothers were the same. The dreamy look on Dane's face proved it. I'm not one to talk about feelings, so I haven't spoken to them about her, but I can't wait to see her again today. To look into her eyes. I can only hope she can feel for me and my brothers what we are already starting feel for her, no matter how short of a time we've known her.

***

Jessica

I follow Sparta through town to his office building. The drive takes about twenty-five minutes, which isn't too bad considering we were hitting the start of rush hour. We pull into the parking lot, and I find a spot close to the door. I still can't believe I am doing this. Even believing this. Demons. Who would have thought? I can't wait to talk to Memaw about this. She is going to flip her lid. I still haven't decided if I want to tell the girls and Matt. The girls are super religious. They were raised Catholic, and while I know that it's usually priests who handle exorcisms, I'm not sure what the girls believe as far as demons and things go. Matt, he's an athiest. He doesn't believe there's anything more out there; just in what you can touch, see, taste and smell. If it's not tangent, it isn't real.

I'm torn out of my musings by a knock on my window. I shut the car off, which automatically unlocks the doors. Sparta grabs the handle and opens the door for me. I unbuckle and make sure I have everything before getting out. I nod my thanks to him and I lock the car up and hitch my purse over my shoulder. I'm not going to lie, I'm super nervous, and not about the helping me with the demon thing. I'm nervous about meeting Dane and Chocolate Thunder again. Chocolate Thunder? Good grief, Matt is such a bad influence on me. I will need to make a conscious effort to not call him that to his face. Sam, his name is Sam. Sam. Sam. Okay, I think I've got it ingrained now. I mentally shake myself. Sparta opens the door for me, waving me through. Huh, you don't see that very much anymore. I thank him and he leads us to an elevator, which we take to the 3rd floor. The doors open up to an expansive office. It seems they have the entire floor.

It's not the typical office space. There isn't a reception desk, Just a giant open floor plan. There's a little kitchenette in the back right corner, and a door I can only assume leads to a restroom. There are three desks placed randomly throughout the space. There's an electronic dartboard on one wall, a basketball hoop on another, and filing cabinets and various shelving units line the last.

"So, this is our office," Sparta says, "and the guys should be here soon. Would you like something to drink? We have Pepsi, Mountain Dew, water, and my personal favorite, Purplesaurus Rex Kool-Aid." He has a big grin on his face. Kool-Aid, huh? I didn't peg him for drinking a sugary kid's drink. I can only grin back.

"I've never had Purplesaurus Rex Kool-Aid. Let's give it a shot." He opens a cabinet, taking down two cups, setting them on the counter. He opens the fridge and takes out a pitcher with purple liquid in it, and pours it into the cups. He puts the pitcher back and hands me one of the cups. I take it, and lift it to my lips. Interesting. It's not as sweet as I thought it was going to be. There's the obvious grape flavor, but something else, too. I take another sip. Lemon! That's what it is.

"This has always been my favorite flavor. They actually stopped making it, so I improvised by mixing grape and lemonade flavors together."

"It's good." I tell him honestly. "It's not as sweet as I thought it was going to be."

"That's because instead of using the full cup of sugar that it calls for, I only use ¾ of a cup. It's still sweet, but not all the calories." He pats his abs. "I have to watch out for my girlish figure." I start giggling. I can't help it. He's too adorable. His eyes light up, and I watch them change from green to blue, as a big grin lights up his face. I'm taken completely aback. He's drop dead gorgeous any day of the week, but the change in his face is breathtaking. Literally. My breath catches and I forget to breathe for a minute. The ding of the elevator reminds me to take a breath, as I turn, my eyes trained on the doors. They open and I forget all about breathing again, as Dane and Sam step into the office, the huge space suddenly feeling much smaller.