Chapter 3
I didn’t have to use mystic mode or anything to keep track of the men. Hell, they were struggling to keep up with the blonde. Regular humans are slow. But that girl, holy shit. I decided to do her a favor but kept my distance. I didn’t notice until now but something odd also radiated from the men too. I guess the power of the blonde was like how the sun outshined the moon during the day. They had a witchy vibe to them, only weaker. Warlocks? That’s probably how they managed to contain such a girl without getting their asses handed to them on a platter. I tapped into my essence, boosting strength and speed. I no longer cared about keeping my distance, bearing down on the possible rapists like lion on its prey.
Suddenly one of them tilted their head toward me, still running but not paying much attention to what’s in front of him. His body moved like a rail-shooter or some other automatic action-packed video game. Then I felt him charge power. It wasn’t a tremendous input like witches or stronger magic users, but dangerous nonetheless. Two fireballs appeared in his hands. The warlock launched them at me. Either he was an idiot or could not figure out my biology. My guess was confirmed by the surprised look on his face as I dodged the measly baseball-sized balls of orange and reds.
“Hey asshat, I really think you should learn to aim,” I said. Now for those that think of witches and warlocks as warts and broomsticks, you’ll be disappointed here. No matter what anyone says, they’re just people. They’re everywhere. Your neighbors, teachers, even policemen. And if you have any sensitivity to the occult then you’d detect them, whether they’re giving you chills or not. They’re not the only ones that can manifest essence into elements. Mystics are unmatched at it. We do try use them less often, so you know, we don’t destroy the whole damn place.
I pulled out my nameless grey pistol which was basically a hyper-modified Desert Eagle and fired at the center of his forehead. Element of surprise is a bitch, isn’t it? No one expects those that can wield essence to utilize guns. Hell, many of them believe it to be dishonorable. I don’t give a shit either way –I was raised by a family of hunters and this is how we did things. I didn’t choose to become a mystic. Natural selection is also a bitch.
The other warlock, stopped, eyes in horror as he watched his partner lie there motionless. Runes began to glow all around his arms. He was a tall muscular man, dark brown hair, scruffy beard. I stopped too, hoping the girl gets away as far as possible.
“You not only interfere but you killed my coworker,” he said, eyes bloodshot with rage. “I hope you’ve prayed one last prayer to your god, you fucker.”
I smirked. “And a phase of the hunt that I love.”
The warlock charged at me, chucking fireballs on the way. I easily dodged them all, ran after him too, boosting myself more with speed and strength. I could feel him casting curses on me. Too bad those shits don’t work. Mystics are completely immune to mojo, voodoo, curses, whatever the fuck you want to call them. Yeah, that’s right, Potter has nothing on me. His look of disbelief didn’t last long as I turned it to pain when I threw the first five punches, landing them. In the midst of all of that, I dodged all of his and continued my assault, high kick which sent him spiraling back at least eight feet. The warlock stood up, face three shades of purple. I smiled. “Come on, I’m not done yet.”
Let’s make a note that my gun was still out. He decided that he was Vegeta from Dragonball, launching multiple fireballs from his hands in a similar manner. He didn’t make the grunts though. I would’ve given him beer if he did so. I rushed the warlock, dodging his fireballs. The bastard tried to run but the second he did that, I deemed the fight was over, pulling the trigger of my silvery friend and watched my prey drop. Not really a hunt, disappointing actually, but at least the girl was safe wherever she ran. Someone tapped on my shoulder. I spun, ready to unleash a combination of Jet Li, Jackie Chan, and Bruce Lee on some poor soul but what I met were a pair of incredible, silver eyes. The girl flashed a magazine model smile. And when I say this is the hottest girl I’ve ever met, I do not exaggerate. If I didn’t feel that incredible essence radiate from her like a nuclear bomb, I would’ve thought she was a movie star. Standing at five feet six inches tall, with a body of supermodel, and hair so blonde that it almost looked white. She was dressed in a white shirt with the Disney character Tinker Bell imprinted on it and black yoga pants. She looked maybe nineteen or twenty.
“Hi,” she said in a heavenly voice. I wanted to check to see if this was a prank from God or something. Sending an angel to get my hopes up. Well, God probably wouldn’t do that but you get my point. I found myself unable speak right away, my mouth agape. “You were really cool back there. Thank you for saving me.”
I pulled myself together. I’m a hunter, not a ladies’ man. “It’s no problem. Are you okay? Did they hurt you?”
The girl was still smiling. “No they didn’t, thanks to you. Do you mind giving me a ride home?”
Something bugged me about this girl. Well, not bugged me. Maybe she fascinated me. The feeling I got from her wasn’t witchy but the opposite. Whatever that was.
“I don’t mind, but I’m just another stranger. You shouldn’t be so trusting.”
The girl looked at me and then laughed. “You’re more of a hero than someone threatening. I see no dark vibes.”
I blinked. “What…are you?”
She simply wagged her finger. “Come to my home first then I’ll tell you, mystic.”
I froze. Oh shit. “How do you know that?”
“Come on, you can obviously feel that I’m no ordinary girl. I can feel the same emitting from you. If it makes you feel better, let’s not be strangers. We can exchange names. I’m Ariana.”
I hesitated but felt nothing threatening from the girl. “I’m Ned.”
“Good. Ned, do you mind taking me home?”
“Sure,” I said and then looked at the bodies. They were melting into nothingness. I looked up at the girl to protest but she already started toward my car. Who or what the hell did I just save.
The drive was silent, except for the low music coming from my radio. And the GPS. I did my best not to sneak peeks at the girl, first to ever sit in my embarrassing car. For some reason, I could feel her gaze. It felt a little uncomfortable, like she read my thoughts somehow. I decided to break the silence.
“So, are you from Gainesville?” I asked.
I felt an arm caress from warm, delicate hands. “No,” Ariana said. “I’m, sort of a foreigner. Move here a month ago. What about?”
I briefly glanced at her before putting my eyes back on the road. She stared right at me.
“I’m just attending college here. I’ve been here for almost two years.”
“You aren’t aiming to be a mystic priest or something?” she said with a light giggle.
I sighed. “That’s the usual stereotype. But mystics are your stepchild, out of place, magic users, not monks.”
“True. You’re powerful but incredibly hard to find. Any particular reason why you’re out in the open?”
I didn’t answer. There’s no way I’m spilling my secrets to a stranger, no matter how hot she is. “I guess I pressed a sensitive issue.”
“Sort of,” I said. “But I can assure you I won’t be going into hiding anytime soon.”
The GPS claimed that our destination was seconds ahead. My eyes widened when we pulled in front the gate of a motherfucking mansion. I looked at Ariana. She gave me an innocent smile. She waved at a security guard. The gate opened and soon we found ourselves in a driveway. A shitload of people rushed out as Ariana stepped out of my car. She motioned for me to exit. I reluctantly turned off my vehicle, locked the doors, and slowly followed. The security guards were surprisingly ignoring me. One would expect suspicious glares but these guys didn’t give shit whether I existed or not.
“Come on,” Ariana said, “I want you to meet my family.”
ns 15.158.61.19da2
