Free Hunter's Beginning (Veller) by Garry Spoor

quickly stopped herself.
    “I know, I know, with my mind.”
    She closed her eyes and again pictured herself reached out to the coin. But she didn’t have any more luck with the coin than she was with any of the other objects and this was getting very boring.
    “ Let us try the branch.” She heard the mystic say.
    Without opening her eyes she diverted her attention to the branch, and again she wasn’t having any luck. It just wasn’t there. She didn’t know what was supposed to happen but she figured it had to be something; the mystic was waiting for something. He just shook his head and looked more confused.
    “It’s just no use. I just don’t… feel… anything.” She admitted in defeat.
    The yellow mystic wasn’t paying much attention to her as he pulled a book from the small wooden box that, by all rights, should not have been able to hold all these things and if anything, should be wet from dropping a full glass of water into it. He placed the book on the table and Kile began to wonder if she was suppose to move the words with her mind or something, but the Mystic said nothing as he set to flicking through the pages. It was clear that he was looking for something, but she didn’t know what, and she was afraid to ask. He slowed down his scanning and began to read as Kile sat and watched, but the more he read, the more confused he appeared. It was several minutes before he realized that Kile was still sitting there.
    “Yes… yes, you may leave now.”
    “That’s it?” She asked. “Did I… pass?”
    “What… oh uh… yeah… you passed.” He replied, not taking his eyes from the page that he was reading.
    Kile slid out of the overstuffed wingback chair and moved quietly around the Mystic. She didn’t want to disturb him any more than she thought he already was, but she was presented with yet another problem. There was no door to leave by. Was this part of the test she wondered? At this point she would have even welcomed a window to crawl out of. She walked around the room a few times before stopping beside his chair.
    “Excuse me sir, but… the door?”
    “The door? Oh… oh yes, the door.”
    He waves his hand dismissively and the door appeared on the wall behind him. The mystic arts were impressive at times, but she still didn’t like them. Kile pulled the door open and quickly exited the room.
     
    “By the Gods you’re alive.” Alex cried as he jumped up from his desk and wrapped his arms around her. Kile stood for a moment, more confused than ever as she surveyed her surroundings. The door she had just come through was gone, and she was back in the classroom, standing beside her desk. The other cadets were all there as well, some looked rather dazed, others looked terrified but all of them were alive, even the tall thin kid she had seen with the spear in his back was alive. Daniel was sitting at his own desk, and looking rather ragged as he looked up at Kile and gave her a grin. Alex had been crying, which was clear to see from the redness of his eyes as he quickly backed away from Kile and wiped them on the sleeve of his shirt.
    “I… I mean it 's… great to see you’re okay.” He stammered.
    “Yeah, I’m sure. What do you mean I’m alive?”
    “Well… the last time we saw you, you had just gotten your head split in two by a large valrik. It was probably the most disgusting sight I had ever seen.” Daniel replied.
    “Sorry I couldn’t be there.”
    “It was all an illusion, but it was so real.” Alex replied as he dropped back into his seat.
    “I don’t know what’s going on.” Kile said, shaking her head as she took her own seat.
    “Well… so far we figured out that the battle and the deaths were all illusions.” Daniel replied as he waved her attention to the front of the room to where the huge double doors should have been. The wall was completely bare.
    “There’s no door.” Kile remarked. What had surprised her the most was that she wasn’t surprised at