Getting tattooed took most of the night. Kat had thought maybe the witch would cast a spell and the runes would appear on her body, not so. The witch actually physically tattooed her with a silvery ink—a conductor for magic—while casting at the same time. It had been fascinating to watch, and painful.

When it was done, Kat was given some vampire blood to drink. Not that she wanted to drink it—it tasted nasty, and the thick texture made her gag—but it healed her right away.

With some privacy, she studied the new tattoos scrolled on her chest. Eight of them. Starting at under her collar bone, and ending above her bellybutton. The witch had explained what each did as she worked.

Teleportation, enhanced strength, reflexes, and hearing. A protection rune with the shield that blocked fast projectiles. One let her see in the dark, another masked her from vampires (so long as she stood completely still), and the last let her activate magic, like traps, veils, and leystones.

The witch had told her that there were other types of runes, and some that augmented the base ones. Some let hunters mask themselves from anyone, not just vampires. Or runes that could improve vision so that it rivaled a bird of prey, or extended the teleportation range. But witches that could tattoo them were rare. Not only did the witch have to be powerful, but they also had to be willing. Most witches didn’t want to take a side in the war.

There was a knock on the door, and Kat quickly tossed on her shirt.

Chase stood on the other side. “Let’s teach you how to use these.”

Exhausted, the sun had to be near rising. But she didn’t complain. She wanted to know how to use the runes.

Chase led her to the front of the estate, across the gardens, to the edge of the forest. “Listen to everything I tell you or you’ll end up teleporting into a tree.”

“Sounds painful.”

“I’d imagine it is. Hunters who do it scream a lot and then die.”

Kat scrunched her nose.

“Close your eyes, and focus on each of the runes. Feel them,” Chase said.

She did. The runes crawled across her skin as she thought about them. Slowly, she began to single out each one.

“Find the one that lets you see in the dark.”

She had to touch her skin before she could mentally locate it. Strange. Like an itch she only noticed when she thought about it.

Chase, who hadn’t rushed her, said, “Feel that tingling in your belly? It’s a stirring of magic. Push a small amount of that into the rune.”

In her mind’s eye, a green swirling mass of light pooled within her. She pushed some of it to the rune. Her eyes burned, and she opened them. “Oh god,” she screamed as the forest flared up. She slammed her lids closed and clawed her eyes. “It’s too bright.”

“You used too much. Try again.”

She did. Opening her eyes, the night looked like day. “Incredible.”

Chase’s eyes began to glow green, and he motioned to them. “It’ll give away your position to a vampire, so you can’t always rely on this rune. But if they already know you’re there, there’s no reason not to use it. It doesn’t take much magic. Other runes deplete your source pool fast.”

“Source pool?”

“The magic in us. Every human has some. Witches and a few other creatures can naturally tap into it. We use it to activate our runes. It runs out the more we use it, but it’ll regenerate over time. Some humans have bigger pools than others. Mine is average, Brick has a large pool—and an affinity to a toughness rune, one you didn’t get—Necrus…well, his is almost nonexistent. He has a hard time using runes. You’ll see him using chain hooks to keep up with us.”

Kat wondered how big her pool was.

“Okay, to use the teleport rune,” he continued, “you need to visualize where you want to appear. When you first start, it’s easiest to only teleport to places you’re looking. Eventually, you’ll be able to teleport to anywhere you can visualize that’s within range. Our limits are usually a quarter mile, but it depends on the hunter.”

Chase pointed to an open area a few feet in front of Kat. “Teleport here.”

“I really don’t want to end up in a tree.”

“Don’t look at a tree and you won’t.”

Kat scowled.

Chase pointed at the area again. “You’ll feel if something is in the way and you can pull the magic away from the rune. It’s how we manage to teleport to the other side of a wall and not end up inside someone.”

Oh. That didn’t sound as bad. She focused and activated the teleport rune. Green surrounded her, and her body felt as if it stretched and reformed a few feet away.

“Oh god.” Dropping to her knees, she began to heave. “I forgot.”

She heard Chase snort, covering laughter.

“It’s not funny,” she said, standing and wiping her mouth.

His face returned to his permanent state of grump, and she wished she hadn’t said anything. Seeing him actually express some emotion had made him feel more human and less asshole-robot.

“Do it again,” he said.

She did.

He pointed to a new location. “Again.”

“How many times?”

“Until we get to the academy.”

She looked at the thick forest, sucked in a hard breath to stop herself from giving him lip, and teleported forward. She vomited. And then pulled herself up and did it again. And again. And again.

And about three thousand—not really but it felt like it—teleports later, the two of them made it to the academy. Thankfully, around teleport thirty or so, she stopped heaving. Her body seemed to have adjusted to the magic.

Chase was kind enough to let her get some sleep then.

It was short lived. He didn’t let her sleep much over the next week. Now that she had her runes, the kid gloves were off. Every waking moment she spent learning to master them. But they didn’t stop at the runes; she also learned how to correctly throw a punch, shoot a crossbow, the best practices for staking a vamp…and jogging…so much jogging. Kat was sure she’d lost ten pounds in that week.

The rest of her team, thankfully, didn’t give her a hard time about her new tattoos.

One night, while training, Kat—and every other cadet team training in the arena—came to a halt when Commander Cullip entered; trailing after him was an unchained vampire.

The same vampire Kat had seen in the infirmary, obviously no stake in his chest.

A sharp command from Instructor Ricthas, a warrior incubus who specialized in hand-to-hand combat, had Ashwood Red focusing on their task again. They were ordered to ignore the vampire, but Kat couldn’t help but watch him out of the corner of her eye. Cullip was training him on how to throw a punch. Secretly, Kat hoped the creature would make a break for it or start attacking. She wanted a chance to bring it down.

That didn’t happen.

A few days later, Chase had the team gathered in a meeting room attached to the arena an hour before sunset.

“We’re doing live training tonight,” he said.

Dawn and Javi perked up, while Brick seemed indifferent, and Necrus frowned.

“Great,” Necrus said. “I’m going to get my ass kicked tonight.”

“Not if you listen to my commands,” Chase said. “Are you wearing your chains?”

Necrus held his arm out, and from under his leather sleeve, a thick silvered chain with a hook at the end shot forward. Before it hit a chair, he flicked his arm and the chain rapidly reeled back in. “Always.”

“Live training?” Kat asked Javi.

Javi patted his stakes. “We’re going to be playing with a vamp tonight.”

“It’s a fledgling, only a few years old with no sire around.” Chase glanced at Necrus. “Which means all of us should be able to handle it. I’m having it brought up while the sun’s still out so you can get used to staking it. And I can show you where its vital areas are.”

“I’ve staked a vamp before,” she said. “I know how to do it.”

“And you’ll be doing it again until I’m convinced you won’t get caught on a rib bone.” Chase teleported out and came back with a belt that had three stakes, a handful of clear vials, and two silver daggers on it. He held it out to her.

“No sword for me?” she asked as she put it on.

“Sword training is next week. Ready?”

Dawn pulled out her own sword. “More than ready, it’s been way too long since we’ve really trained.”

Kat tried not to take offense. The past few days had certainly felt like real training to her, but she wasn’t in the mood to argue.

She pulled out her stake and nodded.

The team walked down a long passageway leading to the training arena. They stopped outside of some massive doors. “There’s a vamp trap around this,” Chase said to Kat, pointing at green runes lining the door frame. “Vampires can’t pass through it. If something goes wrong, teleport into the stands.”

Kat nodded.

Chase pushed open the doors. Everyone entered, Kat trailing behind.

A rectangular silver cage stood upright in the center of the arena. Hanging from chains around its wrists was the vampire. Mistaking it for a corpse would be easy.

Kat’s feet stopped moving, her hands felt as heavy as lead, and her heart slammed against her chest.

Chase opened the cage. “Alright, Kat, ready to stake it?”

She didn’t move.

Everyone turned. She took a step away and fought back tears. She knew Chase hated how she’d acquired her tattoos, but she hadn’t expected him to be cruel about it.

Her throat closed and she had to work to catch her breath. Her hand gripped her dagger, and she glared at Chase.

“Fuck you.”

She teleported away from her team.

Away from the unconscious vampire who had once been her dad.