In all his life, Alex had never run as hard as he did now. He was no sloucher too; He'd done daily runs of a few score leagues while in Hunter school.

But this was more than a few leagues of flat-out sprinting, and while he was beginning to feel the strain, he shouldn't have been able to go this long without collapse. The mage gifts had to have been boosting his stamina by a whole lot, which was a relief, especially because he was about to storm a squad of night-beasts.

The others raced by his side, intent on the city just beyond the veil of the forest leaves.

"We're nearly there." Jacqueline panted. "Any moment now."

Right on cue, the trees came to an abrupt end, and they spilled onto a grassy plain. The sun shone here so brightly that Alex had to squeeze his eyes shut to adjust to the sudden brightness, a sharp contrast to the dark of the black forest.

When his eyes finally recovered and he opened them tentatively, his gaze caught on the towering sight before them. The city's stone walls loomed above them, as high as any Tallwood in the Black forest. Huge gates stood wide open, one hanging from a single hinge as though ripped off by a massive hand.

Columns of smoke rose from the townlet itself, the acrid smell of woodsmoke easily reaching the four hunters standing before the gates. Distant screams and shouting filtered through the roaring of the fires in the city.

"Shit," Gideon swore, axes flipping restlessly in his hands. "Dawn, you're our crow. Take the rooftops and get a picture of what we're facing here. The rest of us are going to scour this mess."

Dawn gave a single nod, taking off. The others followed behind her, and within moments they were swallowed by the open gates, gaping like devouring jaws.

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

Alex barely leaped away from the collapsing building in time, landing a relatively safe distance from the falling bricks and burning logs. He was still pelted by a spray of flying debris, but it was better than getting crushed under.

"We can't keep this up much longer," Gideon called out as he leaped over a patch of flaming debris, landing beside Alex with envious ease. "We have to call their attention."

They'd frantically searched the city for the past ten minutes, finding nothing but a few charred but otherwise fresh human corpses in the streets, and empty homes on fire. Still, the sound of screaming remained just out of reach, never quite where they thought it was.

"Are you sure that's wise?" Alex asked as Jacqueline joined them, perfectly silent. "For our health, that is."

"Every moment spent uselessly is one where another human might be dying. If we announce our presence, the night-beasts will either flee or attack. They cannot ignore us." Gideon's answer was tight with frustration and exhaustion and Alex remembered that he'd been hunting for hours before their sudden run to the village.

There's no way to call them, Alex thought, glancing at Jacqueline as she same conclusion.

"This would be easier if Dawn were here. Her mage gift couldn't be more eye catching." Gideon grumbled. "I can't do much more than make the ground tremble. I don't know if they can trace us that way. Besides, I'm hesitant to bring down buildings that might hold people."

He was strong enough to collapse buildings? Alex's eye rose in shock and awe. He didn't even know he could control his gift yet. Alex definitely couldn't. he was terrified of the disaster he could wreak.

"I can't do anything." Jacqueline quipped at Gideon's questioning look. "Unless you'd rather I covered everything in frost."

"Maybe later." Gideon quickly answered. He turned to Alex, his expression hopeful.

"What would you do without me?" Alex sighed in defeat, closing his eyes. His expression became fluid and unreadable, and the air stilled around him, strands of his hair floating in a phantom wind.

He tried to imagine the wind swirling around him in a tall tunnel to the sky, picking up trash and creating a beacon. Nothing seemed to be happening, but he didn't quit.

He put his willpower behind an impression of a giant version of him grabbing the air at him with invisible hands, spinning in place and twisting the currents.

He couldn't see it, but he could feel the air become charged with palpable energy, and begin to swirl in a slow current around Alex. Channeling more of his will to it, the winds surrounding him became a modest vortex that picked up light debris from laundry to pieces of roofing around and tossed them into the center toward the center where he stood.

He could see none of that with his eyes closed, but here was a phantom impression at the back of his mind of what was happening around him, and he felt almost sure the wind was telling him what it was doing. The wind was giving him a new sense that transcended sight.

"You're good." Gideon said approvingly, and Alex felt himself warm at the compliment. He didn't think he was supposed to show off his gift, but, excited he pulled on it further, possibly causing more damage when larger pieces of wood and stone began to fly, crashing into the masonry around them.

"Alex?" Jacqueline asked, worry coloring her words.

It took all of a second for everything to get out of control. The very currents that he had been confidently controlling suddenly took on a mind of their own, growing rapidly in strength and ferocity. Several fire-weakened walls collapsed as the raging winds suddenly tore through them.

Alex dropped his hands and fell to his hands and knees, the force of the wind nearly bringing him to an embrace with the cobblestones. He heard - and felt, thanks to his new senses - Jacqueline and Gideon cry out as the wind picked them off their feet and threw them into the buildings near them like they were straw dolls. There was a roar as a low pressure area formed around him.

It took Alex long seconds before he summoned the courage to open his eyes and push away the intoxicating influence of the wind on his mind and look up at the carnage around him. Instantly, he recognized the storm raging around him. A funnel storm, complete with black clouds and rain.

Extremely rare, they were known to level whole towns, if the mages of the sisterhood weren't fast enough to attend to the issue. And if they were allowed to grow enough, they could even grow too big to be stopped, only able to use themselves up.

One this size would completely flatten the burning town around them before moving on, carving its way across the earth of the countryside.

Desperation fresh in his veins, Alex got to his knees, raising his arms to the sky. With the arms of his mind, he grabbed the wind, and tried to hold it back. He found it almost impossible to focus, but the realization that they would all die if he didn't, made him grit his teeth and attempt again.

Nothing happened for a few seconds, but then Alex noticed the wind begin to lessen almost imperceptibly and his arms suddenly felt heavier, as though he was actually holding back the winds with them.

Spurned by the change, he shut his eyes and put in more effort, a low cry slipping out of him as the attempt bore fruit. Pain flared in his arms flared like they were about to be ripped out of their sockets and he could almost feel the blood in his veins slow and begin to eat up.

The wind slowed further before coming to an abrupt halt. Objects that previously flew in the currents hurtled to the earth, leaving craters where they fell. As suddenly as it had started, the storm ended.

Feeling as sore as tenderized meat all over, Alex opened his eyes and surveyed the wreckage surrounding him, fighting not to collapse to his knees.

Pure disaster surrounded him.

He was sure buildings still stood in other parts of the city, but every wall on the street he stood upon lay in heaps of bricks strewn across the floor. He stared in naked awe at the devastation he had unknowingly wrought.

He quickly realized another effect of the storm.

Fire had burnt throughout the whole city previously, but know, after the gale of the storm, it had turned into a inferno, burning everything it touched. There was a clear area around him of about a few hundred meters, but beyond that, molten flame awaited.

"Was that a funnel storm?" Gideon's voice reached him and he turned around to find the other hunter dragging himself out of a pile of rubble. Jacqueline rose from the destroyed remains of a food stall, trembling eyes wider than he'd seen before.

"I think so?" Alex muttered, staring at his hands in shock and disbelief. The adrenaline still pumped through his blood and the wind around him seemed to respond, pulsing softly. With an effort of will, the last of it came to a shuddering stillness.

"What is wrong with you!?" Jacqueline's screech cut through his forced calm and he looked up to find her storming towards him, hands balled at her sides. "You could have killed us!"

"I-I-I didn't mean to-"

He was interrupted by Gideon sliding before him, cutting Jacqueline off from sight with his bulk. The large man said not a word, but Jacqueline came to a stop before him, staring up at him as her breathing came in ragged spurts.

"He did not mean to do that." Gideon's voice sounded even more authoritative than it usually did. "I will remind you exactly how your gift first manifested.

Jacqueline couldn't hide a flinch at the reminder, turning her face to hide a faint wince. She stood there for a minute in indecision before turning and walking off, still as stiff as a board. They watched her walk of some distance, kicking at bricks and broken masonry along the way.

"Good job." Gideon said turning to Alex with a slightly approving look on his face.

"Good job?" Alex blurted, face scrunching up. "She's right. Intention or not, I almost killed us all. And I made the fire worse," he added, glancing at the inferno that surrounded them, black smoke and red flames reaching for the sky above. He wondered how many in their houses that would have survived would die now.
"I think its more important that you were able to stop yourself before things could get truly bad. No one is perfect but being able to fix your mistakes is a hallmark of a good Hunter." Gideon reassured him, a slight warm smile creasing his brown-skinned face.

Alex glanced around, realizing that Gideon was right. The funnel storm had only destroyed this street, not spreading beyond before he took it down. He hoped no one had been hurt by his mistake, but that was out of his control.

There was still something he could do anyways. He was dead tired after using his gift, but he could already could feel himself recovering, an insane stamina granted by his gift kicking awake.

"Besides," Gideon's voice rose up again. "The plan worked."

Alex blinked, following his gaze to see several large silhouettes jumping through gaps in the wall of flames, charging at them on all fours. Two became four, then six, then a dozen. Baying and snarls filled the air and Alex trembled at his first true encounter with Wolven.