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Phillip quickly descended the last tree before nothing but open air met our gaze. Like I’d learned to do, I followed his lead and climbed down the same tree, bemoaning a few stray branches my clothes got caught on along the way.

Scanning the area, my partner cursed. “We’ll need to use whatever ranged weapons we have. Whoever it is, they’re a magic-user. They’ve used a barrier to conceal themselves and getting close will be nearly impossible. They’ll lay traps. So, stay close.”

“Magic? Is it a goblin?” I removed my gun, not exactly excited to use it. I didn’t bring my crossbow because Phillip had his, and now I regretted it.

Phillip sneered, crossbow out and immediately aimed off to the left. “No. This one’s smart. Too many things it could be, but my guess is it’s after you, so don’t leave my side.”

“After me?”

Another assassin?

He didn’t answer. Probably figured I didn’t need him to, but I was desperate to know what sort of beastie we potentially fought. By the sound of it, Phillip wasn’t totally sure either.

After this, I’d pick his brain about what other things used magic and demand a full list of creatures, or at least a place to find literature on them.

“This little ball of fun will disrupt a magical barrier, but it only works for a few human seconds.” Phillip recovered something from his pocket, a tiny silver ball no bigger than my pinkie, and threw it.

An electric sensation exploded in the air, tickling across every bare expanse of my body. It was difficult to describe, but the sensation most closely resembled static electricity just before the shock.

Several arrows shot out of Phillip’s repeater crossbow when the electricity first entered the air. He’d apparently struck his mark, because I heard a soft grunt. The person had to be nearly a mile away for it to be so faint.

I couldn’t make out whether it was a male or female—or beast—we fought, but it hardly mattered. It planned to kill or capture me, so I only cared about where I’d find it.

Fighting with no visual was terrible. Even with enhanced vision, I couldn’t find the bastard. Phillip promised I’d get better with using my eyes like a scope on a rifle, but until then, I’d rely on the older Hunter to find our targets.

Not exactly ideal, but I was dealing.

Phillip shouldered his crossbow, light eyes flicking over to me. “They can’t match our speed. Magic’s dangerous, though. Be careful. Whoever it is, they have the serum.”

“Serum?” I nearly swallowed my tongue. “Doesn’t that mean...?”

Phillip nodded, his strong jaw clenching. “Likely whoever first sent Anita and this new person is part of the Organization. I’m pretty confident the serum isn’t in the hands of anyone else.” His face expressed grave frustration. “Narrowed to a few, but it’s likely whoever this magic-user is, they were hired by someone with the information.”

Purple light landed on us, and I suddenly couldn’t move. It happened quicker than the ones that formed on the floor, so I hadn’t been able to react like I wanted to.

Phillip cursed angrily under his breath, looking at his pocket, but he was just as frozen as I was. “V,” he growled, eyes jerking over the other direction. The expression on his face was new for me. “Move,” he demanded.

“I can’t.” I tried to move my legs, but it was like they’d been wrapped tightly by something. “What is this?”

Phillip hissed, his broad shoulders shifting slightly. “A binding spell. Keep trying. It’ll break if you keep at it. Don’t stop trying, do you hear me? Keep fighting to get out.”

It was the first time I’d ever heard Phillip talk like he couldn’t calm down. It sounded desperate. Afraid. Not at all like him. And I was instantly worried.

But I did what he said.

I wiggled and twisted, barely moving but not totally immobile anymore. It didn’t feel as tight as before, so I worked harder and put more strength into the movement. I grunted and clenched my jaw, determined not to give up and disappoint the other Hunter.

Just as the binding seemed to come loose, Phillip’s arms now shifting enough that he could almost reach his pocket, something struck my shoulder.

I cried out as a burning pain swelled from shoulder to chest. “Shit on a stick, that stings!”

When I finally looked at Phillip, his face was overcome by genuine fear. I couldn’t be sure for what reason, but I didn’t have time to ask about it. The pain grew worse and the wound wasn’t healing like it should.

The serum.

Phillip struggled to get his body free of the binding spell placed on both of us, moving too fast for my eyes to follow. He nearly reached his pocket, but his hand stayed inches from it. It was evident whatever was in that pocket of his, it’d likely save us from this spell.

Vision wavering, I coughed and tried to get my head to work properly while blood poured from the wound on my shoulder.