Hunter's Beginning (Veller) by Garry Spoor Read Free Book Online Page A

that point, everything seemed a little hazy. She did recall Erin setting up camp and making a quick stew which was the only thing she had eaten all day. She could also remember Erin wrapping her in a blanket and sitting her by the fire to keep her warm and giving her a peppermint imp, the first time she had ever had any kind of sweet. Then there was something about wolves, about Erin chasing them off, and how in awe she was of the Hunter. That was probably the definitive moment in time that Kile decided she was going to be a Hunter.
    The next morning Erin took Kile back home and her mother sent her directly to bed. The doctor was called in soon after and Kile was found to have a slight fever but nothing serious. Her father had exchanged words with Erin about something to do with the wolves and Kile, but whatever the outcome was she never learned. Erin left without Kile being able to thank her.
    As the days followed, Kile talked more and more about being a Hunter, although nobody took her very seriously. She knew about the entry examination that was held in Littenbeck each year, but you had to be at least fourteen to take it, which gave her five years to prepare for it. She tried to train herself in mind and body, and at first her brother would take every opportunity to ridicule her about it, but when he saw her dedication he not only stopped the mocking but actually started to help. Her father was not nearly as encouraging as the rest of the family, calling the dream foolish, and saying that there was no chance she would ever make it as a Hunter.
    It was when Kile turned eleven that things got out of hand. Her father had taken it upon himself to make other plans for Kile’s future, plans that did not include what she wanted. Oric Tallon owned the bottom land adjacent to the Veller farm, a piece of ground that Harold Veller coveted greatly. Oric Tallon also had a son, a little troll of a boy four years older th an Kile, named Pordist. Pordist was a cruel and vindictive child that delighted in the torture and misery of others, but Harold Veller didn’t see this, nor did he truly want to, all he saw was an opportunity to expand his farm to more fertile grounds, and so an arrangement of marriage was made between Kile and Pordist. It would take place on Kile’s fifteenth birthday as stated in the charter of the Province of Shai. Kile was furious and it was the first time she ever stood up to her father, the discussion ended in a heated debate that marked the only time her father ever touched her.
    What happened next, Kile wasn’t really sure. She had thought, at that moment, her dreams were dead, but by the next day, her father had changed his mind. The change wasn’t complete and it wasn’t without its conditions. Harold Veller would allow Kile to take the Hunter’s examination when she turned fourteen, but when she failed, as he believed she would, she would have to return home and marry Pordist Tallon and never speak about becoming a Hunter ever again. This was the best and only chance she was going to get and she agreed to it. The only problem was her father was not going to aid her in any way. That meant she would have to come up with the money and the means of getting to Littenbeck for the examination by herself.
    The means of getting there w ere simple enough. The supply wagon that passes through Riverport stops in Nortonville. From there she could easily get a ticket and a carriage straight to Littenbeck. The money for the venture was not as easy to come by. She had saved every coin she had earned but it wasn’t nearly enough. If it wasn’t for her brother Leon, she would never have been able to pay for the ticket.
    She remembered the day she set off to Nortonville, of course she should have since it was only four days ago. It was her brother that saw her off on her journey. Her mother was not well enough to make the trip into town and her father had made it quite clear that he wanted nothing more to do with