“Hey dad, you’d be so proud of me. Well, I hope you would be. I got in a fight today with one of the cheerleaders in the locker room.” The dark-haired girl said as she leaned over the man's form, as she clutched his hand. All she could smell was the antiseptic in the hospital's air. “I’ve never been in a fight before. I was so scared.” She said with a hitch in her voice.

“What's this I hear about a fight?” The nurse said as she came n on rounds. She could see Victoria's red puffy eyes and stains from tears on the sheets when she looked.

“It’s nothing just something stupid that happened.” The teenager temporized.

The nurse pursed her lips then spoke. “A fight is important. Especially your first one, I mean why were you fighting in the first place?

Smiling the teen looked at the older nurse, it was one of the ones who had been taking care of her father for the past week. Older, coffee-colored skin black hair and brown eyes, and she gave off a grandmotherly vibe. Biting her lip Victoria decided to edit the truth a bit but she needed to vent. “It was the head cheerleader Karen. I have gym class with her and some of the other girls from the squad…” She started her story. “So when I went into the locker room the two girls that we knocked out of the game we're about to be beaten up. They were holding them down and Karen was standing there.”

“What was she about to do?” She asked a puzzled look on her face.

“Victoria shrugged in confusion. “I don’t know then my friend Caroline came in and they attacked her. I had to help so I jumped on Karen. Then the next thing I know she is stripping naked and ran out of the locker room.” She said giving the accepted story.

“Oh my. That poor dear had done lost her mind.” She said shaking her head but getting back to check her fathers vitals. “What was her last name?” The curious nurse asked.

Victoria paused in thought. “You know I’ve never heard her last name. You say Karen and everyone in school know her.”

“Now don’t that beat all.” She said as she wrote down the numbers she needed. “You might wanna find out, sounds like she was on drugs or something. Might check up on her or tell her folks.” Then she looked at the teenager in the eyes and gave her a serious look. “If you are going to be doing any more fighting though. It might be a good idea to get some training in how to fight. You could get hurt. Speaking of that how are you arms after yesterday?”

She showed the nurse her war wounds from the previous day. They had scabbed over nicely. “You be good I think your dad likes you sitting there. He’s doing better today.”

“She’s right you know.” Lacie the pixie said as she hovered up from the side of the bed.

“Where have you been all afternoon?”

“Here, there, trying to find the Mozikeen. I heard you got into a fight and she went crazy?” The pixie said with a laugh as she flitted about.

“She did not go crazy.” The teen hissed. “One of the girls they were trying to hold down hit her with a book bag and I think broke her neck.”

“Wait, what?” The blind asked in shock. “You killed a human and hid her body?”

“No we killed a monster and everyone else thinks she ran off naked howling to the moon. Its body disappeared and all that was left were shorts, a shirt, and its underwear.” She said angrily.

“Oh… oh wow. Did you check it for any trophies or anything?”

Victoria glared at her companion who was now sitting on the edge of her father's bed. “I’m not a boy to be taking a woman's panties as a trophy.” She sat back in a huff after crossing her arms. “The Nurse was right I need to learn how to fight, really fight and use my magic at the same time.”

“You could find other hunters,” Lacie said.

Victoria nodded. “Oh yeah, Hey my names Victoria. I’m a hunter just like you and I just turned seventeen. Well, I don't’ know who my parents are but I need to learn how to fight can you teach me?”

“Well. Yeah aside from that. Let me think.” The pixie stood up and began to pace the length of the bed she was standing on lost in thought.

“I have some other questions though,” Lacie grunted her accent. “Why didn’t I get like battle notifications when I was fighting Karen. And why didn’t Karen have a last name?”

“Well, the last name is easy she didn’t have one. “ Lacie said distractedly. Then asked a question in return. “Did you say you saw the ghost of Colonel Bowie?”

“Yes. And the messages?” Victoria pressed.

“You probably had notifications turned off. “ The pixie waved. “You just think notifications on. You can also ask to configure the notifications.“

For the next few minutes, the teenage girl sat in peace and reviewed her logs and messages while the little pixie paced. “What you need is a mentor.” She said finally after she stopped in her deliberations.

“Probably but from where?” She asked. The pixies only response was a vicious smile.

X X X

They found themselves in downtown San Antonio as the sun was going down. “My moms going to be so upset that I’m late.”

“You called and told her where you were going to be,” Lacie replied as she looked around the old mission. “Besides if we don’t get you some training you’re going to get yourself killed.”

Victoria shivered in the chill air. “Where do we look for him?” She asked looking around the plaza and seeing the forms of men and women that had not passed on.

“That way.” The pixie pointed. For the next ten minutes, they looked through every area of the old fort until they finally found him on the bench that overlooked the ghostly encampment.

“Mr. Bowie?” Victoria asked the seated figure. He looked at her with eyes hollowed out and sad.

“That was me miss.” He sighed and stood up then bowed to her in a gentlemanly fashion.

“I, need your help.”

She got a bark of laughter from the shade. “I can’t even help my men stranded here for close to two centuries.”

“Maybe I could help in exchange for you teaching me how to fight.” She said.

“Don’t rightly know-how. We were pledged to protect his fort and we all stay on in death to do so.” He sighed with regret. “Watch your oaths girl. Mind your promises. They hold consequences.”

“Teach me to fight and I promise to find a way to free you.” The dark-haired teen said. He looked at her with a new interest in his eyes.

“You would learn to fight with a knife?” he said gesturing at the scabbard on his hip.

“I’ll need to learn to fight with everything I am if I’m to survive and thrive.” Came her reply.

“And you will free us to our reward?”

“I will do everything in my power to learn how to free you.” The ghost reached out his hand to her.

“Then I will teach you.” He said formally.