Enemies can move before you do if their DEX is higher. Shades in particular have a quite high DEX of 25 (the same as the Troll, in fact!), and some decent range to their first spell, so they'll be landing a lot of first hits.
On the bright side, this will usually put them in prime range to hit them back with your Hunter, and their 35 HP/14 DEF leaves them wide open to getting oneshotted in return. Even if your Hunter is burned, she can still drop him with a Long Shot.