Page 118 of Huntress

The nest had given them three rooms with three beds each, and an officer’s quarters for Elsie. She stopped by their supply office, grabbed a cot for Saint, and then went right back out to join the others.

The hunter's quarters were set among the town, right across a crumbling road from a row of houses. Each house had a small, fenced-in yard, with security dogs all barking and snarling at Saint, bouncing off those fences with fervor. Their only function was to alert their owners when a demon was near, and Elsie had traipsed in among them with the biggest, scariest dog they’d ever seen.

He stared at them imperiously until Trenton knocked into his shoulder. “Leave the dogs alone, man, fuck.”

A mean-looking girl with long, wavy brown hair opened the front door of the nearest house to find out what the dog was barking at. She squinted over at Elsie’s group and yelled at the dog to "shut up.”

Elsie’s gut twisted. The girl was no more than sixteen years old, suckling a baby at her breast while a small toddler clung to her legs. Logically, she knew that in order to quickly grow the human population, they took girls out of school and married them off by the age of fourteen. And while the practice disgusted her, Elsie had never put a face to the atrocity.

At fifteen, she’d been having the time of her life, running through the woods chasing low-level demons and training to become captain. This girl would never get the chance to experience the beauty of the woods, let alone run through them. She was so young, and already her freedom was taken.

The girl went back into the house, allowing Elsie to finally look away.

They piled into the pickup trucks, throwing the chainsaws and other gear into the truck beds. Marley jumped into the front seat with Elsie before Saint got there, slamming and locking the door in his face. She turned to the captain with a smug look while the demon changed form, choosing to run rather than cram into the back with the others.

“How are Steve and Trisse doing?” Marley asked. The optimistically expectant look fell from her face as Elsie spoke. She also told the healer the reasoning behind Mordane’s punishment.

“We should have been given medals for what we did with those rats, instead we’re punished because some asshole wants to fuck with our people? I asked about them too, you know. I’d wanted to look in on them, but I was barred from the medical bay until our vacation was over.”

“I know, Mar. They did it on purpose. The woman who told me what Cornick did risked her career by admitting what had happened. I’m hoping she hasn’t faced any trouble because of it.”

She took the healer’s hand and squeezed it. “How was your escort mission?”

“Easy, and boring, and beautiful, actually. We saw some gorgeous sunsets,” Marley went on, going into detail about their trip. Elsie let her talk until they arrived.

“Man, this nest is huge.” Perrie joined them from the other truck. “A kid walked all the way out here and through the barrier? Must have been a determined little thing.”

Albright’s words about nestlings escaping flitted through her memories.

“We haven’t passed the barrier yet, Pear.” Elsie knew the witch had probably been too busy talking to notice. “The forest has been allowed to infiltrate the nest. I guess we’ll start here. Push the treeline back to the barrier.”

“Are we splitting up?” Trenton asked, but Elsie shook her head. The trees here were young, and though they were fairly tall, most were no more than six inches around.

“We’ll stay together. It won’t make a difference in how fast we move, and it’ll be more fun,” she decided.

“Yay!” Perrie squealed, latching onto Marley’s arm. “Come and meet Riven!”

Elsie grabbed a chainsaw and a wedge, then wandered over to Saint, where he lay under one of the trees, panting. He’d expanded his form so much that even lying down, his head was above hers.

“Are you planning on taking part in this one?” she asked. He stopped panting for a moment, ears perked and looking off into the woods. “You’re going to play guard dog, huh? That’s alright. I won’t ask you to kill a bunch of trees. I’m not in any hurry now that we’re here. Let’s try to make this job last a few days.”

Chapter twenty-four

Chapter 24

Elsie set down her trimmer. They’d spent their few hours clearing out underbrush and other plants. Her hand was tired; the repetitive squeeze of the clippers was nothing like handling a dagger.

Riven flitted from place to place, harvesting a few herbs and plants she used for her tinctures, salves, and potions, showing each to Perrie and Marley. The witch and healer consistently stopped to listen and learn from the mage’s explanations about each plant and its uses.

As they worked to clear the brush, Elsie spotted thin magic trails that didn’t belong to any of her people. They were plentiful, and while the majority had faded with time, several were still fresh. Security had gotten so lax in this nest that creatures were living inside ‌it.

“Perrie? Can you check on the barrier, make sure it doesn’t have any gaps?” she requested.

“Yes, boss!” The witch trotted off with the mage in tow to check on it. Their trip took longer than it should have, but Elsie understood. It was Riven’s first chance to get up close to one of the colony’s barriers. Perrie had definitely gotten caught up in explanations.

Saint brushed past her, still in his demon form, nose to the ground, following one of the magical trails she’d spotted earlier. Tempted to follow, Elsie let him be. Most of what she was seeing belonged to weaker, harmless creatures.

“The barrier is running perfectly,” Perrie reported when she returned.