Page 135 of Huntress

“Nah, that thing’s kind of cute,” Banks defended. “Look at ‘em go.”

“Armadillo,” Saint said.

Banks nodded. “I like it.”

That night they played a few card games before going to bed early. Elsie snuggled into Saint’s arms and slept soundly, then was the first one up in the morning. She finished her breakfast by the time the others came out of their tents.

“Take some time to wake up and then break camp. We’ll finish this today, and I don’t want to spend another night on this damned rock,” she ordered.

“Thank the gods,” Banks muttered. No shade trees grew up there, and his bald head was a shiny red tomato, even with help from Riven’s healing salve.

They ate, packed up their sleeping bags and tents, and then took their positions. Banks and Riven stayed on a ledge halfway up the mesa. High enough to observe everything below and keep Riven safe, but low enough for accuracy with Banks’ arrows.

Elsie hid herself among the scrub brush at the beginning of the demon’s strike zone. The shipment would pass her first, giving her the opportunity to intercept from the start. Saint was the next line of defense, taking the center, while Marley took a support role at the end, keeping their healer in the safest position.

A rattling sound, followed by working engines, announced the convoy's arrival. They had a full squad of hunters already on the trucks, ready to engage and support Elsie’s group if needed, though it hadn’t been enough for previous convoys.

As the first trucks pulled into view, a rumbling started, the frequency so low Elsie felt it rather than heard it. Pieces of sun-dried crust fractured, the shattered pieces skittered across the desert floor. She looked behind her, feeling the magic coming.

Elsie jumped to her feet, moving to intercept while Saint did the same from the opposite side. They had to reach the demon before it got to the trucks.

Like the fin of a fish breaking the water’s surface, the demon split the earth from below, causing a ripple effect. A smooth, rounded shape broke through as the ground trembled and shook. Low flames burst from the crack, racing toward the convoy at speeds Elsie could barely keep up with.

The demon threw his head back, and Elsie saw the massive curling spikes on either side of a head straight from a nightmare. It was a bighorn ram, with razor-sharp teeth and shiny black scales in the center of his face.

“What the fuck is that?!” Elsie shouted as she ran. Demons with more than one magic weren’t unheard of, but earth and fire together were so rare she’d never faced one before.

An arrow flew. Well aimed, it should have hit, but the beast raised an arm, and the ground reacted, sheets of earth and stone arching over his head like a wave to act as a shield. The arrow landed harmlessly, bouncing aside.

The beast roared, deep and guttural, his eyes glowing red with rage. Rising like a monster from the deep, his barrel of a chest came into view, dust and rocks cascading off his broad shoulders.

Elsie moved into a full sprint, a dagger in each hand. A savage glee ripped through her veins, and dark moon magic flooded her muscles with strength. Leading her target, she leaped into the air, aiming for a flanking strike to trip the demon up. Earth and flames shot up to protect him, and she re-angled her body mid-jump, pushing off a sheet of hard-packed earth.

Sharp shards of stone flew like kunai knives in Elsie’s direction. The demon twisted, circling his path and placing Elsie on an island, flaming chasms on all sides. He stepped onto solid ground, revealing a towering eight-foot-tall figure. His feet were cloven hooves, and his tail was as thickly muscled as the rest of him, with two rows of spikes.

He bellowed, scratching a deep groove into the ground before lowering his head and barreling at her. The ground shook in shockwaves with each footfall, throwing Elsie off balance. Taking off at a run, she leapt across the flames, rolling as she landed to put out her clothes.

The demon jumped after her, and Elsie’s eyes widened. Where had the fucking axe come from?! Halfway through the arc of his leap, Saint slammed into him in his full demon form. His crystal magic shattered the earthen shield, and the demon hound's weight knocked the hybrid off course.

Teeth flashed at furious speeds, and vicious snarls came from the dark shadow that was Saint. The hybrid found an opening and swung his axe. Elsie rushed in as Saint dodged, the heat of rage flaring to life when he took a grazing blow.

She pressed in close, dodging his next swing and darting under that insane tail battering around with the weight of a razor-sharp club. Getting her dagger up in time, she got a good slice to his side. He grunted and whirled around, tail whipping above her head as she slid under it. Springing up, she threw that intoxicating dark moon magic into her next strike, pushing it into Stolas’ blade.

The magic flooded in, then fizzled out with electric zaps before disappearing. Elsie’s eyes flicked to the dagger for a fraction of a second—the difference between a slice and a scratch. The blade shaved the hair from his hide, but drew not a single drop of blood.

His fist hammered into the ground, and pointed spears surged upward. Elsie moved fast, but still took a shallow cut on her calf.

Saint rushed past her, coming in low and leaping for the hybrid’s throat. The earth shield rose, but the wolfhound was ready for it, spikes of crystal jabbing through. He clamped down on a mouthful of wool. A thick layer of the stuff well protected the ram’s neck.

With an ugly sawback blade in hand, Marley slipped in behind the demons, using Saint as a distraction. She fought like a healer possessed. Fast, clinical, and brutal. Drawing the saw across the back of the hybrid’s leg, there was a grating, popping twang, then a snap! as she severed his hamstrings.

The creature’s bellowing cry drowned out the sickening, grinding crunch of the blade hitting bone. He fell to his knee, a shockwave of magic knocking Marley off her feet. Saint dropped to the ground, snapping his teeth in the ram’s face to avoid getting bitten himself.

Elsie moved in, abandoning the dark moon magic that surged through her body in fits and starts in favor of the light moon. She darted low, both daggers sinking deep into the hybrid’s flanks.

He swung his axe at Saint, his other hand clenching into a fist as he sent more spears Elsie’s way. One tore through cloth and skin, and blood flowed from her hip. Adrenaline and magic kept her going.

The earth rumbled and rolled, arching up into a dome around their target, and Saint slammed into it, his claws lengthened into sharp spikes. He howled, a deep, resonant sound that Riven would later say she felt in her bones from her perch high above them. His fur glistened with shimmering shards and crystals as big as trees smashed through the top of the dome.