Page 136 of Huntress

The hybrid roared, bursting through his own shield to smash into the hound with those massive horns. Saint yelped, thrown into the air as the ram pursued, slamming into the hound’s side as he hit the ground.

Elsie flashed forward, jumping and dodging, forgetting her own injuries in light of her demon’s. Her blades sank into the hybrid’s lower back, and as he arched away from the pain, Saint’s teeth flashed up, tearing into the wool protecting his throat, ripping patches free and leaving him exposed.

Marley took out his other hamstring, flipping the blade to slice off one of the creature’s arms, giving Elsie the distraction she needed. Rushing in between the wolfhound and hybrid, she buried her daggers in their enemy’s chest. Saint tore out his throat, shaking his head savagely to break the spinal cord in a violent spray of blood and dust.

Backing away, they watched the hybrid fall face-first into the ground. His magic shot out in a pulse, blowing them off their feet and throwing even Saint’s heavy body several feet.

Elsie scrambled up, but the ram-hybrid didn’t move. He breathed out one last, ragged breath and fell silent. The magic feeding the flames and tremors dissipated, and the ground settled.

Saint shifted back to his human form and made his way over to her, though he was moving slowly. Her eyes darted to the arm he had pressed against his ribs, and he stared at the gouge in her hip. She pressed her lips together and gave a tiny shake of her head. They’d tend to each other later. They had to keep up the act.

“What the fuck is that thing?!” Marley demanded, bent over with her hands on her knees, breath coming heavy. “Demons are interspecies fucking now?!”

Elsie shook her head. Shifter-type demons couldn’t procreate with other shifter species. It wasn’t like mixing a horse and a donkey to get a mule. The DNA simply wouldn’t mix, which was something Marley should–but didn’t–know because Elsie hadn’t learned it from the hunters. She’d learned it from Stolas.

“No.” Saint’s voice was low. “That thing was made. He’s a chimera.”

Marley stared at him, her face paling, and Elsie’s blood ran cold as she realized he had to be right. She knew of only one group of people on the whole damned planet stupid enough to try something like this. And she knew exactly who was in charge.

“Mother fucker,” she spat.

Chapter twenty-seven

Chapter 27

“How many places exist for one man to hide?” Elsie grumbled. She’d checked the maps room, the comms room, and mess hall, but the mass of muscles that was her geographer evaded her.

“Which man? I’ll help you search,” Grady said over her shoulder.

Elsie turned and sighed. “Finally, where have you been?. Come with me, please, I have some questions for you.”

“I’m not in trouble, am I?” he joked, then followed with a pleased look on his face when he noticed Saint wasn’t with her. She’d presented him with the rare opportunity to spend time with his captain without her omnipresent shadow lurking around.

Elsie brought him to the maps room. It was spacious but cozy, with dark paneled walls hung with maps predating the fall of mankind, showing how the world was once divided, with every square inch of surface claimed. There were rows of shelf after organized shelf, containing scrolls the hunter’s geographers had meticulously mapped out by hand. An entire shelf had been filled by Grady himself.

The wide desks were lined with comfortable chairs meant for conversation, drawing, and planning. Elsie had spent many days here, talking with Grady as they created attack plans for complicated missions.

She walked over to a big one on display that showed the entire continent, with every nest and hunter training compound built to date.

“What’s going on?” he asked, all business.

“What can you tell me about the clan’s demon research facilities?”

Grady arched a single eyebrow. “Since when are you interested in the research side of things?”

“I’m interested in expanding my horizons.” Elsie tread carefully. She’d discovered that some of her squad held more strictly extremist views than she’d previously known. She didn’t want to trigger any alarm bells if Grady was harboring any suspicions about her lately.

“Scaring people on the field isn’t enough anymore?” He squinted at her, and Elsie threw up her hands, deciding a bit of truth was her best option.

“I’m considering Cornick’s offer to help remove my seal.”

“Whoa, the last time we spoke about it, you were firmly against his involvement. You said it was too dangerous and you don’t trust Cornick, so what’s changed?” He crossed his arms, but the concern in his eyes warmed her heart. Grady was a big softy.

“He is dangerous, which is why I want to learn more about his operations before making my decision. I want to learn more about what kind of person he is, and what experiments he’s doing.”

“Does it matter what kind of person he is when he can’t do anything about your seal, anyway? You’ve said yourself that the removal has to be done by the goddess.”

“And she hasn’t exactly been around to help, has she?” Elsie snapped. She cleared her throat. “If I’m stronger, I can do a better job of protecting you guys. Our missions have been dangerous lately, we’re facing stronger demons, and people are getting hurt. If having access to all of my magic can prevent another massacre, I want to try.”