Page 137 of Huntress

She held eye contact, grateful that Morgan wasn’t in the room to call her out on her bullshit. Ethereal magic was dangerous. Even if she could tap into the power, she wouldn’t touch it without proper training. That could only come from her mother, or another reaper, and she’d never met any of her sisters.

Grady frowned, then looked down at the map. “I’m afraid I don’t have much information for you, but I’ll tell you what I know. There’s one here, in Colony Nine.”

He pointed near the center of the map, near an enormous lake the hunters were not allowed to come into contact with. Apparently they’d pissed off a spirit in that lake, and it would drown anyone associated with the clans. And drowning was supposedly the easiest way to go for the lucky few. The water spirit had done far worse.

“Harrow?” Elsie asked, searching her memories. “They’re a manufacturing nest, aren’t they? Weapons smiths?”

“On the surface, yes,” Grady agreed. He put up a finger as an idea struck, then hurried to the stacks. Pausing in front of a shelf, his eyes swept from one side to the next excitedly. He selected another map and brought it over, unrolling the paper across the desk.

Elsie frowned. It looked more like an architectural blueprint than a map. “Am I seeing this right?”

“The secure parts of Harrow are underground,” Grady confirmed. “It’s one of the best ideas they’ve come up with to keep everyone safe. If one of their projects were to break out of its confinement, it would still be contained within the facility and highly unlikely to escape.”

“My gods, I had no idea something like this existed.” Elsie studied the map of an underground city that sprawled for miles. If Grady was right, it meant the chimera had been released on purpose.

“Most people aren’t interested in this kind of stuff, and the architects don’t advertise their existence freely. That would defeat the purpose.”

“How many are like this? Are there others?”

“Not in the colonies, but two additional facilities are run independently by the Hunter Clan. Their exact locations are confidential, but I’ve got my theories, and so do a lot of other geographers. The facilities are a fairly popular subject.”

“I’d love to hear them.” Elsie gave him a big smile.

He rolled up the map of Harrow’s underground, carefully sliding it back into its protective metal tube. Every map had one, made from a metal with a high melting point to keep them safe in case a fire wiped out the room.

“I think Progenitor is somewhere around here.” He circled an area with his finger. “Between colonies one and two. It’s close to Gather, allowing for easy communication between the facility and colony leadership.”

“Is this backed by community theories?” she teased.

“Yes, especially when you consider the timing. It’s well known that Progenitor is the birthplace of the hunter breeding program. We were created there, but not until around the time they started building the second colony,” he answered seriously. “Dominion is believed to be closer to here.” He circled a space between Colonies Four and Five.

“That’s in the middle of nowhere, flatlands.”

“Its proximity to Preservation makes sense, though, if you think about it. The whole colony is fixated on research and medical advancement. Dominion’s location would provide easy access to some of the best surgeons, equipment, and facilities available. Not to mention…” He tapped two markings on the map.

“Prowess and Cunning,” Elsie muttered. There were two other hunter training compounds like the one she’d been raised in, and they sat on opposite sides of the area Grady suspected.

“It’s the most commonly accepted theory.”

“I’ll bet this is where all those resources Roz mentioned are going. Not us, the people actually risking our lives, but these researchers. I want to find out what they’re up to, and not just because of my seal removal. This has been very helpful, Grady. Thank you.”

“Has Cornick still been harassing you?” he asked, leaning into her space. Grady caught her eye and held her gaze. “You’re not being bullied into this, are you?”

Guilt gnawed at her stomach.

“I haven’t dealt with Cornick in a while. It’s just like I said. I want to confirm that he’s not up to something awful.”

“What makes you suspect that he might be?”

“We’ve all heard the rumors of what they do in those labs,” Elsie scoffed. She chewed on her lip for a second, then told him about the chimera in the desert.

“Wait, Captain, there are some crazy theories floating around, but you think Cornick was responsible for unleashing a monstrosity into the world? That’s kind of a stretch, don’t you think?”

“When have we ever heard rumors of demons experimenting on other demons?”

“And you’re assuming whatever you fought is a chimera because of something Mutt said?”

Elsie pinched the bridge of her nose. “Saint, Grady, his name is Saint. And yes, he wasn’t lying.”