Page 147 of Huntress

She produced a stamped and sealed envelope addressed to “Captain Elspeth Chantraine”.

Roz watched her open it and take out the letter, a sour look on her face. “It took a month for him to bother with a reply, but you got your summons. Have fun playing lab rat with Cornick.”

Chapter twenty-nine

Chapter 29

Multiple weeks of back-and-forth negotiations through correspondence with Cornick had eventually resulted in Elsie and Saint being resigned to waiting in the mess hall of Nest Apothecary in Colony Five like transients. They weren’t visiting for a mission, so their hosts were not obliged to give them a room and hadn’t even offered them a meal.

Saint monitored everyone who came into the room, curling a lip at anyone showing too much curiosity. After hours of waiting, a young hunter soldier walked up and nodded at Elsie.

“Ma’am? Your ride is here.” He kept a healthy distance between them while eyeing Saint warily.

“Ugh, finally.” She stood, stretched her limbs, grabbed her bag, and followed the boy outside. The sun struck her eyes, and she blinked heavily, throwing a hand up to her brow to shade them.

Their ride was a box fitted to an all-black armored truck.

“Captain Chantraine?” Their driver appeared at the side of the vehicle as she inspected their situation through the back door.

“Yeah, that’s me. What the hell do you haul in this thing?”

“Whatever we’re told to.” He shrugged.

Elsie tossed her bag inside and climbed in, Saint following right behind her. Long wooden benches lined the outside walls, and a heavy, bolted door separated the box from the cab. A locker under each of the benches gave them a safe place to stash their gear.

“Get comfortable, it’s a long drive.” The driver closed and bolted the door behind them.

“That’s not ominous.” Saint sat down across from her.

“There aren’t any cameras, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any listening devices in here,” she warned.

He frowned, but nodded his understanding. The truck started and rolled out with a heavy jerk, and Elsie cursed as she nearly toppled over. Like some obnoxiously immovable boulder, Saint hadn’t budged, and he snickered as she righted herself.

The journey started slow and even, the ground relatively steady, but eventually they reached rougher land. The truck bumped and jostled, and at times they faced steep inclines both up and down winding hills.

He knelt at her feet, his arms around her hips and his head in her lap. Elsie petted his hair, rubbing the furry ears that had appeared with his anxiety. His every pang of worry was a needle of guilt in her heart, but she had to see this through; despite his instincts warning him away, he agreed.

There were reports of a second chimera, less than fifty miles from the first one. This one killed five people. Elsie firmly believed the blood of all seven deaths was on Cornick’s hands. She just had to prove it.

A familiar tingle coated their bodies, and Saint’s ears perked up. They’d passed through an even stronger barrier than the one protecting the compound. The truck slowed to a crawl, and after some minutes, voices shouted over loud, clanging noises.

Saint winced at the shrieking clang of a huge metal door being opened. He held her tighter as the truck idled forward, and they felt the closeness around the truck as echoing sounds bounced off the walls. They were inside ‌a structure that, according to maps, didn’t exist.

The truck came to its final stop and turned off; the silence roared in Elsie’s ears. Saint sighed and let her go, retreating to his bench. His eyes sharpened, and the puppy ears vanished. Only Elsie was trusted enough to show his vulnerability and weakness.

The occupants of the cab shuffled around for an unreasonably extended period before the door in between opened up. It was dark up front. They’d covered the cab windows to prevent them from looking out.

“You’re very serious about security around here, eh?” she joked.

“You have no idea what lengths they’ve taken to secure this place.” The driver held out a pair of masks to cover their faces. Elsie inspected them with a frown. Solid black but porous, she and Saint would be able to breathe, but they’d be completely blind.

“Are you serious right now?” she snapped.

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but I’m only following the orders we’ve been given. This facility, its occupants, and the information within it are classified. You have only been permitted access to specific spaces, per Mister Cornick’s invitation. Don’t worry about your bags, they’ll be brought to your rooms.”

“And if we refuse to accept the masks?” Elsie asked.

An annoyed look flitted across his face.