Page 166 of Huntress

“What about your squad?”

“I’m going to leave eventually, they already know they’ll work under Trenton when that happens, if they decide to stay together. I’m not worried about them anyway. Not one of them sent word while we were in that damned facility, they’re doing fine without us. Staying away a bit longer won’t kill them. Probably.”

A few days later Saint set up a hammock outside, and they spent their nights snuggled up inside it, falling asleep under the stars. They were settled in, cuddled under a blanket and drinking the last of their tea one night when, silent as a shadow, Albright showed up.

Elsie choked, coughing while Albright stared at her, jaw working, brow furrowed.

“What are you doing here?” She asked as soon as she could breathe. Her chest twisted painfully, her heart in her stomach. The air was so thick with her fear it was palpable. She stayed right where she was, defiant despite herself. There was no point in trying to hide the truth from him now.

“What the hell do you think I’m doing here? Mordane got tired of waiting around for your return and asked for a progress report on your seal removal. Cornick informed him that you’d left weeks ago,” her mentor said, the words harsh in his mouth. “I volunteered to come find you before they issued the orders, figuring you, of all people, wouldn’t be doing anything too fucking stupid. You do understand that if they sent me after you, it wouldn’t be a retrieval, right?”

“We didn’t run away, this is his home. He deserved the chance to say goodbye. It’s the least those assholes can do after everything they’ve put him through,” she spat. “Call it medical leave. Hell, bereavement leave. His whole family was lost on these grounds.”

“Call it what you want, but you’re hundreds of miles from your last known location. Anyone else would be charged with post abandonment.”

“Will Cornick be charged for his crimes here? We’re nowhere near any nests, and we’re a good distance from the nearest facility. He slaughtered children, the elderly, entire families, and then he kept some for himself. Dragging them back to his research labs to pull them apart and find out what makes them tick.”

A rush of feathers above drew all their attention. A raven landed above them, quorking in a deep, guttural sound and clacking its beak. Elsie’s eyes widened, her chest constricting.

It leaned down, looking at each of them for several seconds, black eyes shining in the moonlight. Her skin lit on fire as the bird studied her, tilting its head and hopping a step closer. Albright threw a knife, the blade sticking to the branch between the bird’s feet with a thud.

The bird muttered to itself, then leapt into the air and flew away. Elsie released the breath she’d been holding in a heavy whoosh. It hadn’t recognized her, but with her fae half awakened, she might not be as lucky next time.

“Nobody will care about what he’s doing to demons, and you damned well know it,” Albright answered her question after a tense moment of silence. Ravens were nothing to trifle with when one had too much fae blood running through their veins.

“What about the creatures he’s fusing, like the chimera we fought? Don’t pretend he didn’t make that thing. And what about what he did to me? Do you want to know how many ways he peeled or burned off my skin in a guessing game to discover which method would stick? Spoiler alert, none of them worked.”

“It was voluntary, Chantraine, you did it to yourself.”

She flicked the blanket off and tried to launch herself at her mentor, but Saint slung an arm around her middle and held her back. Albright’s eyes narrowed as he watched the demon easily keep his spitfire of a student contained.

“You know, Chantraine, you aren’t the first hunter to fuck a demon, and you won’t be the last. But you are one of the very few stupid enough to get caught. You’d better get over whatever this is fast, girl,” he said. “Or I’ll be the one they send to kill you.”

Chapter thirty-two

Chapter 32

The glowing eyes of shadow yotes gleamed on all sides, a snarl coming with hot breath as they nipped at Elsie’s heels. Trenton ran across from her, pelting through the woods and slicing outward with his swords whenever one of the beasts got too close.

Steve ran between them, a grim expression on his face. It was his first mission back, and they already had him on the run while keeping a close eye on him. It was a test to decide if he could handle himself under pressure after his extended medical leave.

He moved a little slower than usual, so Elsie and Trenton moderated their own speed to accommodate him. He was working out the kinks of syncing the mind and body in high-stress situations. He moved well, fending off any yotes that came too close.

They’d scouted the pack’s activities and haunts over the past two days. Elsie had insisted on making sure no pups were involved before deciding their plan of action. Shadow coyotes–known as yotes by the hunters–were incorporeal in the day, barely visible shades that couldn’t kill or be killed. Things got a lot more exciting when the sun set, and at least one of the moons rose. Seven yotes ran in this pack, and they’d been terrorizing one of the nests for the past month.

High-pitched yapping came from all sides, punctuated by short, sharp howls. They moved through the shadows, darting in whenever they saw a chance. These were psychological hunters, skilled in hit-and-run tactics. It only took one fang piercing the skin and drawing a single drop of blood to let the whole pack into their prey’s mind.

A pair of them made a play for Steve, closing in one right behind the other. They were a highly intelligent species and had already assessed the hunter’s weaknesses, which meant the majority of their attacks targeted the warrior.

Elsie kicked off a log, changing direction and cutting the second yote off as Steve’s sword arced toward the first one. These creatures did not abide by the laws of physics or mechanics. It simultaneously ducked under Steve’s attack and twisted to lunge upward, grazing the underside of his arm.

The thick fabric of his uniform tore, and red bloomed.

“Fuck,” Elsie hissed.

He pivoted, driving the tip of his sword into the spine of a creature that vanished in a puff of black smoke. The sword wedged in the ground instead of a demon, holding Steve up long enough for another pair to try their luck. Elsie’s daggers flashed, and Trenton leapt in with his dual swords.

Steve stumbled forward blindly, his eyes wide, breath accelerating. Terror had his heart beating so heavily that Elsie heard it over the din of the yote’s screaming with excitement. They circled, flitting in and out in shadowy blurs, making it impossible to get a firm location on any of them for more than a fraction of a second.