Page 174 of Huntress

“They did.”

“Angela Graystone.” Morgan came out of the woods behind her, his face hard. “You have been found guilty of neglect of duty. Abandoning your post.” He ticked the charges off on his fingers as he spoke. “Dereliction of duty resulting in the deaths of two humans. Insubordination, elopement, and sympathy toward demons.”

Angela’s chin raised in defiance, the tip of her stave raised toward Morgan. “It’s true, but he had nothing to do with it! Please, let my son go free.”

Elsie’s heart skipped a beat. Their runaway truly cared for the child. Saint crouched, his features softening as he gave the kid a reassuring wink.

“You and the demon are to be put to death on sight,” Morgan said grimly. “Due to your actions, he’s become acclimated to our kind and won’t be afraid of approaching humans anymore. You know it means he must be put down.”

“I won’t let you hurt him.” Angela shifted her position, pushing the kid behind her and turning to keep Elsie on one side of her and Morgan on the other.

Riven’s eyes had been wide with shock, but they narrowed with anger at the sniper’s words. “Morgan–”

“No,” Elsie cut the mage off, shaking her head. “We won’t hurt him.”

Morgan blinked and loosened the string on his bow. “What?”

Angela dropped to her knees and pulled the kid around into a fierce hug. “Listen, Tommy, you have to run as fast and far away as you can, and don’t look back. You’ll have to take care of yourself from now on.”

“No!” His eyes welled with tears.

“Easy, don’t scare the little guy,” Elsie said calmly. “I want to talk with you before any decisions are made. I have a few questions.”

“Captain, what the hell are you doing?” Morgan growled.

“I’m being reasonable.”

“What questions?” Angela asked cagedly.

“I know what it says in your file, and I know how things get twisted from their point of view. I want your perspective. What happened?”

“That has nothing to do with us! Judgment has already been passed.” Morgan fumed, and Elsie glared at him.

“Stand. Down.” She dropped her bag on the ground, then sat on it, making herself less of a threat and inviting the woman to tell her story. “Please, tell me how a woman with a cozy job as a permanent soldier for Nest Eden of all places ended up with a death sentence on her head?”

Eden was exactly what it sounded like. The humans Angela had looked after tended orchards. Fruit trees, grapevines, and berry bushes as far as the eye could see, with honeybee hives nestled among them to pollinate the spring blossoms. Eden supplied fruit and honey across multiple colonies, and from what Elsie knew of it, the humans there lived comfortable lives compared to a lot of others.

Their biggest threat wasn’t typically demons; it was wildlife ignoring their natural aversion to humans and crashing through the barrier to get at the produce. Deer, squirrels, and the like were not demonic or magical in nature, so they didn’t trigger the barrier’s protective magic, letting them walk right in for a tasty snack.

“What’s the point if you’re going to kill me anyway?” Angela asked. The rabbit squeaked, glaring at Elsie while clinging to her leg.

“That’s why they sent me,” Elsie sighed. “But you’ll find that you’re not the only person within the clans who doesn’t always do as they're told. My name is Elsie, and you should sit down. Rest that ankle.”

Riven joined them, crowding in with Elsie on the bag. Angela stared at the pair of them, weighing her options, then at Saint, then barely dared to glance at Morgan. She sat down on the log she’d dragged in as a seat, carefully extending the leg out in front of her.

“About eight months ago, we were overrun by rabbit demons. There weren’t many at first, but once the first few settled in, the rest of the herd showed up,” Angela started, pulling the kid into her lap. “We had several discussions on what to do about them, but I was the only one among us coming up with non-lethal methods.”

“There’s not one single instance in recorded history of a rabbit demon killing a human, and in the handful of cases where injuries were sustained, the rabbit was defending itself. Aside from the destructive chewing behavior to wear down their teeth, they’re harmless.”

She held Elsie’s gaze, trying to convey the truth of it right into her soul. She needn’t have worried, though. Elsie knew the truth behind her words. Morgan did too, though he hid it behind a scowl.

“I suggested we use waste products to lure them elsewhere. We have several tons of fruit that can’t be used every month during the harvest, but our captain wouldn’t tolerate the idea.” Frustration carried in her voice.

“I didn’t give up. Instead, I suggested that since they’re sensitive to loud sounds, strong scents, and are easily frightened by aggressive dogs, we could run them off. We had all of those options at our disposal to keep the deer out of the orchards. All we’d have to do is move them outside the barrier and harass the rabbits until they moved on,” Angela continued.

“They didn’t like that idea either.” Elsie already knew where this was going. The notes in her file called Angela difficult and disobedient, but she saw the truth. Angela and her determination made her superiors uncomfortable, and they’d retaliated.

“Our squad captain and nest leadership said it would be more efficient to cull the entire herd to remove any chance that they might come back. He called it a team-bonding exercise, claiming it would be fun to hunt a few demons.” She spat the last sentence out like the words tasted rotten on her tongue.