Page 23 of Huntress

“They aren’t usually killed right away...” Elsie said, realizing how awful it sounded as she spoke.

“No, they’re killed after they’ve been forced to fight time and again until they can’t anymore. Then they’re tortured by your beastmaster for weeks, sometimes months. There was a demon who lasted almost six months in that hellhole.”

Elsie’s mouth opened, and she snapped it shut so hard her teeth clicked together. She’d never considered the idea that demons were speaking to each other while waiting for their deaths in the barn. The idea was sickening. They’d been given a death sentence, and the only people they could turn for consolation were other demons who shared their fate.

“When I saw the collar, I realized they’d purposely thrown the fight. That you were special to them, and I didn’t want the guilt of whatever happened to you after they gave you back to him.”

“You could have put a stop to the fight if you’d wanted. Apparently you’re important around here, so why didn’t you?” The demon’s questions were getting on her nerves. She’d never been this personally attacked in her life; she’d just been doing her damned job.

“Because demons don’t see reason in a situation like that. Would you have listened if I’d called a truce?”

“That fight was a no-win situation for me. I’d have killed you and everyone watching without this damned collar.”

“I believe you.”

“I’m curious… What happens if I choose not to work with you? Tell me where I stand. How on guard do I need to stay to survive? You want me to trust you, but you’re a terrible person. Why should I trust that you’ll protect me when you don’t give a fuck about the demons you kill every time you leave that barrier? Why should I trust that you want me as a ‘companion’ instead of a slave?” he questioned.

Elsie’s stomach twisted while he looked at her placidly. He was calling out a hypocrisy that until today she hadn’t known she’d been living, and it stung. She’d believed she was in the right by taking down threats to those she was supposed to protect. That was the narrative she’d been fed. She was saving people by killing those demons. She was the good guy.

“I don’t want you as either. Let me have time to give you a worthwhile answer. I wouldn’t have–” she paused, looking for the right words, but they wouldn’t come. “The situation between us is different, that’s all.” Elsie chewed on the inside of her lip. The guilt was hitting her deep. The damned demon didn’t accept her cop-out.

“Why is it different?” he pressed.

“Because it’s something I’ve never thought about before today. I’ve never seen it as anything more than doing my job, and now it’s like a curtain has been pulled aside to reveal another, much darker side to the hunters. That may seem like a lame excuse, but it’s the truth. And now I’m responsible for you, and that makes it different,” she answered. The demon gave her a withering glare.

“You aren’t simply responsible for me, you own me,” he challenged. “That asshole gave me to you, and you accepted.”

Elsie snorted. “I rejected you, told them I couldn’t be bought, but Albright would have guessed my reaction, and Mordane can be manipulative as hell. Walking outside to witness Clairemont beating you was a trap, and I fell right into it. I couldn’t stand by and watch the abuse without putting a stop to it, and that’s what they’d banked on.

You’re my responsibility, in whatever capacity that entails. They bet on my temper and put me in a position where refusing was impossible, and they won,” she retorted.

“You could have walked away.”

“Have you put any thought into what would have happened if I had? They wouldn’t have returned you to your home. After investing that much time and money into bringing you here and breaking you, they would have found another way to use you. Possibly even given you to someone else. They see you as a commodity, I see you as a person. At least with me you have a chance,” Elsie said bitterly.

“You can’t promise that. Your argument is weak. It’s nothing but guesswork when the reality is you have no idea what would have happened had you refused,” he growled.

“Ugh, try to understand. You don’t say no to a man like Angus Cornick without consequences. Research coordinator? Weapons specialist? That man doesn’t have a rank, and the General gave him deference. He’s manipulative, and he was ready for my refusal. Saying no was as useful as asking the moon to fall out of the sky.”

“That man and every other person affiliated with the hunter organization are poison,” the demon sighed. “You included.”

“I deserve that,” Elsie acknowledged. “But I’ve woken up to the reality that I don’t really know who I’m working for, and I’m learning how wrong I’ve been. Trust me, we’ll be getting out of here as soon as possible.”

“Stop ordering me to trust you. I never will. Tell me about this exit plan of yours. I want to know how feasible it is.”

“I’m not here because I want to be, either. My father is out there somewhere trying to kill my mother, and she’s working to make sure that he never bothers either of us again. If I leave the protection of the Hunter Clan, he’ll take me to use against her.”

“Are you nothing more than a pawn, allowing yourself to be used like that?” the demon scoffed. Elsie should have seen a comment like that coming.

“It’s taking longer than expected, but my mother is a goddess, she’ll win this battle. She’s coming back for me, and when she does, I’ll be leaving. You were a gift, puppy, you’ll come with me. Once we’re away from the hunters, we’ll take you wherever you want to go, and then you’re free.”

“When?” he asked, a hint of interest sparking in his dark eyes.

“I don’t know,” she admitted warily. It wasn’t a subject she liked to think about too deeply. As much as Elsie liked telling herself that she had faith in her mother, she was getting pretty tired of waiting. “Soon, I hope.”

“You hope. How long have you been here?”

The question everyone asked when an errant memory of the goddess struck them. Some of those questions came from honest curiosity; others were intentional mockery. A mistake they only ever made once.