Page 30 of Huntress

“The Hunter Clans would not exist without the humans,” Roz reminded her.

“And the humans wouldn’t have freedom without the Hunter Clans. That doesn’t explain why we’re subservient to them! Some sickos bred you into existence against your ancestor’s will, and now what? They’re beyond reproach? That’s the best the humans could come up with to keep you in thrall?” Elsie stood up, and Roz did too, a thunderous expression on her face.

“Sit down, Chantraine. Now,” she ordered in a voice she never used on Elsie. Elsie’s teeth ground together and her hands balled into fists, but she did as she was told. “We give the humans protection, and they give us needed resources for other areas of our lives.”

“Our lives? I don’t have any other areas in my life,” Elsie ground out. “Neither does anyone in my squad. We hunt and kill and carry out mission after mission with no chance to fucking breathe! I’m supposed to begin training with Albright tomorrow, and I’m supposed to be given time to sleep in my own bed for an entire night with no interruptions.”

Roz tapped her fingers on her desk and sighed. “You will not be indulging in either. We’re sending your entire squad. Be on the tram in one hour,” she ordered, and Elsie blanched.

The whole squad. All nine members. They never went on missions as a full squad; the show of power wasn’t needed. This was shaping up to be a dangerous mission.

“I gave my people the day off! I haven’t even had time to talk with them about this fucking thing,” Elsie snapped, jerking a thumb at the demon. “You are jeopardizing the integrity of my squad!”

Roz’s face softened. “I’ll guarantee you a one-week rest period when you return.”

Elsie glared at her. “I’m going to need that guarantee in writing, with your signature as security. We’re exhausted, and the tram will only make it worse. Have you relics forgotten what it’s like to be fighting this often, and this hard? Mistakes are going to happen, and if one of my team gets hurt, I’ll be back for my pound of flesh. A week off will be the least of your troubles if my entire squad refuses to leave an injured comrade’s bedside.”

Rosco was quiet for a minute, as though deciding how to reply. It was obvious to Elsie that she had strong opinions on the matter, but the Hunter Clan violently enforced restrictions on information sharing. She pressed a hand to her desk, then shook her head.

“We haven’t forgotten what it’s like, because we never experienced it. We have too few competent squads for the number of nests. Our numbers are depleting, and everyone is spread too thin. It’s why we need men like Cornick to come up with viable solutions. It’s why the breeding program still exists and why you were welcomed with open arms,” Rosco said.

“The demons aren’t getting any weaker, but we are. Humans breed too damned fast, and their population is growing at a pace we can’t keep up with. It’s a numbers game, and we’re losing more ground every day.”

“Idiotic,” Elsie complained. “The obvious solution is to tell the humans we won’t send more squads to poorly placed nests rather than working our people to death.”

Roz nodded, then caught herself and shook her head. “Unfortunately, that’s not how it works.”

“We’ll be on the tram, and we’ll fight the rats, but if anything goes wrong, I’m holding you personally responsible. We haven’t had proper rest in nearly four months, and we’re not indestructible.” Elsie picked up her folder and stood, ready to stomp out of the office in a huff, but the administrator stopped her.

“I don’t appreciate your tone, Captain Chantraine,” Rosco snapped, then lowered her voice to a near whisper. “Look, we aren’t supposed to be talking about this with anyone, it’s classified information. There’s a reason things have gotten so hectic.”

Elsie paused halfway to the door, glancing over her shoulder. “Are you going to share that reason, or do you expect me to accept that as your excuse for burning out everyone on the compound?”

“Sit.”

Elsie shared a look with the hound. His satisfaction at discovering she was under the control of others, exactly like him, raked at her nerves. She sat down and set the folder on her lap, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Let’s hear your big secret.”

“A demon lord has made an appearance just outside of Colony Nine,” Roz said, and the wolfhound sneezed. Elsie glanced over at the obnoxious canine grin on his face, tongue lolling out and amusement floating between them.

“Stop it,” she scolded.

“Their body cameras recorded the deaths of the entire squad. The report I saw was heavily redacted, so I don’t have all the details, but the demon was particularly violent. Most of the hunters involved did not die painless deaths.”

Elsie’s mouth went dry. She’d never met a lord herself, and she never wanted to.

“We are at a time where each and every person counts, and we’ve lost an entire squad. Since then, the resources of Colony Nine have been stretched. Three additional squads have been dispatched. One to replace the dead, one to help researchers track the demon lord, and the third is there to clear out the forest. Apparently, it was allowed to creep beyond the barrier and into the nest,” Rosco stated.

“What on earth? Why? That’s one of the most basic safety precautions we have,” Elsie muttered. “Did their patrols have more important things on the agenda?”

“As I said, we were already spread too thin. They didn’t have the time or the resources. Colony Nine only has two field squads to cover security of their ten nests. They have a hunter nest, but it’s dedicated to research and is barely turning out potential initiates to add to our numbers.”

“Why is that allowed? If they want to continue their research, they should be expected to contribute like everyone else.”

“They contribute in other ways. The point is, Pax’s squad was killed a few months ago, around the same time you noticed an uptick in missions.” Roz raised her eyebrows at Elsie.

“How much longer are we going to be expected to deal with this level of chaos? I don’t suggest using Callum, but there are a ton of quality recruits sitting around here barely doing anything. Put them into more rigorous training, get them ready and out into the field,” Elsie said.