Page 34 of Huntress

Elsie had a habit of making sure her people were heard.

“Why were they so obnoxious about it?” Steve asked immediately. “I’ve never seen anyone promoted like that before.”

“What does Cornick want?” Trisse grumbled.

“Why did you keep it after basically telling those guys to fuck off in the locker room?” Marley’s tone was as frigid as the expression on her face.

“What?!” Banks raised his voice.

“Wait, you declined their offer?” Morgan questioned, sharing a look with Perrie. “I’m with Marley. You turned them down and still ended up keeping the demon?”

“Is that true?” Steve asked, the usual friendly expression on his face falling away.

Only two of them stayed quiet. Grady, the largest among them, was their geographer. He had a talent for reserving judgment until all the facts were known. Trenton didn’t need to say anything. He’d already heard all this from Marley.

Elsie nodded, listening and making mental notes. “Any other questions?” she asked.

“What did they do to handicap the hound?” Grady finally spoke up. “We can all feel how strong he is. You shouldn’t have been able to beat him with nothing but a knife.”

“That fight was bullshit, you were nowhere near him when he folded at the end,” Trisse muttered.

“They blocked us from interfering, or we would have been down there with you,” Perrie told her.

“Clairemont is the reason I was able to beat him,” Elsie started. She preferred organizing their questions into the timeline of actual events. “He’s wearing a collar that prevents him from using his magic. He fell at the end because the collar electrocuted him at such a high voltage that it knocked him out. It slows his healing. He’s also been beaten and starved for weeks. In a real fight, I couldn’t have beaten him with a knife.”

“You barely beat him as it was,” Banks cut in.

“Lucky he’s still wearing that collar.” Steve settled more comfortably. “You can just knock him out again if he gets violent.”

Something akin to relief shone in the eyes of several of them. Elsie pushed past it, not ready to let them know she had zero intention of ever using that collar on him again. Not if there was any other choice.

“That “obnoxious spectacle” was to prove to the hound that I can kill him if I choose, but also to prove his strength to me, since Cornick had him brought here as a bribe. He wants me to use the demon as a weapon, in exchange for studying my seal to exploit my abilities as a reaper,” she answered Steve and Trisse’s questions.

“He thought a demon was an appropriate bribe?” Trisse shifted in his seat.

“What Marley said is true. I told Cornick that I’m not his to be used, and that I can’t be bribed. But they set me up to find Clairemont beating the shit out of him when I walked out.” Elsie let them sit with that for a moment. “I’d already broken his foreleg, which should have healed by now, but it hasn’t. I’d stabbed and cut him multiple times, there was hardly any life left in him, but Clairemont was beating him with an electrified prod.”

“I’m sorry, Captain, but I don’t see how that’s our problem,” Trenton spoke up for the first time. Marley nodded beside him.

“That’s your reasoning?” Trisse demanded.

“You saw a demon getting treated like a demon and what? Felt sorry for him?” Banks asked, the anger evident in his voice.

Nails clicked on the floor. Mutt had changed back to his hound form. He came in with his head lowered, eyes boring into anyone who dared meet their gaze. He was utterly silent, but there was a wrinkle in his muzzle that promised violence. Hiding his limp, he came to sit at Elsie’s feet, so large his head reached her shoulder.

“What’s this?” Marley asked, her voice icy. “Here to protect your master? We’re not allowed to have opinions anymore?”

“I think it has more to do with everyone’s tone.” Elsie stuffed her fists into her lap. She’d almost reached down to pat his head. He hadn’t done either of them any favors by coming in here.

“I made the choice to let him live, and I wasn’t about to hand him over to Clairemont to torture. I’ve taken responsibility for him, and I know that’s not going to sit well with some of you, but I’m asking you to give this a chance.” One by one, she looked them in the eye.

“Treat him like part of the furniture if you have to, ignore him, forget he exists. However, the one thing I will not tolerate is any cruelty toward this demon. He’s my companion now, to be treated as an extension of myself.”

“What if we can’t bring ourselves to accept this?” Marley challenged her. “What if we choose to leave?”

Elsie’s lips pressed together, and she swallowed hard. Those questions were the ones she was most afraid of, and they’d come from exactly the person she’d expected.

“You are not my captives. I expect each of you to participate in this mission to the fullest extent of your abilities. If spending this time around him does not change your mind and you decide my squad is not the place for you, I’ll sign your transfer papers when we return,” she said quietly. “I will not force you to stay, but I hope you will.”