Page 48 of Huntress

Mutt sighed audibly, then stood and dumped his barely touched food in the trash. Elsie’s eyes drifted his way, watching as he returned to his wall. The demon caught her staring and matched her gaze with a blank expression of his own. He sure had one hell of a case of resting bitch face for such a beautiful man.

“What the hell?” Trisse demanded, his voice shaking Elsie out of it. “If you didn’t want the food, one of us would have taken it, you jackass.”

“Would you have eaten it if he’d offered?” She sighed, standing and stretching with a groan. She’d already shoveled the contents of her tray into her face without taking note of what was on it.

Her squad followed her out the door, Talbot wolfing down as much of his breakfast as possible before rushing after them. She hadn’t summoned the demon, but before they made it outside, he slipped into her shadow. He wasn’t cowering like a whipped dog with his tail between his legs anymore, but he still had a sneaky, constantly alert air about him.

As he joined her, Elsie’s crew eased back, giving him space. She pressed her lips together to hide her amusement. If only they understood how scared of them he was, maybe they’d stop avoiding him like the plague.

The sun was obnoxiously bright as they stepped outside, and Elsie shielded her eyes with her hand, turning to walk backward on her way to the trucks. “Keep in constant communication, I don’t want any surprises.” She received a series of “yes, ma’ams” in reply.

Perrie peeled away, heading toward the building that housed the nest’s witches, giving Elsie a big grin as she did. “See you guys later!”

They loaded into the trucks, doors slamming shut and engines roaring to life. The demon sat next to Elsie, his typical dour expression firmly in place. Grady and Morgan accompanied them, and Talbot went with Banks, making up for the open spot left by Perrie. Separating the geographers for map-making made the most sense.

“Talbot told me about an anomaly in the earth’s crust in this area, as if something ripped it open and put it back together again. He thinks…” Grady droned on to Morgan in the back as they drove, making Elsie smile. She loved it when her people were able to get their geek fix over whatever most interested them.

The demon stayed silent the entire way, his head leaning against the window as he dozed, but he half-listened to Grady’s excited prattling. Elsie hoped it would show him that her squad consisted of diverse and interesting people, and that they were worth getting to know.

When they reached the first site, they got out and inspected the area. Elsie’s instincts buzzed that something was wrong, but there were no signs of magical activity or attempts to dig back through the collapsed tunnel.

“Tunnel six, all clear,” came Marley’s voice over the radio.

“Tunnel eleven, all clear.” Banks' voice came over the speaker a couple of minutes later. As soon as everyone checked in, they all moved one tunnel over.

“Fuck,” Elsie said as soon as they got close to their next site. She pulled the truck up close and left it running when she jumped out. Morgan and Grady were hot on her heels.

The rats had forced their way back through sometime in the few hours they’d slept. For the first time, Elsie saw their magical trails. They glowed green, one a bit more intensely than the other. Earth magic. A pair of demons had pushed into the nest and returned recently. They weren’t alone. They’d taken someone with just a hint of water magic.

“They took another kid, and those fuckers in Franklin’s squad are sleeping in.” Elsie’s hands balled into fists at her sides. Morgan cursed, and Grady scowled, reaching for his weapon.

“Lead the way.” Morgan’s eyes narrowed, knuckles white over his bow.

The demon stayed silent the entire way, his head leaning against the window as he dozed, but he half-listened to Grady’s excited prattling. Elsie hoped it would show him that her squad consisted of diverse and interesting people, and that they were worth getting to know.

When they reached the first site, they got out and inspected the area. Elsie’s instincts buzzed that something was wrong, but there were no signs of magical activity or attempts to dig back through the collapsed tunnel.

“Tunnel six, all clear,” came Marley’s voice over the radio.

“Tunnel eleven, all clear.” Banks' voice came over the speaker a couple of minutes later. As soon as everyone checked-in, they all moved one tunnel over.

“Fuck,” Elsie said as soon as they got close to their next site. She pulled the truck up close and left it running when she jumped out. Morgan and Grady were hot on her heels.

The rats had forced their way back through sometime in the few hours they’d slept. For the first time, Elsie saw their magical trails. They glowed green, one a bit more intensely than the other. Earth magic. A pair of demons had pushed into the nest and returned recently. They weren’t alone. They’d taken someone with just a hint of water magic.

“They took another kid, and those fuckers in Franklin’s squad are sleeping in.” Elsie’s hands balled into fists at her sides. Morgan cursed, and Grady scowled, reaching for his weapon.

“Lead the way.” Morgan’s eyes narrowed, knuckles white over his bow.

“Two of them are earth magic users,” she said, and one of Mutt’s ears cocked in her direction to listen. “The other has both earth and red moon. It looks like they’re low-level middle-class demons, nothing too threatening.”

She said it with confidence, but any demon with more than one type of magic tended to be challenging. Magic thrived on creativity, and many dual-wielding demons merged their magics to create something she’d never had to deal with before. Magic relied on the user’s imagination, and some of these bastards were highly creative.

The demon growled, a reminder that he wouldn’t hunt with her. His interest was in making sure nothing else killed her first.

A few feet from the entrance, Elsie paused to inspect a small, pale lump in the dirt. The dismembered hand of a child.

“They have prodigious appetites,” the demon said bitterly. She glanced over, surprised that he’d changed back. A soft glow of demon light brightened his eyes, his brows and lips drawn into a deep frown.