Page 55 of Huntress

Abright red flare shot into the sky, and Elsie’s frown turned into a full scowl. Hunters didn’t use signals like flares. It defeated the purpose of hunting if their prey knew where they were. She spat a series of numbers into the radio. Their coordinates.

“We have at least a hundred rats amassing at the tree line in that location. Rendezvous here as soon as possible,” Elsie commanded, knowing full well that Franklin and Jeshua may be listening in on their communications.

“Yes, ma’am,” Trisse replied without argument, immediately echoed by Trenton.

She had full confidence in her people, but gods was she ever worried about them. She’d barely been able to take out four of the demons earlier, and she’d had Mutt’s help. This might be her squad's last mission, but she’d take enough of the bastards out to make them hesitate before coming back.

Elsie flexed her fingers and glared toward the trees, taking comfort in the fact that she’d be avenged. If she died here, Albright would come, and not a single rat would be left breathing.

“What are they waiting for?” Morgan asked, his tone dark.

“That’s a good question,” Elsie answered, then stopped and tilted her head to one side. Her ears picked up the sound of earth subtly shifting, like someone trying their best to walk softly. She couldn’t quite make out which direction it was coming from.

Elsie nodded toward the barrier and whispered, “Grady and I will buy you time. How long will it take to get us through?”

“I’m not sure,” Morgan said, his voice as quiet as hers. Fear shaded his eyes, and he didn’t even try to hide it. If Perrie had gotten her witchy hands on the barrier, it would be attuned to him. Morgan should be able to create doorways through her magic; even if someone else turned it hostile, he’d have the clearance to get through.

Elsie huffed, about to tell him to get to work, but the ground shifted under her feet. She rode the tremors and stayed upright, but the same couldn’t be said for Grady. The big man shuffled a bit before toppling onto his back. Elsie made her way to the geographer, arms outspread, unable to find her balance.

Grady took her offered hand, letting go as soon as he stood. Even with her constant use of gloves to cover her hands and wrists, her squad was careful to avoid skin contact with her. They respected her wishes with an overprotective flair that she couldn’t help but adore. Morgan and the girls were the only exceptions.

“The rats,” she muttered, keeping her knees slightly bent to adjust as another shift in the earth occurred. Grady put his arms out to his sides and ducked down, bringing his center of gravity lower to the ground and helping his balance.

“Are they cowards? What kind of demon refuses to show itself?” he asked.

A good question. This was not a common problem. When faced with a hunter, demons largely had two responses. The weaker or generally peaceable demons tucked tail and ran. Too busy trying to hide, they weren’t interested in fighting.

Stronger demons would stand their ground, but they were a prideful bunch. An aggressive demon taking the offensive made no attempt to hide its location or presence. Even the ambush predators who stalked and crept through shadows relented once they’d been clocked.

The rats were proving themselves more tactical, turning the tumultuous soil of the dead zone against them. One step was firm, a second might take the earth right out from under them, a third sucked at their feet, trying to pull them under.

Morgan’s cursing turned colorful; his face gone hard, he called his magic. Morgan was born with air magic, which put him at a disadvantage when fighting against earth magic. Like fire and water, the two elements were opposites, and earth naturally had the upper hand. Fortunately for Morgan, Perrie had ensured her bestie was covered.

The sniper jumped into the air, using his magic to gain height. Before he reached the top of his jump, he thrust his hands–glowing with the softly shimmering pale yellow of his element–in Elsie and Grady’s directions.

If she weren’t scampering around and trying to come up with a plan for dealing with her circumstances, Elsie would have taken the time to appreciate the simple beauty of Morgan’s magic. He’d surrounded her in a bubble of the purest, cleanest air she’d ever breathed. None of the dirt being thrown around penetrated that bubble. It would hit the outer layer of whatever spell Morgan had conjured and be flung away.

Once they were safe, he aimed his hands at the ground as he fell. Morgan’s lips moved quickly as he spoke aloud what he needed his magic to do. He was still learning, and speaking a spell aloud helped him focus his magic and manipulate it as necessary.

The light around his hands built up, and Morgan’s face contorted as he gave it all he had. For a split second, nothing happened, but immediately after, dust and clumps of dirt flew everywhere. Morgan’s air magic battered against the ground with the gale force of a hurricane.

Grady was less than three feet away, but Elsie couldn’t see him anymore. Trusting that he’d take care of himself, she scrambled for safer ground. All she could make out within the dust storm was a floating orb of sparkling yellow magic.

Elsie braced herself. His barrage wouldn’t last long, not when he was pushing this hard. Morgan wasn’t especially powerful, and magic was only good for short bursts. If he kept it up at this rate, he’d knock himself unconscious from using too much at once. Perrie would cuss him out for ignoring her warnings.

The earth roiled mutinously, and spikes shot upward, trying to knock the sniper out of the sky. In the state he was in, he’d feel the tiniest shift in the air around him. He dodged out of the way. Once. Twice. Elsie lost count.

The rats changed tactics, and the ground fell away with a rumbling crash as the roof of the tunnel crumbled.

Morgan hovered–letting the wind ease up before he landed–and Elsie saw the glow far more clearly. Rocks the size of her fist fell from the sky, landing with heavy thuds. Stones pelted her bubble several times, only to be deflected and flung away. As soon as Morgan’s feet hit the ground, Elsie ran over, and together they peered down into the narrow crack the sniper had collapsed into the tunnel roof. Grady joined them, letting a hiss of air out between his teeth.

There were a lot of angry demons down there.

Gnarly gray fingers tipped with wicked claws gripped the edge of the crack Morgan had created. The first rat dragged himself to the surface, squinting in the sunlight and sinking into a striking position.

Elsie clenched her teeth together, drawing one of her daggers. She’d learned her lesson and would leave the other in reserve, just in case. The rat was bigger than she’d expected based on those she’d fought earlier. Before crouching, it had easily stood at ten feet tall.

He wielded the spear on his tail with ease, flashing it around faster than an expert swordsman. His eyes were so dark they looked black, glittering with untold intelligence. Mutt hadn’t exaggerated. The four they’d fought earlier were weak. At least compared to these fuckers.