Page 56 of Huntress

Morgan drew his bow, quickly nocked a trio of arrows, and aimed into the pit. The elasticity of their hide protected them, and when the first rat was hit, he shook the arrows off, his skin sliding from side to side.

Elsie darted forward, targeting the first rat out of the hole. Elsie heard Grady a step behind her, so when the rat swung for her, she waited until the very last second before ducking, slicing upward as she did. The demon completed his swing, leaving him open to Grady’s blade.

The force of his strike was deadly, but the demon twisted out of the way, his spine contorting at an unbelievable angle to make it possible. Both of their attacks missed, even in such close quarters with the beast.

Completing a full rotation in less than a second, he dropped to all fours, snarling at them, his tail lashing out to catch Grady around the ankle. He dragged the geographer forward, gnashing his teeth as Grady struggled to sit up and slash at the tail before that barbed end reached him.

Morgan adjusted his aim and shot two of his arrows at the rat’s face instead of into the pit. The third arrow hit the base of the demon’s tail, but the sharp metal tip bounced off, leaving a shallow scratch where it hit.

Elsie was already in motion, using Morgan’s attack as a distraction. The rat curled to one side, hissing angrily at the sniper, looking up in time to block Elsie’s incoming slash. She was relentless, pushing herself to adapt and move faster. She had to transcend her limitations and block out her fear. Time to remind her team why they were number one.

A second rat entered the fray. Morgan turned his attention to the newcomer, leaving Elsie and Grady to deal with the first one. The sniper was already adjusting his tactics; the close-contact fight forced him to abandon his arrows for the short sword he favored over a dagger. It gave him more reach without losing any versatility or speed.

“I’ve got you!” Marley joined the sniper, helping to drive the demon back. Their healer wasn’t a heavy hitter, but speed and brutality were her specialties. Driven by pure hatred for demon kind, the woman was one hell of an opponent in a fight.

“Where are Trenton and Steve?” Elsie called over.

“They sent me ahead, then went through one of the tunnels to get under the barrier and go after Perrie!” The healer’s teeth were bared as she flashed forward against the next rat.

Trenton had made a risky choice. The chances of getting lost in those tunnels were perilously high, and Elsie needed them here, but Perrie’s presence could be the difference between squad annihilation and survival. She trusted Trenton’s critical thinking; the man had a knack for seeing the bigger picture in the middle of a crisis.

Elsie kept Morgan and Marley in the periphery of her thoughts while tackling her own demon head-on. Falling behind Grady, she let him take the first strike this time, closely watching the rat’s movements and mentally cataloging the information for later. Keeping pace with the big guy, she kept him between her and the demon, using him as a blind spot.

Grady attacked with full force, not giving any hint that it was a feint until he hit his knees. He curled his back forward, creating a living springboard Elsie used to kick off.

Confusion scrawled across the rat’s face for a second before those glittering eyes hardened. He’d looked up at Elsie as she jumped, but Grady let out a feral yell while slashing toward the rat’s stomach, commanding the demon’s attention. His head swiveled Grady’s way, sucking in his stomach and jutting out his jaw. Elsie buried her dagger to the hilt in his ear.

The cracking of his skull was loud enough that the demon Morgan and Marley were fighting turned to see what had happened. Elsie’s rat stiffened, his body seizing as blood seeped from around the dagger.

Elsie yanked her weapon out and spun toward the gash in the ground. Grady was already grappling with the next one out of the hole. Five rats had breached surface level, and more were coming every minute.

Elsie’s weapon flashed as she hit flow state and time moved differently. She strained to move faster and hit harder with each attack, but it wasn’t quite enough. She killed another demon, shoving magic into her dagger to give its attacks more strength. There was no beauty or finesse in her style. Thoughts of killing and maiming dominated her mind, and the magic responded with equal parts dumb brutality.

She’d managed to kill the second rat on her own, but while she was occupied with him, another had taken a slice out of her stomach. It was a heavy punch to the gut that burned with every movement afterward. Blood flowed freely, but she didn’t let it slow her down. Instead, she took on her next opponent with that much more ferocity.

Her blade shimmered, flashing with speed and magic, gouging flesh and taking lives. But with each life taken, she paid the price. Slashes from claws and teeth marred her skin, coming in quick succession. Three claw marks on her thigh, destroying her favorite pants. A deep wound on her forehead, stealing sight in her left eye. And then, an even deeper cut to her bicep, making her arm go slack and her dagger thump to the ground.

Grunts and groans came from her teammates, morale dipping as they gripped the knowledge that their backup was coming. The pile of demon bodies on the ground grew by the minute, showing that Elsie’s conservative guesswork on their numbers had been grossly understated.

Elsie cursed as she saw Morgan hit his knees, then looked up to see a pair of demons looming over her, their eyes glinting red. There were as many body types among the rats as in humans, and these two were especially large. They grinned, and one of them licked his lips, making obscene gestures with his hands in the area of his crotch.

“They sent us a pretty one this time,” he said, his voice deceptively pleasant, as though he’d had plenty of practice in making it sound human.

“Fuck you,” Elsie spat.

“Ohoho, gladly,” he jeered. They fought and scuffled, then he cuffed her on the side of the head, grabbing her by the hair and shoving her to her knees. “There’s no time like the present, little whore.”

Elsie’s lips drew back, exposing teeth that she gnashed in anger. She threw dirt in their faces and grabbed her second dagger, slicing at his wrist until he let her go. Jumping to her feet, she turned and ran away.

She needed space and a few seconds to break a pattern and refocus. It was the first time she’d been able to get a good look around since the fight had begun. Grady was holding his own, stabbing a demon through the throat before spinning with a roar to take on the next. Marley and Morgan had been separated, and while the healer was sliding between a pair of opponents, the sniper was overrun.

The rats she’d been fighting were hot on her tail, and there were easily about forty or fifty left to take their place if she managed to kill them. She reached Morgan in time to stop a demon from taking a bite out of his face, only to endure that bite herself.

Sharp, gnarly teeth sank into her shoulder, and Elsie grunted to hide the scream that wanted to tear its way from her throat. A stomach-churning snap! came at the same time as a world-shaking pain. Elsie gasped and slumped to the ground, glaring as the rat swallowed down a chunk of her flesh. She fought the urge to vomit, refusing to give them the satisfaction.

“You damaged her!” the rat from earlier complained, still digging the dirt out of his eyes. It didn’t stop him from leering at her once more. “I guess the usable parts are still intact. I like ‘em feisty, but this bitch is too much, isn’t she?”

The rat looked over her shoulder, and his ears went flat against his head half a second before he took a big step back. A thin body slammed into her, and then another, larger form loomed over them.