Page 69 of Huntress

A deafening silence fell across the blood-soaked square, broken by ragged breathing and distant sobbing from inside the barrier. Elsie gasped for air, falling to her hands and knees to catch her breath. She was covered in blood–her demon’s, her own, and the rat’s.

“We did it,” she panted. “We fucking did it.”

Mutt staggered as Perrie’s magic faded, removing her interference with Clairemont’s spell. The collar reactivated, the backlash whipping through him with brutal force. Electricity zapped, static coursing through his fur. His back arched, and he collapsed, blood pouring from multiple wounds, his chest heaving.

Elsie crawled over to sit beside him, one hand hovering above his blood-soaked fur, but she couldn’t bring herself to close the gap. The bond straining between them would grow stronger and more demanding with every step they took toward one another. The danger would become insurmountable in very little time.

He’d saved them, and she wanted to thank him. She had to. Her fae half clamored in her mind. She owed this man a life debt, and the best way she could think to thank him was to remove that damned collar for good. She didn’t have the power, let alone the skills, to nullify the magic as Perrie had done, but she’d figure it out.

Elsie looked around for her squad. Banks was still moving, and Trenton was sitting up. The barrier around him had fallen at the same time Mutt’s collar had activated, meaning their witch had run out of magic. It took her a bit longer to find Perrie. The witch was down, but her chest rose and fell heavily. The others were blocked by the massive furry body lying next to her.

“Who’s still alive?” she called out.

“I have Steve, he’s out cold, but still breathing,” Marley replied.

“Here,” Grady answered. “Morgan’s not okay.”

“Not dead yet,” Trisse called out groggily.

Elsie’s throat tightened, and tears stung her eyes. They were in rough shape, but they’d all survived. She crouched down, face buried in her hands. She hadn’t killed them after all. She heaved a deep breath, then another, nearly giving in to the sobs that wracked her body.

A shuffling sound came from Trisse’s direction, and her ears pricked to attention. Sitting up, she strained to see over the huge lump of demon in her way. Footsteps approached, and whoever it was, there were a few of them.

Groaning, she started to stand, but a pale woman skirted around her demon’s massive form, casting wary looks in his direction. She was one of the humans.

“Don’t get up.” She knelt at Elsie’s side. “Save your energy.”

“You shouldn’t have left the barrier, it’s dangerous out here,” Elsie scolded. There was another piper out there somewhere, and what if they’d missed a zombie? “You’re supposed to be on the tram, on the way to your partner nest.”

Each nest had at least one partner, a place to evacuate to in case of emergency. The woman shook her head, her eyes glistening.

“Most did leave. They took the children to safety, but they’re going to send help. We couldn’t leave you here knowing you might not survive. After all you sacrificed for us, leaving you to die would be just about the most ungrateful thing we’d ever heard. You saved us. Now it’s our turn to help you.”

Another woman appeared; her eyes were hard and focused. The eyes of a woman who’d survived a demon attack before. She tore her shirt, using the fabric to press against the wound on Elsie’s stomach. She hadn’t even realized the hole had reopened during the fight.

Elsie sat frozen, unsure how to react. Something warm trailed down her cheek, and she reached up, her fingers coming away wet. She’d spent years protecting humans, and not once had they done anything in return. She didn’t expect them to, it wasn’t their responsibility. Their kindness now was more than she could bear.

Mutt gave a long sigh, one huge brown eye turning her way, assessing the humans surrounding her. The women wore terrified expressions, but one of them nodded her head in a tremulous mini-bow.

“Th-thank you,” she whispered, her voice shaking almost as much as her hands. “Thank you for helping the hunters save us, demon.”

Elsie’s mouth fell open and a trickle of warmth settled into her chest. They’d watched that demon tear the heads off their own people, and instead of hating him for it, they’d chosen understanding. They appreciated his contribution.

He’d planted a seed in their minds that day. He’d become folklore in the spoken history of these people as they told the story to their children and grandchildren. Not all demons were evil. Some would even fight on their behalf.

Gods. If Roz ever found out about this, she’d never let Elsie hear the end of it.

Chapter sixteen

Chapter 16

The infirmary was pure chaos. The nest was not set up to handle large-scale trauma. The women dragged tables in, and squad members were deposited on them with only thin bedsheets between them and the cold, hard surface. Boasting the worst injuries, Morgan and Steve were given the only two beds.

Marley and Perrie shuffled from one person to the next in a grim triage, assessing everyone’s needs before coming up with a plan. The two women could barely stand on their own, but they refused to rest until they were certain their friends would survive the night.

Her demon lay in a heap on the floor. Elsie had coaxed him into following her, but he’d stayed in his wolfhound form, tucking himself into a corner and curling into a ball. Marley wouldn’t even glance in his direction, though the two human women helping them continually cast worried looks his way.

Four women, all middle-aged and well past their birthing years, had stayed behind. They’d done the heavy lifting of getting Elsie’s squad into the infirmary. One of them was a nurse, so she and another remained in the healing bay while the other two scurried off to start cooking.