Page 90 of Huntress

Elsie knew of several humans at the compound, though she’d never seen them interact with the squads. They typically handled paperwork and ran errands. However, there was almost always a group of them running the track and combat training. They had structure and oversight. It wouldn’t be as easy for them to run off as they’d done in their nests.

“Now, how are you tracking them?” Albright pressed.

“The same as I’d track a demon without a magic trail. Whether it’s been too long and the trail has disappeared, or they’re able to hide it, I come across them from time to time. I’d make adjustments for speed and dexterity, and watch for physical signs on the ground and among the plants,” she answered. “How often are you sent after humans?”

“Usually two to three a year, though one year there were seven.”

“That’s more than I expected.”

“You’ll find a lot of unexpected adventures with your new designation. Not all of them unpleasant.”

Even in the dark, the landscape was beautiful. Moonlight filtered through towering trees that hadn’t been logged since the collapse of mankind. The ground was soft from a thick bed of conifer needles, each step sending up a fragrant puff of dust. Old wood from fallen trees was everywhere, nourishing the living.

They passed a craggy boulder covered in moss and a stand of ferns almost as tall as Saint. Getting out among nature had always been Elsie’s favorite part of working for the hunters.

A few hours before dawn, Elsie moved them away from the stream and threw her bag to the ground. “Let’s get a few hours of rest. If I’m right, we’ll be confronting Levi soon.”

“Finally. You’re taking this game more seriously than I’d thought you would. Have some pity on your elderly mentor, would you? I can’t keep up with this pace,” Albright complained. He cleared a spot of debris and tossed some wood in the center. A fire would alert the local beasties to their presence, but it would also give them better vision if attacked.

“You get what you deserve.” Elsie unrolled her sleeping bag. “You should have warned me Cornick was coming and taken us on a nice camping or hiking trip. Instead, you seized the opportunity to take away my well-earned vacation time.”

“I was doing you a favor, you ungrateful little shit,” Albright chuckled. He took out a flask of his favorite overproof rum, took a swig, then gnashed his teeth together and spewed liquid flame over the wood. There was a loud whoosh of air displacement, and the heat generated was enough to send Saint scrambling back several feet.

“What the hell was that?” he asked, eyes wide.

“You like that, eh?” Albright laughed. He wiped his mouth on the back of his hand, then took another swig, this time swallowing it down. He offered the flask to Saint, but the demon shook his head vigorously.

“How did you do that?”

“They don’t teach us how to use our magic, so we have to get creative.” The old hunter flashed a full smile, showing a lost tooth replaced by flint.

“You should see him start himself on fire, that’s a real show,” Elsie added with a grin. Saint glanced at her with wrinkles in his brow. “It covers his whole body.”

“Hard for a demon to take a bite if their skin melts off when they try,” Albright laughed again. He put his flask away and rolled out his sleeping bag.

Saint waited until Elsie was settled before choosing his spot right next to her, situating himself between her and the outside world. He let the aura of his magic leak out, signaling to any mischievous creatures of the night to stay away, and letting stronger demons know that he’d fight if they tried taking what belonged to him.

Elsie felt his magic roll across the distance between them, the threat a tangible thing she felt in her lungs like the air on a humid day. She stared at him, and he turned toward her as though she’d called his name aloud.

Saint said nothing; he just held her gaze, while their bond lured her closer. Elsie grasped her sleeping bag to keep from reaching out. His dark eyes were warm, his full lips inviting. At least the Ancient Magic had gotten one thing right when pairing them together. The man was sexy as hell.

A charge built between them as heat settled in her belly, flaring through every erogenous zone in her body. Gods, all it took was a look to make her crave the same demon who wanted her dead. Elsie flipped onto her belly and buried her face in her elbow, where she stayed until morning.

Elsie marked their place on the map, and they returned to the stream. They were making good progress, and it would only take them another day to catch up if Levi had holed up where she suspected.

The further they walked, the more mountainous the terrain became. The stream was wider, and sometimes it turned to rapids, forcing them to walk along the shore. Saint crossed his arms over his chest as they approached a thirty-foot cliff that would put them well above the water.

“We didn’t bring any climbing gear.” Elsie frowned.

Albright shrugged. “You will next time.”

She stared at the wall, mentally mapping out the holds. “Thirty feet isn’t too bad.”

Saint curled a lip in disagreement, but when she stepped forward and hoisted herself up, he followed. Water splashed from the stream, and Elsie’s fingers slipped twice in the first ten feet, but as she moved higher, it wasn’t as bad.

One of the handholds wriggled when she grabbed it. Elsie snatched her hand away, and her fingers were covered with ants. Shaking it off, she rubbed her whole hand against the rock face, making sure every last one was scraped off. Her insides squirmed, and she looked for somewhere else to hoist herself up, but there wasn’t any.

“Gross, gross, gross,” she chanted, putting her hand back and pulling herself up with a whimper. At the top, she checked her arms, hair, and clothes to make sure there weren’t any left, but she still felt the phantoms of their prickly little feet crawling all over her.