Page 92 of Huntress

There were signs of Levi here. A crushed flower, a splash of magic in the shape of a fingerprint. He’d come often enough that he couldn’t erase everything.

Elsie led the way, sticking close to the wall and keeping her head on a pivot, missing nothing. The path was winding, and disappeared into a crag in the stone at one point, leaving them to scale about ten feet before the next stretch appeared. At the top, Elsie peered carefully over the edge.

The river funneled here, deceptively narrow for the amount of water flowing down. Trees with gnarled roots leaned perilously over the edge, threatening to topple into the river at any moment. Small inlets in the bluffs beyond suggested that she was right about potential caves.

She crept up, darting behind a tree to continue scanning the area. Albright and Saint followed. The demon’s eyes searched, while Albright busied himself watching Elsie. Judging her actions and decisions.

Bits of Levi’s magic were plentiful up here. He wasn’t trying as hard to hide, as though he hadn’t expected them to find him this easily. He’d even left a makeshift fishing pole leaning against one of the trees next to the river. Remnants of a fire were left out in the open.

It was almost too simple. If she didn’t personally know Levi and his penchant for procrastination, she’d think it was a trap. She was willing to bet that he hadn’t expected her to find him this quickly, so he’d been sloppy, having himself a nice vacation while she’d been stripped of hers.

She slipped from one tree to the next, monitoring for any movement or sound. The most recent of his magical trail was several hours old, leading from the fire pit to one of the caves. Elsie crossed the open space quickly, pressing against the stone. Drawing her dagger, she eased her way inside, holding her breath and waiting for her eyes to adjust.

Darting from the shadows, Levi slammed into her, and she rolled, bouncing back to her feet. He fought like a feral animal, axe swinging, teeth bared, eyes wide. Tossing the axe into his off-hand, he threw a sucker punch that sent Elsie reeling. She huffed out a harsh breath, only to get a face full of sand.

He was bigger than her, more experienced, and apparently, for the sake of this damned game, he was willing to fight dirty. He lunged forward, tackling her to the ground, where they grappled fiercely.

Saint circled around, watching closely, ready to step in if things went too far. Elsie’s size worked out in her favor. She hooked a knee around his neck, used her other foot to kick his shoulder over, and ended up kneeling on him, cutting off his airway.

“Yield!” she snarled.

Gasping, Levi smacked her leg three times. Elsie sat back with a curse, hitting the ground with a heavy thud.

“Was that necessary?” She demanded, gingerly touching her eye. She’d have one hell of a shiner. Saint crouched at her side, glaring at the hunter who’d managed to get the drop on her.

Albright clapped and broke out into laughter.

“Nice job, Chantraine,” Levi praised, flat on his back and staring up at the sky. She smelled the booze on his breath. The fucker really had been living it up out here!

“You passed your first test,” Albright approved. “It won’t be this easy next time. Soldiers on the run are fighting for their lives. They’re not going to yield, they’re going to stick a knife in your gut. Get some sleep. We head back to the compound first thing in the morning.”

“Thanks for not siccing the demon on me,” Levi said the next afternoon. They moved at a comfortable jog, not in any huge hurry to get back.

Saint gave him a disgusted look.

“He’s not allowed to attack other hunters,” she said.

“Next time we do this, you’ll be tracking people you’ve never met before. We’ll get volunteers and treat it like a survival exercise. I’ll vet the candidates, have it set up like the real thing. You’ll be transported to their last known location. You did better than I expected, honestly. I might take you with me next time I get the call,” Albright threatened.

At the compound, Elsie stared at the new note on her door with a groan.

See me as soon as you get back.

-Roz

She tore the paper off and crumpled it into a ball, throwing a look at Saint, who looked as annoyed as she felt.

“I don’t suppose throwing a tantrum is getting me out of this one,” she sighed, dumping her bags inside the door. “You can stay here if you want. Relax, unpack, take a shower, whatever.”

She trudged toward Roz’s office, but ended up running into her halfway there. The administrator pushed her glasses up her nose and waited for Elsie to approach.

“I was wondering when you’d get back. You’re a day late,” she said in a peevish tone. A woman Elsie didn’t recognize stood next to her, brimming with energy and magic.

“Albright didn’t give you our itinerary? That’s a shame.” Elsie clicked her tongue.

“This is Riven.” Roz ignored Elsie’s smart-ass comment. “She’s a mage from the west coast.”

“I didn’t know we were recruiting mages.” Elsie held her hand out. Riven took it, looking between Elsie and the demon at her side.