Page 96 of Huntress

“Are you letting her leave after she threatened me like that?” He asked, taking out a handkerchief and wiping the blood from his mouth.

“Are you volunteering to go after her?”

Saint met her halfway across the compound, on her way toward the barrier. She was walking fast, and he had to stretch his long legs to keep up. Elsie didn’t say anything, but she didn’t have to. He’d felt everything.

They hit the barrier at a run, moving faster and faster until Elsie was full-out sprinting through the woods. She ducked to avoid a branch, then jumped over a fallen log. No obstacle could stop her enraged dash that took them miles from the compound.

Elsie relished in the adrenaline pumping through her body, heart pounding, letting all of her rage spill out through exertion. She couldn’t run fast enough to outrun the source of her anger, but wearing that explosive energy out before she did something she’d regret helped.

Her legs and lungs burned, breath coming quick, but she didn’t stop. She wasn’t ready.

Elsie ran until her body gave out. She collapsed to the ground on her hands and knees, head hung low, dragging each breath kicking and screaming into her lungs, her entire chest and throat raw. Saint flopped over beside her, panting nearly as hard, though he’d shifted to his hound form to keep up with her.

Eventually she tilted to one side and rolled to lie flat on her back, staring up at the canopy blocking the sky. Her demon shifted back to his human form and did the same.

“What happened?” he asked when her breathing started to regain rhythm.

Elsie explained everything, from Trisse’s injuries and Steve’s mental state to Cornick’s interference. Her voice shook as she spoke, but the worst of her rage was spent. This was an anger she could control.

“I’m sorry for using you as a threat, I shouldn’t have done that,” she finished, but he offered her a lopsided grin.

“Don’t be. I’ll gladly put an end to the suffering of those around him.”

“Ha, you’d better not. I think our heads would become unattached pretty quickly if you did,” Elsie laughed. “Thank you for coming out with me. And for listening.”

The next morning, Elsie’s able-bodied squad members gathered in the tram station. They had wary looks about them, still a bit too thin, but they’d been cleared for field work. At least this mission was an easy one; it would give them more time to recuperate.

She handed the envoy mission over to Trenton, and he boarded a tram headed south with Marley, Banks, and Grady. Perrie, Morgan, Riven, and Saint got on another tram with Elsie, heading north.

“Stay safe. We’ll see each other soon,” she said before Trenton stepped onto the tram.

“See you soon. Watch your back, Captain. Don’t take your eyes off that demon.”

Elsie frowned, watching him board, then turned and joined her own crew.

“This is awesome! Do you guys travel like this a lot?” Riven asked, leaning forward in her seat to talk with Perrie. She peppered the witch with questions for hours before finally settling in for a nap.

They took the tram to the end of a track line, as far north as it could go, ending up at the queerest station Elsie had ever seen. They exited the underground into a small building with a few small comforts. It had a bathroom and a lounge large enough for a full squad, with benches for resting and a counter stocked with dried fruits and nuts.

A woman with a riot of red curls waited for them on the platform outside. She wore a knee-length summer dress, a backpack with basic supplies, and sturdy hiking boots. The platform was well maintained, but it stood in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by trees on one side and a field of wild grasses on the other.

“Hello, I’m Anne.” Her voice was warm and welcoming. “You must be Captain Chantraine’s squad?”

“Yes, thanks for meeting us,” Elsie said, looking around curiously. “Is your town cloaked by an invisibility spell?”

“Oh, no,” Anne laughed. “This is as far as your machine can take you. We walk the rest of the way. It’s only a few hours, I’m sure it’ll be good for your team to stretch those muscles after sitting still for so long, eh?”

“We gotta walk?” Perrie whined, wilting in place. Elsie took the witch’s bag and tossed it over her shoulder.

“We’ve gotta get moving if we're going to make it before dark.” Anne hopped off the platform and led them toward the woods. There was no worn path to follow, just waist-high grass.

“Wait a second. Aren’t you going to identify us, to make sure we’re the right people?” Elsie asked.

Anne paused, hip cocked, and gave her a questioning look, then pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket. “Captain Chantraine, small and mouthy with long blue hair. Perrie, a witch with strawberry-blond curls. A demon, a mage, and a handsome young fella with a bow and arrows.”

She looked at each of them as she read their descriptions. “That sure sounds like you, doesn’t it?”

“Okay, fair enough. You came here alone?” Elsie questioned, half expecting to run into more people along the way. Her town had a demon problem, and the woman wasn’t even armed.