Jace: #6 (Luna Lodge: Hunters of Atlas)

by Madison Stevens

  She wasn’t even sure how crazy she thought the idea of settling down for a bit was. Even after the Glycon was taken care of, the area would be a good place to help out, and she knew the Department of Fish and Wildlife was understaffed in this entire part of the state, let alone the county.

  Maybe it was silly fairy-tale thinking. She just didn’t know. A hybrid wasn’t exactly a normal guy.

  By the time she’d reached the door to the motel, she’d resolved to make that night the last night there and just let things unfold as they would.

  Bells on top of the door to the office jangled, but no one stood at the counter. A printed out sign left on the counter read, “BE BACK IN 15.”

  Something moved in the back. She wondered if it was the owner’s dog. She was surprised to see the animal when she checked in, but the owner claimed it was some sort of service animal. He was a bit cagey on the details. Given how much she was paying, she wasn’t about to complain.

  More movement caught her eye.

  Veronica waited there for a moment before ringing the bell on the counter. Either the owner was back there, or the dog might bark. At least she’d know either way.

  No response, no barking.

  “Hello?” she called. “Anyone there?”

  She took a few steps to the left so she could get a better look into the office behind the counter.

  Two red eyes peered at her from the darkness.

  Her whole body shook as she backed up to the door. The giant monster stepped from the back into the light of the front, his head tilted.

  Blood covered the Glycon’s mouth and chest. He was huge, both taller and bulkier than Jace.

  Seeing him so close, she could barely make out the part of him that used to be human. His face was warped. The dull gray rags, the remnants of some sort of uniform barely clinging to his body, mixed with what looked like a hairy suit that had split in several places, but most of the splits were in his skin. His shoeless hairy feet ended in long, clawed toes, as did his hands.

  The creature growled and took another step forward.

  A scream ripped from her mouth as she pushed open the door. She jammed the door closed and shoved a decorative case filled with local knickknacks down in front of the door. Glass shattered and littered the area along with the various pictures, dolls, and carvings.

  Veronica had no time to think. The only thing she could do was run.

  She’d never make it to Jace in time, and there were too many other people at the motel. Veronica spun on her feet and bolted out the front door.

  Luckily the motel was on the outskirts of town. She assumed they built it to trap tired tourists coming, but now it’s location would help protect others.

  A muffled yowl of pain filled the air. She hoped the monster had maybe cut itself on the glass. It was a thin string to hang her hope on, but it might make the Glycon slower.

  A crash sounded behind her, followed by more shattering. She didn’t need to look behind her to know the monster had escaped the motel. Looking would only slow her down anyway.

  A loud roar tore through the air behind her.

  She could only hope that Jace had heard the commotion and come find her.

  Her lungs ached as she ran. She wasn’t made for this shit.

  The back of her neck tingled. She knew the creature was gaining on her. Jace was super-human and could barely outrun it. She didn’t even jog all that often. It was time for another plan.

  She glanced back at the Glycon. A good thirty paces. It was now or never. Veronica came to an abrupt stop and decided to play the most dangerous game of chicken ever.

  * * *

  He heard her scream from the room. Both certain and uncertain that it was her. After slinging the pack onto his back, Jace scanned the area from the room.

  He spotted her running, the heavy Glycon close behind.

  His legs were moving before he’d even processed what was going on. Pure instinct fueled him.

  Jace cursed as his pace wasn’t fast enough. The Glycon would reach her before he even had a chance. There was no way in hell he was going to let that happen. It didn’t matter if he died as long as he saved her.

  And then he saw it: Veronica standing there like she was going to take on the damned beast herself.

  His heart dropped into his stomach, and he pushed. It didn’t matter if he tore every muscle in his body. Nothing would happen to the woman he loved. Nothing.

  The Glycon neared Veronica. Its claws reached out for her, and that was when Jace saw the can in her hand.

  The pepper spray shot out in front of her and landed directly in the face of the Glycon. It howled in anger and slashed blindly.

  Not wasting the chance she had given him, Jace rushed past the Glycon and scooped up his woman. He ducked his head to the side to avoid any residual spray, but nothing hit him.

  “Out of town,” she said and wrapped her arms around his neck.

  Jace nodded and ran full force now, drawing on all his reserves of strength and endurance.

  “It’s following,” she said, her arms wrapping a little tighter around him. “It’s not going as fast before and unsteady, but it’s still following us.”

  They raced down the road, and he looked toward the forest that lay ahead. They needed somewhere no one could see them.

  Movement to the right caught his eye. There was a small house in the distance with someone standing at the window. From what he could tell, it was a woman. They were likely too far away to make him out with just normal human vision, but it wasn’t the best situation.

  “Fuck,” he grunted.

  The Glycon screamed out again behind them as Jace cut into the forest. He stopped in a small clearing. There was no way they would be able to trap the Glycon. Not like this. His number one priority was to keep Veronica safe.

  “This tree,” he said and set her down on the ground. “I want you to set it up around this tree.”

  Jace handed her the bag and turned just in time to see the Glycon enter the edge of the forest. The creature’s awkward and slower movement suggested it was still suffering from the pepper spray, but that didn’t seem to be stopping it from heading directly toward them.

  He glanced behind him and was glad to see her working to set up her sonic transmitters. All he had to do was hold the enemy off. Then they could get up that tree and call for backup.

  The Glycon closed on them, raising its claws. It breathed in deeply and let out an ear-splitting howl.

  Jace readied himself. “Well, let’s see what you’ve got.”

  “Give her,” the creature said back and growled.

  He thought it might speak. It had tracked them to the motel, and when Marcus fought it, it had spoken to him as well.

  “Don’t think so,” Jace said, sparing a glance behind him.

  Veronica was still setting up.

  “Mate,” the Glycon said.

  Jace felt his inner animal go on edge at the idea this thing would take his woman from him. He glanced behind him again and found she was close now. Very close.

  Without warning the Glycon launched itself at him. Jace moved with all the speed his hybrid nature could give him, but it wasn’t enough. Claws ripped into his side. He let out a growl, but nothing more despite the intense pain shooting through him.

  Blood stained his clothing. His entire side throbbed down to the bone.

  Fuck. He’d been all but ripped apart by the first strike. Marcus would never let him live it down.

  Not one to take it easy, Jace spun and kicked with his leg. The blow landed hard on the Glycon’s back. The creature grunted as something cracked.

  Jace winced. His own damn wound was going to rip just a little more with each move.

  “Blood,” it hissed.

  He knew the thing smelled his blood. At this point, it really was more animal than man.

  The creature gave him a sick smile, and its gaze fixed on Veronica behind him. The thing was only looking to go after his woman. He’d be
damned if he let that happen.

  Chapter Twenty

  Veronica watched from the base of the tree, not even sure what she could do next. Her equipment needed a few more moments for the frequencies to sync before she could flip it on.

  Doing it sooner might not just damage the Glycon’s hearing, but their own.

  From what Jace said earlier, he already was at the edge of their hearing range for the device anyway. She needed to be careful.

  She’d likely used all the pepper spray before and doubted the Glycon could trust her enough to fall for the same trick twice.

  Jace glanced at her. His eyes were full of a worry she’d not seen before. Fear ripped through her as the creature smiled at her.

  “Run,” Jace shouted to her.

  She shook her head. There was no way she was leaving him there alone to fight that thing. Veronica had seen it hit his side and knew that he must have been hurt, especially with all the blood and the obvious pain on his face.

  “Don't think so,” she said to him.

  The Glycon paced back and forth now, looking for the chance to land another blow. She could see that the pepper spray hadn't quite worn off yet. Occasionally it would swipe its eyes to clear out the tears.

  “Damn it, woman!” Jace said.

  He raced past the Glycon when the creature swiped its eyes again. This time he landed another solid kick to its back. The massive creature dropped to the ground.

  Veronica opened her mouth to let out a shout of joy when the Glycon reached out and latched on to the leg that had kicked him. With a mighty strain, the creature pulled Jace flat and pinned him.

  The Glycon roared and bared its teeth.

  This couldn't happen. She couldn't let Jace go like this. Veronica stepped forward but stopped at the sound of a loud beep.

  The green flashing light was like a beacon of hope. She dropped to the ground and with shaky fingers flipped the switch.

  The Glycon howled in pain, still leaning over Jace. It slammed its hands over its ears.

  Jace’s face twitched too, but he didn’t seem to be in any more pain than he was from his wounds. He moved his legs into position and shoved the creature hard.

  It flew through the air before landing against a tree. A loud crunch sounded, followed by the Glycon roaring in pain.

  Blood poured from its mouth and chest. A thick but broken tree branch protruded from its center. The creature thrashed, clawing at the branch, but each swipe showed less energy. Finally, it’s head lulled forward. All movement stopped.

  Veronica turned, expecting to see Jace near her but found him still lying on the ground.

  She rushed over to the fallen hybrid and gently moved his jacket to the side. White bone peeked through the bloodied shirt he was wearing.

  She gasped and covered her hand with her mouth. “Oh no,” she whispered. “No, no, no, no.”

  “Looks like we got him,” Jace said with a weak smile.

  “S-should I shut off the device?” She wasn’t sure what to do, but wanted to at least make him as comfortable as possible.

  “Don’t worry. It’s just kind of annoying buzzing to me.” He grunted deeply.

  Veronica looked around, trying to figure out what she should do. He was bleeding to death, and there was nothing she could do. It wasn’t like she could call an ambulance to have them come to “non-descript clearing number twenty-two” in the forest.

  She reached down and placed her hand over the wound. She had to stop the bleeding somehow.

  A bright blue glow emitted from her hands. They both stared in shock at the wound.

  Never in her life had she seen something like that. The glow increased in intensity. Now, his entire side glowed bright blue, like she’d seen with his eyes. The wound was still there, but just lit up like a Christmas tree.

  “I don't under—” she began.

  The glow faded.

  Jace sat up suddenly and then jumped to standing. Whatever was going on seemed to be helping him, and for that she was thankful. They had a chance. She could help him back to the road and call for help.

  “We need to hide,” he said quickly.

  “Why? It’s dead.”

  Jace scooped her into his arms and jumped. Her heart had continued to thump, only getting a moment’s rest when the Glycon had been defeated. She didn’t understand what was going on.

  He landed with ease on the lower branch of a relatively ice-free tree. She knew he was powerful from before, but had no clue he could pull off a stunt like that.

  He pushed her back. “Climb higher.”

  She complied, and he followed. After climbing up several more branches, he motioned for her to stop and stay low on the branch. He held a finger to his mouth.

  Below them, three more Glycons emerged from the forest. She slapped a hand over her mouth to avoid letting out any noise. She couldn’t believe it. One of the monsters had been bad enough.

  They loped toward the impaled Glycon, but as they moved closer, they let out howls of pain. Apparently, Veronica was getting a more thorough test of her device.

  The three powered through the noise and pulled the dead Glycon from the tree. One Glycon threw the dead body over his shoulder, and all three walked back toward the edge of the forest.

  One stopped for a moment and breathed in deeply. She snapped her eyes closed and prayed they didn’t find them.

  Her gaze shot over to Jace. His eyes were closed, and he was slumped against the tree, his chest barely moving.

  She was on her own. The best she could hope was that they just moved on.

  After a few seconds, the Glycon frowned and hurried after the others. Once reunited, the entire pack rushed away, letting out several loud growls.

  She watched with caution as they moved out before turning her attention to Jace. She tried shaking him, but he was out solid.

  Something chimed in his pocket. She carefully extracted his phone and looked at the caller: REM.

  There was only one thing she could do: call in for back up.

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Warmth filled Jace. It was a strange feeling considering most of his dreams were about a never-ending cold. Not just something uncomfortable, but a bitter cold that made his very bones ache.

  He moved a little. A deep ache throbbed in his side. He winced, but satisfaction filled him. If he could feel this kind of pain, then he wasn’t dead.

  A small soft hand squeezed his own, and he knew who it belonged to. Any concern over the pain faded.

  “Veronica,” he said.

  “I’m here,” she said softly.

  Soft lips pressed against his hand, and he worked hard to blink open his eyes. They were so heavy though, and it took him several tries to open them.

  The room slowly came into view, and he realized that he was in his own bed. It seemed like a normal place for him to be, but somehow it wasn’t right.

  He had been somewhere before, a place somewhat like the deep dark cold of his dreams. For some reason, he was sure he was supposed to be dead.

  “Thought we’d lost you,” said a male voice.

  The memories filtered back in: the fight with the Glycon, the light, and then the stench of others coming. He remembered getting her into the tree and then nothing but the cold.

  He turned his head to where Veronica sat on the bed beside him. Rem stood close behind.

  “What happened?” Jace managed to croak out.

  Rem stepped forward a little. “The Glycon got you pretty good,” he said. “Veronica was able to help you using your connection, but you’d already lost so much blood. It was a close one.”

  He tried to sit up but stopped when Veronica placed a hand on his chest.

  “You need to rest,” she said sternly.

  Jace shook his head. “There are more,” he said. “We’ve got to stop them.”

  Rem came over and placed a hand on his shoulder. “We know. There’s nothing to be done right now. You were able to kill the one, but it nearly took
you with it. From the description Veronica gave, the one you fought wasn’t the same one that Marcus fought. One of the others must have recovered its body from the pond.”

  Jace managed a snort despite the situation and his pain. “Well, then tell that asshole we’re tied, but I’m going to wrack up some more kills.” He winced as he shifted.

  Rem shook his head. “For now, we need you to heal. All you’d accomplish right now is getting yourself killed.”

  Jace sat back against the pillow. Rem was right. There was no way he’d be able to go out there and fight.

  “A woman,” he said. “There was a woman in a house. It was far away, but she saw us moving, probably saw the Glycon chasing.”

  Veronica nodded. “She’s the mayor.”

  Rem sighed. “We’re a little early to be entering politics, but it can’t be helped now. I’ve sent Quintus to deal with her. Let’s hope she can be reasonable.”

  Veronica turned to stare at Rem. “And if she can’t? She’s already suspicious about my story of scaring off a mountain lion with my equipment.”

  Jace looked between them. “Mountain lion?”

  She nodded to him. “The Glycon killed a dog at the hotel. It was the best explanation I could come up with that wouldn’t bring more attention.”

  Rem grunted. “We need to keep this situation under control, and it seems like trusting some of the local authorities might be part of that.” He shrugged. “Anyway, one thing at a time for the moment,” he said as casually as he did for just about anything else. “Now I’ll leave you two to chat.”

  With that, he stepped out of the room. Jace looked over and spotted several of the other men there in his living room. They filed out after Rem.

  Marcus caught his eye and frowned at him before the door shut.

  “He was worried about you,” Veronica said quietly. “You probably shouldn’t have made that crack about being tied.”