by Hickory Mack
Without thinking, Elsie grabbed the bars. She wanted to rip these cages apart and set these people free so badly that her muscles trembled from the effort of keeping herself from doing so. Frost bent down and breathed a short, hot breath into her hair, a weird wolfie attempt at comforting her.
“What is that demon doing out of a cage? What does that woman think she’s doing?” a man called out. “Young lady, get away from the cage! Did you let that wolf out? Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?”
Elsie turned to see a man she’d met on a few occasions but didn’t consider an acquaintance. Something about Stanley Eustone had always given her the heebie jeebies.
“The wolf? You don’t even take the time to recognize the demons you experiment on? He doesn’t belong to you. Besides, these others don’t look dangerous to me,” she said, taking a step back. “If you’re so worried about your ability to control their behavior, why are they coming with us?”
He looked at her curiously, as though trying to place where he knew her from. She certainly didn’t speak or dress like someone he should be talking down to. Elsie could almost see him processing how to proceed.
Wren sauntered up, both Cross and Miller with her. Frida was at her feet, her fur bristling at all the activity. Eustone was too impatient to work out what was going on here. Though she wore the reaper robe, her staff looked like a stave rather than a scythe. Elsie made the assumption that he didn’t know she was the reaper his organization had forced into service.
“That’s classified,” he said shortly.
“Is everything okay over here, First Field Commander?” Cross asked, sensing something was amiss and using her full rank. Elsie shook her head.
“This researcher accused me of releasing Frost. The same wolf the hunters forced me to be tethered to,” she said, almost rolling her eyes at the irony. “He’s incredibly rude. Does he have to be here, or does he have better things to do elsewhere?”
“It is my job to oversee these creatures until they are transported south when the mission is complete,” Eustone sniffed.
“They’re coming back with us?” Elsie echoed. It was news to her since that bastard Grant wouldn’t tell her anything. She looked back at the chimeras and then to Eustone with disgust. “Whose idea was it to create these creatures?”
“If you’ll excuse me, I have no time to play twenty questions,” Eustone said brusquely before swiftly walking away.
“This is wrong,” Wren seethed, looking at the creatures surrounding them. “We can’t let them get away with this.”
“You have to,” Cross said. Elsie narrowed her eyes at him and motioned at the girl whose tears had not stopped.
“Are you not seeing this?” she demanded. “You’re in a nest now. You’ve got what you wanted, right? Are you really going to put whatever it is you wanted over this many creatures’ lives? My mother expects better than that.”
“I have not had time to even think about looking for what I want here. What I volunteered for needs to come first, and that’s protecting you. Your job is to secure the kitsune,” Cross reminded her. “None of this is your business.”
“I’m a reaper,” Elsie hissed. “This is my business. These assholes have crossed into a level of depravity that earns them a place in any number of hell dimensions. It’s my job to make sure their ugly souls end up in the right one, at my discretion. The fox demon comes secondary.”
“Look, I overheard some of the men talking a minute ago. When all of this is over, they plan on releasing these creatures into some demon town near the base. They’ll be free,” Cross said. “Yes, what they’re going through right now is unfair, but it isn’t permanent.”
“Are you saying you believe they’ll genetically separate the chimeras?” Elsie asked blandly. She had to admit, knowing the demons would go free after this surprised her. It didn’t sound like something the hunters would do; there had to be a catch to it. She couldn’t imagine someone like Cornick or Eustone putting that much time and effort into their projects, only to let them go.
“Those creatures will never be accepted by other demons. Especially not their own kind. Demons and magical creatures have their own way of keeping impurities out of their species. If the chimeras are cut loose, they’ll be killed,” Wren said.
“All I know is, if you don’t do what they tell you, they’re capable of making your life difficult, right? Just do what they want,” Cross suggested. His eyes followed Frost as the wolf edged closer to one of the cages. “Don’t let him do anything stupid, Commander.”
“Why the hell do you care if they make my life more difficult than they already have?” Elsie demanded. “I don’t expect the hunters to have compassion for these creatures, but for some reason I expected better from you.”
Before Cross could answer, a new man approached, walking in an easy saunter that managed to look authoritative. He was surrounded by several underlings. One of them even carried a clipboard, and Elsie mentally checked that one off as the ‘yes man.’ He was in his dress uniform and wore dark sunglasses that hid his eyes completely. This guy was the big fish in his pond, and he knew it.
“What do you think of them?” he asked before bothering to introduce himself.
“They’re a disgusting abomination,” Wren answered without hesitation.
“Tragic,” Elsie added. The big fish looked at Cross, but the witch had no answer, which she’d expected. He still wanted something from them, and he wouldn’t risk losing it.
“They were already tragic abominations before we caught hold of them,” he said with a sincerity that showed he absolutely believed every word. “The only difference between then and now is that now, they’ll be of use to somebody.”
“They aren’t on this planet to be of use to anybody but themselves,” Wren growled. The spirit looked ready to tackle him, but when he removed his sunglasses, his eyes were on Elsie, ignoring Wren and her temper completely.
“They told me they’d be bringing a reaper with them, and I had to see you with my own eyes. I’ve never met one of your kind before. I understand a reaper’s views on demon kind are different than ours, but it can’t be helped. At least you’ve chosen to work on the side of good. What we’re doing here with these demons is no different than what you’ve done.” He motioned at Frost and Wren.
“Excuse me?” Wren demanded, and Elsie took a step forward, blocking the spirit from attacking this guy in a single move.
“Yes, sorry, where are my manners? My name is Jonah Martin. I’m the Marshall of Prosperity.” After he finally introduced himself, his gaze remained on Elsie as if expecting her to return the favor. She ground her teeth together, fuming. Any experimentation that would have happened here had to have gone through him first. Whatever Eustone and Cornick and the people they worked with had done, this guy had allowed it.
“What made you decide that this was the course to take, Marshall?” she asked. “You clearly loathe demons, so why spend so much time with them?”
“Well, that’s a long story. To make it short, we came to the conclusion that our people will never be able to overcome the demons of the world on our own. Not with our numbers dwindling in recent years and the mixing of our blood with lesser beings. We had to come up with a way to even the odds, and we’ve made huge strides. Today will be the largest field test we’ve ever attempted. We’re expecting an exciting outcome,” he answered, his eyes glittering.
“What are they going to do with the fox when we catch him?” Elsie asked. This guy didn’t seem to be as worried about keeping classified information away from her as the others had been.
“He’s to be studied and made use of,” Martin said with a shrug. “We’ve had high-level demons before, but never anything with his strength.”
A loud whirring cut off Elsie’s next question, and she looked over in time to see a pair of helicopters lifting off the ground. Expensive to maintain and difficult to fuel, helicopters were an uncommon commodity. These people were pulling out e
very trick they had for this thing. A third joined the others, and they quickly pulled away, vanishing into the sky.
Elsie looked at Martin questioningly, and he smiled at her.
“They’re going to meet us at the rendezvous point,” he explained. “Now that your team has safely made it this far, it’s my mission until you have what you’re here for. Then it’s all up to you. Hundreds of lives are riding on your ability to safely contain this thing. Not to mention how relieved the nests will be to know he’s gone.”
“He’s been bothering the nests?” Elsie asked. She hated how hard it hit her that she was responsible for the lives of others in this.
“He’s hunted from them for decades, using them as his personal buffett. His territory line is only a few miles from one nest in particular. It’s been a constant worry that he’ll decide to decimate it one day, and let’s not even get into the number of demons in the area simply because of the proximity of such a highly powered lord,” Martin said, looking toward one of the trucks.
“If it’s so difficult, why haven’t you relocated the nest?” Elsie asked blandly. “It seems like the common sense answer to me.”
Martin’s smile froze on his face. He wasn’t used to people asking questions of that kind, so he glossed over it entirely. “We’re grateful for your help, reaper. With that fox gone, the others should disperse, and there will be peace between our species. We won’t have to hunt them as severely as before.”
Elsie’s skin prickled. She already knew the answer even if he wouldn’t give it. The nest locations were chosen based on resources. That particular nest must have something they valued.
She couldn’t justify what they were doing, but it helped to know that the fox had been hurting humans. The people didn’t have a choice in how their nests were governed, so they couldn’t be blamed for what went on around them. Besides, she had a very low opinion of demons who hurt creatures with no magical powers to defend themselves. Especially a demon as powerful as everyone claimed this one was.
Wren looked at her curiously, and Frost pressed the impression of a question into her mind. They wanted to know why she was suddenly less furious. She knew full well this Martin guy was using manipulation tactics, but she had to admit he was doing a pretty good job. He’d hit the right soft spot. Their methods were wrong, but they had at least one decent reason for doing this.
The trucks continued forward so the next could be loaded, and Elsie turned away. She couldn’t look at this anymore.
“I’m going back to our truck,” she muttered, then walked away. There was a stunned pause before Wren, Frost, and Cross followed her.
“What are you doing?” Wren hissed.
“I haven’t checked the lists lately,” Elsie answered. “There are some creatures in this world that get targeted by my kind, and when they are, they’re added to the kill lists. Things that have committed atrocities worse than the run-of-the-mill demons out there. If this fox has been killing humans for decades, I’m willing to bet he’s somewhere on one of those lists.”
“So what?” Wren demanded. “Even if the fox is on the list, doesn’t that mean you should kill him rather than allow whatever the hell those assholes are planning to use these others for?”
“I’m pretty sure several of the men here today appear on a list somewhere as well,” Elsie answered. “Allowing Cornick and his goons to have the fox will help balance out his karmic debt. He won’t have to go to as horrible a hell dimension when his time comes, but it will bring guys like Martin, Eustone, and Cornick to one of the worst.”
“You’re going to use these demons’ fates to tempt the hunters into destroying their own karma?” Cross asked.
“I can’t let that fox continue to kill people,” Elsie said quietly. “And I can’t allow the hunters to continue like this forever. I will destroy their organization, I just need to figure out how.”
Cross looked around quickly, making sure nobody had overheard her bold declaration. “You really shouldn’t be saying something like that out loud,” he said, but Elsie shrugged at him.
“They aren’t paying attention to me. Most of these people have no idea who I am or why they should be paying more attention,” she replied. Pausing, she took Wren’s hand, tilting hers close to the spirit’s. “We can’t do anything this second, but they won’t be getting away with this, I promise.”
“We are close to the Key,” Wren told her. “I could go get her and be back in moments. I’d have all the power needed to decimate them now.”
“You want to try kidnapping someone with that much power?” Elsie questioned then lowered her voice. “According to the prophecies, it isn’t time to meet her yet. I haven’t seen any lambs.”
“I don’t like this,” Wren fumed, following obediently when Elsie tugged her toward their truck.
“I know. I don’t either.”
Frost was ominously silent. He didn’t even growl. More alarming was that he wouldn’t look at Elsie. When they got into the truck, he sighed before vanishing into a puff of thick black smoke, returning to the cuff for the first time since he’d been forced into it back at the mage village. Elsie didn’t have to ask him why. He was angry, but he was also disappointed in her decision.
She sat in her seat, stroking Frida and trying not to be hurt that Wren sat away from her, curled up in a ball. Touching her link to Saint, she closed her eyes, reaching out to him with her emotions. She knew he wouldn’t approve of her actions any more than Wren did, but she still wished he were here. Condemnation felt more familiar, even comforting, when it came from him.
Saint responded, concern coming through their bond as he attempted to discover the reason she was upset. She couldn’t tell him, but she felt a calm settle over her at knowing he was with her even when they were so far apart. Imagining the warmth in his dark eyes and the frown that would be on his face as he tried to figure her out, Elsie sent him her longing desire to see him again. She wanted so badly to talk with him. She’d give anything to hear his voice.
Instead, she heard the sound of their truck’s engine turning on. It wouldn’t be too much longer before they arrived at their destination, not if the fox was within a short distance of one of the nests. Within a colony, all nests were no more than one day’s walking distance of another. The trucks would get them there within hours.
Elsie ran her finger over the runes etched into the cuff, wishing her decision hadn’t angered Frost and Wren the way it had. She glanced over at the spirit, looking so dejected, and stood, setting Frida in her chair. Grabbing Wren’s hand on the way by, she took her to sit on the tailgate, away from her security guards. Her lover offered no resistance, but she didn’t seem as willing as usual.
“I know my decision seems confusing,” Elsie started after finding the best position to be comfortable in. “But I have to maintain a balance. If I were to start killing the people around us because of what’s been done to those demons, I could start a ripple effect that will turn to a tsunami of trouble. I have to find out which of them were responsible and punish them accordingly. Please trust me when I say I hate this every bit as much as you do.”
“I have my own balance to uphold,” Wren said after a time. Those are my creatures in those cages. You didn’t have to kill them, reaper. All you had to do was stay out of my way while I did it myself.”
“Some of the hunters are your people, too. They have earth magic. They’re earth witches, or the bits of fae running through their blood is magically affiliated. Do some of your creatures matter more to you than others?” Elsie asked.
“I do not consider these monsters to be mine,” Wren answered. “Like those chimera demons out there, the hunters are an abomination.”
Elsie thought about that for a moment. “That’s true, but it’s also true that the hunters were not created because they wanted to be. The fae and witches they come from had no choice in the matter.”
“That was the case in the beginning, but subsequent generations make the choice to
continue as they are,” Wren said bitterly. “These half-breeds were created with the intention of protection. Humans screwing with genetics and forcing their views on others as they always have. Darling, haven't you noticed what’s happened since?”
“I guess not…”
“Both entities pretend that it’s the same, but the reality is that everything has changed. The Clans have been in charge for a long while. The humans here aren’t any more free than they were under the vampires. Why do you think the nests housing hunters are so much nicer than where the humans live?” Wren questioned.
“The humans are used like any other resource. They mine, farm, create, and provide a stable breeding supply, but the Clans cannot continue producing highly magical children through breeding with humans. So where do you think they get it?” Wren prompted, looking at Elsie seriously.
Elsie blinked at her. She knew there were traces of demon blood in many of the people she’d worked with over the years, but she’d never come up with an explanation for where it had come from. Wren was finally giving her one. “You don’t mean—”
“I do. They also breed humans with demons and then breed with the offspring. Did you think the breeding program was an innocent match up of the already existing half-breeds with one another?” Wren snorted. “They started with such a limited number of fae and witches in the first place, they’d be so inbred that genetic issues would be cropping up by now.”
Elsie remembered how much people talked about the breeding program back when she’d been captain of her own squad. Everyone was vaguely uncomfortable with the idea, but they agreed it was for the greater good. If they were going to continue the tradition, there needed to be a healthy future generation.
“How do you know so much about how the hunters operate? They like to think they’re pretty secretive, yet here you are knowing their secrets.” She started to snicker, but her lover’s expression sobered her up.
“I pay attention, reaper. Imagine waking up to this world after sleeping for hundreds of years.” Wren gave a bitter laugh. “Everyone you know and love is gone. Society as you know it has crumbled, the fae are gone, the elves are gone, the raksha are going extinct, and a new, bastardized hybrid species has arisen. I have kept a very close eye on them since waking six years ago.”
