Chapter 262
Like any kid from the south, I grew up around an overpopulation of game hunters. Some were the exact redneck stereotype youd expect. Scruffy beards, beater trucks with mounted antlers, mouthy bumper stickers haw-hawing their truth to anyone with the misfortune of being in the rearview, and more flagrant open-carry than a third world war zone. Others were less rote. Bankers, managers, government officials skipped the accouterment, but come November, would pack up their transit and join the oil-slicked expedition to Somervell County, eager to get the jump on Whitetail season.
Id always regarded both varieties with a sort of distant caution, unable to come to any other explanation for the enthusiasm beyond a primal excitement to legally cull something.
The last month had granted perspective on the topic.
It was about so much more than the kill. It was about the anticipation. The patience. Long periods of waiting, tracking, and searching, all building up to an often terrifyingly brief window to act, where the painstaking efforts of the lead up could be lost with a single misplaced step. It was the adrenaline of landing the final blow, and the internal satisfaction that came with knowing that in order to get here, you did everything right.
There was still a part of me that resisted. Recognized that Hastur and the Order put me in this position. Of the Users in Sunnys faction wed hunted, Id spared who I could. Naturally, a person backed into a corner would do or say anything to keep breathing, which made Azure a priceless resource when it came to evaluating them on a case-by-case basis. The psychopaths, predators, and truly loyal we put down. The rest were remanded to Kinsleys custody. I told myself that I wasnt beyond the pale. That I was just doing what needed doing, and once it was done, I could bury it and pretend it hadnt happened, just like before.
I hoped that was true.
Even a floor above the hideout and out of range, I could feel the tug, the insistent reminder that there was nothing there and I was better suited moving on. It was getting easier to identify and ignore, but the strength of the enchantment had me worried.
Because Sunny didnt seem like the type to cast it himself. He was a combination of speed and brutal strength that typically required sacrificing all avenues of arcane development. Either hed somehow stashed and spent an astronomical amount of spells on a magic item capable of casting the enchantmentunlikely, given how swiftly and decisively hed been cut off from his resourcesor there was an unknown third party who just happened to be a powerful mage.
Neither felt right. Wed been methodical in isolating him from contacts and allies. If there was someone else in there, they were completely unknown by the rest of Sunnys people, and unless wed missed something huge, they werent with the order.
So who the hell are they?
I watched from above the abandoned walkway, as Sae traveled through the affected area, eyes blank, and tensed, fingers gripping the railing tightly.
Almost exactly in the center, with no warning, Sae stopped a couple stores down from me. I moved further down the walkway, lining myself up a little off to the center of where she was standing. Once I was in position, Sae slowly turned. Her insectile eyes refracted red behind her mask, and her mouth split in a wicked smile that was all Azure.
Crack.
Sae dropped to one-knee, a blurring fist shattered the tile beneath her feet. The feeling of forced disinterest dissipated, and I vaulted over the railing and down, twisting in mid-air to face the storefront as Azure released her from his possession, leaping from shadow to shadow until he was inside.
The resulting scream was hair-raising as always, and even facing away from it, I opened my eyes to numerous purple blotches, leaned around the corner, threw with a flick of my wrist, low-trajectory landing the blade between two racks of womens clothes. Talia emerged snarling in a cloud of smoke, triggering two more shotgun traps and darting into the darkness. There was a low hiss of escaping gas, followed by a yelp.
Theres somethingthe bastards blinded me! her voice resonated in my mind, pained and enraged.
Return. I recalled the blade as Talia shifted back, snatching the hilt out of the air, breathing deeply, then turning the corner, bringing my crossbow to bear.
No movement. Nothing but darkness and silhouettes. With my tainted vision, every outward facing piece of metal and cylinder shape looked like the barrel of a shotgun. I pushed further in, relying on and to highlight any actual threats, ignoring the surging thrill that tempted throwing caution to the wind.
Towards the back of the store, behind the counter, a rectangle of light shot open.
Door.
Sunnys panicked face came into focus for a half-second.
I fired.
There was an audible grunt, then a metal clang as the door slammed shut.
From outside, the distinctive thwip of a crossbow fired twice more, undercutting the sound of heavy boots pounding down the hallway
Runner! Max screamed out.
Sae blasted by, tucking her head and lowering her shoulder like a linebacker. She slammed into the back door, chitin impacting metal as she knocked it clean off its hinges, pausing for only a second before she disappeared through the door frame and around the corner, running at an Olympic sprint. She was faster than me, but only just, and I followed closely, seconds away from the exit.
He said runner. Singular.
The hair on the back of my neck raised, and I dropped into a roll, smelling ozone. A fiery red gash cut through the sidewall, exactly on my left. Somehow, it hadnt triggered perception. I whirled, training my crossbow on the obvious origin pointbehind the counter.
A boy, no older than twelve, awkwardly holding a staff stared defiantly back at me.
