Huntress Clan Saga Complete Series Boxed Set: Books 1-6

by Jamie Davis

  Having done the best she could, Quinn laid both hands flat on Avery’s back. “I’ll use my reserves to close up the wound. That’s the best I can do for now. I’m afraid to access nearby ley lines directly. That kind of magical draw might point Gemma and her allies to our location.”

  “Don’t drain yourself too much. I’m quite all right, really.”

  “Hold still and be quiet. I’ll be careful, but we’ll be better off if you’re able to move well.”

  Quinn drew on her mana store, supplementing it with her stamina, and focused her energy on the open wound beneath her palms.

  A warm, faint golden glow showed around the outline of her hand. Avery sucked in a sharp breath as the healing flow took effect.

  Quinn took her hands away. The angry red scar left behind still looked painful, but at least the edges of the skin had closed. It would heal on its own in time, especially with her Hunter background.

  “How’s that feel?”

  “Better. You did too much.”

  “Shut up. I did what I had to. We’re not out of this yet, and if you think I’m doing all the fighting from here on out, you are mistaken.”

  Avery smiled. “Fair enough. Now what?”

  Quinn checked the comm again. Still nothing. She and Avery couldn’t even hear each other transmitting on the circuit. “Whatever’s dampening our system is still there. The last time we called was all the way back at the Fae bar. That’s blocks from here. Who knows how wide the area of effect is?”

  “How did they know to use it? Did they expect us?”

  Quinn shook her head. “I don’t know how. Gemma and the Fae know some of our tech capabilities, though. That has to figure into their planning. Maybe stopping our communications is part of a bigger issue. Maybe it’s hampering their ability to recall us via the VR rigs.”

  “So we’re stuck here. Great.”

  “It’s not so bad,” Quinn said. “As long as they think we got away, we can hide here. Once things calm down, we’ll slip out and make our way out of the no-fly zone.”

  Avery smiled. “You’re always such an optimist. How do you do that?”

  “I have too much to look forward to. I only just got you back. Come with me. I saw what looked like a break room. We can sit down and rest for a bit. Once some time passes, I’ll look around the building to make sure no one’s outside. Then we can escape.”

  Avery and Quinn walked to the door near the sink. There were a few tables and folding chairs inside. They weren’t all that comfortable, but they were better than nothing. The pair of them settled down to wait it out.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Taylor cringed as Clark shouted again.

  “Well, where are they?”

  “I told you. I don’t know. It’s like they disappeared off the map.”

  Naomi leaned over to look over Taylor’s shoulder. “You mean like they’re dead?”

  “No, nothing like that. Unless someone dropped a bomb on them, they wouldn’t wink out simultaneously like that.” Taylor pointed as she played back their tracking data. “Look. They’re moving across the neighborhood toward this industrial park here. Just before they cross this street, poof, they’re gone.”

  Clark growled, “I don’t like poof. That means they could be anywhere.”

  Miranda came to Taylor’s aid. “Use whatever word you want then, Clark. They reached that location, and then we lost tracking. That could mean anything.”

  “Can’t you increase the power or something?” Naomi asked.

  “It’s not that easy,” Miranda interjected.

  “Besides, I tried that already,” Taylor said. “Something pushed back when I increased the magical energy flowing into the interface.”

  “Pushed back, how?” Clark asked.

  “It was like I was trying to force my way into a rubber ball from the outside. The harder I pushed, the more resistance I met.”

  Naomi said, “That sounds like protection magic. Could it be a counterspell?”

  “Maybe, but it’s not just my magic. We can’t reach them on the comm system. It worked fine just days ago in North Carolina.”

  “A magic and electronic counterspell?” Naomi asked.

  Clark took a deep breath and scratched his chin. “Just because we haven’t seen it before, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Look at all we’ve been able to do with this VR stuff.”

  He stared at the screens for a few seconds, then started for the door.

  Taylor asked. “Where are you going?”

  “It’s still a few hours until dawn. Naomi and I are going down there to test our theory. You keep track of us, and we’ll do the same. If we lose signal, we’ll backtrack until we get you back again. Between the two of us, we should be able to sense any magic.”

  “Be careful,” Miranda cautioned.

  Naomi nodded. “We will. You two stay here and keep trying to locate them.”

  Taylor smiled. “I won’t give up on this end. Besides, they could show up at any moment. I’m holding out for simple comm failure.”

  “Both of them?” Clark asked.

  “It’s not probable, but it is possible.”

  Clark looked at Naomi. “Coming?”

  “Right behind you.”

  The two left Taylor and Miranda alone in the workshop. Taylor sat back down and started tapping on her keyboard, trying to find a way past whatever had swallowed their VR signal. The more she worked, the angrier she got until she couldn’t hold back, and her werewolf's claws emerged from her nail beds.

  The clack, clack, clack of the sharp claws on the keyboard didn’t faze Taylor. She planned on doing whatever she had to do if it led to finding Quinn again. She kept coding until Miranda floated between her and the screens, partially blocking her view with her translucent face.

  “Taylor, stop right now. I mean it. You need to get yourself under control.”

  The tech witch looked up from the keyboard, trying to understand what Miranda was saying to her. The words made little sense.

  “It’s too close to the full moon for you to let stress get to you like this. Refocus your attention on me. Listen to my voice. Come on, you can do it.”

  As Miranda continued to soothe her with gentle requests, Taylor’s mind cleared, and she realized how close to fully shifting she was. Coarse hair had sprouted along her arms, her claws had grown in, and she ran her tongue over her elongated canines.

  Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and settled down with calming exercises she’d learned from the local pack leader since she’d first shifted. When she opened her eyes, her arms and hands looked human again.

  She glanced at Miranda, still hovering in between her and the three monitors. “Sorry. I guess I lost control a little.”

  “I’d say. You haven’t slipped like that in a while. Come away from the keyboard for a minute or two. Let Clark and Naomi take the lead on this. They’ll contact us when they get close. With fresh eyes on the ground, maybe we’ll get a better handle on what we’re looking at.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Taylor said. She picked up the comm headset and walked out from behind the monitors. “Let’s go. I need to get something to eat and drink while I wait. That partial shift used up a lot of my reserves.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Clark made a left turn and pulled over on the street a block away from where Quinn and Avery had dropped out of VR. Naomi alternated between watching the street and staring at the comm unit’s tiny gray and black signal indicator.

  Clark glanced at her. “What’s it say now?”

  “Still three out of four bars. But we knew that. They called us from this location after they arrived.”

  “Let me pull up the map on my phone and look at it. I need to pinpoint the location where Taylor said they disappeared.”

  He scrolled the map until he found the right area and zoomed in on the street on which they’d parked. He leaned over so Naomi could see.

  “This is where we are.” He slid
his finger across the screen to show the area around them. “It’s mostly residential and pretty run down, at least to outward appearances. The Fae like it that way. The few places I’ve visited look rough on the outside and pretty swanky on the inside.”

  Naomi pointed to an area to the south. “This is where Taylor said they disappeared.”

  Clark scrolled down and zoomed in again as far as he could. “Looks like a manufacturing or industrial zone. Those buildings are too large to be homes, and the extra parking areas are probably for contractor vehicles.”

  Naomi leaned back, staring out the windshield at the dilapidated row homes around them. “So, all these homes are really occupied by the local Fae community?”

  “Most of them, yes. Why?”

  “If Gemma came to town with a sizeable group of demon-possessed human Hunters, would the local Fae hide them and keep them a secret?”

  “A few might. The ones that are in on Filippa’s and Aurora’s evil plot would for sure, but I can’t believe that is more than a few of the locals. The others have businesses and family roots here. They wouldn’t do anything to create chaos in their own community.”

  “That’s what I’m thinking, too. They’re probably all staying together with whichever dark Fae they’ve contacted locally.”

  Clark looked at the map again. “Let’s head that way and see what happens to the signal. If you’re right, it’ll drop out before we get there.”

  Naomi nodded and held up the comm so they could both watch the signal. He pulled away from the curb and turned right, heading south toward the business park. They’d gone three blocks and were nearing the edge of the residential neighborhood when Naomi held up her hand.

  “Stop. The signal is gone. One second I had three bars, then nothing.” She showed him the comm pack.

  Clark did a U-turn and drove back a half block. Naomi nodded. The signal had returned.

  Naomi tapped her earpiece. “We found the dampening area. It’s south of their original location, right where you said it was.”

  “Any sign of them?” Taylor asked.

  “No, but now we know where to look,” Clark said. “Any change on your end?”

  “We just got back into the workshop. I had to get some food and stretch. Let me look.”

  Clark sat waiting until Taylor’s voice returned a few seconds later.

  “Nope, things are the same as when you left. I can see you both via GPS, but they’re not on the map.”

  “Okay,” Naomi said. “I’m going to walk that way again. I’ll leave my comm unit on just in case the field dissipates.”

  “I’m not staying here while you search for them,” Clark grumbled. “We’ll cover more ground with two of us.”

  “What if one of you gets into trouble?” Taylor asked.

  “We’ll remain in sight of each other,” Naomi suggested. “That way, we can lend aid if needed.”

  “That’ll work,” Clark said. “Let’s go.”

  Taylor said, “I’ll keep trying to break through on this end. I’ll let you know if I hear from them. This spell has been in place for at least an hour now. It can’t last forever.”

  Taylor cut the connection, and Clark and Naomi got out.

  Naomi pointed at the opposite side of the street. “I’ll go that way, and you stay on this side. We’ll check the buildings as we go. I think I can smell Quinn if I’m close enough to somewhere she’s been recently.”

  Clark nodded. “Sounds like a plan.” He could use targeting and tracking magic on his end, too. It might help him see where they’d gone.

  Naomi got the first hit on the missing Huntresses. She caught his attention and waved him over. He crossed the broad street, racing to catch up with her.

  “What is it?” he asked as he reached her side.

  “Blood, and it’s fresh. Someone tried to wash it away with a hose or a couple buckets of water, but they didn’t do a very good job.”

  Clark studied the asphalt pavement where she pointed. He could still make out stains where someone or several someones lost a significant amount of blood.

  “Any of it belong to our ladies?”

  Naomi crouched and leaned forward, then moved to another spot and repeated the move. She stood and nodded. “At least some of this blood was Avery’s, but the rest isn’t blood at all, at least not anymore. It’s corrupted somehow.”

  “Demon-kinder, then,” Clark said. “That means it has to be Gemma and her crew.” He scanned the nearby buildings. “There,” he said, pointing at the metal siding on the nearest building. “That looks like a smear of blood.”

  Naomi followed him over. He could make out the slight crimson tint even at night under the streetlights. “They fought a group of demon-kinder back there and then got away or ran away. That’s why it’s been cleaned up. Gemma doesn’t want to leave a mess out in the open for everyone to see.”

  Naomi stared down, beckoning Clark to follow her. She peered at the pavement as she moved along until she stopped at the corner. “There are a few tiny drops of blood on the sidewalk. It’s just a drop here and there, but I can sense it if I concentrate.” She scanned the sidewalk in both directions and then pointed left. “They turned here and went that way.”

  Clark looked back. “If they were trying to evade pursuit, that makes sense. This corner would break the line of sight. Keep going.”

  Naomi moved on and stopped by a steel door in the building's side. “They stopped here. Try the door.”

  Clark checked the handle. “It’s locked. Did they keep going?”

  Naomi continued down to the end of the building with Clark right behind her. She stopped.

  “There’s nothing after they stopped at that door.”

  “Then that’s where they are. They must have gotten inside and locked it from there.”

  Returning to the door, Naomi shrugged. “What do we do, knock?”

  “I wouldn’t answer. Would you?”

  “No, I guess not.” Naomi looked at the two-story structure. “There must be another way in. Let’s see what we can find.”

  “Let’s circle the building in different directions. We’ll meet up on the far side.”

  The two split up. Clark headed to the right and Naomi to the left. He moved faster since they’d already covered the first two sides. He turned up the street one block over. There was a fenced-in parking lot, empty except for an old trailer. The sign on the side showed a print shop had used it.

  Naomi came from the other way. She picked up speed when she saw him. He pointed at a door with a sign reading Office over it. It was made of heavy steel with a large window in the top half. There were also two sliding overhead garage doors along the parking area.

  “Jump the fence?” Naomi asked.

  “I’ll just pick the lock.” Clark held the padlock holding the gate closed in one hand and passed his hand over it twice. On the second pass, the hasp popped open. He unwrapped the chain holding the gate closed, then he and Naomi walked across the lot to the office door.

  “My turn,” Naomi said. She turned and leaned against the door. After scanning the street for anyone out at this hour, she slammed her elbow backward into the window. Her heavy leather jacket kept her from getting cut. She cracked the sturdy security glass on the first strike and broke all the way through on the second.

  She reached inside and unlocked the door, letting them in.

  “That was subtle,” Clark said as he passed her.

  “I’m getting impatient. Avery’s injured. Quinn might be, too.”

  “Don’t borrow trouble. Let’s find them first.”

  It didn’t take long to search the small office area. They weren’t there. A door led to the printer’s warehouse. Old printing equipment lined the shop floor, with pallets of paper stacked near the garage doors.

  They split up again until Naomi got his attention with a low whistle. He joined her by an old work sink.

  “What did you find?”

  “More blood smell here. I thin
k they used the sink to clean up or maybe wash out Avery’s wound.”

  “Good, so we were right. They came in here. That door is bolted from the inside. So, where are they?”

  Naomi pointed to the door in the wall by the office. The word Crew was stenciled on the door.

  Clark nodded.

  He walked over and reached for the handle. As he started to open it, the door slammed outward, pushing him backward. He fell to the floor and reached for his sword.

  “Quinn, stop, it’s us,” Naomi shouted.

  Clark let go of his sword and stared up at the dark, partially hidden figure above him. The shadow glamor faded, revealing Quinn.

  She reached down and offered him a hand up. “I’m glad to see you two.”

  “We’re glad to see you as well,” Naomi said. “Is Avery all right? I sensed her blood outside.”

  “I am, or I will be soon enough.”

  Quinn asked, “What about the demon-kinder? Did you see any outside?”

  “Just traces of their foul blood,” Clark said. “How long ago did you last hear or see them?”

  “It’s been at least an hour,” Avery said. “Right?”

  Quinn nodded. “We decided to lay low until they’d given up the chase. I guess they gave up sooner than we thought.”

  “There’s no sign of them,” Naomi confirmed.

  Quinn pointed toward the printer’s offices. “They came from a building a block farther down the street out front. If they were there or still watching, I’d imagine they would have come after you too, if they were still around.”

  “But where did they go?” Avery asked.

  “I guess we need to find out,” Naomi said. “Avery, should we leave you here? We can come back after we check to see where they are.”

  “Not a chance. I’m well enough to lend a hand if needed.”

  Clark sighed. “Then let’s go see where they are.”

  The four of them walked back through the office and out the gate to the sidewalk. Quinn pointed down the street. “They were in that second building there, the painter’s shop.”