by D. D. Chance
“This is going to be awesome,” he promised. I’d given him all the information about the Brahmin attack over the phone, but all of that had faded into the background when I’d asked about the collective. I could practically feel his excitement through the phone, and in person, it was positively electric.
Then we took off. We reached the entryway to a large square building with an arched dome, something that looked like it easily could’ve been a mini hockey rink or some sort of sporting enclosure—but only at the intramural level. Tyler picked up speed as he trotted up the steps. “The guys are already inside. We’re all pretty jacked, especially since Frost doesn’t know we’re doing this. He’s going to have a coronary when he finds out.”
A twinge of worry skittered through me, but Tyler didn’t hesitate as he pulled open the unlocked door.
We entered the building, which looked much like any ordinary sporting facility would, with gleaming marble floors, walls lined with cases fronted in glass, featuring all sorts of plaques, statues, photographs, and eventually paintings. None of them featured Most Valuable Monster Hunter, though, or pictures of the severed head of a Tarken land worm.
“Does Wellington suck at monster hunting? Or did you guys never go in for competitions?”
“Oh that.” Tyler rolled his eyes. “There used to be all sorts of shit in here that celebrated monster hunting, like badass swords, photos, paintings, and even some stories that had been recorded on wax cylinders or written down in illustrated texts. It was pretty awesome. Frost was able to save most of it when they came through last year and renovated.”
I looked around the space, surprised. It wasn’t like there was a thick layer of dust over everything, but there was nothing to indicate that it had been recently redone either.
“I guess they were going for the historical preservation look?” I asked.
He snorted. “More like their idea of renovation was simply taking everything out that had to do with monster hunting. They said it was because they were drawing new students to the school and didn’t want to answer questions from recruits who would never qualify for enrollment in the minor anyway.”
That caught me up short. “You have requirements for enrollment that go beyond just, ah, having an interest in monster hunting?”
“Well, yeah, usually you have to be a legacy student, remember? Monster hunting runs in bloodlines. It’s probably somewhere deep in yours as well. If it’s not your mom, it’s got to be down your dad’s line. There’s no other possibility.”
His words eased the knot that I hadn’t noticed was growing in my stomach. “You think so?”
“Absolutely. Zach’s different, because, hello, demons. That throws everything off. But Liam and I both are from monster hunting bloodlines. In your case, you know your mom didn’t fight monsters except for when she was protecting you. So that leaves your dad, or, more likely, someone further back in his line. Because if your dad was a recent monster hunter graduate, he’d be on one of Frost’s lists, and you would have triggered the facial recognition software lickety-split the moment you walked into the library.”
I blinked at him. “You have facial recognition software in your library?”
Tyler reddened. “Yeah, I should’ve told you, but I honestly forgot all about it myself. I was so jacked about you being here and you getting to see Frost, I wasn’t really thinking about your, you know, genealogy or whatever. I just wanted you here. With us. I feel kind of bad about that now. I’m sorry.”
He seemed sincerely abashed, whereas I didn’t know how I felt. Something else was bothering me. “And Grim? He’s one of these legacy students too?”
“He is. Frost went totally bananas on his research on him, he wanted him in the program so bad. But apparently, he comes from a legit line of Old-World hunters, and of course, we all didn’t care. We were just happy to have such a jacked addition to the team. Between Liam’s brains, Zach’s psychic shit, and Grim’s muscle, we’re unstoppable.”
“Uh-huh,” I deadpanned, slanting him a look. “Do I want to know what you bring to the table?”
Tyler grinned. “Beyond my off-the-charts sex appeal and natural charisma?”
“And a supernatural ability for bullshit?”
“Magic fingers, baby,” Tyler said, wiggling his fingers. I felt the blush crawl up my cheeks, but fortunately, Tyler kept going. “Any spell Liam can find—I can master like that.” He snapped. “You’ve seen me in action, though maybe you haven’t noticed it because I am pure fire.”
I snorted, shaking my head as my mind grappled with this new information. Tyler had handled the night screamers without hesitation, and he’d been the soul of confidence since I’d met him. Suddenly, my makeshift iron knife seemed woefully inadequate. Exactly how far out of my league was this guy…and how magical was his super elite family?
I didn’t have much time to stew over these questions, as we rounded the corner and passed a set of double doors that led into the gym.
I craned my neck around as we entered a wide-open space. “Okay… This at least looks newer.”
The multipurpose room was covered with a floor that was slightly bouncier than usual, definitely not intended for basketball or anything like that, or the balls would bounce all over the place. But it was fun to walk on, and I enjoyed having a spring in my step. Along two walls facing each other was a pretty impressive rock-climbing apparatus that stretched easily thirty feet high. Between the two walls were ropes slung with a pulley system, as if the game was to climb one wall and slide over to the other. Kind of cool, and high enough up that it would be a heck of a challenge.
“Is that what you guys did for your trials or whatever?”
“We don’t call them trials, here,” Tyler corrected me. “We used to, way back in the day, but then we got into a trademark fight with Twyst, bunch of assholes. So instead, we call it the Run. But yeah, we have to climb up, all four of us, or in this case all five, reach the top and meet in the middle, like that.”
I studied the web of ropes above us. “And then what?”
A new, already familiar voice rang out over us. Commander Frost. “And then, Ms. Cross, the real adventure begins.”
Beside me, Tyler froze, but Frost kept going. “Every student who ever goes through this academy thinks they’re the first ones to fool the instructors. Fortunately, they’re wrong. But the fact remains—despite the unknowns, you should be protected. You should be a part of the collective. You should learn how to bend your natural monster hunting skills to the discipline of formal training. And so, now you will.”
Throughout this speech, Tyler had begun grinning wider and wider, and his smile didn’t dim at Frost’s next words. “I’m sure Mr. Perkins understands that only a little bit of advance knowledge is a good thing. Part of the bonding ritual comes in experiencing the Run together as a group. It’s an important aspect to the effort.”
Liam, Zach, and Grim all entered the room from another doorway, Liam brightening as he came toward us, cinching his backpack straps tight. “So, did you find the information you were looking for? The data about expanding the collective?” he asked, looking up to wherever Frost was perched, watching us from the rafters.
“Yes, Mr. Graham. The bonding ritual for a mixed group is neither the staff nor the ball. It is a five-sided diagram made of members of the collective.”
“That’s it?” Liam asked, disappointed. “I would think there would be another totem or something.”
“Apparently, the incidence of a group collective with mixed genders is more of a rarity than it seems like it should be,” Frost said. “I’ve never given it much thought when the classes have come through. They always seemed to sort themselves along gender lines. And when we did have mixed groups, they generally preferred the solo path. And to be fair, there wasn’t a need to push the idea of a collective. It does limit the individualization of the student’s path. But nevertheless, the need is great, and this collective run is valid. As I’m sure Mr. Perkins has
explained in regrettable detail, you will climb the wall, then move toward the center of the space via the pulley system. When you meet, suspended, you will join hands to form a pentagram.”
“Sweet. Like this,” Liam said, turning to Zach. He gripped Zach’s right forearm near the elbow with his right hand, then Zach turned to Tyler and grasped his right arm in the same manner, and Tyler closed the connection by curling the fingers of his right hand around Liam’s forearm. The three of them made a tight triangle while Grim watched. Then I noticed Grim was watching me, not them. Not in any kind of creepy way, more like his typical Grumpy-faced McGee. I really hoped that me joining the collective would lighten him up a little bit.
As if in response to my thoughts, Grim’s expression got even darker, and he glanced away.
“Hard guy,” I muttered to myself.
“What about the pit?” Grim asked.
Frost grimaced. “Gentlemen,” he said repressively. “You did not know the full extent of your challenges when you went through them. I would ask that you extend the same favor to Ms. Cross.”
“Zach didn’t know how to swim,” Grim pressed. “He nearly drowned.”
My eyes went wide. I looked around the room. “There’s water?”
“And you saved him,” Frost said with the air of a man talking to a five-year-old. “One might even conclude that was the point.”
The two glared at each other for a moment more, then a gong sounded. The guys seemed to know what this meant, because they all headed for the walls.
“Uhhh,” I said. “I guess it’s okay that I’m wearing jeans and a T-shirt? I mean, thank God I’m wearing running shoes, but—there isn’t a uniform?”
“Nope, and go ahead and take your shoes off,” Tyler said cheerfully, gesturing me toward the wall near him. Liam, Grim, and Zach were already alongside the other wall, obligingly kicking off their shoes. Grim’s were kind of a short leather boot, not something I’d want to run in, but he’d taken off like a shot more than once before. Maybe it was something you got used to.
Frost held up his hands, and when he spoke next, it was clear he was reciting words from some kind of collective handbook. “The Hunt calls its hunters by storm and by fire, by rock and by wind. Singly, we can survive, but as a collective, we can conquer. Join to fight anew.”
Another gong sounded, and Tyler started climbing. I stared at him, then at the wall. I’d climbed a little before, when I was at college in North Carolina, but there had been all sorts of ropes and carabiners and well-muscled spotters standing at the ready. I didn’t know that I—
The floor dropped beneath me, and I yelped, then leapt for the wall, scrambling up. Something groaned beneath me, deep and ominous, and I scampered up the wall, passing Tyler. The wall itself was not a difficult one, once we started climbing I could see it was tilted slightly back, making it even easier. It was almost a ceremonial challenge, I supposed, but I wasn’t one to stand on ceremony.
I couldn’t have if I wanted to, as Tyler immediately grabbed one of the pulleys and, swinging his arms into it, took off like a shot for the center of the room.
Without much choice, I did the same, my hands white-knuckling the straps, my legs twisting. I spun around and around, bracing myself for the impact of hitting the other guys’ bodies. I was jerked around hard as the rope above me tangled, and I stopped just short of the center, swinging crazily toward the guys. They all extended their arms, linking into a pentagram with one missing spoke—mine. Seriously? This had to be the dumbest challenge I’d ever experienced in my life, but if that’s what it took to be American Ninja Monster Hunter, I supposed I should—
I grabbed Zach’s forearm with my right hand, twisting so Tyler could grab my right arm as well. His firm grasp made my heart stop as blood roared in my ears. Then I realized—my brain wasn’t what was making that sound. It was coming from the walls around us.
Oh…shit.
All hell broke loose.
18
I barely had time to peer downward before the smooth, shiny surface of the floor dissolved completely, leaving an enormous gaping maw beneath us. Through the smoke billowing up from the opening, I glimpsed bursts of flame and also, weirdly, gouts of water. My brain tried to wrap around the physics of that, and failed. Fortunately, I didn’t need to feel bad about that for long, as the ropes that were holding us suspended over the open pit suddenly lurched, and I dropped down in a rough jerk, still holding tight to Zach and Tyler.
“What the hell is this?” I screeched.
“We’re going down,” Liam announced, his gaze shooting everywhere—the failing ropes, the faraway climbing walls, the pit beneath us. “It’s part of the test, and the test is different for every collective.”
My eyes bugged as I stared from the firepit below us, then back to Liam. “So you didn’t have this when you guys played capture the flag?”
“We did,” Tyler said, “but ours was just water. Having fire as well is kind of cool.”
I glared at him. “What is wrong with—hey!”
My words were cut off into another yelp as the ropes above us broke free. We hurtled downward, and the guys yanked their linked right arms closer together, their free left arms wrapping around each other. I didn’t even know what my arms were doing, but we formed into a human cannonball and plummeted into the pit, plunging into the water for a few harrowing seconds before bobbing back up. The moment we cleared the surface, however, our entire surroundings changed.
First off, the ring of fire was exactly that, a hula hoop of flames that we shot right through, getting only a little charred in the process. The lake of water was…unusually slimy, as if it was three-quarters baby oil. I scowled down at it as I treaded water, frowning. In fact…
“Fuck.” Grim’s snarl interrupted my thoughts, and I whipped around, staring at him. He was slick with oil, his hair plastered to his head, his chiseled jaw locked in a grimace, his eyes wide and wild. The collar of his shirt had been ripped away and I saw the tip of what appeared to be a long, vicious scar scoring his chest. The savagery of him stopped my breath in my throat, which was a little bit of a problem, because I needed that breath to scream.
“What?” Liam asked, squinting at Grim in confusion. “We’ve got to stay afloat, but it’s easier than you think. This shit is thick, and the fire’s way up there. What’s the problem?”
“It’s not the floating. This thing is filled with monsters,” Zach answered for Grim. “Can’t you smell them?”
I tried, and ended up sputtering. But Zach turned slowly, his eyes narrowing.
“Demons,” he muttered darkly, as if there was any other way to say that word.
“More like reavers, I’ll bet,” Tyler countered. I smelled it then, the distinctive stench of wet hair, sewage, and sweat. I thought it was because they’d just escaped from some sort of underground hellhole, but maybe that was a reaver’s distinctive scent? I’d never encountered one.
“I can detect fourteen different scents, actually,” Tyler continued, causing us all to turn back toward him. The guys didn’t seem to share my mounting horror, of course—they only displayed increased excitement.
“Um, how many monster types are there?” I asked weakly, treading oil.
Liam, of course, took this one. “Technically, four hundred and twenty—”
“Incoming,” Grim roared at the same moment that something exploded up from beneath us. With so much violence, our arms broke apart. This sent me spinning off into the center of the pool, but Liam was right. While it was sort of like water, the viscous nature of the oil kept me afloat, which gave me a perfect view of the monster now trying to eat Grim.
It looked like the Creature from the Black Lagoon, fittingly enough. Long arms ending in webbed hands, a face with a long dripping mouth like a fish, and a ridge of fishy bumps along its skull and down its neck. I’d never seen one before, probably because I didn’t usually hang out in pools of goop, but the guys seemed unfazed. Liam already had a long, wicked serra
ted blade in his hand, something I could imagine filleting a fish with, and he didn’t hesitate. He drove the blade between the creature’s shoulder blades as its lips closed around Grim’s bicep, and the creature immediately lost its hold. I didn’t have time to admire Liam’s handiwork, however, as I felt something moving beneath my feet, a lot of things moving, actually. I reflexively yanked up my ankles, giving me access to my knife. I wrenched it free as the water erupted around me, and an entire host of oil-slicked bats burst up, each stretching their jaws wide to reveal multiple rows of teeth. They screamed, the sound penetrating my ears to reach all the way to my lizard brain. My lizard brain was not a fan. With the benefit of the buoyancy of the water, I spun, slashing this way and that until Zach and Tyler converged on either side of me, attacking the creatures as well. Any of the bats that soared too high immediately caught on fire, their smoking bodies plopping back down into the pool. I craned my neck to peer upward. That…could be bad, some dim part of my mind understood.
The guys’ help with the bats was short-lived, however, as they also were set upon by creatures behind them, one a creepy-looking wraith that seemed to flow in from the very wall, and the other…
Even as my slashing never stopped, I stared.
It was the Boston Brahmin, but his long suit looked far more tailored now, and he had dark, curling hair beneath his top hat, tapering into a stylish beard, though his eyes were dead and his mouth stretched into a ghastly grin. He wore a spotless cravat and gold cuff links. The image lasted only for a second, seeming to peer across the violently thrashing pool, studying…studying Tyler, actually. Then the creature winked out. Were these just holograms, representations, like what the guys typically fought?
All these questions rushed through my mind as Tyler turned and sliced a circular blade in a wide arc, the strength of the swipe surprising me as he cleaved a long slash through the midsection of the wraith. The creature evaporated, which was more than I could say for my fucking bats. I bent back to my task, only to hear Grim shout another warning. I didn’t much care for his warnings.