House of Slide: Hunter

by Juliann Whicker

  Finally, the slanted door opened and Osmond came out, his bright silvery soul a beacon that helped me stay in that moment, in that space. He carried a body, limp and unresponsive. Chloe followed close behind, holding the front of someone while Smoke carried the rear.

  Two bodies? We’d found two Hybrids or had they discovered something else? Smoke struggled under the weight of the body as he kicked the door closed after him.

  Chapter 16

  The door didn’t stay closed for long. I stayed in my perch until the door opened and out streamed a line of darkness that moved inhumanly swift and silent, after my friends. I dropped down in between my retreating friends and the swarm of ants we’d awoken. My bird screamed and I smiled as my heart pounded in my chest, the perfect time for a dance. Maybe the beat was a samba. It was hard to be sure when the only singer was the scream of a demon man as I cut him with my Nether blade. I kept my eyes closed. I didn’t need to see his pain, not when I could feel it, his darkness brushing the edges of my consciousness, leaving a tinge of black. They had no weapons other than syringes, these demon men. They didn’t fight like demon men, all violence and no thought, they were mostly thought and little violence, which I found a delightful and refreshing change. I absorbed gifts other than fighting skills as I sliced through them until they fell back, retreating to the door. I followed until I felt the sharp beak cut the skin of my shoulder, reminding me of our purpose.

  I followed her, tucking dropped syringes and vials in my backpack as I went into the woods.

  The new camp buzzed with life when I returned. It was surrounded by demon men and monsters, but held at bay with the wards I’d placed so precisely. I skipped as I joined the Hunters, careless with my knife, with the souls I mingled with, happy to hear their screams in time with my movement, loving the sweet sing of my knife through the air, the scent of death heavy and intoxicating as I spun through the Hunters, barely a flicker of Lewis in my peripheral vision.

  As dawn came, the demons pressed close then fled before the coming of the light.

  I watched them go, feeling nostalgic and wistful as I turned to the camp where the sun caught on the luminous green bubble that surrounded the camp before the direct sunlight hid the runes from sight. The pressure on my body as I entered the camp was the only sign there was any ward at all. A huddle of Hunters stood to my right, green clothes ripped and bloody while the center figure fought back sobs as they tied up her amputated leg, trying to stop the spread of taint. To my left a piercing scream sent a shudder through my body.

  I stepped slowly, carefully through the crowds of Hunters, bloody, beaten, barely surviving the onslaught through the night, the trek from one camp to the other leading away the demon men so that we could take a few hostages. Suddenly it felt less important with a Hotblood sitting with tears running down his cheeks, the stump of his arm wrapped in bandages.

  Snowy walked through the crowds followed by four Hunters carrying bundles of supplies. I’d never been so happy to see anyone in my life.

  “Take this,” she snapped to the Hotblood, forcing something in his mouth that he had to choke down. “You’re not dead. I hope those are tears of joy,” she said briskly as she turned to someone else, grabbing a blanket to wrap around the Hotblood’s shoulders. “Don’t go into shock. We’ll have a tent and cots set up for the infirmary shortly.”

  “Snowy,” I said when she came up to me.

  She barely spared me a glance. “This was your idea?” she asked, looking around at the chaos, protected, but without the tents and supplies from the other camp.

  “Yes. I didn’t…” I bit my lip then stood up straight, shaking off the guilt. “We’re here to fight demon-men.”

  “Yes, your eagerness has been noted,” she said as she passed me with a slight shake of her head.

  My jaw tightened as I watched her walk away as if we were all helpless without her. Maybe we were, but if so, she should have been here with us.

  “We’re going to break the other camp,” Sieve said, silent footed behind me.

  I nodded and headed in that direction. The hostages would wait. I spent all day hauling tents, holding poles with shaky arms while Sieve pulled off canvas tops. He tried to chat a few times, but I kept having strange flashbacks, memories from the stones that I’d put in the bottom of my pack, too precious to leave behind in camp. My tent when I broke it down was just like all the others, nondescript green without any sign of personality.

  “There’s something very attractive about a woman who knows how to move her own house,” Sieve said, bracing a pole before he pulled it down.

  “There’s something very attractive about any woman,” I said frowning at him. “To you I mean. You’re a Hotblood.”

  “And you’re very Wild,” he said with a flirty smile.

  “Aren’t you tired? We’ve been up all night fighting and now we’re hauling tents through hundred degree weather with one hundred and fifty percent humidity.”

  “The more tired I get, the better you look. I think the exhaustion must go to my head,” he said with what seemed like a real smile.

  I frowned as I saw Osmond swimming before my eyes, his smile something like the dangerous Bloodworker. “You’re just saying that so I’ll put my guard down and you can drain me dry,” I said, trying to be in that moment instead of in the different place, woods, moving crates of ammunition instead of tents and supplies.

  “Your blood is safe from me,” he said, his grin unnerving. “I’m afraid I’m more interested in you doing the draining.”

  I stared at him. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Moreover, I don’t want to. A few months ago I had a beautiful pure soul. I may be capable of killing demon tainted things, but I’m not a Hotblood.”

  He shrugged and loaded his arms with gear before he left me. I stared after him feeling strangely disconnected with everything. I saw Osmond as he walked away, his walk smooth and athletic, his smile sweet and flirty. I shook my head trying to focus on my work, my hands, scars and metal wrapping my arms in a way unlike any other reality. The other Hunters who helped with breaking camp, Hotbloods most of them, smiled at me as we passed, like Sieve, eyes and smiles flirting more than words.

  I was relieved to break the last tent, carry my load through the trees and get to the new camp where the burden of guilt would keep out the other reality, the flashes of Osmond. I did not need to mix any of my realities.

  Back at the camp, I worked to set up tents, dig trenches, install waterlines until I looked up and saw the camp in mostly working order, the smell of blood and taint carrying to me from the long tent where Snowy had set up the infirmary. I should help them, but as I stood there, a wave of dizziness sent me against a tree, a nice tree not as old and regal as the oak, but still, a good plant that didn’t hesitate to share its energy with me. I stayed there, absorbing the tree with my eyes half shut, vaguely noticing the comings and goings of the Hunters.

  “Dari, aren’t you curious about the captives?” Chloe said, her voice breaking through my reverie.

  I sighed as I straightened and looked at the dark haired hybrid with a serious frown on her face. “Yes, of course.”

  I followed her out of the camp, over a river and through the woods to a little ramshackle hut that held so much negative energy. I forced my shoulders down and my hands to relax at my sides before we entered.

  Chloe opened the door and let me go in first. Osmond stood with his back towards me. For a moment it didn’t seem like Osmond, but Lewis. I reached out and touched his shirt. The feel of him, warm, real, completely human helped me to center myself on this reality and shake off the brain fog. Osmond glanced at me then shifted so that I could see past him to the figures crouched against the wall.

  “Orrin?” I asked the pale trembling boy who stared off blindly, every once in a while arched his back and hit his head against the wall.

  “He can’t hear you,” Chloe said, standing closer to me. “He’s not absorbing the taint very well.”
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  “Weak. He’s weak like all of you,” the other figure rasped, his wide-eyed stare not much less vacant than Orrin’s.

  “Marcus,” I whispered as his eyes focused on mine, the intent clear in his eyes. If he hadn’t turned yet, he would soon. Otherwise, the taint would consume him, body and soul until there was nothing left.

  I held very still as I fought down the horror, the need I had to run as far away from the tragedy in front of me and throw up my guts. The taint filled the air, thick, heavy, revolting as maggots on my skin.

  “We’re sending for help,” Osmond said in a low voice. “We’re asking for some Cools and some medical personnel from Slide. They should be here before nightfall.”

  “My mother?” I asked, swallowing down nausea.

  “Daughter of Slide,” Chloe said in a sing-song way. “I didn’t know you were just slumming with us Hybrids.” She sounded bitter.

  “Chloe, go back to camp, and get some rest,” Osmond ordered. “Tonight is not going to be peaceful.”

  Chloe made her exit while I forced myself forward until my arm brushed his. He shifted away from me, giving me plenty of space.

  “Have they told you anything about the demon mistress and her plans?” I asked.

  “They’re coming for you,” Marcus said, his unnaturally dark eyes fixing on me. “I’m their special pet. You shouldn’t steal things that don’t belong to you. Don’t you want to keep that pretty soul of yours? Zeke told me what a pretty soul you have.”

  “Had. It’s not so nice anymore. I can’t imagine it looks any better than yours, Marcus. The demon mistress, or mistresses are trying to destroy you, trying to convince you that you need their power, their strength. You don’t. We risked everything to get you back. You’re part of this team, the team that fights demons. I know it’s inside of you now, and I know that’s not a good place, but I promise that we’ll do everything that we can to get it out of you, to save you.”

  Marcus cocked his head to the side, studying me. “Do you feel very saved, Sand? You don’t look like anyone saved you. You look like everyone let you fall, crash, burn. That’s okay. The life of a Hybrid isn’t supposed to be very pleasant, but maybe it doesn’t have to be impossible. Have you asked yourself if you’re really fighting the side you’re supposed to be on? Your blood can’t make up its mind.”

  “Slide?” Orrin said suddenly, sitting up and staring in my direction. “What happened to your soul?”

  His voice filled the room with the power of his leaning, his words sending a shiver down my spine.

  “She’s broken it,” Marcus said with a grin that split his narrow face before he began to cackle.

  “Come on,” Osmond said, taking my arm in his warm hand, pulling me out of the room, leaving the two bound in the hut with nothing but taint for company. “What do you think?” he asked once we were out of earshot of the building.

  “Did you get anything useful out of them?” I asked, hoping he’d say something that would justify the wounded back at camp.

  “We’ll know more after the professionals come. I have hope for Orrin coming back, but Marcus doesn’t seem stable.”

  “They’re both eaten out by the taint. They’ll have voices in their heads and feelings that aren’t theirs. Reality will slowly slip away until they don’t know if what they see is real or not. They won’t have any way of knowing which sense to trust.”

  “But will they be useful? I don’t want to study them without their consent. We need to know what we’re dealing with.”

  “Don’t we know?” I asked, chewing on my bottom lip.

  “Do we?” he asked, softly.

  I looked up at him, his strong firm features, the wizard of Oz with his very own flying monkey. That would be me. I’d stayed away from him, from being alone like this. Of course I had. This was danger, trouble, the edge of the precipice where I walked the line between madness and sanity.

  “My brother’s blood started all of this.”

  He shrugged and glanced away. His lack of surprise told me all that I needed to know. “Your brother always felt responsible for the end of the world,” he finally said. “I think he saw this end for him, if he hadn’t been murdered, that he’d end up like your friend, Orrin. Blinded by the taint, he wouldn’t know the difference between good and evil.”

  “He took my soul.”

  Osmond bowed his head, showing his exhaustion. I put my hand on his arm, trying to ease the tiredness, to give him some strength, the way I’d done a million times in other realities, but Osmond jerked away, giving me a firm frown that shut that door.

  “You should rest,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest so that I wouldn’t be tempted to touch him again.

  “I should, but who’s going to watch the captives?”

  I smiled at him, my most capable, in-charge smile. “That’s what I’m here for.”

  He stared me down with an excellent withering stare until he nodded slightly and sighed. “Don’t talk to the captives, don’t engage. Stay here until help arrives.”

  “Nowhere else I’d rather be,” I said brightly.

  I paced around the hut, ducking inside to check on Orrin and Marcus, Marcus groaning and writhing while Orrin stayed very still, sweating profusely. He needed water. They both needed food, water, bandages, and of course, the cure for the taint that ran through their bodies.

  I left before Marcus could look up at me, relieved when I heard the distant whir of helicopter blades. Before I knew it, I heard the soft thumping of feet marching in unison through the woods. I took position behind a tree then stepped out with my knife at the throat of the leader, a scowling face with a receding hairline whose scowl lessened slightly when he saw who had him at knife-point.

  “You’re looking well, Daughter of Slide,” he said with a sneer.

  “Matthew?” I looked past him at a group of men and one woman whose scars and glares reassured me. I was looking at experienced Hunters who had retired, brought out of retirement to deal with this new threat, these new issues.

  “We’re not here to Hunt,” the woman said, her words spreading her bottom lip where it had been sliced open and apparently never sewn back together.

  “What are you here for?” I demanded, keeping my knife at Matthew’s throat.

  “We’re going to take your prisoners back to Slide.”

  “To my mother?”

  He nodded slightly so that the knife’s edge didn’t pierce his skin. I had a difficult time pulling the knife away from his throat, even though I didn’t hate him, even trusted him to a certain point. “I don’t know,” I said, shaking my head. “Do you think it’s a good idea?”

  Matthew shrugged. “That depends on the sort of captives you’ve got. Do you mind if we take a look at them?”

  I stared at him before glancing past him at the line of men and the woman who looked back at me impassively.

  “It’s what we’re here for,” a dour man said with a cigarette dangling out of his mouth.

  I nodded and sheathed my knife, turning to lead them to the hut. I opened the door and let them file in, filling the cramped quarters less than I thought they would. They spread out upon entering, some squatting, others leaning against one wall or another, focusing on Matthew instead of the two tied up figures.

  “No,” Matthew said at once, his voice causing the two men to focus on him. “That one,” he said, pointing to Orrin. “Would cause absolute havoc anywhere we took him. It’s a pity. He has more potential for salvation than the other one.”

  “You’re talking about me like I’m not here,” Marcus snarled, his eyes fixing on Matthew in a terribly dangerous way.

  “You’re not here, not much of you anyway,” Matthew said conversationally, dropping to a squat and leaning on his knees. “What’s your name?”

  “My name is none of your business.”

  “What’s your date of birth?”

  “I’m a lot younger than you, old man.”

  “Why did the demon mistr
ess capture you?”

  Marcus flinched back before he hissed his response. “Someone can see my potential.”

  Matthew nodded. “There’s nothing wrong with your mind. Congratulations. We can take this one,” he said standing and turning towards me. “But there’s nothing we can do with the other one. He’s stuck between soul sight and demon taint. He’ll be killing people without being aware of it. Tainted Cools are a sad sight to see.”

  “Should we knock him out before we take him?” the dour man asked, cigarette still hanging from his lips in spite of it being unlit.

  “You’re not taking him,” I said, glaring at Matthew. “You’re not taking either one of them.”

  “I thought you wanted to find a cure,” Matthew responded, his eyes narrowing.

  “I don’t trust my mother with my friends,” I said firmly.

  “You shouldn’t judge her by her past,” he said in a quiet warning tone.

  “Well, I’m not my brother so I can’t judge her by the future. Right now, she’s Head of Slide. Right now, she’s come for the two people we fought hard to get. We spent a lot of blood for these two. We didn’t do this for science.”

  “So much loyalty among Hybrids,” Matthew said in a low voice. “It would be commendable if it weren’t getting dark. As Sue told you, we’re not here to hunt.”

  I glanced at Sue, she gazed back at me bored and slightly irritated, but strangely stable all the same. I looked at the dour man with the cigarette, really studying him. He had clean nails, and steady hands. His eyes met mine without any hint of fear in them, of me or anything else.

  “We need to keep them here,” I said, “Where they can be with those who care.”

  “I’ll stay,” the man said, taking out his cigarette and putting it behind his ear. “If you don’t mind,” he added to Sue with a smile that showed out of character tenderness.

  “It would be easier to dissect them after they were dead. That way we wouldn’t have to worry about their abilities manifesting,” Sue said, studying Orrin and Marcus, thoughtfully.