“Mom, I don’t see her as a Hunter!” Anastasia sounded more disgusted than surprised. “Can you get her register?”
Mama Ray lowered a finger right above the girl’s head and made a swirling motion. A wisp of blue smoke lifted from her head, shifting into letters and numbers.
“Got it,” Anastasia said. More keyboard clicks. “Henrietta Pulter, folks call her Hank. Powered, youngest of two, younger sister passed away—"
“Exempted because of a loss… what a shame... and a waste,” Fish said.
“Shush, Fish.” Anastasia continued, “Mother is Kyla. Was on the Hunt, retired before college. Father is Casey, low-powered paycheck Hunter. You were over there the day you were injured."
"Right." Ray watched as the little girl straightened her glasses and walked up to her.
“That shoe is not yours, Miss Monster Hunter!” Hank planted her fists on her hips. “That belongs to my sister and my mommy needs it to—"
The little girl’s eyes went big and she clamped her mouth shut. The knocked-back adults had recovered by that time and were scrambling to claim the child. Mama Ray held up a hand and they stopped, their eyes flitting between Ray, the child, and somewhere far off between them. One of her parents, Mama Ray supposed.
She knelt down in front of Hank, holding the shoe out to her. Hank looked between her and the shoe, then made a snatch for it. Her fingers went through it and she shot a look of shock and extreme disgust at Ray.
The shoe is quite safe, little one, Mama Ray said to the girl through a mental link. She could feel the relief pour over the girl’s senses and her fists dropped to her sides, then the fingers loosened.
“Thank you, Miss Monster Hunter,” Hank said, then looked at the shoe again. Another thought, as surprise and delight lit up her mind and her face. “Was I the only one that could see the shoe?”
“Why. Isn’t. This. Little. Girl. On. The. HUNT?” Fish yelled through the comm.
“Why. Don’t. You. Stop. Yelling, FISH?” Anastasia said. Mama Ray muted them both, then leaned to Hank a little further and gave her a small warm kiss to the forehead. Hank drew back a little, her face flat, her mind not sure how to process the gesture.
“You are indeed the only one that can see it. You and perhaps a few more,” Mama Ray said, and the shoe vanished is a whiff of pink smoke. “Why do you think that is, little one?”
"Because Mommy says that Baylee is coming back tonight, and she needs the shoe to do it," Hank said.
Ray blew out a sigh. She did not want to have to crush a grieving mother's dream or at worst take her out. No. At worst, tell a child that Ray would have to be the one to take her out.
"That's dangerous, sweetheart, and people have gotten hurt in the last few weeks trying to help your mom do this. We need to find her. Did she come with you?"
Hank gave her head a slight shake and gazed at Ray. "Was that jogger one of the people that got hurt?"
Fish and Anna sucked air through their teeth. "Children always ask the hard questions, man," Fish finally said.
"Anna?" Ray started, and Anna was already tapping on the computer.
"Hank was Stacy's last human interaction before the accident." Anna's voice got small. "Are you going to tell her, Ma?"
Ray inhaled slowly, then trying and failing to smile finally said, "Yes, she was. But she was not trained enough to fight the triskull. And your mom may not be trained enough either, which is why we need to find her."
Hank's shoulders dropped so far Ray could feel the heart that people said she didn't have drop to her stomach.
"What's wrong, little one?" Ray said, fighting the urge to use a sing-songy voice.
"I don't want Mom to get hurt, but if she doesn't bring Baylee back that means I will never be a Hunter," Hank said.
"Anna," Ray said. Her keyboard was clacking before she started talking.
"I talked to Dad," Fish said.
"Huh?" Ray and Anna both said.
"I'm asking Dad to submit a YMH order and a transfer request to Atlanta," Fish said. "Uncle Jake will tell that little girl's parents 'You Will Hunt' faster than he'll grab Auntie Cass's behind."
"Am I the only one that's distressed that we know so much about the Shaman's love life?" Anna said.
"No," Fish said. Ray thought it, but she was focused on the young Hank.
"What is your name, little one?" Ray said.
"Hank," the little girl said.
"Hello, Hank. My name is Ray. You can call me Mama Ray, and I promise you, no matter how this ends up, you will Hunt, okay?"
Hank straightened up, eyes shining.
Then the rumbling started.
"Two things!" Anna said.
"What?" Ray started channeling people to the center of the room away from the windows and placed a shield over them.
"Dad and the Elite Teams are engaging the monsters coming out of the woodwork," Anna said.
"And second thing," Fish said. "That explosion didn't come from that hot spot. It came from the Pulter house. Getting into position."
"Headed there now." Ray started out, then turned back to Hank, who was touching the shield and looking at up at her. She ran and slid to the shield, stooping eye-to-eye to Hank.
"I'll make sure she's safe. I promise." She extended her forearm through the shield and Hank tapped it to make a cross, the Hunter's greeting. Ray smiled and ran out of the school and toward the plume of smoke and fire billowing up a few blocks away.
12
It Was the Life We Were Given
Smoke was darkening the sky and another rumble made Ray leap off the ground and land on three points. Fire and police were turning into the development, sirens blaring and lights flashing.
"We have civilian property damage and local authorities. Keep it sharp!" Ray scanned the house. Through the x-ray view, she could see sleek dogs squeeze through the cracks of the house and down the street. People were on the street waving, yelling for friends and neighbors, pulling them from the rubble and shooing away the dogs.
She could see water flow away up the street ahead of her when she heard the click in her ear.
"It's a mess over here, Mom," Fish said, then there were shots from her rifle. "There's a trail of busted houses from the school to the hot spot and a busted water main. Water's pouring everywhere."
"That's why we're here. Find me a teleport point." Ray ran around the broken house and down the street. "Anna, what are we facing?"
Keyboard clicking. "Dad and his team are clearing up the streets. They're presenting as firemen and moving toward the hot spot. The tunnel leaving a spectral trail is attracting scavengers, but they're light work for them."
"Wait, your Dad plays well with others?" Fish mocked her sister. "I thought he was a solo type."
"He plays well with others, just not you, Monroe," Anna responded with a flat tone.
"Ladies, save that shit for the Dot and Dash." Ray's voice was just above a whisper and the girls fell silent immediately. "Fish, a drop spot. Anna, a monster count."
Fish sent a mental link and Ray could see the street leading to the Pulter house. She pushed her thoughts to that point and in seconds she was running up that street. She pulled out her short sword, holding it out straight at her side.
"I can't get a read on what's underground." Anna again. "I do know that these 'dogs' are hell hounds. We've got three incoming and another three taking up the rear."
Three skinless canines, their red and glistening muscles spraying fluid from their bodies, came galloping around the corner.
"I got these, Mom," Fish said and the dogs yelped and flipped over one after another. She hopped onto the curb, jumped and slashed down on the three remaining dogs, cutting through the first two. The third leaped out of the way, skidded, then dug in for a lunge. Ray pivoted to the side and let the hound fly past her. She swung up with her sword and cut the dog from the underbelly up. She gave it another tug and forced it all the way through. Then she turned and ran to the house.
The sight stopped Ray short. All six houses in the cul-de-sac were shifted from their foundation pads and bricks were falling into the street. Windows were shattered, blinds poking through and curtains billowing. The doors hung off their hinges. Water flowed from the street over the curb and through the lawn to the back of the house.
"My God in heaven," Anna said. "Mom? Find a high point. She's in the shield with that thing and all the water in the neighborhood!"
Ray proceeded to the house, sword out. She jumped up on the edge of the fence and watched the water flow out up the incline and roll down the bank and to the left into a ten-foot swirling ball of water and golden energy. Ray seethed.
"That woman is doing this all wrong and going to get herself killed. We've got to get her out of there," Ray yelled, and tiptoed along the edge down the fence. She jumped and landed on the greenbelt path.
"Mom, I've notified Dad and they'll teleport in as soon as they secure the area and hand it over to the authorities. Clear the area but do not engage the shield or the sphere."
Ray glared at the sphere. The water was clear enough for her to see Kyla, the pink shoe in her mouth, waving her arms above her head in large looping circles. A trio of adolescent triskulls were in the sphere with her, twirling in time with the water, their skulls shining. Ray stood entranced by Kyla's power—water arts were always beautiful to watch. Ray took a step forward.
"I'm going to talk to her," Ray said and took another step.
"Hunter, you are not 100 percent and you were advised not to engage the sphere or the target." Anna's voice turned cold and stern. "Stand by for backup."
"Negative, comm." Ray gave the area another scan then focused on linking to Kyla's mind, finding a place to connect. She found an opening and she could feel Kyla's focus on the ritual. Fueled by the prospect of seeing her child again, Kyla wound up for the final phase. Kyla had no idea she needed to end this creature, that its death was needed to give her precious girl life.
"The powered is alive and has three energized adolescent triskulls in the sphere. She has started the ritual without killing that thing," Ray said, and there was a gasp. Anna murmured to someone else.
"Hunters, be advised that the powered is with the target and is still alive." Anna's voice was clear and loud through the comm. "Repeat, the target is still active. Converge on hot spot immediately."
Ray took another step toward the sphere. Kyla opened her mouth and the shoe floated out of her mouth and to the top of the sphere. The entire sphere turned rose gold and opaque.
"I've lost visual on the sphere! Engaging mentally," Ray said, and closed off communication. The triskulls were spectrally drunk because they were being charmed, but one loud noise, a panicked jolt, or any commotion could startle those monsters and they would tear into Kyla looking for more spectral energy to fuel their teenage metabolisms. Ray edged a little deeper in her mind.
"You can't stop me, Mama Ray. I have to finish this and bring back my Baylee and the Hunt into my life again. We aren't going to be like the rest of the frauds. We are going to be a real family. "
"I don't know your grief, but I have already promised Hank that she will Hunt, and I will take her on her first Hunt myself. They will know that life, you have my word." Ray took another step toward the sphere. "But I need you to unlock the sphere, so I can kill these monsters."
"I don't need your promise, because I’ll have my Baylee." Kyla swung faster, gaining energy. Ray could feel the ground pulse.
"There's no more screaming. Where have the other specters gone, Kyla?" Ray was right beside the shield now, her voice even and still.
The teams came in with a popping noise. Clancy looked at the sphere and gave Ray his exasperated look, which to anyone else would just look like stone. He reached for a mental link and Ray lifted her finger to her lips. She held three fingers and finger-spelled triskull, then poked the air three times, making a triangle. Then she held up two fingers, tapped her forehead twice, pointed to the sphere and finger spelled "Kyla."
Clancy nodded then strained his face. Ray blocked the connection, but when the others, two different Hunter teams, jumped to alert and surrounded the sphere, she knew that Clancy understood and got them into position.
Ray said a silent prayer and stepped into the sphere. Her breath caught rose gold swirling around them. There was silence outside but inside it sounded like a stringed quartet and voices in time with swirls in the water. The triskulls were still soft and young with their skulls just sprouting their second and third faces and a little divot at the top where they began to separate. Their tentacles were stretched in a circle about two feet wide spinning on a wobble. And in the center was Kyla, floating now, eyes closed and swirling above them.
"Don't touch them! They need to be docile to give up their specters to Baylee," Kyla said.
Ray turned sideways between the monsters and looked up at Kyla. "I've seen the Ritual of Rebirth before, Kyla. It was always lyrical like this one, with red and green shimmering lights like Christmas. But it's also a blood ritual. These triskulls must die for Baylee to live." Ray could feel cold dread go down Kyla's neck and a hint of doubt before it went away, and anger replaced it.
"No... no, I have seen the ritual too! My grandmother brought my brother back. She didn't have to kill so don't you lie to me!"
Ray peered into Kyla's mind as it filled with memories. Of her and a boy playing with small creatures and specters in open fields. The boy falling and her running across a field to the house. Kyla running and yelling for her grandmother.
The woman crying and shaking the boy, then standing on the banks of the river near the house as her grandmother took her brother. The sphere, complete with a trio of triskulls, floating on the water that went from clear to blue, yellow, and green like his clothing. It got bigger and bigger then vanished, her grandmother and brother hand in hand.
"They gave their specters so your brother could live again." Her grandmother's words vibrated through Kyla's body. The memories were whisked away, blended in with the sphere, and faded away.
"My grandmother brought my brother back to life and you will not keep me from doing that for Baylee!" Kyla said.
Ray dropped her head and cursed. Every parent told their child something that eased the gory nature of the Hunt. And after all these years, the lies become legends and leads to a grieving woman trying to raise her child.
"Yes, they gave up their specters, but not before they gave their lives. You have to kill them, Kyla." Ray adjusted her grip and swung backward and sliced the triskull behind her in two. The other two triskulls stopped, tentacles shooting straight down, the skulls tracking their severed sibling in the spirals of the sphere until it vanished into the sphere.
"NO!" Kyla yelled.
The sphere went brighter and bigger. Little fingers of energy flowed from the sphere walls, defying gravity and touched the other triskulls. The smooth egg-shaped heads with three faces warped and grew three foreheads and the chins jutted out. The tentacles hardened, and the ends formed knife edges.
"You are not going to take this from me!" Kyla said and a triskull swiped at Ray. Ray ducked, slicing upward and taking off its leg.
"I've got a metal sword now, fucker," Ray yelled, then jumped to cut another leg. The triskull wobbled and turned to the sphere, pulling the spectral energy into another set of legs.
"Shit, forgot about that," Ray said as she pulled a knife out her boot and threw it at the triskull's head. A bolt of energy knocked the knife off its path. Ray turned in time to dodge out of the way of Kyla's bolts.
"I promised Hank that I would bring you out of here alive—that thing made no such promise."
"Or I can kill you, have my daughter, and be safe."
"You're growing weak, Kyla, and all that thing wants to do is eat specters and kill things that have specters, so it can eat that. And that includes you."
Kyla screamed and threw bolt after bolt at Ray. Ray rolled out of the way and into the path of the second triskull's
knife foot. She knocked the knife foot out of the way with her left arm and sliced it off with her sword hand. She swung wide, taking another leg out from under it and pulled it down to block the second wave of bolts from Kyla.
A bolt sliced through the legs and into Ray's shoulder and the triskull immediately thrust a severed limb onto the wound.
"You're not getting a meal from me!" Ray said, and reached for her boot. She found it empty and scanned the ground until she found the knife sticking out of the ground. Just then, Kyla summoned a club from the energy and swung at Ray's head.
Ray rolled again and blockedl. Kyla tugged on the bat, setting her foot for leverage. Ray cracked her ankle with the hilt of her sword, sending her to her back and out of the way of the last living triskull's knife foot as it sliced through the air.
Ray jumped up and swung at the leg, which was now bone and ashy white with a curved sharpened blade for a foot. The knife stuck halfway through it and Ray jerked a couple of times. When the knife didn't budge, she kicked the side of blade, broke it off, and pulled the creature down.
She jumped up, sliding the blade in the joint between the cluster of skulls and its legs. Its screams made Ray's muscles tense and the spray of warm green liquid made her hands slide down the smooth bone. She jumped into a crouch and pulled down on the head until she could feel the bones crack, sending more of that green blood all over her and its screams filling her head until it faded and there was only a whimper.
Ray pulled the triskull and laid it on its side, the last blade red and dripping. She looked down at Kyla and the gash in her belly.
Ray turned her earwig on. "Comm, we have a civvie injury!" Ray crawled over to Kyla. The spectral power was already entering her body and stopped the bleeding. Kyla was listless but was able to lock eyes on Ray.
"Solid copy. Engaging the sphere," Anna said, and two Hunters picked her up and dragged her out.
"No. No. No." Kyla waved her arms, trying to push the Hunters away, but they lifted her up off the ground and pulled her out of the sphere. Ray was cutting fabric from around the wound when Clancy and Fish pulled her from the sphere and deposited her on the grass. Fish ripped the fabric away swabbed it with iodine and shoved a glowing regen plug into her shoulder, sharpened point down. It melted into her skin and she jumped up.
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