Page 82 of An Invocation of Monsters

I squeezed his hand, wishing I could make him feel how I felt. The monsters owed me nothing at all, while I owed my life to them.

“The Hunter makes it impossible to get closer. We have been inside the Lodge, but I do not go looking for humans who do not wish to be found,” Toth said. “There are many more traps within the house.”

“Then you shouldn’t go,” I said reasonably. “I should. The traps won’t work on me, and I’ve already got an idea of where to start.”

It should be simple enough to break into Tasha’s quarters. I could sleep a little, wait until the weirdos were busy planning their next ceremony, and bring a lockpick to her room.

“You must promise me one thing,” Toth said, gripping my hands and staring into my eyes. “You must be careful, Elle.”

I met his eyes easily. “I promise.”

It would be easy. In and out.

And if Tasha was in there, hiding in plain sight, there’d be a hell of a reckoning after what she’d done to Kiraxis.

I kissed Drazan’s cheek, embracing my Klee tightly before he went back to the water. Toth and I both gripped Kiraxis under his arms, and dragged him up the hill to the mouth of his cave.

Well, to be fair, Toth did most of the work, being of a similar weight. I mostly cleared rocks out of the path, and together we eventually managed to drag Kiraxis onto his bed.

I pulled a thick blanket over him, tucking him in and kissing the Mlul’dra’s forehead.

Then Toth held me, stroking his claws over my hair. “If the Hunter is there, you must leave, Elle,” he said.

I wrapped my arms around his waist and rested my cheek on his chest, listening to the thudding of his heart.

Today I had come so close to one of my monster’s hearts stopping forever.

I wouldn’t allow it again.

“I have an idea in mind,” I said quietly. “I won’t do anything stupid. But this must be paid for, Toth. We can’t let the Hunter get away with this.”

“I agree. But we will make it pay for this together. I could not stand to see you fight the Hunter alone.”

He lifted me up to the dark mirror in the ceiling, and before I crawled through the door, Toth kissed me, my hair hanging down around his head in a crimson curtain.

“Together,” he said firmly.

“Together,” I promised, with hate for the unknown Hunter burning inside me like a dark flame.

26

Elle

I woke up with a vengeance, feeling like electricity was running through my veins. The anticipation of finding the Hunter made me even more jittery than slamming six iced coffees in a row.

Not that I’d ever done that, of course.

I climbed under the bed, seeking out the doorway with my fingertips, but this time I concentrated on just seeing through it. Kase had mentioned being able to see the Void on the other side, like looking through a mirror.

And if I tilted my head just the right way… there.

I could see through, like peering through a smoky, fogged-up glass.

Kiraxis was still asleep, curled into a ball in his nest. There was no sound, but one of his ears flicked in time with his snores.

That made me smile, even though I could now see the silvery scars, and hatred for the Hunter rose in me again.

I scooted back out from under the bed and took a quick shower, thinking hard as I scrubbed shampoo into my scalp.

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