Page 54 of Blood of a Huntsman

Cat took one step forward. Bash opened his mouth to caution her, but, thinking better of it, decided to stay quiet. He didn't know whether their shield stopped sounds. Instead, he grabbed her hand.

Then he froze. He didn’t expect the simple touch to feel so…noticeable.

She turned to him, eyes full of questions. Bash slowly shook his head, pulling his phone out. Shit. Did he have her number? He didn't think so.

He opened his notes app and wrote, "He doesn't seem to know exactly where we are. Let's not clue him in."

Cat didn't like it, but she acquiesced nonetheless, although she also grabbed her phone and started sending messages. To Levi, or Chloe, or any of the other vampires, Bash guessed. She wouldn't have thought to contact one person, though. So, Bash texted Jack to clue him in on the situation.

Mikar and Luke appeared next to them twenty-four seconds later. Levi and Chloe arrived shortly after, though his shirt was open and she wasn't wearing shoes. They were all silent as a tomb, eyes on the intruder.

He was rather plain. A man in his mid-thirties, perhaps, wearing a tracksuit and a sweater with the hood pulled low on his head. Because that wasn't conspicuous at all.

"A witch," Levi announced.

Oh, so they could talk.

"Don't they say wizard?" Chloe asked.

"Same difference. Witch, wizard, sorcerer, enchanter. That just means they're mortal and use magic," Cat replied.

"Right. Yeah, I knew that."

Bash didn't doubt Chloe had heard this before, but their brains were just so scattered after the change, it was hard to remember the simplest things, sometimes.

"And people who are sups for other reasons, like fangs or fur, but use magic anyway are mages?" Chloe wondered.

"Indeed. Although now may not be the right time to discuss terminology, sweet."

Levi sounded amused and rather patient, but his eyes, still set on the witch—wizard—were anything but. He looked like he might be wondering which one of his kitchen knives he should use to skin him alive.

"Did anyone contact Greer?"

"I'm here!"

They turned to find the witch running toward them, panting hard and holding her sides. If their attention hadn't been focused on the stranger, they would have heard or smelled her a lot sooner.

"Not all of us have superhuman speed, you know," she reminded them.

Mikar winked at her. "Holler next time. I'd carry you any day."

Bash was offended. Carry her? Carry her! What happened to hunting people down and telling them he'd drink them dry if he caught them?

Apparently, that treatment was reserved for him. Or for vampires, in any case.

"All right, what have we here?" she asked as she reached them.

"You tell me," Levi replied, teeth grinding.

Seeing him defer to her was…unsettling.

Bash had always noticed something strange about Greer's position. She was accepted among the vampires, be they ancient or youth, and she'd also been invited to a conclave, unlike any other witch in the territory. Blair and Gwen—Chloe's friends—hadn't even walked on the hill more than once.

But that difference only now really hit him. She was treated like someone who truly mattered. Someone Levi trusted and relied on, like the slayers or Alexius. Which was more than what Bash could say. At best, he was a child they had to babysit.

"A dude. An ugly dude."

"Oh, shush!" Chloe said. "That’s very superficial of you."

Greer shrugged, unapologetic. "I live around GQ model types. That dude is boring. Just saying it like it is."

"We don't care about whether you find the man attractive, Vespian. Is he a threat?"

"No."

"Yes."

The two replies had come at once, equally confident. Greer said no. Catherine disagreed.

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