Page 6 of In the Monster's Wake
But he couldn’t let fear of what might happen take over.He had to protect his friends.He dodged another swipe from the monster and lunged forward, hoping to catch him off guard.
The monster was too quick.He moved out of the way just in time, leaving Jasper scrambling to catch up.He was pretty sure that he wasn’t fast or strong enough to win this fight, but he couldn’t let the monster win, either.He didn’t want to die, but even more so, he didn’t want anything to happen to Corey and Kerry.
Jasper could feel the adrenaline coursing through his veins and his heart pounding in his chest.He didn’t know how to win this fight, but he would.He had to.
He attacked again, throwing himself at the monster, cocking his fist but hitting him with his knee instead.The monster stepped back, but apart from that, he didn’t seem affected by what Jasper had done.He retaliated by backhanding Jasper and sending him flying.He hit a trash can and wobbled, but he stayed on his feet.
“You’re not afraid of me,” the monster said.His voice was deep and rumbly.
Jasper was terrified, but he would never show it.“I’m not,” he confirmed.
The monster cocked his head like he had earlier.It was a creepy gesture that sent shivers down Jasper’s back.“People are always afraid of me.Humans especially are terrified.”
Jasper’s face hurt, but he didn’t care.He straightened his back and squared his shoulders.“Well,I’mnot afraid of you.You’re nothing more than a bully using his strength to terrorize people.”
The monster smiled, exposing a whole bunch of fangs.Jasper couldn’t see the upper ones well, but he could see the fangs in the monster’s lower jaw.He had two rows of them, one in front of the other.Jasper was pretty sure the upper jaw was built the same way, which was way too many teeth for anyone, even a monster.
He sucked in a breath and looked for an opening.The monster appeared almost amused, which made Jasper want to kick his ass.He charged again, but this time, the monster sidestepped him.Jasper was fast enough to twist out of the way, but he felt the monster’s clawed fingers come way too close to be comfortable with.
Raised voices made both of them turn.Jasper noticed that Corey was standing close by, his phone in his hand.He raised it, and Jasper knew he’d called the hunters without having to ask.He was relieved.He normally didn’t want anything to do with them—especially his father—but this wasn’t a normal situation.He’d risked his life attacking the monster, and he was pretty sure he would’ve lost it if Corey hadn’t called for help.
“Well, this was fun,” the monster drawled.“Unfortunately, I have somewhere else to be.I’m sure I’ll see you again, little hunter.”
“If I do see you again, I’ll kill you,” Jasper said with a growl.
The monster grinned again.It was both horrifying and disgusting.“You can certainly try.”
A gunshot startled Jasper.He jumped to the side so he didn’t end up getting shot instead of the monster, and of course, he landed against the trash can again.It tipped over, making Jasper gag.
When he looked up, the monster was gone.
* * * *
ARCHIBALD WAS MOREthan ready to go home.In fact, he’d been ready to leave the office a few hours ago, but for all that he disliked paperwork, Braith was always precise with the hours they worked.They started late in the day and worked until late at night because a lot of people like them avoided walking around the city in the daylight, even in the areas where they lived and worked.
“Can we go now?”he whined.“I’m going to miss my episode.”
Braith squinted.“Don’t act like it’s the end of the world.It’s just a TV show.”
“Just a TV show?It’s the only thing that keeps me sane most days.”
“Sure.Bad TV is what keeps you sane.”
It was an exaggeration, but not much.After dealing with the worst humanity and monsters had to offer at work, Archibald needed a distraction.He had to be able to focus on something that was light and easy and bicker with people on social media about whether or not the couple he shipped belonged together.
Newsflash—they did.
A knock on the door made him groan.He wasdefinitelygoing to miss watching the episode live.
Braith gave him an amused glance before getting up and stepping into the waiting area to open the door.Archibald didn’t see who Braith was talking to initially, but when Braith stepped back into the room where their desks were, an older monster came in after him.
The monster’s black hair had white strands in it and two big horns that curled toward the back.He—Archibald was pretty sure it was a male—stood tall, but his expression was wary.He looked around as if he expected someone to pop up from behind a desk.Archibald and Braith weren’t hiding anyone, though.
Archibald plastered a smile on his face.“What can we help you with?”
“I thought you’d have a secretary.”
Braith snorted and eyed Archibald, who carefully ignored him.This wasn’t the moment to talk about their possible secretary.
