Chapter Eight
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ARCHIE SQUINTED AT the crowd around him. When Jasper had said that Kerry had managed to convince a few hunters to help, he’d expected two or three of them, definitely not more than five. He hadn’t expected what looked like a dozen of them to be here today, and he didn’t know what to make of it.
Hunters didn’t work with monsters. They did the opposite.
He understood that they were here because they wanted to help a bunch of kids, but those kids were monsters, so it didn’t fully make sense.
Not that he was going to complain. They were going to need all the help they could get, even if it came from hunters.
And the hunters weren’t the only ones present today that he hadn’t expected to see.
He and Braith had reached out to a bunch of people they’d worked with over the years, and while Archie hadn’t expected much from them, he was pleasantly surprised.
Most of them had shown up today, even though they were clearly wary of the hunters and were keeping their distance.
Archie was pretty sure they could all work together to save the kids.
He had no idea what would happen once that was done, and he hoped no one would betray the trust they were putting into each other right now, but that was a problem he’d deal with later.
“We’re ready when you are,” one of the hunters said. He’d been the only one to speak since the bunch of them had arrived, almost as if they’d decided he’d be their leader. Maybe they had. As long as Jasper wasn’t forced to deal with Leroy, Archie didn’t care.
“Good,” Jasper said as he looked around.
They’d decided to meet close to the warehouse.
It was easy for them to find a good place to do that.
There were plenty of abandoned buildings in the area, so no one would see them arriving.
They wouldn’t give the people who organized the fights the time to run.
They also wouldn’t give them the time to do anything to the kids.
They would get in, grab the kids, and leave, or at least, that was what Archie was planning on doing.
He suspected the hunters had other plans, but as long as they didn’t hinder the rescue, he didn’t care.
They could stay behind and grab every single person in there.
No matter what happened to them, the punishment wouldn’t be harsh enough for what they’d done.
He and Braith glanced at each other. Braith looked annoyed, but he hadn’t said anything to any of the hunters, not even when Kerry had introduced them. They weren’t here to make friends.
“Is everyone ready?” Kerry asked.
For a moment, everyone looked at each other without answering. Archie shrugged, moving closer to Jasper. “We are,” he confirmed.
Jasper smiled at him. Archie was pretty sure he heard one of the hunters say something, but he didn’t care what the hunters thought. They didn’t matter. They never had, not to him.
“Let’s go,” Kerry said.
She and Corey led the way. If Archie had to guess, normally, Jasper would be at the front with them.
He wasn’t. He stayed behind, moving with Archie and the other monsters, keeping a careful distance from the hunters.
He didn’t act like he cared what they thought of him, but more like he was trying to avoid anyone starting problems. Right now, they needed to be focused, and Jasper was.
His only goal was to rescue those kids, and Archie loved him for that.
Jasper didn’t have to be involved. No one would blame him if he wasn’t. He was here, though, ready to help.
They all moved silently, which was a feat considering how big their group was. It didn’t even matter. Once they reached the warehouse, the noise coming from inside was enough to drown out any noise they might make while entering the place. People were screaming and laughing.
The first guard didn’t see them coming. He was unconscious before he could warn anyone about their presence.
The hunters and the monsters were working together as if they always had.
Archie was surprised, and he wondered if maybe they could all coexist after all.
It didn’t depend on the monsters, though.
Some of them were angry at the hunters, and Archie was sure that they wouldn’t miss an opportunity to fight them, but most monsters wanted to live in peace.
It was the hunters who didn’t allow them to do that.
They all got in without anyone trying to stop them.
Jasper and Braith left the main room to the hunters and everyone else and led the way toward the smaller room where they’d seen the kids a few days ago.
Hopefully, all of them were alive and in one piece.
Jasper wasn’t sure he would ever forgive himself if something had happened to one of them, even though there was nothing he could have done when he was here.
The guard at the door was easily dealt with, but Archie knew something was different as soon as he stepped through the door.
The room had been full of people the last time he and Braith had been here, but it was empty now.
The makeshift ring at the center was vacant, too.
There were no kids inside, and for a moment, Archie wondered if they were too late.
Had the kids been taken away? Had something happened to them?
“There,” Braith said quietly, pointing to a back door Archie hadn’t noticed the first time around.
Archie breathed a little easier, even though he didn’t know what they’d find in the next room. He was sure that was where the kids were, though.
He moved quickly, Braith, Jasper, Corey, and Kerry behind him.
He wished that hunter Kerry had introduced as Martinez had stayed away, but he’d followed them when they’d walked into the room, and he didn’t look like he was going anywhere.
As long as he didn’t hinder the mission, Archie didn’t really care.
He and Braith glanced at each other. Braith nodded, and Archie opened the door, jumping to the side in case someone was behind it.
Braith didn’t have to fight anyone because no one came through. When Archie peeked into the room, he saw that it was because there was no one there.
Well, no one who would try to attack them.
The room wasn’t empty, though. There was a row of cages along the far wall, and in them were the kids they were looking for.
Archie recognized Finn instantly. The boy’s eyes were wide as he pressed himself against the back of his cage, trying to put as much distance as he could between himself and the group of people who’d just barged into the room.
One of the kids in another cage didn’t even move.
He was slumped on the ground, apparently unconscious.
Archie heard the hunter behind him mutter something. He didn’t ask what the man was saying. He moved forward, more than ready to take the kids out of the cages.
Of course, that was when all hell broke loose.
* * * *
JASPER WASN’T SURPRISED when another door slammed open, and a bunch of guards rushed in. He would’ve been more surprised if no one had tried to stop them. He had no idea what was happening in the main room, but from the sound of it, he was sure that everyone was aware of their presence now.
The guards didn’t waste time. They threw themselves at Jasper and the others.
Kerry was closest to the door. She dropped low, sweeping the first guard’s legs out from under him before he could reach for his weapon. Corey caught the second one with a punch to the jaw that sent the man stumbling backward into the men following him.
Jasper didn’t think. He just moved.
The guard coming at him was bigger, armed with a stick that he seemed familiar with. Jasper ducked under the first swing, felt the air move above his head, and came up close to the guard. His fist connected with the man’s ribs—harder than he’d intended—and the guard wheezed, doubling over.
Something was different. Jasper felt it in his bones, in his muscles, in the way his body responded. The monster part of him was rising to the surface when he needed it most, or at least, he hoped that was what this was. He wasn’t sure what he’d do if it was something different. Scream, probably.
For the first time since finding out what he was, Jasper didn’t fight it. He was a monster. He should use that to win this fight.
“Jasper, left!”
Archie’s shout snapped Jasper’s attention to another guard charging him. Jasper spun, catching the man’s arm mid-swing and using his momentum to throw him into the wall. The impact was satisfying, and the guard slid down to the floor.
Braith was fighting two guards at once, his size and strength letting him hold them off while Martinez took down a third with practiced precision. He moved like someone who’d been doing this his whole life, and he had, just like Jasper.
“We need to get to the kids!” Kerry yelled over the chaos while blocking a hit aimed at her head.
The kids. Right. That was why they were here.
Jasper caught another guard by the collar of his jacket and threw him aside. He cleared a path toward the cages lining the far wall, where wide, terrified eyes were watching the fighting.
Archie was at his side immediately, stopping a guard who tried to follow. Behind them, the others held back the remaining guards while Jasper worked at the lock on the cage.
His hands shook as he fumbled with it. It was a simple padlock, but his fingers felt too big, and he didn’t have a key. “Come on, come on—” Did one of the guards have the key? How could Jasper find it?
“Here,” a small voice said. One of the children, a girl who couldn’t have been more than fourteen, pushed something through the bars. When Jasper peered at it, he recognized a bent paperclip. “It’s all I could find. I was trying to—”
“Thank you.” Jasper took it, meeting her eyes. She was terrified, bruised, but alive. They were all alive. He had to keep them that way.