Chapter 16
Chapter
Sixteen
Hida
T hat blasted girl was bound and determined to get all of our asses killed. Her determination to get revenge for her father consumed her. Theron may his soul rest had been a good man, and I’d known him his whole life. I knew he wouldn’t want this for Kainda. She was too much like him for her own good. Just as head strong and rash. And oh gods, she inherited his stubbornness.
If we could pull this off, I think I could finally step away from the organization. I’d spent the last hundred years hunting the evil in this world, at first on my own and then later with this group’s predecessors. The time had come to walk away, but I had to see them through this first. No way in Tartarus I would abandon them to face off with this demon alone.
I watched Delmira climb the industrial metal stairs to the third floor to her apartment. An injury from a previous mission had kept her out of commission, and she’d missed the battle that took Theron from us. Under the weight of her self-made guilt, it slowly killed her soul. She’d been Theron’s lover on and off since he’d split from Bronwen more than a decade ago.
We’d all mourned his death, but it hit her hardest of all. Losing him the way she had almost broken her. Nothing she could have done had she been at the battle would’ve saved him. Even with all the magic at my disposal, I couldn’t save him either. The only difference was she’d have the memories of his death to also haunt her dreams. That was a fate I wouldn’t wish on anyone. I had those memories and nightmares among dozens more. Being around hunters for more than a century means you see more than your share of deaths.
Delmira had fallen in love with Theron, if I had to hazard a guess, I’d say it even before he split with Bronwen. What a disaster fate had dealt them. Theron had been magically fated to a pacifist witch, Bronwen— Kainda’s mother. Things had seemed perfect, at least from where I stood with the two of them, for almost a decade. Bronwen hadn’t been able to hack life on the edge of her coven, Theron’s long absences during hunts, and the abuse Kainda had suffered from the coven.
Even though it meant she’d never love anyone else, she’d kicked Theron out of her life, sending Kainda with him for her own wellbeing. It tore Theron up for a long time, but as a human, the laws of magic didn’t impact him in the same binding fashion, he’d gotten to move on. Bronwen lived alone now, a part of her coven, while Theron had taken up with Delmira. Only when Theron died did his connection with Bronwen end. Now free, she could find love again. And I desperately hoped she would find a love perfect for her.
I hoped to keep Del out of this mess because she’d likely get herself killed in her need for revenge as to achieving it. Keeping her out of it had thus far proven impossible, much the same way as Kainda. But, the little witch didn’t want to join her father in the afterlife. Del wanted to follow Theron into the grave. If I didn’t know the sheer force that it would take to kill me, I'd have been concerned they’d get my ass dusted. I however had no desire to watch my three closest friends and girls I thought of as my daughters die.
Evin tossed back the rest of her beer before leaving me alone in the den. Now, that girl might actually give me gray hairs. Only five years older than Kainda, instead of being the mature, good influence, Evin acted five years younger. A full witch from a battle magic driven coven, tossed aside like trash by her own mother, the young woman overflowed with rage. She had no fear of death and tended to take on some of the most dangerous assignments.
I had a feeling I’d need to pull her ass out of the fire at least once before we ever even made it to the battle with Uttu. Her punch first, ask questions later type always left trouble in their wake. I heard the door open to the training gym, the stereo clicked on, and then I heard the sounds of her wailing on the heavy bag. I could do nothing for any of my girls at the moment, though.
Climbing to my feet, I went to the old library and dispatch room. Since the death of Theron and his other hunters, we’d had no need to use this room. I pulled out my leather-bound journal I kept hidden inside the magical globe. Inside in my flowing handwriting were the names and last known locations of the people from my past. I highly doubted I’d receive a warm welcome when I showed up on some of their doorsteps.
I carried the journal hidden under my shirt to my apartment on the third floor. Packing a small bag with all the essentials I’d need for a few days of travel. As well as extra weapons. I checked all the weapons currently strapped or stashed on my person. Once satisfied I had everything I might need, I left a note for Del and Evin on my apartment door. I opened a portal that glowed green with my magic and walked through, feeling my skin buzz with the energy.
Stepping out the other side of the portal into the cold, harsh winds on the edge of some gods’ awful European mountain side. Damned twins and their love of the frozen mountains. I followed the trail, using my magic to light the way in the darkness of the night. If I fell off the side of this mountain, I’d just march back up here and kill them once I’d healed. However, I didn’t have the time for that.
“Hida.” The gravelly voice of Elbio came from just up ahead. “What in the name of the gods are you doing here?”
“Mighty fine hello to you too, yah crotchety bastard.” As I spoke, Dumont walked out onto the path, greeting me before I could reach the door to their home in the side of the mountain. Little more than a cave with a wooden door covering it, but they called it a home.
The stone elementals hadn’t changed a bit in the two hundred years since I’d last seen them. Standing seven and a half feet tall, they dwarfed my five-foot eleven inch height. Their skin the color of cement, obsidian black eyes, dove gray close-cropped hair matched their bushy brows and beards. Bony plates that looked like rocks ran across the tops of their large, flat nose and their elbows. They had more that weren’t currently visible on their chests, back, and knees. As wide as the stones at Stonehenge, with teeth so disturbing I couldn’t ever bring myself to look at their smiles.
The brothers had dressed in thick, rough wool shirts and pants with layers of leather hide fabric wrapped around their feet and ankles held in place by belt like straps. If they hadn’t been elementals, they’d have frozen to death in the fast falling snow that felt more like pelting ice. I wasn’t an elemental and the cold might not kill me, but it’d make me one cranky bitch.
“Can we take this little chat inside before I freeze my fingers off and have to regenerate new ones?” I was going to be lucky as it was to not have frostbite.
Dumont smiled at me, revealing those hideous teeth. “Of course, Hida. Do tell us to what do we owe the displeasure of your presence?”
We stepped inside the cave, only marginally warmer, just my luck. They had a small fire going in a chiseled out fireplace in the cave wall. The twins had most likely used their magic to alter the shape of the mountain cave to suit their needs. A strong rumbling proceeded the shaking, and then a wide slab of the floor raised up until it reached the perfect height to sit on.
“Do have a seat, Hida.” Elbio said, giving me a pointed look. They both knew as well as I did that we couldn’t kill each other, but we could cause some major damage to their mountain home if we decided to fight it out.
“I’m here to ask for your assistance to get rid of the demoness Uttu. You both remember that bitch, don’t you? If I’m not mistaken, you were there when she was imprisoned the first time.”