Monster Hunter Bloodlines - eARC by Larry Correia (read a book .txt) 📕

an eye on them for me during the chaos tonight.” Come to think of it, last time I’d worked out an arrangement like this, it had ended up with a gnome being stuffed in a toilet. Intelligent rats were easier to deal with than gnomes, with way less ego, but nearly as invisible. “I’m afraid some of our enemies or even some of our so-called friends might try to take advantage of MHI while we are concentrating on the monster.”

Justinian studied me with tiny black eyes which were unnervingly astute. He gave me a small nod, and then typed, THAT IS WISE. WE SHALL SERVE. YOU SHOULD OPEN THAT CHEESE AS WE DISCUSS THE DETAILS.

* * *

With all the preparations going on, Milo was probably the busiest guy in the company right now. He was our go-to expert on all things mechanical or chemical, which meant most of our defenses. So when he called and asked me for a favor, I dropped everything and got to it as fast as I could. Which meant grabbing Sonya from the “guest’s quarters” to escort her to Milo’s workshop on the far side of the compound.

I had to talk Cody and Tanya into letting me temporarily borrow her first. That odd couple were still fighting over how to get the Ward out of Sonya without killing her. Edward was also there, serving as Tanya’s bodyguard and moral support. Not that he got involved in the magic versus science arguments. Ed was the strong silent type.

Sonya and I walked fast. The sun would be setting soon, and we didn’t know how soon after that Silas Carver would show up.

“What do you think Milo wants?” Sonya asked me.

“I don’t know.”

“You think he’s going to yell at me for the whole threatening to kill him thing? Because I really do feel bad about that.”

“Milo’s not really the yelling type.” Seriously, by Monster Hunter standards that guy had reached some sort of Zen one-with-the-universe level of chill. “But I’m sure it’s important or he wouldn’t have asked for you.”

Hunters were running every which way, moving guns, ammo, and medical supplies into the main building. Sonya took note of all the activity, but nobody had any time to pay any attention to our guest. “You guys are serious about tonight, aren’t you?”

“This thing is bad news. So we hope for the best but prepare for the worst.”

“They’re doing all this for me . . . ”

“You could look at it that way, but honestly they don’t even know you. They’d take this risk for anybody, well, anybody and a paycheck. This is just the kind of thing Hunters do. It’s our job.”

“Yeah, I know your spiel. You’re the good guys, recruited from survivors who find out monsters are real. I’ve known about the supernatural my whole life. Too bad Earl Harbinger never thought I was good enough to be one of you,” she muttered that last part.

I stopped walking so suddenly that Sonya nearly crashed into me. “That’s some bullshit. That’s not what happened.”

“My mom told me all about it. I talked about trying out to be a Hunter, like my dad, but Earl Harbinger didn’t think I was good enough so don’t even bother.”

I couldn’t believe my ears. “Earl was excited to make you an offer. He barely tolerates most Newbies. He already liked you. Plus, shape-shifter powers. Duh. Your mom forbade him from ever bringing it up because she was trying to protect you from this life. She was worried about you getting hurt. Hang on. Is this why you’ve got such a chip on your shoulder about us?”

“No . . . I . . . ” Sonya scowled. “Shit.”

“Your mom straight-up lied to you.” I laughed, and then started walking again. No wonder she was grumpy at Hunters. She’d thought she had been rejected by us and the Secret Guard. “So how long have you been butt-hurt about this imagined sleight?”

“I’m not butt-hurt.” She followed, silent for a long moment. “But that does make more sense than Mom telling me that a half-kodama wouldn’t be welcome here, considering I just met your trailer park elf employee, and she’s kind of nuts.”

“Kind of? And we’ve got a troll and a ton of orcs too, but oh yeah, our werewolf boss is super sensitive about keeping this outfit humans only. Damn, you’re gullible.”

“Like you’ve got room to talk, Mr. Self-Righteous. Gullible like back in the meeting, when the lady in charge was telling everyone about how she wouldn’t let the Vatican kidnap me, which is kinda funny while I’m being held prisoner.”

“First off, that lady in charge is my wife, so check yourself before you say anything about her to piss me off.”

“She married you?”

“Yep.” I wasn’t even offended. When a five hooks up with a ten you get that kind of reaction a lot. “Second, as for you being our prisoner, the gate is that way. Ain’t nobody stopping you. Have fun with the Drekavac.” Of course, rather than run for the hills, she kept following me toward Milo’s workshop. “Didn’t think so.”

“A girl has to weigh her options.”

“Yeah, you just keep on looking out for number one,” I said.

“It’s not like anybody else is going to do that for me. It’s a cold cruel world out there.”

We were silent for the rest of the long walk. Milo’s workshop was far enough away from everything else that if one of his experiments went horribly wrong, the resulting explosion wouldn’t get the rest of us. There were several Hunters working there today. Bombs were being carefully loaded into the back of a pickup while Milo supervised.

“Careful . . . gentle . . . oh, hey, Z.” And Milo immediately forgot about the ultra-deadly explosives being handled so he could wave at us. “Sonya! I’m glad you came. Welcome to my workshop. Come on in. I’ve got something for you.”

We followed Milo into the chaos. There was a table full of hydraulics and hoses, then another full of circuit boards and wires, then boxes and boxes of gun parts, and then past something that looked like a riding