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I was more worried than I let Fin and Emerson know. I was used to only having my own worthless hide to worry about if a hunt went wrong. And I didn't have a lot of experience dealing with people, especially people who operated in a world built on lies, half-truths, and manipulation. Why anyone would ever want to get caught up in something as stupid as politics and government crap, I'd never understand.
It worried me that Fin and Emerson stood out. I was conspicuous enough on my own, with my blue and white streaked black hair, pointed canines, and my needlessly pretty feline features. As a cur operating among humans most of my life, I was well aware of the prejudices and hatred that put a big 'ol target on my back. Only my reputation as a hunter and my ability to somewhat blend in kept me alive. But Fin's little stature and pointed ears made him even more of a target. And Emerson, with his hulking body and his green-tinted skin couldn't even begin to blend in. And to make things worse, they were newbies at the hunter gig. They weren't used to scrapping and clawing your way through life the way I was.
I pulled the zipper of my leather jacket up higher and squared my shoulders as we prepared to enter the run-down cur bar in front of us. Westhold was a mixed city. Curs and humans lived here. But humans liked to remind us that they still ran things. That this was still their world. There were definitely unofficial zones in the city. And we were in one of the poor human zones. “Look, just...don't talk to anyone. And if you feel a fight coming on, let me deal with it."
I glared back at my companions, getting a nod from Emerson and an eye roll from Fin.
Sighing, I pushed through the doors and headed to the back table, where most of the lights were out. This particular contact was one I only used in emergencies, because he could get me the shit I needed for big kills, fast—like grenades and poison gas, and elephant guns—but I knew I wouldn't like how he got it.
Emile was a stocky, greasy middle-aged guy with a comb-over that was in bad need of a buzz cut. He slipped into the seat across from me a few minutes after we sat down. His paunchy belly pressed up against the sticky table in our booth like a loaf of bread left out to rise for too long. Apparently, black market stuff-dealers ate well these days.
"What can I do for you, Sabertooth?" he oozed, grinning at me with a mouth full of blackened teeth. "Just got in a few canisters of something that would take down a dragon.” His beady eyes slid to Fin, then to Emerson, squeezed into the booth beside me, and he raised an eyebrow. "Or an ogre."
I tapped my fingers on the table to get his attention. "I just need information," I said softly. "Someone tried to get the new leader of Westhold eaten by unicorns before he could reach the city. And they fucked with my guild in the process."
Emile's beady eyes shifted side to side. "You know I just sell tools, kid. I ain't no rat."
He went to stand, and I rolled my eyes, reaching into my coat and pulling out a stack of genuine, government-backed paper bills. Cash like this was rare since the rift. Most bartering was done in cheap coins that may or may not be good in other cities. "Just tell me where to start. Who to talk to."
He yanked the bills off the table, and they disappeared into the pocket of his velour sweatpants. "You want someone to go on an unsanctioned hunt, you find them at the Hole in the Wall."
He stood and ambled off. "Come back when you want some more elephant guns or flash-bangs, kid," he called over his shoulder with a grin. "If you survive this hunt you're going on."
I ground my teeth together. "Come on," I told the guys, nearly dragging them out of the place. I hated Emile and his damned bar. I spent most of my days up to my elbows in fiend blood and guts—and occasionally stinking squid ink—but somehow, I never felt so in need of a shower as when I visited the weapons peddler.
"What did he mean?" Emerson asked quietly as we made our way across the poorer part of town, through a slum, and toward the far city wall, in a section of town that was all curs. And the occasional well-hidden full fiend. "About unsanctioned hunters?"
Fin looked up at him, his expression grim. "Hunters that don't work for the association. People that hunt things the government doesn't approve of."
"They hunt people instead of monsters," I added. "Human people."
Emerson's kind eyes went wide. "Shit."
I let out a wry laugh. "Yeah. I told you guys you didn't want to get involved in this." I stuffed my hands in my jacket pockets, suddenly on edge. "Emile is going to look like a kindly old grandmother compared to these people," I warned. "Maybe you should go home and let me handle this one."
Fin's grip on my wrist pulled me to a stop in the middle of the sidewalk. "Why did you agree to help this Theo guy?" he asked, sharp green eyes glued to my face.
"Money," I said easily. "Tons, and tons of money."
Fin and Emerson shared a glance. "What else, Sam?" Emerson said softly.
I narrowed my eyes at them. "Who says there has to be any other reason?"
Emerson smiled softly. "Because this is you, Sam."
I growled and turned away. "Whoever set us up and attacked that guy, they hurt you two." They had beaten Fin up and left him bleeding in a gutter. They drugged Emerson and left him locked away where no one would find him. "Maybe I just want them to suffer."
Fin laughed. "Good to know we're loved."
I bared my teeth. "The stupid politician said he wanted to protect the city. He knew we had that in common, and he used it to get me to crumble. So, we're both fucking morons, I guess. Happy?"
Fin sighed. Emerson reached over and squeezed the back of my neck in one big hand. "You're a good girl, Sam."
I glared. "Say that again and I'll stab you," I warned.
He just smiled down at me fondly and ruffled my hair. "You're so cute."
But his taunting backfired when he suddenly blushed red under his green complexion, coughed, and stepped away, his eyes on the sidewalk in front of him.
I arched a brow at him, then glanced at Fin to find the leprechaun shaking his head at his big friend. What the hell was that all about? Why couldn't Emerson ever look me in the damned eyes for more than a few seconds without turning into a bumbling, blushing weirdo? "You're both so dumb," I muttered.
Then I put my mean face on, so we could go talk to hired killers.
The Hole in the Wall was a dive bar that was literally built to plug a hole in the actual city wall. Rumor had it, the hole had been torn in the thick, enchanted wall of concrete and barbed wire by a herd of something that looked like a cross between a rhino and a narwhal. I kind of wanted that to be true, just so I could hunt one. Sounded like a good challenge. It would probably be a level two hunt too, one worth a lot of cash....
I was pulled from that happy thought when we reached the bar. The door flew open, and a fight spilled out onto the sidewalk and into the narrow street. A few different types of curs grappled, grunted, and yelled as they tried to tear each other to pieces. I side-stepped the worst of it, pulling Fin and Emerson off to the side so we didn't get swept into the chaos. So far, no one had drawn weapons, so I left my gun in its holster. For now.
I turned to Fin to see if he'd let me piggyback him over into a nearby alley until the fight calmed down, but I didn't get the words out. I was hit by a shrieking, angry bundle of...something.
I went down hard, the breath knocked out of me when my back and one elbow slammed into the dirty concrete. "For fuck's sake!" I hissed at the person who had just been thrown at me.
I managed to get a hold of what turned out to be a woman, griping her upper arms and letting my shifter strength flow into my limbs to keep her from lashing out at me. She was strong as hell, probably flying on some cur strength of her own. Her fluffy brown hair was woven with a few long braids that had beads at the ends. They slapped me in the eyes, and I shook my head to clear my vision, meeting a pair of angry red eyes. She calmed down for a second, seeming to realize I wasn't the one she wanted to fight with. Then her eyes lifted from me to glare at someone approaching from the side.
"I'll fucking kill you, Richard, you double-crossing bastard!" the woman screeched. Then her body shuddered, magic rippling over her.
I let go and slid out from under her as I felt her start to shift. Son of a bitch, she was leaking power like a dam about to break. The wheels in my mind were whirring as I watched her start her change, her dark skin going even darker, becoming something black and shiny. Glancing around the chaos that was the unsanctioned district, I made an executive decision. There was no way we were going to get anyone around here to just nicely chat with us and rat out one of their own. I sighed.
Rocking back, I curled my legs in then, with shifter strength, I rabbit kicked the woman right in the gut. She flew backward, her scary-assed shift halted by the surprise. Leaping to my feet, I yanked Emerson forward and shoved him her way. "Grab her and let's get the hell out of here!"
Emerson, thank the gods, knew how to follow directions. Whereas Fin would have bitched and argued with me for ten minutes, the perfect specimen of ogre cur lurched forward, scooped the woman up, and threw her over his shoulder, turning to me with a panicked look on his face. I drew my gun and waved him toward an alley. "Turn left at the end."
The woman was cussing and muttering, but she wasn't throwing around magic or shifting, thank the Gods.
I grinned as a couple of the guys from the fight tried to follow after us. When I leveled my gun on them and squeezed off a warning shot, they kept advancing. So, I shot them both in the knees and left them bitching and crying behind me as I dashed after my guild. The guys were curs. They'd heal. Maybe.
I scooped Fin up and tossed him on my back, ignoring his protests as I followed Emerson until we found a quiet side street in a better neighborhood. Then we collapsed in an alley and put down our passengers.
Fin kicked me in the shin, and I bent double, choking out a laugh as I tried to catch my breath. "Do that again, and I'll end you, you mangy cat bastard. I'm not a fucking princess. I have legs." He was so cute when he was enraged. Not that I was ever going to say that out loud. Didn't want to be killed in my sleep.
Emerson carefully set the woman down, where she leaned against the wall and watched us all with a raised brow.
The poor ogre let out a relieved breath. "That was fun, and all," he said softly. "But let's never do that again."
I straightened and shrugged. "I told you. I hunt monsters. Not people. Things are much easier when you can just shoot or stab your way to success."
Fin gestured at the woman, who was still just watching us. "What the hell are we going to do with that?"
I smirked. "I thought it might be easier to ask questions of a captive audience. Especially since she already seemed pretty pissed at her cohorts."
Fin stared up at me in shock for a second. Then he started laughing so hard he cried. "Ah, fuck me!" He wiped his streaming eyes. "You always tell me not to use my magic. Now I get it. Because you're right, this is probably going to bite us in the asses."
I glared at him. "You did it again? You fucking asshole."
The leprechaun winked at me. "What? You think getting a hot chick thrown onto your lap was an accident?"
I turned away from the smug asshole and paced closer to the woman as her red eyes followed my every move. She stared, her eyes flicking to each of us in turn. But I knew she was getting ready to spring. "Calm your tits," I said, holding my hands up. "We're not going to hurt you. We just need to talk to you, and we didn't want to wait around until the fight died down and see who was still alive and uninjured enough to talk."
She pushed herself upright against the wall. "I'm sure you say that to all your kidnapping victims, pretty boy."
I grinned, letting my fangs show. "Just the ones we let live."
She arched a brow at me, completely unafraid. Which was just great. We had to go and get the hardass for a hostage. "I'm letting you live right now," she said calmly. "But only because you're pretty and I'm curious what the fuck is going on."
I rolled my eyes. Fin and his stupid luck magic. There was no way we’d just naturally get this lucky. "I'll buy you dinner if you agree to chat with us for a while. My name's Sam. This is Fin and Emerson."
She sighed and shook my hand, gripping it with surprising strength. "Ahura," she said tiredly. "And what the hell? Everything else has gone to shit tonight. I might as well get a free meal out of it."
She eyed us all one more time. "Though, I'm probably not gonna feel up to a gang-bang after being knocked around like that, if that's why you nabbed me." She rubbed her jaw, where I could see a dark bruise forming under her smooth brown skin.
Emerson shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably, looking ashamed and guilty for manhandling a woman. Fin snorted in disbelief at her balls.
I let out a bark of laughter and turned our new friend toward the street, steering her toward a little hut that made the best noodles I'd ever tasted. "And I used to think luck magic was just bullshit," I muttered in awe, giving Fin and Emerson a look that held a wealth of meaning. "But there is no way we could have just stumbled upon another weirdo like you two."