Monster Hunter Bloodlines - eARC Larry Correia (all ebook reader .txt) 📖

camera. “We’re dealing with something who can change form at doppelganger speed, but with near lycanthrope-level physical abilities. There aren’t many things who can do that . . . ” Earl trailed off. He was staring at one of the pictures. Trip had managed to get some great shots of the girl while she’d been fighting. “Aw, hell.”

“You know what she is?”

“Maybe. Who I’m thinking of is one of a kind, but this does kind of remind me of her. Hang on.” Earl put down his camera and took out his phone. He flipped through the addresses and picked a number that was identified by the initials. J.S. He put his finger to his lips to indicate the need for silence, then put the phone on speaker and set it on Boone’s desk.

A woman picked up on the third ring. “Hello?”

“It’s Earl Harbinger.”

She was quiet for a long time. “It’s been a few years.” There was no polite greeting, no small talk. She had a really pretty voice. It was downright melodic, like a gentle wind through the leaves of a tree, which made it hard to tell her actual mood. “What do you want?”

“I’m really sorry to do this to you. This ain’t a social call. I’ve got a problem with our mutual friends.”

“The ones who gave us our silver tags?”

At first I thought she meant one of the plaques from the memorial wall, but then I remembered that Earl carried one that declared him to be PUFF exempt, and that legally he wasn’t considered a monster who could just be exterminated on sight. Which meant whoever he was talking to also had to be STFU alumni.

“The same.”

“I’ve got nothing to do with them anymore. What did you do to make them mad this time?”

“It ain’t me drawing their ire. Are you currently in Atlanta by any chance?”

“I haven’t been in Atlanta since I saw Bob Marley play at the Fox. And no offense, but I’m not going to tell you where I am in case those people are listening in. I prefer to be left alone.”

“I don’t think they’ve tapped my phone,” Earl said. Since he had shushed me, I didn’t want to interrupt to say that he really was a Luddite, because they didn’t need to tap them anymore. They just collected all the data in the world to scan through at their convenience. Then Earl looked at his phone suspiciously, because even though Heather wouldn’t listen in on his private conversations, her employer certainly would.

“Why on Earth would you think I was in Atlanta? Oh no. My daughter is there.”

“I was afraid of that.”

“What did she do this time?”

“I don’t know if it’s her or not. It could have been someone else who interrupted a deal between monsters and a spy in order to steal an artifact, who knocked out some Feds in the process, and then led my boys on a chase, doing backflips and jumping through windows like some kinda circus performer while changing faces every few minutes.”

There was a long pause. “Kids can be a real pain in the ass.”

“That they can. Have you heard from her lately?”

“She texted me last week. She’s supposed to be working a normal mundane job to pay for her normal mundane education. I warned her not to draw attention.”

“It’s a bit late for that now.”

“She promised me that she’d keep her abilities secret and live like a normal human. I knew I shouldn’t have trusted her . . . Is it really bad?”

“It’s not just them she’s pissed off, but the thing she stole is really valuable to a lot of scary and murderous type beings. They’re all gonna be gunning for her too. And none of them are the sorts to be constrained by concepts like mercy or forgiveness, if you know what I mean.”

“I should have known she’d get in trouble somehow. She’s too proud. She’s just as cocky as her father. She was always the most obstinate little brat, picking fights, causing trouble, but I thought she’d been behaving lately. You have no idea how many times I had to bail her out of jail or beg a judge with tears in my eyes not to send her to juvie. She’s always pushing the limits, Earl. I knew it was just a matter of time before she fell in with a bad crowd and got hurt!”

“Hold on.” Earl tried to reassure the worried mother. “I promised you a long time ago that I would help your family however I could, and I stand by that. I need to find her before they do. Anything you can tell me will help. The presence of the thing she stole, not very many things knew it would be here. Could she have been hired by someone to get it for them?”

“Maybe. I don’t know who though. I’ve done my best to keep her away from that life. I forbid her from associating with Hunters or anything from the other side, but did she listen to me? Of course not! Regular moms have to worry about their daughters experimenting with drugs or dating bad boys, but not me. Oh no. That would be too easy! She never listens. What do I know? I’ve just been dealing with this for hundreds of years. She’s half human so she knows everything! Oh no, Earl . . .  What if somebody is using my poor baby?”

I’d watched her poor baby beat up some Feds and leap off of the sky bridge earlier, so I was having a real hard time seeing her as the victim here.

“Stay calm. I’ll do everything I can to find her before they do. Does she have any friends or contacts around here? Anyone she might have mentioned to you?”

“You know how she is. She’s always popular, but never actually close to anyone. She does have a bunch of friends who are into the same music scene though.”

I thought that sounded tenuous as hell, but Earl said, “It’s something. I’m going to give you another number I need