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

Okay, this fucker had my number there. “If I’m supposed to stop this thing, how do I proceed?”

“That is up to you. Those are answers I do not have. I do not know the details, merely the cost should you fail.”

“Three million people.” Talk about the weight of the world on your shoulders. “If you guys catch Stricken, can you at least beat it out of him, and then give me a call to tell me where to go?”

“Gladly. I was offended by the way in which he mocked the extremely generous contract which was offered to him. However, I would not count on the MCB or STFU finding Stricken in time. He is rather clever and has a great number of allies to call upon, facts which have caused us a great deal of consternation.”

If somebody were to drive by right then, we would probably look like two men stupidly blocking one lane of a narrow country road, but one of us was mortal though drafted by cosmic forces beyond his understanding, while the other was some weird-ass supernatural entity that was worrying the shit out of me while simultaneously not providing much in the way of actionable intel.

“Since you don’t know for sure what I’m supposed to do, can you at least guess?”

“I do not guess, Mr. Pitt.”

“Humor me.”

“I do not ‘humor’ either. The only thing which I am able to confirm, which may be of some use to you, is that your presence was not the only unforeseen variable which forced us to recalculate. The half-kodama, Sonya, is not numbered among the Chosen. Do not be surprised that we already know her identity. STFU pieced together who the thief was and they are fully aware that she is in MHI’s custody. However, I told them to leave her be for now so as to not interrupt your work. Their efforts will be focused elsewhere. As I was saying, Sonya has not been Chosen. To the best of my knowledge no faction has picked her. She is what we adjusters refer to as a free agent. However, her involvement in these matters was no accident. Like you, or the Shacklefords, she is the product of a pivotal bloodline. History was manipulated to bring these forces to bear in this age. The actions of her ancestors foreordained that she would be drawn into this conflict.”

“We talking her human side or the other one?”

“Both. We could not ascertain the reason she was brought into these events, because some ripples are harder to read than others. Hers was appreciably more chaotic than usual. However, I would encourage you to do your best to keep her alive until the role the universe has for her is revealed. On that note, an entity of extreme power and unrelenting vengeance will be coming to kill her this evening, so you should get some sleep.”

I laughed because, sure, tell me that I’m responsible for millions of lives and then expect me to be able to sleep ever again. “Yeah. I know about him. Any advice about how to deal with Drekavacs?”

“No. I know this one was once mortal, a judge and executioner who was corrupted by evil. Since then our paths have not crossed. Should you defeat him, you will need to fill out form 875-G for a Cursed Super Being, and form 62-F for subcategory Unrelenting Killer. Do not forget to check the reason box as Contracted Hellish Vengeance.”

“I totally would have done that anyway.”

“See to it. There is no excuse for sloppy paperwork.”

Now that was getting personal. “Whoa, back up. My PUFF paperwork is fucking meticulous. I might not be the best Hunter MHI’s ever had, but I’m pretty damned sure I’m the best accountant this company has ever seen.”

Coslow grudgingly nodded. “Your statement is accurate. Of the many financial specialists I have seen Monster Hunter International employ over the last century, you have by far the lowest error rate of them—a fact my auditors find most vexing.” The PUFF Adjuster abruptly turned and started walking down the road.

“Do you need a ride or something?”

“Thank you but I will be fine. Good luck, Mr. Pitt.”

I turned back to my truck, then remembered something. Coslow might know who it was that called the country store to trick Sonya into nearly getting herself killed by the lich. “Hey, what about—” But when I turned back, there was nothing but empty asphalt. The only movement was from a few moths fluttering through the headlight beams.

“That is one freaky little dude,” I muttered to myself as I got back into the truck to drive home.

* * *

Julie woke me up by opening our bedroom curtains. Photons flew over and punched me in the eyelids.

I groaned. “Ugh . . . What time is it?”

“Time for you to get up. It’s almost noon and apparently we’ve got a busy day.” My wife sounded chipper. “Or night, I guess. Since apparently you guys decided to invite some sort of murderous ghost to the compound for some inexplicable reason.”

Squinting, I sat up in bed and shielded my eyes. “He’s kind of a cowboy pirate murder ghost. I would have told you all about it when I came in, but I didn’t want to wake you.” She had been sleeping peacefully, and honestly, it had felt nice to just lay there and listen to her breathe during the few minutes before I had passed out. “It’s a long story.”

“I gathered that from the email Milo sent on your flight home. For a super genius he sure does struggle with being concise. From Milo’s mad ramblings it sounds like we’ve got a real fight on our hands.” Julie was standing at the foot of the bed, still as radiant as the day I’d first met her. Except that time she had been professionally dressed and acting very proper and put together. Currently she was wearing workout clothes and was breathing and sweating like she’d just got off the treadmill. But that