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

monster and risk losing something so incredibly valuable. “We’ll figure out who it was. In the meantime, you should probably just tell Earl about your mom’s ancestral land and ask for his help.”

Now it was her turn to be incredulous. “Like Earl has that kind of money.”

“Are you kidding? He’s not big on flash, but the man bought stock in Ford back when horses were still the big thing. Do you know how compound interest works? Because Earl sure does, and he’s over a hundred.”

“Mom is way older than he is, but she’s not exactly good with money. She’s more . . . artistic. Dad actually had a fortune when he died, but Mom opened a new age bookstore and went broke trying to sell healing crystals to housewives who do yoga.” Sonya sighed. “Look, I know he’s probably got some money, but just because Earl feels guilty about my dad sacrificing his life so he could save the day, doesn’t mean that this is anyone’s problem other than mine. My family, my solutions. I’m not going to beg for handouts. I’ve got gifts, I’ve got skills, so I’m going to use them to handle my business. You got a problem with that?”

I could respect the stubbornness. “Naw, that’s cool.” I was also going to tell Earl about this, even if she wasn’t. Knowing his sense of honor, he’d probably pay her out of his own pocket for the Ward and call it a finder’s fee. It would actually be charity, but neither one of them would call it that, so they could both keep their pride intact. “I bet you’ve always been like that—tough, dedicated, standing up for what you believe—even when you were a kid.”

“Why would you guess that?” she asked suspiciously.

“I read that book you’re holding. Earl wrote the ending. He wouldn’t have called you a badass otherwise. He’s got high standards. Coming from him, that’s one hell of a compliment.”

“Oh.” Sonya actually blushed, then she tried to blow that off. “I figured he said that because when I was a freshman in high school, I kicked the shit out of a vampire who was eating our cheerleading squad.”

“Probably that too . . . So now that I know you snuck out—because if Cody came out of retirement to figure this puzzle out, there’s absolutely no way he’d let you wander around unattended with that Ward stuck to you—let’s get you back to your room. We can concentrate on keeping you alive through the night, and then you can worry about saving your magical forest tomorrow.”

“When you put it that way, it sounds dumb.”

“Whatever you say, tree hugger. Let’s go.”

Sonya stood up, but kept the memoirs clutched tight. “Just a heads-up, tree hugger translates to a really serious insult to the kodama. Don’t say that in front of my mom or she’ll smack you.”

“Duly noted.” I’d once gotten my ass kicked for not realizing how offensive garden gnomes were to real gnomes. Hunters had to be culturally sensitive like that.

Chapter 16

There were over thirty members of MHI at the compound, which by our operational standards, was a lot. We would also have twelve orcs, five elves, four Secret Guard, two MCB, our internet troll, and a partridge in a pear tree, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

The Secret Guard arrived late that afternoon in the same big black van that I’d seen them pick Gutterres up in the night before. I wasn’t surprised to see them show up for the party. It was less than a three-hour drive from Atlanta to Cazador, and they really wanted that stone for themselves. They were stopped by the guards we’d posted at the main gate but asked for me by name. When I got the call from the guard shack, I said to let them through and went outside to meet the Catholics in the parking lot.

The van stopped and four men got out. Gutterres I knew, but the rest were strangers. Two of them were big, bald, tough-looking dudes, one as tall as me, the other just over six foot. The last one looked kind of like a young Charles Manson with the beard and hair. In the brief moment their van doors were open I could see piles of modern gear, armor, and guns, but they also had things like swords, crosses, and a big silver thing on a pole that I assumed was some kind of holy water sprinkler. The door slid closed before I could figure that one out.

Gutterres was carrying the same cooler from last night. “Good afternoon, Pitt.”

“Let me guess, the head melted at the crack of dawn?”

“Despite my best efforts, yes.” He opened the cooler lid to show me that the interior was filled with black ashes. “However, I should be able to use these remains to perform a rite which might help us turn the tables on the creature.”

“What kind of rite?”

“The kind which will make it so that he doesn’t reset the clock each night. Thirteen lives total, no matter how long it takes us to get through them, and then he’s done, forever. I’ve also confirmed the Drekavac’s mortal identity.”

That sounded like a pitch. “Are you officially offering a trade?”

“I am. Our expertise and help in return for access to the Ward.”

“On that, you’ll have to make your case to Earl Harbinger, but he’s a reasonable guy. What happened to we prefer to work alone?”

“I made a convincing case to my superiors,” Gutterres said.

“If you’ll let us, we’ll help,” the tall one said. I was a little surprised when he sounded American. I’d thought that all their muscle was Swiss. “The Combat Exorcist made a very compelling argument to the council about the value of cooperation. They’re not used to him asking for help. They called us up and said we should escort him to scenic Alabama to offer our services.”

I looked at Gutterres and raised an eyebrow. “Seriously, your actual title is combat exorcist?”

“That is one of the titles bestowed on me, yes.”

“Dude, that is