Blood Will Out by Lara Lynwood

Author:Lara Lynwood [Lara Lynwood]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lara Lynwood
Published: 2023-07-21T00:00:00+00:00

twelve

Darkness

I wasn’t sure how long I sat there, the damp moss soaking through my clothes. I was vaguely aware of Grey hovering near the entrance to the little cavern, casting an occasional nervous glance out into the tunnel.

But mostly I was focused on trying not to have a complete breakdown.

Because, no matter how horrified I was by what I’d done, what the Guild was still doing – I had a job to do.

And now, it might be more important than ever.

Because the Guild didn’t know. There was no recorded evidence of a non-human retaining control of themselves – they all snapped eventually. But the people in Grey’s town hadn’t. And there had to be a reason for that – there had to be something we could do, some way we could help people, instead of just dismissing them as monsters and executing – no. No, I couldn’t keep thinking of it like that, not any more. We’d murdered them.

And that half made me wonder if my death would have been murder, too, had Carmen and Irving chosen to take the safer path. But I set that thought aside – I didn’t need to go spiralling further down that path, not right now.

What I needed to do was get back to the Guild. Get back in such a way that they would listen to me, that I’d be able to at least try to change things.

Because Grey was right. I was Carmen’s apprentice. I was a damn good hunter. I commanded respect, and even if I couldn’t convince the hunters at the top of the Guild – the trainees had looked up to me, for all that I avoided them and wasn’t quite sure how to interact with them. Even if I couldn’t change things right now, I could work to convince the next generation of hunters that there might be a different way.

I took a deep breath, and lifted my head. Grey glanced over at me from where he was leaning against a wall.

“This is wrong,” I said, affirming it to myself more than anything. “What the Guild’s been doing since its founding – it’s wrong. And you’re right, Grey – I’ve got the power to change it, if I can get back to the Guild – get them to listen.” I pushed myself to my feet. “Let’s go.”

Grey looked a little startled at how quickly I’d changed tack, but he nodded, and I followed him back out into the tunnel. Of course, to me changing things that fast wasn’t unusual; you had to learn to compartmentalise, as a hunter. There was more than one hunt I’d been on where I’d seen another hunter cut down right before my eyes, just like that last hunt. You couldn’t let your emotions get the better of you in that situation – you had to shut them down and put them away, deal with them once you were somewhere safe and you had the time and space to do so.

After we’d been walking through the tunnel for a few minutes, Grey spoke.

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