I'm up early the next morning, fresh with resolve. Throwing on my clothes, I descend the tower steps and make my way to Guildmaster Kessis's office. Although my stomach rumbles, I'm determined to score a large bounty.

Nelson and his three fellow fools are already there, sitting with booted feet up on a small coffee table outside the door. Nelson sneers as I approach. Without so much as a glance in his direction, I lean down and throw his friends' feet off the table, watching with satisfaction as they struggle to keep their balance.

"What the hell, Raine!?" Nelson thunders as his friends reorient themselves.

"You took all of the chairs," I reply dryly, taking a seat on the coffee table and hooking one booted foot over the opposite knee.

"Goddammit," Guildmaster Kessis grumbles as he yanks open the door to his office. "It's too friggin' early to listen to your bitching, Nelson."

"She did it, Guildmaster," LaShawn, one of Nelson's friends, argues, pointing an accusatory finger in my direction.

Kessis rolls his eyes. " 'She did it'. Do you hear yourself, LaShawn? Jesus." He shakes his head. "Get up, Barlow. You're just the person I need to see."

Nelson's face flushes. "We were here first."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Kessis waves at him like an errant boy. "I'll be back to see you four later. Barlow," he repeats, more firmly this time.

It's been a while since I've been startled into inaction. I didn't expect Kessis to have anything for me, considering he's been giving Nelson's crew all the prime gigs for the last few weeks. Once my brain kicks back into gear, I get to my feet and casually step around the men.

"Later," I say, giving them a little finger wave. Nelson seethes as I follow the guildmaster.

"Cool it, Barlow." Kessis's rebuke drifts over his shoulder, but there's very little emphasis behind the words. "Shut the door."

I do as requested, then take up a seat in front of Kessis's massive desk. This is one of the objects he didn't cannibalize or sell off after taking over Keres House.

Kessis lowers himself into an overstuffed chair, pivots, and throws his feet up on the desk. His boots are worn, black leather, scuffed and repaired dozens of times. The guildmaster himself is an unassuming man who was once a simple CPA working in a global firm before the Turning. Sometimes, I wonder what it would be like to have lived a different life. What does that feel like? Do you mourn the old times when the only monsters in the world were your fellow man?

"Barlow."

I lift my chin.

"It's not like you to daydream," Kessis notes. That same attention to detail that helped him in his pre-Turning career also makes the guildmaster an excellent study of character.

No, it's not. I don't like that my attention has wandered.

"I know." Shifting in the chair, I push a strand of hair behind my ear. "What is it that you have for me?"

Kessis reaches for an envelope on his desk, next to an old laptop and a pile of paperwork. "This came in from the mayor's office yesterday," he says, waving the letter slightly for emphasis.

There is a pause. Then I realize Kessis is waiting for me to say, "Oh?"

"This is a big contract, Barlow," Kessis tells me after I dutifully reply. "Ten thousand dollars."

Ten thousand?

I choke on my own spit and spend a minute trying to get myself under control. Kessis passes me a handkerchief and a cup of water. Once the moment passes, he continues. "Abbott is looking for a woman Hunter to escort his twelve-year-old daughter Kayleigh to the City of Dust where her mother is working."

It takes me a while to process Kessis's words beyond "ten thousand dollars".

Finally, I say, "Conrad Abbott wants someone to drag his daughter into a demon lord's den?"

Kessis shrugs loosely. Wildly believed to be the first demon lord to emerge from Hell, Ehtab set about claiming the former CrescentCity and transforming it into his personal kingdom. Aside from the frequent storms that gave the city its new name and continue to plague the coastline, Ehtab has been relatively quiet.

"Does her mother work for him?" I've heard that demon lords reward their minions generously, which is probably why more than a handful of politicians are in their pockets.

Kessis pulls out the letter and peruses it briefly. "It says here that she works for The Orcus Institute."

I can't help myself. I flinch, causing Kessis to raise an eyebrow. "Are you familiar with Orcus?"

"Yes," I ground out between clenched teeth. My hand lifts to my throat, where Jae-Seong's blessed cross rests, hidden beneath all of my layers. God doesn't exist, does He? Swallowing, I meet Guildmaster Kessis's steely blue gaze. I make it a point to never reveal too much personal information to anyone except Jae-Seong; now I've been caught and Kessis is very good at securing intelligence. "My parents worked there, doing alternative energy research."

Kessis nods, still studying me. I swiftly cloak myself in my typical apathy and stare back. The wariness in the guildmaster's eyes retreats and he leans back in his chair, content that I'm not hiding anything.

If only he knew.

"Ah, yes, Jae-Seong said that they were killed in a car crash after the first wave."

I nod, affirming the lie.

"Well, after you deliver the girl to her mother, you can see if they have anything of your parents'."

It's a reasonable suggestion. "You're giving me the job?"

Kessis folds his arms. "I said the contract stipulated a woman Hunter and here you sit in my office. You're the best that I have, Raine, no matter what Nelson and his little boys' club thinks." He pauses. "Unless you want this bounty for two crocatta terrorizing Tuluwat Island?"

I almost say that I'll take that, too, but it will take me several weeks to trek up the coast to the City of Dust—perhaps longer, if I'm dragging a tween girl with me. Not to mention the time coming back.

"Give Nelson the crocattas," I say with a little smirk. "He positively hates them." Maybe the beasts will wreck their precious motorcycles and they'll have to be "demoted" to horses. There's no way I can see any of that crew on a battle-elk.

"Good. Minus the Guild's take, you'll get half up front and the other half upon completion. I'll have the treasurer add three thousand to your ledger."

Three thousand. That puts me at nearly ten. When the contract is completed, could I make it to Alaska on only thirteen thousand?

My throat begins to close. Goddammit, why am I so emotional all of a sudden? "Thank you, Guildmaster," I manage, covering the slip with another cough. This time, Kessis doesn't react.

"You'll find all of the contract details here," he says instead, passing me a large manila envelope. "You're to leave tomorrow. Abbott will bring Kayleigh here."

I weigh the manila envelope in one hand. Not even pharmacy contracts are this heavy. I hope this girl isn't on some special diet, or can only travel a couple hours a day. If that's the case, I'll back out and take the crocattas. It's almost the same amount.

Thanking Kessis, I sign the contract, take my assignment and exit the guildmaster's office. Nelson and his crew don't even attempt to hide the fact that they're eavesdropping. They glare at me as I close the door.

"Leave her alone!" Kessis's voice booms out from his office.

"You heard the man," I tell them with a little smirk. Envelope under my arm, I head for the dining room, the glares of four grown men bouncing off my back.

------------

As is my practice, I don't review assignments in public settings. Hunters are a jealous lot and I know that as soon as word gets out about the worth of this contract, I won't hear the end of it. So, after eating breakfast, I adjourn to Winston's stall.

The battle-elk lies in a corner, idly grooming one foreleg. Shuffling a list of items the kid is going to take with her to the back, I reread my copy of the contract. It is surprisingly brief for taking a child into a demon's den. I've seen more effort put into bounties—make sure this part isn't damaged, only need the head, etc.

The assigned FEMALE HUNTER will accompany KAYLEIGH ABBOTT, aged twelve (12), daughter of Eureka, CA mayor CONRAD ABBOTT to the City of Dust, CA. KAYLEIGH ABBOTT will be safely delivered into the custody of her mother, XENIA PARRISH-ABBOTT at the Orcus Institute.

CONRAD ABBOTT will provide the FEMALE HUNTER with one thousand USD ($1,000.00) to purchase provisions and pay any necessary tolls. CONRAD ABBOTT will provide his daughter KAYLEIGH ABBOTT with a horse, a personal protection device and effects, as well as proper traveling gear (see attached inventory). FEMALE HUNTER is instructed to protect these items unless said protection interferes with the primary objective.

There are a few more lines in legalese, but I skim over that part. Also included in the envelope are traveling instructions—the best routes to take, which ones to avoid, and who to bribe along the way. Hm. I chew my lower lip thoughtfully as I go through the names. There are some familiar ones in both columns, and I'm pleased to see that Mayor Abbott and I think along the same lines—at least in terms of trust. Who can truly say that about a politician? Especially one that might be in a demon lord's pocket?

Pulling out the kid's inventory, I note that she's going to be bringing her own tent. Well, that saves me some money. My own gear can fit two people, but it would be a tight squeeze. Below that is a brief list of what the kid won't eat and it's surprisingly small. Due to a severe allergy, mushrooms are off the menu. Well, that's fine and dandy with me, because I haven't seen a mushroom on the California highway in forever. And I wouldn't know which ones to eat if you paid me. Hunters have some survival training, but we typically bring extra provisions with us. Not to mention since most of the wildlife has been replaced by monsters, eating them is inadvisable.

Dare I believe that this assignment is easy?

Putting the papers back in the envelope, I lean forward, wrapping both arms around my knees. Winston lifts his head and blinks at me. I want to speak out loud, to spill my inner thoughts to the battle-elk; but as always, I'm wary of being overheard. Post-Turning, secrets are almost as valuable as currency.

Well, not completely easy, I muse, idly drumming my fingers on my arm. There are still dozens of dangers out there, but at least I'm not actively hunting. This time, I'll be focused on defense, rather than offense.

Winston snorts and pushes his muzzle close to my knee. Idly rubbing his soft nose with one hand, I lift the paperwork with the other, rereading the words "Orcus Institute" one more time.

I've been trying for years to get into that cursed place; little do they know who they've just invited into their demon's den.