Southwest Days (Semiautomatic Sorceress Book 2), Kal Aaron [book recommendations based on other books .txt] 📗

“If you’re finding monsters, a Sorcerer is making them. That means we have another rogue to deal with.” She rubbed her hands together. “I could use another high-profile case.”

Damien didn’t need to know about her attempts to get back to Last Remnant. She saw no reason to hide her enthusiasm.

He nodded with a grave expression. “I’ve expressed the concern about another potential rogue to Samuel. He’s made it clear the Society will not send an Eclipse without the explicit identification of the Sorcerer responsible for the monsters. Until then, the Society feels it’s a job for a Torch. The EAA will be authorizing bonus pay because the job could go sideways.”

“No Eclipse is fine by me. I think I can take anyone who is hiding behind monsters in a fight. Give me the details. Where are our critters?”

“Last night, two internet personalities went into an abandoned copper mine in Cochise County not far from Bisbee.”

“Internet personalities?”

“Two college kids who have an internet show,” Damien clarified.

“Okay. Keep going.”

Damien frowned. “It was part of a stupid stunt for their channel. They were attacked in the mine shortly after entry. One guy was taken down and is presumed dead, and the other fled. He lost his phone, but he made it to his car, so he could go get help from the local sheriff’s department. Because they reported a monster attack, local law enforcement didn’t enter the mine, feeling they were not adequately prepared.”

“That probably saved their lives.” Lyssa nodded. “What did our arcane evil beastie look like? What could it do?”

Damien replied, “He didn’t get a good look, and without the phone, there’s no way of knowing. From what he said, it grabbed his friend somehow, but there were no reports of fireballs, webs, acid spit, or that kind of thing. Sharp teeth were the main weapon.”

“And we’re sure this guy didn’t just kill his friend and use the monster excuse to cover it up?” Lyssa asked. “I mean, it wouldn’t be the first time since M-Day someone used ‘evil sorcery’ to cover up their crimes.”

Damien shook his head. “Our survivor didn’t escape unscathed. His clothes were torn, and he had puncture wounds in a weird diamond shape that looked like teeth marks.”

“Sounds like a snake to me,” Lyssa stated.

“A snake that bit him in an oval of diamond-shaped marks?” Damien raised an eyebrow. “And his lab tests came back suggesting venom. He’s still in the hospital. Right now, they say he’ll pull through, but he’s lucky to be alive.”

“And these guys have been checked out already?” Lyssa made a circle with her hand. “Background checks, standard investigation stuff?”

Damien nodded. “The FBI and the local sheriff’s department have already done a preliminary probe of the guys, but they haven’t had time to do anything deep. Everything they’ve seen indicates these were idiot college kids from California. They have minor misdemeanor records for nuisance arrests because they are obsessed with pranks for their channel, but nothing remotely like faking a murder or even close to a felony.” He frowned. “And I have a hard time believing the survivor let himself get chewed up and poisoned versus just shooting someone if this was about murder.”

“You make a persuasive case,” Lyssa agreed.

“The sheriff’s department contacted the EAA directly and begged for a Torch,” Damien said. “In their words, ‘There’s no way we’re sending our guys in there to get eaten by hellhounds.’”

Lyssa thought that over for a second before nodding. “It’s been a while since I’ve had a good, old-fashioned monster hunt.” She clapped once. “Fun times. No one bitches or complains about excessive force when you blow away a monster. I assume you’ve gotten full approval from the Society?”

“Samuel has signed off on the contract, but he’s made it clear that if you don’t want the job, he’d be willing to wait to assign another Torch, given there’s no evidence the monsters have spread outside the mine.” Damien nodded at his desk phone. “We’ve got some aerial drone coverage and no sign of movement from the mine. There are a lot of unknowns on this one. I will understand if you’re nervous about it after what happened last time.”

“There’s no way in hell I’m passing this up,” Lyssa replied. “And there’s a chance the other guy’s still alive. We might be able to score a rescue out of this.”

“Really?” Damien sounded doubtful.

“Some monsters like to keep snacks on hand,” Lyssa explained.

“I didn’t need to hear that.” Damien grimaced.

“Hey, just saying. You’ve contracted yourself a Torch. Now, tell me where this mine is and send me any information you have.”

Chapter Eight

Lyssa saw no reason to sit on her butt for a single second when there were monsters to kill. After a quick trip home to collect more magazines, she used her shard compact mirror to send a message to Samuel requesting any information he had on the mine. After waiting exactly thirty minutes and getting no response, she used her standard wraith form and thinning combination to escape from her house unnoticed.

She revved her bike and smiled. Taking down monsters was the exercise she needed to get back into full form.

“This is working out better than I could have planned,” she said as she hit the highway.

“The appearance of monsters is to your benefit?” Jofi replied. “In some way other than direct compensation?”

“Sure. If I move fast on this, I can clear out these monsters and the rogue before the Society swipes my glory by sending in an Eclipse.” Lyssa grinned. “Then they’ll have no choice but to let me go to Last Remnant. When was the last time a Torch took down two rogues back to back?”

“You can’t be sure a rogue is involved,” Jofi said.

“I get that. Some Shadow could have gotten his hands on a shard and it mutated a local creature, but there’s a good chance a rogue is involved.”

“That’s the other thing that surprises me. Your enthusiasm for finding and battling rogues suggests you’re confident you can win against