Revealing the Monster (Playing with Monsters #4) by Amelia Hutchins

“The demons had the key to unlocking the runes. Someone from inside had to have given it to them,” he grunted, handing the blackened piece of leather to Synthia. “They’re the only things burned.”

I gazed around the guild, noting his correct assumption. The bodies were charred and barbecued. It reeked of sulfur and brimstone from the moment we’d stepped through the shattered windows. The tang of copper was still present, but the deeper in we got, the less tangible it was in the air.

We walked past the wards, and the walls slowly began humming in a warning. Synthia placed a hand against the surface, and the alarms turned off.

I scanned the wall, watching as runes ignited. The entire place was covered in protective markings. So how had something or someone gotten past them to gain access? Then the answer came to me.

“They were inside when the wards were activated.” I nodded to where the charred remains had begun smoldering again, like they were trying to resume burning. “Look at the corpses.”

“I guess the runes worked, but didn’t continue working once whoever was inside had turned them off,” Synthia announced. Her gaze slid over the smoke wafting up from the bodies with a smile. “I think something with knowledge of the guild was within because how else would they know to send in others to absorb the damage? These deaths may be intentional.”

I had to agree with Synthia. There were several corpses on the floor, and more littered the hallway through which we were passing. There were even more human remains and creatures in each room that had ventured into the guild with the wards and runes active.

The men snorted their agreement of her assessment, but it was Ristan who kneeled beside a crumbled, blackened form and ripped the arm off of it. Standing, he held the arm out in front of Synthia, who exhaled slowly through her mouth.

“Shifter would be my guess,” she concluded while taking in the inhuman nails protruding from the hand. “It could be Adrik Stanislav’s people. He was bringing them in a few weeks ago.”

“Adrik was on the list to be watched, wasn’t he?” Ryder asked, his arms pulsing with black and gold brands that matched his stare.

“From what we learned, he was removed from the list.” Synthia nodded to where another corpse sat, with bones that had once been wings. The entire outline beneath the body was a wingspan, but the only thing left were grimy bones broken in several places. “That’s an angel, isn’t it?” she inquired, grunting as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“Indeed, it is,” Lucian confirmed. “Shifters, angels, and whatever the fuck that is, came here for a reason.” Lucian nodded toward something that was at a minimum of nine feet tall, judging by the bones left behind. “We need to figure out why and if those below are alive. I can still hear the faint beating of hearts, but it’s almost as if they’re moving away from us.”

“The question is, are they running from us or away from whatever else is in this tomb?” Vlad asked, tilting his head to the side.

Scraping sounded deeper in the guild, causing all of our attention to move toward the noise. My hackles rose even as I lifted my hands, knowing that it could be anything inside these tunnels.

All of us crept forward, weapons at the ready, while the men covered our asses. I swallowed down my worry that Alden may be on the ground, in the mess of remains that filled the pathway.

Rounding the corner, we all peered down the staircase that led to the guild’s lower level. The catacombs had been where the guild had started. It was hidden beneath the city when the humans had been oblivious that hunters protected them from the shit that went bump in the night.

Something shifted at the bottom of the stairs, and then a shrill scream split through the air. Everyone paused, turning to look at each other to see if anyone had caught sight of what the fuck it had been.

The minute we turned back toward the darkened staircase, a blur of motion moved again. Screaming erupted from below, and the heartbeats that had been slow moments before began thundering with fear. Lucian stepped beside me, and Ryder did the same with Synthia.

“Down into the darkness we go,” Ristan snorted, winking at us while he took the lead. “Say your prayers and get whichever God you worship on the line.”

“That’s encouraging,” Synthia muttered beneath her breath, allowing Ryder to take a position in front of her pregnant form. “Whoever is down here is terrified of the creature that made that noise.”

“Like caged rats that know something is coming to grab one of them up for testing,” Vlad whispered.

“Why are we whispering?” Erie’s wide, blue eyes slid through us before she snorted. “Whatever it is, it’s oblivious to our presence. It’s hunting them while we’re seeking it. It isn’t afraid of us.”

“It should be,” Lucian grunted, winking at Erie.

“It has no idea that death comes for it, nor that war rides beside him,” Erie sang in a singsong voice that had everyone giving her a look of unease. “All we need now is Famine and Pestilence.”





Chapter Thirty-Two




There’s bliss in the unknowing of what tragedy will unfold next. I wish we could remain there, just on the cusp of knowing, but numb to what will come for us. ~Lena



The lower level of the guild was bathed in shadows. Nothing made a peep as we reached the bottom of the staircase. The walls were covered in fresh splatter from what appeared to be arterial blood, sat above the bookshelves, explaining the tangy scent. Dim light from a backup generator offered enough illumination that we could make out crumpled forms on the far wall.