Between the Bleeding Willows (The Demon Hunters Series Book 1) by D.A. Roach Page A

she mentioned it…I'd lose it.
    I turned and walked out, headed for a hot shower. I had bigger things to think about and my own people who were relying on me to keep them safe.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Ten
     
     
    Harvest Day arrived, and Casper was already one chapter deep into Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy with Cassidy before I left for the tunnel entrance.
    My squad, Sean, Anchor, and Jet—a collection of tall walls of muscle—stood next to our newbie, Ren. The kid had his leather jacket zipped high, guards for his elbows and knees crafted out of shell, and a weapon in each hand.
    “You doin’ okay?”
    “I’m ready, Sir,” he answered.
    “I see that.” I patted him on the back and smiled. “Let’s meet the team.” Turning Ren to face the senior warriors in our squad, I introduced him. “Guys, this is Ren. I’m pretty sure he’s half Mackleberry and half Jackson.” The guys elbowed Jackson in the ribs and chuckled. “He’s strong and well-trained. Help him with weapons check and introduce yourselves.”
    The other squads organized and went over tactics. Each squad had a daylight lamp, three or four Harvesters, and a cart to manage. Our squad took the lead with a total of five squads following. Lena was in the third squad, and as far as I was concerned, she was the most important member and needed the most protection. Losing her was not an option. I wanted to leave her behind with Angeline, but we needed her healing expertise on this mission. Looking back through the sea of Clan members, I caught her eye. Her fingers fiddled with her dagger hilt.
    Anchor flanked my left, Jet had my right, and Ren, holding our daylight lamp, took the lead with me.
    “Ren, you good?” I wanted to check in with him to detect if there was any worry in his voice.
    “Yes, Sir. Ready to get this done.” No nerves came through. Ren appeared rock solid and brave as a bull.
    “Sean, you ready?” He paused from adjusting the cart to look my way.
    “Sir, I am.” He turned back to the Harvesters. “Stay close.”
    They nodded in reply. Each looked nervous, as they should be—venturing into dark tunnels, not knowing what lay ahead was plenty of reason to be fearful. The Harvesters’ short and lean stature was not seen as a negative attribute by our Clan, rather, they were highly regarded because their purpose in the Clan was as important as the soldiers. In truth, their stature made it easier for them to do their job, easier to climb high among the branches to retrieve the food, easier to maneuver in and out of the compact Mackleberry bushes. And they had enough strength to pluck an Elderleet from the ground. Their short stature also allowed them to hide in the trees or among the bushes when hunting. Without the Harvesters, we would be a very hungry Clan.
    The thought of someone big and husky like Anchor climbing a tree to bring the fruit down had me chuckling quietly to myself.
    Jet looked at me with concern. “Killian, you good?”
    “Yeah. I am.” I turned toward the group. “Let’s go.”
    Ren and I led the others into the dark tunnels. The lack of light was worrisome. The daylight lamps only granted vision a few feet in front of us—not enough to quiet the fears racing through our minds.
    “I’d take a three demon battle over this any day,” I said quietly to Ren.
    “Why’s that?”
    “I don’t like being so closed in during battle. Makes it harder to fight.”
    “I don’t like not being able to see more than five feet in front of me,” Ren added.
    “Yeah, I hear ya. Let’s hope we don’t run into any company on the ascent.”
    It was dark in the tunnels. In comparison, my personal quarters, which were dimly lit, had four lanterns, and here we had just six lanterns providing light for forty-six people in the black tunnels. It was all a bit suffocating, the darkness, and the worry.
    It had been almost ten years since I’d ventured into this main tunnel that led to the others, and