Chapter 3

  Kelix matched his steps to the fading sounds of the group ahead. Every instinct told him stillness was dangerous.

  "Stay close," he murmured to Finn. The wolf-like creature stayed at his side, silent, ears twitching. Together they moved deeper into the park, weaving around debris and broken ground.

  The cheerful sword girl led the way, swinging her blade loosely at her side. She hummed, oblivious to the danger, as if anything in this ruined place couldn't hear her.

  The mage followed, his book floating beside him, pages rustling in the breeze, lending a soft, eerie soundtrack.

  "—and if we find it, I can secure more funding for my tuition," the woman said with a laugh, her excitement light against the tension.

  "I'm just saying, the Association better be paying overtime for this," the businessman grumbled, glancing at his watch.

  "Geez! Relax," the sword girl said. "If there's trouble, we'll handle it. That's what we signed up for."

  "One would prefer handling it with preparation," the mage said, levitating books pausing mid-page.

  The woman barely looked up from her phone. "Mmm. Yeah. Lizard-type monsters, right? My feed says sightings spiked after sunset."

  Finn let out a low huff. Kelix shot him a warning glance, fingers lifted, before turning back. His eyes lingered on the woman's purse. The ferret inside blinked at the world as if nothing mattered.

  "So," Kelix whispered, "that's what you heard."

  He couldn't see the other monsters, but he could feel them. Devices, storage units, watches, books, charms, all faint signatures tucked away.

  Finn's demeanor shifted. "Hm. They'll attract more than attention," he said.

  "Only if necessary," Kelix replied, frowning. Survival often demanded cold calculations.

  He watched the businessman's movements, noting how his thumb brushed the watch with practiced ease.

  "Alright, enough walking," the man said. "Let's deploy and sweep this section."

  He tapped his wristwatch. Light flared, brief and contained, and a hulking figure took shape beside him. Metal scraped stone as a broad-shouldered construct rose, eyes glowing. The ground vibrated faintly under its weight.

  Kelix exhaled. Called it.

  Finn's lips curled, not in amusement, but interest. "Well," he murmured, "that explains the confidence."

  Kelix leaned back against the rusted roller coaster cart, mind racing. A full party with Soulbound monsters meant their mission was serious. His eyes flicked over the remnants of a cracked fountain.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  The black-haired girl, Aria, stayed at the edge of the clearing, quiet, observing. He could feel her awareness. If she continued, she might spot him… or sense the subtle energy leaking off him.

  Suddenly the group halted, the sword girl turned.

  "There was no need to summon your Zeldrimon," the sword girl said to the suited man. "We have Aria here!"

  Everyone except her looked over their shoulders, realizing too late that she had been present all along.

  Aria tilted her head, expression unreadable.

  "Ah! I thought we left you behind at the guild?!" the woman yelped.

  "Aria," the suited man grumbled, "since when did you start following us?"

  "I was sitting on the car," she said, "and I was there when we walked out of HQ."

  Kelix felt a laugh threaten his lips. Sitting on the car explained too much and not enough.

  He pressed his back into the cart, Finn beside him. The cold from Finn layered into the metal, biting his lungs.

  "Do not make a sound," he whispered.

  "You're the one breathing like you got caught stealing," Finn murmured.

  Kelix exhaled slowly, trying to relax. Panic was a flare he couldn't afford.

  The team formed a loose semicircle around the fountain.

  "Okay, spooky. We get it, you are always there," the sword girl said brightly.

  "This could be a concealment aura. Or a perception filter," the mage murmured. "Reports mentioned an operative with unusual stealth parameters."

  Kelix froze at the word. Parameters. It matched the letters he had seen flicker above the crocoraptor core.

  The suited man rubbed his temple. "I am not paying hazard bonuses because someone enjoys lurking. If you want to follow, follow properly."

  "The team tracker just dipped," the woman said, holding her phone. "Aria's veil is up."

  Kelix's attention sharpened. Association words. Not government, but close enough to get fined. Flagged. Interrogated. He refused to relive it.

  His gaze slid elsewhere. The construct stayed near the suited man like a heavy bodyguard. Kelix guessed it combined storage tech with summoning tech.

  "Nothing in the report about veil interference," the suited man said.

  "I did not write the report," the mage replied evenly.

  The sword girl gestured forward. "Can we stop arguing and find it? Daylight's wasting."

  "Already sunset," the woman added. "Sightings spike after."

  The sword girl squared her shoulders. "We're here for the nest. Clear the crocos, grab cores, leave before the Association locks it down."

  Kelix stiffened. If the other crocoraptor wasn't a rumor, the nest was real.

  Finn's gaze sharpened. "That is a word you should care about."

  "I care," Kelix whispered. "I just don't like caring."

  "Do you want to leave," Finn asked, with that smooth rumble that sounded like it had teeth behind it.

  That was a ridiculous question. Why would he leave now?

  Kelix frowned, and resumed to track the group as they moved, clocking their spacing and the routes they hadn't checked yet.

  He watched the mage's book hover and adjust on its own, the sword girl's easy grip like she was posing for a picture, the suited man's watch flashing as it caught the last scraps of sunset. He noticed how the woman's purse shifted when something inside moved.

  The ferret poked its head out again, ears twitching, eyes sharp. It looked like it was listening for things no one else could hear.

  Kelix also watched the empty edge of the clearing, where Aria stood without quite standing. Present, but never announcing herself. It bothered him that she hadn't reacted to him at all.

  That, annoyingly, also made her interesting.

  He shelved the thought. A nest changed everything, and distraction was a good way to die.

  "No," Kelix said. “If there's a nest, then my two-crocoraptor rumor just turned into a bigger paycheck."

  Finn's mouth opened in what might have been a smile. "There it is."

  Kelix ignored him.

  The suit man cleared his throat and tapped his watch again. The construct beside him shifted its weight, heavy feet grinding grit into the cracked tiles. Its glowing eyes swept in a slow, methodical arc, and Kelix felt a pressure in the air when it looked his way, like a machine trying to measure him.

  Hunter Tip: Never trust a person who seems like they aren't there. They probably aren't… entirely.