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

surface beneath our feet.
    Vinkas were beautiful trees. The wood on the trunks peeled and curled like a birch, and the branches staggered like ladder rungs to the canopy. Glossy, green tear-drop leaves dotted the wood, and yellow ball-shaped fruit weighed the branches down.
    The sky—cloudless and dim with the sun climbing toward the highest point in the sky, told it was mid-day. Here in the Demon Realm, the sky resembled the Human Realm sky when seen through sunglasses, like a dark bluish filter covered the sky. This “cool” light was easier on our eyes and skin than the “warm” light of the Human Realm.
    “Okay, let’s get this done. Help the Harvesters when they ask for it, and keep weapons ready.” Each squad had two runners bringing the baskets of fruit the Harvesters filled to the tunnel entrance where they piled the loads and returned for more. Harvesting took time, even with the entire team working. The squads worked hard and soon the sun headed toward setting. We needed to be done before nightfall. I walked to the heaps near the tunnel doors and estimated that we had enough to fill four carts. It wasn’t as much as we hoped, but it would have to do.
    Jackson stood beside me, eyes dark and scanning. “So far, no further threat. That’s something.”
    I nodded, studying the perimeter. Part of me wanted to say something about Ren; the smarter part of me knew better. I focused on our mission’s safety. Anything was possible in the wild parts of the Demon Realm. I half expected to surface near a tula pack. Tulas were the Demon Realm’s version of a wolf. They hunted together and were fast and aggressive.
    “We’re not done yet,” I reminded him. Then I turned to my Clan. “Wrap ’em up, and we’ll load the carts.” I jumped into the tunnel, where the empty carts were awaiting their load. I took off my shirt and stretched it out to make a softer landing for the fruit. Jackson was right, bruised fruit didn’t last, so we needed to be gentle but fast.
    “Hey, Chief, want more shirts?” Jet pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it at me before I could answer.
    “Just a few more would work.”
    Jet whistled and shouted to a few guys, and I had more shirts to tie together into a sling to buffer the fruit fall. “Okay, start tossing them down.” Jet gently dropped a few and I played around with suspending the shirts to make a suitable landing. Harvesters and squads slowly trickled back into the tunnel while we loaded, and in no time at all, we had filled three carts. “Jet,” I called up, “how many of us are left on the surface?”
    Jet looked back. I expected a quick estimate. Instead he stood, staring toward the grove. “Demons!” He ran toward the direction of the grove.
    “Shit.” I jumped onto a cart. “Anchor, stay here and give me your dagger.” He threw it my way, and I sheathed it. I always had a spare, but one should always have plenty of weapons against demons. And even though I knew he’d fight beside me, Anchor shouldn’t be fighting with his torn hands. At best, he’d have a hard time holding his weapon; at worst, he could fumble against a killing blow. Taking his weapon ensured his safety. The last thing I wanted was to lose anyone else on this mission. It looked like almost all the other squads were safely back in the tunnel. If the demons decided to attack down here, they’d be bottlenecked against some of my best warriors. “The rest of you stay here and guard the Harvesters and our fruit.”
    With the fruit-weighted cart to brace my force, I jumped, caught the door frame, and surfaced in the blink of an eye.
    Jet, Jackson, and Sean surrounded Jace. Jace—who was holding a limp Siggy and laughing. I ran, but we were already too late. Jace dropped our Harvester’s dead body to the ground.
    “No!” Turning to my team, I ordered, “Bring him back to the others. Keep everyone else safe!” Then I ran for Jace, and he fled toward a tree line. He was unnaturally