Free Matt Archer: Monster Hunter (Matt Archer #1) by Kendra C. Highley

bit
as serious as Mike’s. “The monsters are probably just the beginning. A
first-strike, maybe to see how well-defended we are.”
    My stomach sank. “Then why doesn’t Jorge make more knives?
That’d be what I’d do if the devil was planning to open the gate to Hell.”
    “Jorge had enough material to make six, but didn’t, on
purpose. We asked if he could make more and he told us five was a powerful
magical number,” the colonel said. “Magical numbers seem to matter. The number
thirteen is considered significant in many cultures. The moon has thirteen
cycles per year, for example. And the Gators showed up in a pack of thirteen
last fall. Then thirteen Pandas arrived in the spring.”
    “But if there were only thirteen,” I asked, “then why
haven’t Ramirez and Parker finished theirs off yet? I’d think they could kill off
that many in just a few months.”
    “You know what a lunar eclipse is?” he asked.
    I nodded. “Yeah. The earth orbits between the sun and moon,
which casts a shadow on the moon.”
    “Right,” Colonel Black said. “Sometimes they’re partial
eclipses, and don’t cover the whole moon. Other times they’re full, causing the
night to be darker, under a blood-red moon. Full eclipses only come every three
to four years. But when we have them, there are three in a year’s time. There
was one last October—visible on every continent but Africa. Then another in
April, again not visible in Africa. Finally, we had one more, last month, and
this one was visible in Africa, but not in Australia.”
    I raised my eyebrows. The timing couldn’t be coincidence.
    “The first Gators came the night of the October eclipse last
year. Another thirteen Gators came in April, in addition to some new creatures,
the Pandas and Dingoes. Thirteen more Pandas and Gators came last month, after
the September eclipse, and now we have new monsters in Billings and Africa, but
no new Dingoes, from what we’ve heard.”
    “So we ended up with thirty-nine Gators, and twenty-six
Pandas?” No wonder Parker and Ramirez had their hands full.
    “Yes. Our assumption is that there are only thirteen
monsters in Montana, Australia, and Botswana,” the colonel said. “There won’t
be another full eclipse for two years, so Jorge believes once we exterminate
these beasts, they won’t return for a while.”
    “Good thing.” I thought for a minute. “But why did the
monsters show up in those places? Why not London, or New York City? They’d do a
lot of damage in a big city.”
    Colonel Black spread his hands. “Our theory is that the
other monsters chose those locations because some powerful shaman lives there.
Ancient, mystical religions are practiced in each of those areas. So maybe the
monsters are targeting holy men that pose a significant threat, like Jorge. We
think the Gators hit Peru because he made weapons that could kill dark
creatures.”
    “Why Montana, though?” I asked. “There aren’t any big-time
shamans in Billings, are there?”
    Mike winced. “Matt, there weren’t any monsters in the U.S.
until I brought the knife back home.”
    There was a sharp note of guilt in his voice that made me
nervous. “But—”
    He cut me off. “I’m the only wielder who went home. The
general wanted a knife stateside while we assessed the threat, so I was
released from duty while the others were sent abroad to investigate other
paranormal events. Billings isn’t exactly a prime target, which leads me to
believe none of this is a coincidence. I brought the magic of the knife home
last spring. And then we had a lunar eclipse in September. So monsters came to
Billings.”
    “Then…why are they still sending you to Afghanistan? If
there are monsters here, you should stay and help me.” I looked at the colonel.
“Right? He can stay now.”
    Colonel Black shook his head. “Major Tannen has a mission
there, son.”
    Mike caught hold of my arm and squeezed. “The monsters
aren’t the only threat. I’m