This is a series of short stories, detailing the adventures of Chelsea Childling. You can start with her origin story or pick any story from the index.
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“What the fresh hell is this?” Andy grumbled as they pulled up to the beach house. 

Chelsea held back a sigh. Andy was a creature of the big city, and a man who ran a hub for monster hunters. He had opinions on how to do things right. And normally she loved that about him. But today, she needed to be a small-town West Coast monster hunter, and they did things  differently out here. “Relax. I got this.”

She didn’t listen or even wait for any response from Andy or Keegan as she headed for the trunk of her car, her dog, Bentley, on her heels. Inside she found the stupidly expensive box she had purchased for her Stetson. She ran a finger along the black felt brim before putting the hat away. This wasn’t the place for her favorite hat, even if she did miss the open skies of South Dakota. She replaced it with a oversized, handwoven beanie she had picked up in Washington state the year before, and kept her fringed suede duster.

“But still all in black, huh?” Keegan teased as he leaned against the open trunk of her car. Her favorite hunting partner, he wasn’t really looking at her so much as watching her back. Which was why he was her favorite.

“I look good in black.”

Andy snorted. “There’s a really dirty joke there, but I’m too homosexual to actually think of it.”

Keegan rolled his eyes. “And here I thought all the innuendo was with Jackson.”

The last few weeks rolled through Chelsea along with Keegan’s words. The despair, the sense of dread, the rejection. Jackson and Amber were off hunting a demon lord. And they didn’t want her. Tears threatened, and she couldn’t catch her breath.

Skinny arms circled her waist as Keegan murmured something in her hair. She leaned into him, accepting love as she rarely had, even when her parents were alive. But Keegan was Keegan. After a few moments, the panic passed. 

Chelsea sucked in air and pushed past her despair. “Just follow my lead, boys.”

The beach house was exactly what she expected. Festooned with buoys and overrun with kayaks, it didn’t seem out of place on the sidewalk-less road. Plenty of other houses along the road had similar sun-bleached decor and fires burning on the sands beyond them. But Chelsea knew that behind the typical west coast laid-back air, this was a place for hunters. It was the big “fishing” knives on belts, and too many hatchets thrown carelessly about the woodpile. And the crew around the fire pit. They eyed her and her friends in a way that only those who knew monsters looked human could. Outsiders would find them hostile. Chelsea knew they just worried about civilian cops showing up.

It was her dog that broke the tension. Bentley bounded over the group, tongue out and obviously looking for pets. The hunters around the fire chuckled as the huge mutt made his rounds begging for food.

A man broke off from the group.  Ted looked younger here by the fire. “You found the place.”

Chelsea shrugged. “Yup, and thanks for the invite.” She glanced around. “You got a pot for donations?”

Ted laughed. “Always.” He waved her toward the fire. Sure enough, next to the cooler was a bucket with a sign asking folks for money.

 Chelsea tossed a few hundred-dollar bills in, making sure that Ted saw. Normally, she didn’t flaunt her money. She was done, though. Done chasing Jackson and Amber. Done with Keegan and Andy’s bickering. Done with dribbles of information and doing favors. She wanted answers.

The boys grabbed beers from the cooler. She let them settle in on either side of her and then turned to Ted. “So about the bandage man bounty–”

Ted waved a hand at her. “I was joking. You killed it, it’s your bounty, obviously.”

Chelsea shrugged. “I’m happy to let you have the bounty.”

Ted beamed.

“If you can give me some information.”

His smile faltered. “We don’t have a real hub around here.”

Andy snorted, and Chelsea elbowed him. “I figured as much, but I think you might still be able to help me.” She snatched Keegan’s beer and took a long drink. “I’m looking for two hunters. They stopped in at the old haunt a few months ago.”

Ted rolled his eyes. “Fucking HOA got us shut down.”

Keegan snorted a laugh. “PTA NIMBY bastards.”

“Seriously,” Ted ran a hand through messy black curls. “Who are looking for?”

Chelsea launched into descriptions. “A man and a woman. She’s taller than him, Asian, and has a temper. Jackson–”

“Jackson and Amber?” Ted shook his head. “Those two need all the help they can get. They’re looking for a fucking demon lord.”

Dread slithered down her spine. “They told you that?”

Ted ran a hand through his dark curls. “Not in so many words. But the nightling they’re after is a demon lord. San Francisco is his old hunting ground. My dad and some others chased him and hellhounds out of the city about twenty years ago. Could never kill the bastard, but they made his life hell. Linked his house and minions to murders, that sort of thing.”

Andy whistled. “And this worked?”

Ted nodded. “The city is old and small. Very insular. Make enough noise and civilian police have to take notice. It makes it hard for even a demon lord to stay hidden. Anyway, Jackson and Amber came to talk to my dad and his partners about that hunt. Claimed that they wanted to set up shop in San Francisco and had heard some stories. But they weren’t very convincing when they said that they wanted to avoid the demon lord, not hunt it. Especially considering how long ago everything went down here. Why are they asking how to deal with a monster that they don’t want to hunt? Doesn’t make any sense.”

For a moment, anger and elation warred in her. Chelsea fought down both. Now was not the time to let her emotions win. “And where did they go after they talked to your dad?”

Ted shrugged. “They said they were headed to San Francisco.”

Andy smirked. “And you didn’t believe them?”

“They seemed a little too invested in fighting the demon lord, instead of running it out of town, let alone avoiding it.” He studied Chelsea for a moment and then glanced over at Bentley. The filthy beggar had successfully obtained half a sandwich. Ted’s eyes wrenched back to Chelsea. “You were part of the ocean fairy hunt up in Washington last year.”

Chelsea jerked a quick nod, fighting back tears. A good man had died on that hunt. “Yeah. What a shit show that was.” 

Ted’s lip thinned as his face tightened. Then he heaved a sigh and took a long drink of beer. “I don’t know anything for a fact, but before they took off Amber said something about Portland. Might have been a job, might have been a place to sleep. But there’s a real haunt in Portland and a working hub. Probably the best place to look for them next.”

Relief filled her. “Thanks for the tip.”

“Thanks for the bounty,” Ted said with a shrug. “I hope you find them. They’re way out of their league on this one.”

Chelsea knew she should sit by the fire and socialize, but she couldn’t. Part of her wanted to hit the road. The other part knew she was tired and should sleep here before moving on. Maybe give Andy some time to get answers before they went on a wild goose chase. Instead, she stalked down the beach, into the dark.

She had barely left the light of the fire, when Bentley’s cold nose pressed against her hand. She scratched at his ears, but kept walking. The fire was a speck and the ocean a dark rumble on her left when she finally stopped.

She stared at the dark water, unable to see more than a vague movements of waves. The wind off the water made her glad of both her thick coat and Bentley pressed against her legs. 

Eventually Andy’s voice startled her back to the present. “I’m almost afraid to ask this, given that Keegan might deck me, but are we sure we need to chase these two down? They’re looking to decades old leads here.”

“Keegan won’t deck you for asking that.”

Andy snorted. “Red, that man has never really liked me, and he defends you like you’re sleeping together. He might punch me for questioning you.”

“I wouldn’t punch you for questioning her,” Keegan said as he ambled out of the dark. “Just for making her question herself.” He settled at her feet. “So what now? Portland?”

As grateful as she was for both men, she considered leaving them here. They annoyed the shit out of her with their constant bickering and grumbling.  Andy hated any place that wasn’t New York and Keegan might not be talking about his family situation, but Chelsea knew something was up there. 

She turned to them, ready to tell them she was going alone. 

Both men had glares firmly attached. 

Keegan wagged a finger at her. “Don’t even try it. We’re with you until we find those two morons.”

Andy wrapped an arm along her shoulders. “Guess we’re off to the see the wizard.”

“That’s Seattle,” she grumbled, leaning into him.

“Seriously?” Andy asked.

“Seattle is the Emerald City.”

“What’s Portland then?”

Keegan laughed. “Weird. Really fucking weird.”