"I'll make your last kill," not-Will said.

"Yeah, yeah, we heard that one already." I circled to the left, and Will circled with me. "Do you remember how it went down?"

"Don't be tedious," he said.

Oh, definitely possesseda"Will would never say "tedious" in any sentence. All around us, the team kept Will in their sights. If this worked, they wouldn't have to shootaand God help me if they did. My palms were slick as I fumbled in the pocket of my BDU jacket and Will hissed, his body coiled like he was about to jump. My fingers brushed against the St. Christopher medal and I hoped the grace Ella had given me would hold long enough for me to pull this off.

Keeping my voice from shaking took a lot of effort, but I said, "Sounds like you need a reminder. That first hunt went a little something like this!"

I yanked my LED flashlighta"the good luck charm from our first solo hunta"out of my pocket and shined the blue light directly into his eyes. Will cried out and staggered backwards. Keeping the flashlight trained on his face, I forced him down and straddled his back. "Lanningham! Come sit on his legs. Blakeney, I need ropea"" Will bucked like a wild mustang, and I was not in the mood for a rodeo. "Or, frak, bring me some towing cables."

Lanningham came to help me pin Will. He thrashed beneath us and for a moment I wondered if his unearthly strength would be enough to toss four hundred pounds of guy off his back, but he stayed down until Blakeney showed up with the cable. I felt bad about hogtying my best friend with his arms behind his back, but he did break my nose. After we sat him up, Will spit and shouted curses in a guttural language.

This would be a long night.

A few hours later, Will's eyes still looked like a pair of green traffic signals glowing in the dim light of the command tent, which is where we stowed him while we tried to decide what to do next. I was nearly dead on my feet and all I knew about Uncle Mike's condition was that Will had dislocated his shoulder. Aunt Julie and her team were with him.

I really wished Tink would come back online, especially when I had to endure Klimmett resetting my nose. It had hurt like hell.

Captain Johnson poked his head into the tent. "Archer, the major wants to see youa"he's in Klimmett's tent. I'll help Lanningham and Blakeney watch Will."

"That's not Will," I said, dragging myself upright. I felt like I'd been run over by a garbage truck, then backed over again, to ensure my complete misery. "Make sure he doesn't hurt himself, or try to make you hurt him. I want to question the demon when I get back, because sunlight might make it more compliant, so don't let it convince you to do anything to Will."

I slipped out of the tent, cringing when Will switched back to English and shouted, "Your blade-spirits deserted you! Woe on the unguided wielders!"

It was bad enough that he was speaking like a villain in Shakespearian play, but the mention of the spirits really got me. I turned back and asked, "What did you say?"

He laughed. "You've been deserted, boy."

"Why?" I asked.

"They fled. They cannot withstand my mistress, and she banished them from this place."

"If that's true, then why haven't I been possessed?" I walked over and pressed the tip of my knife blade against Will's shoulder, done with this demon. I'd planned to wait a while before releasing it, to see what we could learn, but I'd had enough. "Tell me. Why take my friend, and not me?"

Will's smile was so unlike him it gave me the creeps. "We want this one dead."

"And not me?"

"Oh, we want you dead, too. But not yet." Will cocked his head to one side. "Not yet."

"Why not?"

Will clamped his mouth shut and hummed a nonsensical tune.

"Okay, then, have it your way," I said. "Lanningham? Help me drag him into the sunlight. Time for this thing to be on its way."

Once we were outside, I made a small cut just above Will's collarbone, thinking the demon would ooze out of Will like it had with Dr. Longtree.

Will just laughed, his green eyes blazing with hate.

Epilogue.

Once we determined that Will's demon wasn't going anywhere and figured out that the sun was blistering his skin at a rapid pace, we shoved him back into the command tent. To make sure the demon didn't have a chance to spew anymore crap, I asked Lanningham to gag him with a bandana. Will looked kind of pitiful, lying on a cot all tied up, but what could we do? I stepped out into the early morning sunshine more than a little sick to my stomach. My best friend was possessed. There was no way this ended well.

My shoulders drooped with exhaustion as I plodded to Klimmett's tent. The medic tent and command were the only ones that survived the night. The rest of the tents had been shredded or trampled and most of the guys not on duty were sleeping in the shade of the Humvees. Even with the newness of morning, the air still smelled like smoke and death. Someone had ordered the slain monsters dragged out into the desert to be burned and everyone had been green from the stench. The scent had faded some, but not enough.

The other dead bodiesa"those of our soldiersa"were being taken home.

Julie's helicopter pilot, a guy with the Australian military, had agreed to transport them to Perth, and Colonel Black would arrange to have them brought back to the states. The pilot had removed his back seats to accommodate our fallen, and said he'd be back with supplies. He gave us his sat-phone, too, which made me feel less stranded. Plus now that Julie had returned, our crew went from being an uneasy thirteen to seventeen. She'd brought the CIA operative with her and that's who I was going to meet. He supposedly had information about the witches and a small coven not far from here. I kind of hoped he knew how to perform exorcisms, too.

When I reached the tent, I paused. Uncle Mike was having a heated discussion with someone and I didn't want to interrupt.

"Major, those two boys looked near to killing each other." I didn't recognize the voice, so it must be the CIA operative. He sounded righteously pissed. "This situation is out of control!"

"And you don't have the slightest clue what we're up against," Mike growled.

"Oh? So dealing with witches for the last year isn't enough to give me a clue?" the man asked.

Aunt Julie broke in, sounding uncomfortable. "That's why we need your help. Captain Johnson says Cruessan is still possessed. If you can help us find the coven, surely there will be someone whoa""

"I said I'd help. My contact is still living with them, and maybe she can do something for the kid. But I need some answers first, Captain, seeing as how you failed mention any of this on the way in."

"It wasn't my place. You needed to speak with the major," Aunt Julie said firmly. I bet she was rocking her coldest glare, too.

"Fine. Major Tannen, you have some serious explaining to do," the man barked back.

Deciding it was time I broke this up, I parted the tent flap and stepped inside.

Then froze.

The years had added a few lines to the man's face, and his dark brown hair was touched with gray at the temples. But I recognized the square jaw, broad shoulders, lanky frame tied with lean muscle, and blue eyes. Especially the blue eyes.

Archer-blue.

Every nerve I had shot electricity to my limbs and I backed up slowly. The CIA operativeaoh, my God.

Dumbstruck, I stood there while the man stared and stared for the longest time. Then he turned back to Mike, looking furious. "Major, you want to explain what the fuck my seventeen-year-old son is doing on a live op in Australia with the Green Berets?"

My dad was alive.

a"THE ENDa".

Other Books by Kendra C. Highley.

The Matt Archer Series: MATT ARCHER: MONSTER HUNTER (MA1).

MATT ARCHER: MONSTER SUMMER (MA1.5).

MATT ARCHER: BLADE'S EDGE (MA2) MATT ARCHER: LEGEND (MA3).

Author's Note:.

There will be two more books in the Matt Archer series. MA4 (Title TBA) will be released in early 2014. Additional information, including publication announcements, can be found on www.matt-archer.com Subscribe to the newsletter or the Monsters and Mayhem blog to ensure you don't miss any of the news!

Also, feedback is always welcome in the form of reviews or via the contact page on the website. Thanks for readingaand beware of monsters!

Acknowledgements.

There are some books that are a struggle to get onto the pagea"Legend was one of them. I had a lot of help and encouragement in completing this third installment of the Matt Archer series: My editor, Cassandra Marshall, for her awesome editorial skills and for helping me see the big picture in the manuscript.

My cover, webpage and interior layout designer, Glendon Haddix and the Streetlight Graphics team, for a cover that delighted me from the very first iteration.

My awesome critique partners: Lindsay Buroker, Crash Froelich, Becca Andre, and J.R Hochman.

My beta readers: Ryan Highley, Arthur Stewart, Maria McConnaughy and Kelly Crawley.

My children, Tanner (who grew so much during the drafting of this novel that I started to wonder if he had a magic knife hidden away somewhere), and Alexandra (who drew me beautiful artwork that always seemed to show up when I needed a little extra boost).

My husband, Ryan, who read this manuscript three different times, kept me talking until the plot worked itself out, and helped me maintain my sanity.

Finally, to you, the readers, for joining Matt on his adventures. Without you, Mr. Archer would be stuck in Billings, studying chemistry. He's very grateful you spared him from that cruel fate.

About the Author.

Kendra C. Highley lives in north Texas with her husband and two children. She also serves as staff to two self-important and high-powered cats. This, according to the cats, is her most crucial job. She believes chocolate is a basic human right, running a 10k is harder than it sounds, and that everyone should learn to drive a stick-shift. She loves monsters, vacations, baking and listening to bad electronica.

More information about the Matt Archer universe, works in progress and other stuff that goes bump in the night can be found at www.matt-archer.com.

Twitter: www.twitter.com/kendrahighley.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/kchighley.

Author Website: www.kendrachighley.com.

end.