Trip joined me. He whistled at the destruction. “Between the buffet and this, I’m thinking we’re not getting invited back next year.”

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

“Other than the water that leaked out, there’s no evidence it was ever here. A whole forest comes out of nowhere and takes over. Monsters that shouldn’t exist kill a Hunter and then disappear into thin air…I’ve never heard of anything quite like that before.” Julie told the assembled decision-makers.

I was sitting on the burned remains of the hotel bed. Ten minutes ago it would have been in a magical river. “You’re a master of understatement.”

Lindemann was in the center of the room, picking through the debris. “There is no sign of Hugo. Damn it.” He kicked the remains of a chair. “What is going on here?”

No one had a good answer for that.

The room was packed with lead Hunters from various countries. Many of our own experienced MHI staff were out running interference. We knew how to deal with American law enforcement much better than anyone else. The fact that there was an MCB contingent already in town was sure to complicate matters. They would probably be here shortly.

“We’re missing a few Hunters, but those that are gone were seen leaving the party, some alone, some with new friends. None of the other companies seem to be missing anyone. So it seems that everyone is accounted for except Hugo,” Julie explained. “Surrounding rooms weren’t affected, just this one. But how and why? The only witness said Hugo called it Nachtmar.”

“It means nightmare. That word will do as well as any other,” Lindemann said. He tossed a chunk of broken wood into a puddle. “Fitting.”

“You knew what these things were, Klaus?”

“They were the cause of the Stuttgart Massacre…” Most of the European Hunters began nodding and one of them crossed himself. “Grimm Berlin lost nearly half of our men.”

I was unfamiliar with the event. Julie leaned over and whispered to me. “It’s their equivalent to the Christmas party. Bad op.”

Lindemann seemed haunted as he continued to poke through the debris. “The monsters had been created in a necromantic ritual several hundred years ago, designed to be immortal soldiers for Emperor Maximilian by a mad alchemist named Schreiber. Only a few were activated in that time, but the denizens that were grown to give them life proved to be far too bloodthirsty, and the rest were hidden away and buried, hopefully to never be used.”

“I remember hearing that Maximilian’s iron army was one of the mystical things the Third Reich was searching for.” Earl should know. He’d been there, and had probably gotten that information firsthand, but since only a handful of us knew who he really was, that went unsaid.