fear in the dirt, then surely Es had another witch who could do the same.
My legs burned.
I knew how to run and I could do it for a long time, but not like this.
Still, I kept moving.
Those idiots were still using their radios and it was a blessing, because a few times, I caught that warning crackle just in time to freeze.
One time was bad. They had dogs. I heard them baying after me and the excitement of the men.
I laid it on harder, until I thought my lungs might burst.
Finally, the sounds grew distant and I let myself slow. Thirty minutes, I thought…Maybe thirty minutes to the car, and almost to one of the more populated areas.
My head was pounding. The burden of keeping myself unseen was getting to me but I couldn’t drop it now.
I heard a laugh—young and girlish, followed by a deeper one. Male. Young. Shit. Getting close to people.
Was that a good thing or bad?
The radio I’d hung at my waist crackled.
“Girl.”
I stopped.
“Come on, girl. I know you took Hooper’s radio. We doubled back and counted, saw your shit, saw the snake eating him—we won’t hold that against you, since that’s the way things sometimes play out when you play a real hunting game. The snake won that round. So did you. But it’s time to listen to the rules of the game.”
Rules of the game…you son of a bitch. I took the radio off my belt, still listening to those voices. They were still a few hundred yards away and my gut whispered, Human. Kids out for a hike or what?
“What do you want?” I said.
“You.” The man’s voice was blunt and honest. “What do you think?”
“Fuck yourself. Sideways.”
He chuckled. “Now, now…here’s where we have a problem. You weren’t ever supposed to be a target. You’re human and we don’t like hunting our own.”
My skin prickled and crawled.
“But we’ve got somebody interested in you and if we don’t give you to him? He’ll take it out of our throats.”
“That’s what happens when you fuck with vampires,” I said.
There was a pause and then a laugh as he said, “Nobody said nothing about vampires, kid.”
It was a lie—I heard the strain in his voice.
“I did.”
More silence. “You aren’t going to get out of here, girl. If you try, we’ll come after your ass. We’ll hunt everything, everybody you love. We’ll kill anybody that gets in the way, starting with the kids that are between you and the exit of the park…are you there yet?”
Another whoop came from up ahead. He couldn’t have heard them. I wasn’t talking when they’d been laughing and I didn’t have the button down now.
So he had people up there. Around here.
Close.
“And why should that matter to me?”
“Because you lingered long enough to make sure your friend was dead before you left her…we were watching. Because you hung around even after we let you find the kid you were hired to find, the girl witch, and the wolf. We didn’t think you would come back, but you did. Since you’re still here, I’m going to assume it’s for a reason. You’re soft. You’re okay. It’s okay. The world needs people like you. We don’t need to waste time and play games. You don’t want me killing those kids, do you? Nice girl like you, you don’t like waste, but either you come to us, or there is going to be all sorts of waste.”
I listened to the laughter, waited for it to fade. “You want me, you fucker, you’ll have to find me. I won’t leave the park, but you want a hunting game? Hunt me. And I assure you…there’s going to be a lot of waste. I’m having fun with all of these gators out here anyway.” I smiled as I said it. Most of the gators were back by the water and I’d left that behind a good thirty minutes ago.
He wanted to play a hunting game? The son-of-a-bitch had no idea who…or what…he was messing with. Bow ready, I started for the kids.
First thing to do? Get rid of the possible hostages.
I bypassed four of the hunters in silence.
I think one of them sensed me, turning his head my way. I was tempted to bury the length of my blade in him—via his throat. Instead, I ghosted past him, pausing long enough to learn his face. I was aneira—watered down version or not, I was still a fucking assassin and I’d find my target.