It was Dippy.
Ahnna’s body went rigid, and James fought the urge to wrap an arm around her waist to restrain her.
“Carry on,” Carlo ordered. “Keep the people in check. Angry but not irrationally so, understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
They hurried after the chain of civilians and the barking dog, but Carlo did not follow. The Beast cocked his head as though he was listening, and it was all James could do not to hold his breath.
Slowly, Carlo pivoted, now nothing more than a shadow in the night. Hunting the darkness like some form of demon. His focus passed over the hollow where they hid, and Ahnna pressed her back against James.
“Where are you, James?” Carlo crooned. “Won’t you come out and play?”
A tremor ran through James, and he wasn’t sure if it was terror or rage. Wasn’t sure whether he wanted to melt into the mud or explode from the brush and attack.
Ahnna’s nails dug into his hand, her spine glued to his chest, and her hair soft against his cheek.
“We have a connection, you and I,” Carlo whispered, reaching a hand out in the darkness with uncanny accuracy. “I can feel you. It won’t be long now.”
He took a step closer.
Kill him!instinct screamed in James’s chest.Put him down!
Except even if he killed Carlo before he made a sound, it wouldn’tbe long before the Beast’s absence would be noted. They were vastly outnumbered. He and Ahnna would be on the run with no supplies, no head start, and there would be no escape.
Carlo dropped Dippy’s reins and took another step. The wind blew, and it carried with it the man’s scent. Sweat and blood and smoke, and Ahnna trembled in James’s arms. Not from fear, no. He could feel her fury, and James interlaced his fingers with hers. Both of them warring with the desire to put this monster down.
“You have made this a true joy.” Carlo gave a contented sigh. “A hunt for the ages. But all hunts must end, my old nemesis.”
He abruptly twisted on his heels and mounted Dippy. With a few soft clicks, he drove the gelding into a trot and disappeared into the forest.
Everything fell silent, even the insects seeming to be holding their breath, the smell of blood and sweat fading.
But the smell of smoke lingered, as though Carlo left a trail of evil everywhere he walked.
Ahnna released a shuddering breath. “He killed them, didn’t he? Those Amaridians who helped us.”
“Likely.” James swallowed to clear his throat but didn’t let go of her. “I don’t know if this plan will work. I had thought he’d keep our presence secret so word we were alive wouldn’t reach Alexandra, but his choice to engage the civilians in the hunt changes everything. News of our presence will travel faster than we can, and with the sort of reward he’s offering, everyone will be hunting for us.”
He could feel her thinking, the wheels in her mind searching for a sure path to escape. James racked his own brain, but as he discarded option after option, the stench of smoke seemed to thicken.
“Do you smell that?” Ahnna pulled out of his grip and eased out of their hiding place. James followed, searching the shadows as he got to his feet.
To the east an orange glow bloomed.
At first, he thought it was the dawn. But the glow was too bright. Too fierce. Tooearly.
As the wind blew over them, it carried with it a thick cloud of smoke and James realized what he was seeing.
“God have mercy,” Ahnna breathed, face no longer lost to shadows but illuminated by a wall of light racing toward them. “He’s set the forest on fire.”
James caught hold of her hand, anger fleeing in the face of the firestorm. “Run!”
35
Ahnna
The inferno raced forward ina wall of flames. The only direction to run was either toward Carlo or toward the river.
