I count his breaths. Three. Four. He's close now, maybe ten feet. He shifts his weight and a twig snaps under his boot.
Amateur.
That's when I move.
One step back, pivot left. My hand flips the gun as I spin, finding him exactly where I knew he would be. He's young, mid-twenties, a total deer caught in the headlights. He shouldn't be here, and it's unfortunately too late for him to realize he's made the biggest mistake of his life because no matter what happens, this guy won't be leaving these grounds alive.
My gun is at his temple before he can blink.
"Don't."
He's shaking. "I—I wasn't?—"
I press the barrel harder. "You have exactly five seconds to tell me who you are and what you're doing out here."
"Please…I’m just?—"
"Watching. For him."
He nods, chin trembling.
I grab the back of his neck and force him to his knees. "Let's talk about what you've seen."
I drag him back to the clearing where Calder left his stone display. The boy sees it and loses whatever courage remained.
"That's not…we didn't do that. Why is that here?"
"Where is she?"
He lifts his head, tears streaking down his face. "Wh-who?"
Wrong answer.
My arm swings back and the butt of my gun cracks across his cheek. Blood explodes from his mouth.
He trembles violently. "I don't…I don't know anything. They just said to come here, to watch, to send a report?—"
I throw him onto his back, straddling the space beside him.
"Perfect. Then watch this."
I holster my gun and pull my switchblade. The snap of the blade opening feels like my pulse finally finding rhythm.
His sobbing breaks into a higher, uglier sound.
Calder picked this trembling worm on purpose. A sacrificial spectator. A front-row seat to what I become without her.
The Ferryman wants a show. He wants proof of how far I'll go.
Unfortunately for both of us, this obsession has already sunk its claws too deep to pull out.
"Where is the woman he's holding hostage? The one with the red hair."
His breath hitches. So he knows about her. He's seen Keira.
"You've seen her."
He starts shaking his head. "N-No…I've only heard…people talk…I've never?—"
