Page 59 of Dyana
“I’ve got him,” Bryce yelled. “Get the fire out!”
The rest of us rushed for the stores of water we had already gathered. Fire was one of the potential attacks we had planned for yesterday. When we got the fire out, I realized that Dyana wasn’t in sight.
“Dyana?”
Slowly, she stepped out of the forest and picked up one of the rifles we had dropped in our haste to capture Harris. Dyana lifted the rifle to her shoulder and pointed it at Harris. “Let him go, Bryce.”
Bryce did as he was told and moved out of the way. Instead of staying on his knees, Harris stood, glaring at Dyana.
“Well, go ahead, shoot me!” he screamed. I expected the shot, and when it didn’t come, we all looked toward Dyana. She was still standing as frozen as a statue.
“Dyana,” Evan said as he moved toward her. “If you can’t do it, if you want one of us to, we will.”
“No,” Dyana said, her voice cold as ice. “His life is mine.” The barrel lowered, and a shot rang out. Harris screamed in pain and grabbed his leg as blood spread across his thigh through his pants.
“Run, Harris. I want you to know what it feels like to be hunted. To have someone breathing down your neck and feel like there is no way out.”
“So you can shoot me in the back? I don’t think so. If you want to kill me, you’ll have to do it like a man.” Harris sneered.
The door to the cabin opened, and Cora stepped out carrying a hunting knife that looked absurdly large in her small hands.
“A big man like you?” Dyana scoffed. “You’ve raped, beaten, and killed countless women and children and you have the stones to call yourself a man?” “No, I won’t be shooting you,” Dyana replied as she headed toward Cora. She traded her rifle for the knife Cora held. “I’ll gut you like the pig you are, now run.”
Harris still looked cocky, but I could see the shadow of doubt in his eyes as he took off toward the road.
Chapter eighteen
Dyana
Iwatched Harris flee for a few seconds before stomping after him. One more hunt, this time his, and we’d be done with this forever.
“Absolutely not,” Jack huffed as he tried to block me. “You are not going after him alone.”
“He’s unarmed,” I replied, walking around him.
“That doesn’t mean he can’t fucking overpower you and kill you,” Evan growled as Bryce wrapped his arms around me from behind.
“We can’t let you go, Sweetheart.”
“Yes, you can, and you will. This is my fight. His life is mine. He doesn’t know this mountain like I do,” I replied, struggling in his arms.
“Let her go,” Cora said behind us.
“Cora!” Remi exclaimed.
“Dyana needs this,” Cora continued calmly. “She needs to slay her monster. Nothing short of watching the life drain from his eyes as his blood runs through her fingers will do. Trust that she can take care of herself and let her go.”
Jack shook his head at Bryce as his hold on me loosened. Bryce kissed my neck. “You better come back to us. We’d follow you into death, too.”
I turned and kissed him, then Jack and Evan in turn. “I’ll be back. I promise.” I grabbed Cora and hugged her before taking the camo jacket she offered and putting it on. “Thank you for understanding.”
I walked away from them and into the forest. I knew Harris would take the road as far as he could since he was unfamiliar with the forest. If he weren’t on the road, he’d be near it in the trees. I hadn’t been much of a hunter before I moved into the tower, but thanks to Cora, I had become reasonably proficient in it. Good enough to hunt a bumbling idiot through the trees.
As expected, I saw Harris running on the road below me, with a noticeable limp in his gait. Instead of trying to intercept him, I let him exhaust himself a little more. If he didn’t deal with his leg soon, he’d bleed out. I’d get to him before that happened, but for now, I was content to watch him struggle. Plus, I wanted him to get to his car and think he found an escape. I shadowed him through the trees, keeping him in sight. My steps were silent, and I was grateful we were still in summer. Fall, with all the crunchy leaves, would have made this more difficult, but not impossible. I saw the moment Harris spotted his car on the road because his steps quickened.
“Yes!” I heard him cheer. “Stupid bitch!” he yelled.
When he reached for the handle and the door didn’t open, I saw his confusion as he pulled on the handle a couple more times. When we left the car, I made sure to take the keys and lock the doors. That car wouldn’t save him. Harris checked each door pointlessly, growing more desperate at each one. When he’d finally checked the front passenger door and found it locked as well, I decided it was time to get him moving again. I let out a low whistle, letting the haunting note carry through the trees.
