Page 34 of Boys Who Hunt

I wait a few more seconds, my ragged breath the only sound I hear as I clutch my knife so hard it feels like my fingers might break.

After a while, I push the blanket off me and look out from underneath the bed. They’re not in the room anymore. I have to be quick.

I crawl to my feet, kick off my shoes, and run to the stairs in my socks, praying they won’t hear as they search the other rooms. One. Two. Three steps down.

CRACK.

My pupils dilate.

“There!”

Heath’s voice sets me off, and I race down the stairs as fast as I can and storm out the door. I can hear them bolt down the stairsbehind me as I run to the side of the house where I left my bike, but my eyes widen as I come to a full halt.

The front wheel has been taken off.

Oh God.

The front door slams open.

Shit, no time to think.

I run off into Priory Forest, not even checking where I’m going as I need to get away from them as quick as possible. I fall over a couple of rocks and catch myself on the ground, grazing my skin until it bleeds, but I still keep going. Because when I glance over my shoulder, two dark figures are chasing my tracks, their masks like warning signals beaming through the woods.

“Keep running, little thief!” Silas’s voice booms through the woods. “I’m still going to catch you.”

He’s insane. He’s completely, utterly insane!

I go to the left and zigzag downhill through the forest, trying to shake them off by disappearing in the sea of leaves, but every time I look, they’re still there, running after me like hounds who’ve been set loose … and I’m the prey they’re going to catch.

“Run all you want, but there’s no escaping us, Ivy,” Heath calls out.

I glance over my shoulder.

THWACK!

A knife whooshes right past me and lands in the tree beside my face, barely avoiding my skin.

I rip it out and keep running as I tuck it into my pocket. If they don’t stop coming after me, then at least I’ll be ready when they pounce on me.

“Yes, that’s it. Run, little thief,” Silas growls. “Do you even know how badly it turns me on?”

A maniacal laughter follows that makes me acutely aware of every step I take.

My feet hurt from running across gravel and uneven ground with only socks on, but I refuse to give up. I have to get out before they find me, but they’re slowly catching up to me with every passing minute.

I only have one choice—lay low and hide.

From the corner of my eye, I spot an alcove with an overhanging rock overgrown with bushes, and I make a beeline for it when they’re momentarily out of sight. I jump underneath and throw a whole pile of leaves on top of my body while I make myself as tiny as possible.

The wind blows through the trees, making them sound alive as they creak with movement, the howling noise making me shiver. But I stay put with my breath held and my body stiff as can be while their footsteps close in.

“Oh, twig, where are you hiding?” Silas yells.

“Come out now, and we might go easy on you,” Heath adds, but I can hear them snigger at each other.

Lies.

Even though I can’t see them, I can hear them circling the area, kicking leaves aside with every step. And then … nothing.