Ch.33

"Ebert, you know what to do now, don't you?" Fir asked, taking the other boy's arm. "Why don't you go get the others?"

Ebert gave him a dour look. "Are you sure that everyone will believe that we're just stalling them until someone else shows up?"

"Relax," said Fir. "We'll let you handle that part. Just remember that you're going to lead your hunters away when the time is right."

The young hunter nodded, slipping his sword back into its sheath and turning back toward the entrance to the cabin. Then he froze, looking over his shoulder at Evander. "He wants you to kill him!"

Michel made a strangled noise as he covered his mouth. "What?"

Evander opened his eyes wide, staring back at Ebert. The lupis man was trying not to laugh as he watched Michel slowly turn away, still gaping in shock.

Then Ebert looked around and gestured toward the woodpile with his head. "Be sure to take the one next to the trap door. There should be a rope tied to the pole inside. It came loose during the windstorm that blew through a few days ago."

Michel looked toward the dark elf, still feeling a little stunned. But then he turned back toward Evander. "You what?"

Evander shrugged. "It sounds like there are three of them left out here‌… the same three as last time, right? I don't know which one is the leader, but I'm sure they wouldn't want to let him live. And if they do find us, then they'll send another one after him later."

He cocked an eyebrow at Michel. "Do you think anyone would believe that we really were only waiting for someone else to show up before making a break for it? Besides, we have all these other things we could use to buy us more time: the clothes, the weapons, all of the food and supplies‌… Not to mention all of those spears. We just need some way to attract their attention without scaring them off in the process. Killing the leader might be too obvious."

Then he nodded toward Fir. "You can handle that part, right? I just don't know how you'll get them to leave. If they're working together, then they won't be able to turn on each other once you start killing their companions, since they'd only be keeping the order that the leader gave them. And even if the rest of them ran out into the woods to escape, there's no way that any of us would survive out there."

Michel crossed his arms, feeling the cool night air against his fur-covered chest. He was all for distracting the hunters‌… but he wasn't so sure about letting Fir take care of the rest of this himself.

After a moment, Evander sighed, pushing away from the support post. Then he took out his sword and stepped over to where the hunter stood. "I didn't want to have to do this," he said, touching the hilt. "But you seem pretty confident that you can make the others run off to save themselves. I wonder why?"

"I told you," Ebert replied, squinting in the darkness. "Someone killed my sister. So now I'll make sure that I get revenge. The rest of this is up to you."

Then the young hunter turned to look at Fir, who nodded slightly. "Besides‌… if you got rid of the others, then we wouldn't have to worry about any more of them sneaking around on our own turf, would we? And I'd rather be busy with something important like this, while you're out scouting for a new place for us to live."

Ebert frowned. "Fine. But just in case you change your mind about doing things my way‌… well, remember that I'll be watching you, whether you come up with your own plan or not." Then he nodded toward the entrance of the cabin. "This time, just get into position and watch their backs while I distract them. Then you can attack any one of them after they split up. Make sure you kill the leader first, though, before anyone else comes running."

Then he pointed back to Evander. "Just remember, you have to kill him all by yourself."

Evander bowed his head. "Yes‌…"

"Oh, and make sure to draw him away from me first, if possible. Otherwise we might be found together when he checks the rest of the cabin."

Fir nodded again, looking down as his hand drifted toward the hilt of his sword. "If they keep looking, we could just bring this whole thing on ourselves. Maybe we should stop right here."

Then the lupis man glanced back, catching Evander's eye. "Listen‌… you better be ready to carry this load by yourself. It's going to get heavier than you think."

Then Fir gave Evander a slight nod, which the dark elf returned. Then Ebert had stepped away, giving them room to move.

Evander watched as the tall wolf-man vanished into the shadows, feeling his heart start to beat faster. Then he swallowed hard, taking a deep breath, and headed for the door to the cabin.

At first, Evander had been worried that the thick woods would be too dense to make his way through. But there were only a few times where he tripped over fallen tree trunks or was forced to sidestep branches that had grown across the path. The other hunters might have been able to keep up with him, but he'd never made it very far without stopping to catch his breath.

The whole time, though, his mind kept turning around and around. He tried to convince himself that none of this was going to work, and that he was just wasting his time. That he should just give up now‌… that he didn't even have anything to protect anymore.

But then he stopped at one point, resting against the trunk of a large tree as he listened to the forest around him. It seemed quiet enough to him, especially considering the strange sound he'd heard the day before. It couldn't possibly still be out there, could it? But what if he got lost in the middle of nowhere and ran into something like that again? What if the trees took care of him instead of letting him go back home?

He needed to try something anyway‌… because he'd already come this far. Besides‌… he had nothing to lose now. So Evander pulled his pack off his shoulders and opened it, pulling out the dried meat, nuts, and fruits that he'd brought along. Then he took a long drink from his waterskin as he waited.