We ran for what seemed like hours, now in a comfortable silence. I liked to hear noise, but as I ran I needed to concentrate on running. Just running.
The snow was coming down harder now. The rest of the woods were almost invisible. I had picked a bad day to attack. Anyone who wanted to kill me could.
That was another reason for the silence. I needed to be able to hear enemies. A sword being drawn, a clanking of armor, the crunch of a foot on snow; these would be hard to hear both through the blanket of flakes and Garrett's chatter.
But we weren't attacked. The sounds I heard, instantly associated with hostility, turned out to be the hoot of an owl, the scrape of branch on branch, a rabbit's pounding, our own footsteps.
As we ran I went over what I was going to do when we got to the House.
First I would try to find Calen. I knew where they were holding him; I'd been scouting out the House for years. He would be in the cells.
Then together, we would kill my enemy.
I pictured the scene in my mind. There were dozens of beginnings to the fight. He could grovel, he could attack. Fight or flee. Snarl or snivel. I could tell him to prepare for death, or I could attack without warning. He could be ready for us. Or not.
Dozens of beginnings. But only one conceivable ending.
My enemy's death.
My thoughts of revenge occupied my mind for a minute. Then, as we passed a huge, gnarled tree, quite close to the edge of the woods near the icy lake, he skidded to a stop. "Wait," he said, taking his handgun out of its holster. "Just a second."
He closed his eyes. I heard a snap of twig breaking. He whirled and fired, all in one movement.
Another of the enemies fell out of a tree, shot again, unerringly, through the heart.
"Let them suffer," I said. "Hit them through a lung."
"I don't need pointers on how to kill," he said. "They'll suffer enough in the next life, Alyssa."
Then he froze. "Do you…did you hear…"
And as he said those words, five of my enemies stepped from behind the trees.
