Time to Hunt #4
Abbott was strong and smart, but I was faster, and sometimes that’s all you needed to give you an edge.
I opened my mouth to let out my own taunt but thought better of it.
That would give me away, for sure. I bolted off toward the tree to his left—his weaker side—and ran up the trunk, flipping myself over and landing right behind him, pressing my dagger to the back of his neck.
“You dirty flying squirrel, I’ll not go down that easy,” he growled, grabbing my arm. He flipped me over his shoulder, slamming my back into the ground as I landed, staring up at the sky.
I heard him draw his dagger, going in for the kill, assuming he’d knocked the wind out of me.
I waited a breath, then rose to meet him.
I grabbed his wrist and flung myself backward, using his forward momentum to flip him over me and land with him on the ground, me sitting on his chest. This time I forced his dagger to his throat.
“Yield,” I huffed as I pressed the dagger closer to his skin, almost cutting it.
“I yield,” Abbott wheezed, relaxing.
Sitting up, I handed him back his dagger, but when I went to move off him, his hands locked on to my hips, holding me in place.
“Well done, Your Majesty.” Abbott smirked.
I pulled down the cloth that had been covering my face, smiling. “How’d you know?”
“Cole is the only one who could’ve taught someone to flip off a tree like that, and he wouldn’t teach it to just anyone. It’s his hidden trump card that never fails to get him the win,” Abbott explained.
The wind blew in our direction, kicking up more smoke and causing us both to cough.
This time when I tried to get up, he rolled us over so I was trapped under him.
His face hovered over mine, and his gray-blue eyes glimmered with intent.
Slowly, he moved in until his lips brushed against mine, causing me to become frozen in shock.
Then Abbott gave me a smile that made my body tingle at the sight of it.
“You’ve finally set that fire in your soul free. You should be very proud of yourself, little phoenix. You have overcome much to be here,” Abbott whispered, making it feel far more intimate than it should have.
Shifting himself to his feet, he reached down, offering me a hand up as if nothing had just happened between us. “Come on, let’s get out of this smoke and take me to your prison like a good captor.” Abbott winked.
Shaking myself out of my Abbott-induced haze, I covered my face and headed off. When we passed by the designated oak tree, I shot another arrow to represent my new captive. It looked like we only needed to find one more to win the game.
The smoke trick had done it—we had been able to flush them out and turn the tide in our favor.
Back at the cave, I found four of my team guarding the six other captives, now seven with Abbott. Becka was in the group, her red hair all disheveled and full of twigs. Her face and arms had tons of little scratches like she had been attacked by a kitten.
“Becka, what happened to you?” I asked, trying not to laugh at how silly she looked.
“Laugh, I dare you. Once I’m free of these ropes, we’ll see who’s laughing,” Becka snapped.
“In an attempt to get out of the horse’s way, she jumped and ended up rolling down a small incline into a bunch of thistle bushes,” Dani explained, trying to keep a straight face.
“Oh, wow, um… that sucks,” was all I could say.
“Whoever came up with that harebrained idea is going to pay for it when I get my hands on them,” Becka fumed.
My team all looked at me, then quickly away, not wanting to be the first to point fingers. I’d seen Becka mad before but never directed at myself, and I hoped it would stay that way.
“I’m guessing Richard is still out there since the rest of you are here,” I said, clearing my throat and trying to change the subject.
“He said he wanted to go after Cole himself,” Kesha remarked.
“I guess I’ll go help him… see if I can’t find our last captive as well.” I sighed as I pulled my mask back up and ventured back into the smoky woods.
Out of the two of them, I didn’t really know who would win. I knew Cole’s skill, but Richard had a desperate need to win. I wouldn’t trust Richard to play fair in a fight—he had too much to prove.
I kept low and ventured in the direction opposite of where we’d sent the horses.
Knowing them both, they would want a place they could really duke it out with each other.
I had a feeling this fight was one they’d been waiting to have for a while now, a chance to clear the air on who was better with no interference, but I wasn’t going to let that happen.
If I did, one of them would end up crippled or dead.
I came upon a clearing where I found Richard’s horse calmly munching on grass.
The ropes on the saddle had been cut, so he was free of the branches.
When I stepped out of the trees to fetch the horse, I felt someone come up behind me.
I grabbed my dagger from my belt and turned, slicing out at my opponent, but not before my feet were kicked out from under me.
Richard loomed over me, pressing a cloth to my face. I tried to yank his hand off, but as I struggled, the world grew dark.