Page 29 of Heart of the Hunted
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Taredd
Taredd knew staying in the area would pay off eventually, and he hadn't been wrong. It did take slightly longer than he had originally thought it would, but it still paid off in the end.
Not even a week after restarting the bet with Arun, he had finally found a Human, and it was a female. It was only the one, but generally where there was one, there was more. Taredd wasn't interested in finding more at the moment. If he did, then bonus, but if not, it wasn't a big deal. Either way, he had won the bet.
Now all he needed to do was catch the slippery little fucker. For a female, she was extremely fast and agile on her feet, disappearing from view before he had a chance to get anywhere close to her.
Humans weren't normally so fast. He’d never come across a Human that had managed to disappear on him, especially not a female. So, Taredd had a sneaking suspicion that there must be a hideout around here somewhere. If he could just locate it, then he was positive he would find her.
With that thought in mind, Taredd decided to search the area with a fine-tooth comb while there was still a little bit of daylight left. Walking over to where he had spotted her, Taredd searched the immediate area. He was just about to widen the search area when the setting sun glinted of something on the ground, hidden beneath a bush.
Taredd walked over and moved the bush aside. He couldn't believe his eyes. In all the years he had been hunting down the Humans, it never occurred to him that they might be living underground. But the proof was staring him straight in the face.
A small circular disk was sticking out of the ground. It was just about wide enough for him to fit through, and he was much larger than most Humans, so it would be a perfect size for them.
Taredd didn't know for sure if she was down there, but it was the only explanation he could think of as to how she managed to disappear so quickly.
On closer inspection, Taredd noticed that it had a curved handle sticking out on one side. If this was definitely how the Humans had been hiding from them, then it was going to be a complete game changer. Especially if there was more than two or three in there.
That's how they were usually caught, in twos or threes at a time. Trying to find more than that in one go was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. But if they were living underground in larger groups... well then, that would mean they could be rounded up much easier. It would also mean that the end of their existence could be a lot sooner than he thought.
All they would have to do is look for these little disks to find where they were taking shelter. These things were bound to be far easier to find than the Humans, especially since these things didn't move around like the humans did. At least, not that he could see.
Leaning down, Taredd was about to pull the handle up when he stopped himself. Changing his mind at the last minute, he decided to watch for any other Humans. Instead of going in there straight away... and winning the bet... he wanted to see if anyone else came or went.
So, moving further away, Taredd positioned himself so that he could easily see the area with the disk but without anyone being able to see him. Then, he waited.
