Page 9 of Heart of the Cursed
It certainly wasn’t when she was out in the open with an enemy heading towards her home. She needed to keep her head firmly in the game, lest she risk losing it altogether.
Selene took stock of the situation as she scanned the area. She couldn’t see anyone else around, but that meant nothing. They could easily be hiding, just like she was.
She looked back at the male, who was now only feet away from the entrance to the bunker. Whatever she was going to do, she needed to do it fast.
As she scanned the area once more, she noticed dark clouds closing in. A storm was on its way, and quickly from the look of it. If she didn’t get a move on, she was going to get caught out in the worst of it.
One of the downsides to living so far north, the storms could turn violent in seconds. Selene could already tell that it was going to be a violent storm. She didn’t know how long she had before it would reach her, but she didn’t think it would be long.
So, she had to be quick and quiet, just like her mother had taught her.
Staying crouched down low, hidden in the undergrowth, she slid her bag off her shoulder and placed it next to the base of a tree. She checked the blade at her hip was in its sheath and sighed at the familiar feel of the cool metal handle against her fingertips.
She left the blade where it was as she made her way towards the male. It was difficult enough moving around in a crouched position, she didn’t need to make it more difficult by carrying a sharp blade, as well.
The first fat rain drops started to fall as she closed in on her target. Selene didn’t mind. In fact, she’d been hoping it would happen that way. The faint sound of the rain falling and hitting everything around them, helped to disguise any sound she might make as she crawled through the undergrowth.
Selene would have been able to cover the distance in seconds if she’d been able to stand up, but she couldn’t risk being seen. She needed to be close enough to attack, otherwise she wouldn’t stand a chance. Especially if the male turned out not to be Human. So, she had to keep low.
Thorns, twigs, and branches pulled at her clothes and scratched at her skin, but she ignored it all as she closed in on her target. As soon as she was within reach, she unsheathed the knife at her hip and held it tight. The weight of it in her hand was a comfort.
She took a deep breath and counted down from three. When she reached one, she leapt to her feet behind the male.
At hearing movement behind him, he spun around, ready to attack, but it was too late. Before he knew what had hit him, she thrust the blade into his chest, right into his heart.
As she pulled the blade out and stepped back, she noticed he had a blade of his own. Only much larger than hers.
The look of surprise on his face would have been comical if the situation wasn’t so serious. As it was, Selene felt nothing but guilt. She hated killing people, but she had no choice. It was either them or her, and she picked herself every time.
The blade fell from his hand a second before his lifeless body dropped to the ground. Selene looked down and shivered. Not only was the male a lot bigger than her, but his blade was nearly three times the size of hers.
“Well, he’s not going to be needing it anymore,” she whispered as she bent down to retrieve the blade.
There was a time when Selene would have hesitated before taking a life. She used to think of all life as precious. Being hunted for near on a hundred years had definitely played a part in knocking that way of thinking out of her. She had lost count of the number of lives she had taken, most of which had been in self-defence.
She wiped off her blade on the dead male’s clothes and then headed back to the tree where she’d left her belongings. She would need her beekeeping equipment if she wanted to harvest their honey and wax in the future. It had taken her a long time to find all the equipment she needed, there was no way she was going to leave it behind.
She slung the bag over her shoulder before retracing her steps to the bunker. Before heading inside, she dragged the dead body a short distance away from the bunker and left it for the wild animals. She didn’t need to hide it, the wild animals in the area would take care of it for her.
She made sure the entrance to the bunker was covered by foliage, so nobody would be able to see it. By the time she was finished, it was absolutely pissing it down, but the entrance to the bunker was completely covered.
Someone would have to be actively searching for it to find it. She wasn’t going to make it easier for them. If anyone was looking for her or the bunker, she was going to make it as difficult for them as she could.
With one last look around the area, Selene headed inside, locking and placing a spell on the door behind her.
