Page 95 of The Cannibal

“I’m sure Phoebe and Luka are doing their best.” I slipped out of the seat and hitched the horse to a sturdy tree. “But I thought you may benefit from more traditional methods.” I held my hand out to her.

“Traditional?” She grasped my hand as she stepped down out of the carriage.

“Sometimes steps have to be taken when children are behind on milestones, such as lack of prey drive.”

She didn’t seem amused, looking past the shrubs at the sparkling water in the distance.

“There’s no shame, I had troubles too when I was just a spawn.” I thought offering an anecdotal reassurance would make her more comfortable, but it was a lie.

I never had trouble with my prey drive. But I did get to help my father train the siblings when needed.

“Silas.” Her brows pulled together as she crossed her arms. She stared off into the distance for a moment before looking back at me, “What are we doing here?”

“Just a bit of training,” I reassured her, opening the main compartment of the carriage to grab one last thing. “You remember our truce word, correct?”

“Pest?” she asked, her eyes widening when I closed the door.

“We’ll get you all sorted, love, don’t you worry,” I smiled, pulling the rifle from its half-cocked position.

She took a step back but was otherwise frozen in place, her eyes locked on mine.

I raised my wrist to check my timepiece. “Ten minutes.” I glanced back up at her without changing my position. “I’d start running.”

She gave me such a wicked, delicious glare before she stepped back, then disappeared into the trees. The dark red became less and less visible the farther she got.

I stood before the opening to the forest. The sparrows traded their songs with the gulls, waves washing in the distance paired nicely with the soft whistle of wind.

The perfect day, the perfect outing.

Just me and my wife.

I checked my watch. She had five more minutes. No, four now.

The beaten path tapered before it dissolved into foliage and twigs. The fern and kudzu nearly dominated the forest floor. The cliffside was to my left, the trees reaching up to the very edge. I suppose the roots were the only thing keeping the earth in place. As time went on, the trees would fall as the waves and storms chipped away at the ledge.

The sounds of hushing leaves in the wind made me pause. I closed my eyes and listened.

A twig snapped.

I glanced at my watch.

Time is up. Let the game begin.

I scanned over the forest, the cliffs down to the water to my left, deeper and thicker woods to my right. Then the faintest flash of red behind a tree. There you are.

Something tinged the air. The smell of sweat, of adrenaline.

I lifted the barrel, planting my heels to the ground as I steadied my sights on the red fabric.

Deep breath.

Heart beats slowed.

Then right in between pulses . . . Bang!

The bark of the tree ripped from the trunk. Birds rose from their hiding places to dart out in a cloud of wings. The forest settled and was still once more, only the sounds of ocean and the foliage I stepped on.

When I approached the tree, the fabric fluttered on the ground. The branch it was snagged on had been blown off from my shot.