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My stomach turned. I wished I hadn’t eaten my last several meals. They all threatened to make a violent reappearance on the ground at my feet.
I swallowed hard and forced several breaths in and out, silent and shallow.
I had a sneaking suspicion these guys wouldn't leave any witnesses alive. I had to calm down, not panic and do something stupid.
I crouched, shrunk as low as I could and held my breath.
"That was anticlimactic," the guy without the knife said. He snatched the blade and shoved it into the victim's eye. He pushed it in deeper, twisting it.
A short cry was cut off as the knife entered the man's brain.
Fucking hell. My knees trembled violently, threatening to dump me onto the ground. I gripped the trunk of the tree beside me for support. Hoped like hell they didn’t hear the leaves rustle.
"That's much better." The bloodthirsty guy pulled the knife out before the man fell to the ground. "Do I need to give you guys lessons in interesting ways to kill people?"
"Nope, we'll leave it to you." The guy who had been restraining the other man clapped him on the back. "Maybe you should write a book."
"I should, shouldn't I?" Mr Bloodthirsty grinned. "I could call itOne Hundred and One Ways to Eliminate Your Friends and Eviscerate Your Enemies."
"Maybe you could shut up. We have to get out of here," the first guy said. "We need to dispose of this." He slipped off his suit jacket and rolled up his sleeves.
I caught a glimpse of the mask he wore on his face. Black with splashes of red here and there. A black feather slanted from the top of either side of the mask, across his forehead.
Simple, but menacing, even without a murder involved. In this context it was fucking terrifying.
“Come on, grab the asshole.” He nodded toward the others. They picked up the dead man between them. Grunting under his weight, they hefted him up to waist height.
I pressed myself down lower, until my thighs almost touched the layer of dry leaves on the forest floor. I adjusted my left foot slightly to keep from toppling. My shoe found a twig.
It snapped louder than a stockwhip.
All four of us froze. The four of us that were still alive.
"Is someone there?" the guy with the red and black mask growled, deep and low. A sound that would have been hot as fuck if I wasn't absolutely certain he would cut my throat if he knew I was there. Or maybe I’d end up with a blade in my eye.
Hard pass either way.
"Go and look. We'll take care of this." He barked orders like he expected to be obeyed immediately.
I didn't wait and see who came after me. I rose, picked up my skirt, turned and ran. I headed away from the light of the ballroom, into the deepening shadows. My heart raced harder than ever.
Every passing second, I expected someone to explode out of the trees behind me and catch me.
Years of gymnastics and aerial silks meant I was graceful, but I was also terrified. And more or less running blind. Any moment now, I'd trip over a stick or a log and smash my face into the ground. Or my dress would snag on something and tear loudly. Or—
"I know you're there," a sing-song voice called out behind me. "I know what you saw. Why don't you stop and let us talk about it?"
Oh, fuck nope.
I trotted behind a tree and ducked down low. My palms were slick with sweat and I was about ready to piss myself too. I forced deep, measured breaths in and out, to keep myself from holding it. Nothing would give me away like passing out and crashing onto the ground.
Footsteps approached. The snap of a twig, the swish of a branch, the soft murmur of leaves under his shoes.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Crunch.
