Chapter 23. The game where I know all the cards
Hmm. They're gone.
I was standing at the door of the hut, with my back to the warm but cramped den in which Yuki was currently sleeping. The air was clear and cold, and the wind brought the smell of pine needles and... emptiness from the mountains. The very emptiness that remains after the departed observers.
They thought they had disappeared without a trace. It almost was. Almost.
I didn't pursue them. I didn't look for it. I just went to where I had felt their gazes from just a few hours ago. On a high, snow-covered hill.
The snow was deep here, but I walked easily, leaving almost no footprints — another useful skill, upgraded in endless wanderings. My eyes, accustomed to spotting the slightest anomalies, scanned the area. And where an ordinary person would have seen only a white canvas, I saw barely noticeable dents, a broken twig, and a violation of the natural relief.
Traces. They're almost invisible, but to me they're as bright as blood on snow. Four pairs. Three adults, one lighter, one smaller. And they're all professional. Masters of disguise. But not perfect.
I squatted down, running my finger along the edge of the nearly buried dent. Yes, it was from here that they were watching. From here, Quinn looked at me with her scarlet eyes full of curiosity and calculation.
The crimson ones. Who else? Victor? No, he doesn't need it. He's a soldier, he chose a more modest life. And these... these always want more. They are always looking for leverage. And now they know I'm here. They know about Yuki.
I slowly straightened up, looking around the valley, my hut, as if seeing it through their eyes. Shelter. Weakness. Goal.
My mind, sharp as the blade of my sword, began to work, sorting everything out.
Solomon. The Patriarch. A calculating, cold strategist. He'll see me as a threat that needs to be either neutralized or brought under his control. A direct attack? Possible, but unlikely. It's too risky, there are too many unknowns. He'll prefer a thinner one.
Quinn. The heiress. I saw her. There was not only fear in her gaze, but also excitement. The thirst for discovery. She was... interested. It is she who will insist on recruitment. At the game. She saw Yuki. And that changed everything.
I know them. I know how they think. I created them. He put these traits into them, this hunger for power, this cunning, this obsession.
They won't push through. No. They will try to play on my interest. Or on my... weaknesses.
Yuki.
The thought struck me colder than any wind. They saw her. Fragile, insecure, dependent on me. For them, she is a vulnerability. Lever.
They won't hurt her. No. It's too rude, too obvious. They will try to use it. To throw something. Some "accidentally" dropped information. A map with a tempting label. A diary with hints about the origins of people like me. Some trinket that could have belonged to her in a previous life.
The bait. Designed to satisfy my curiosity. Or hers.
The corners of my lips twitched in a semblance of a smile. Cold, without a single drop of fun.
They are playing chess, thinking that I am a wild pawn that can be easily trapped. They don't know that I'm not a pawn. I'm the one who came up with the rules of this game. And I know all their moves in advance.
Let them try. Let them throw up their "keys", their "secrets". I'll be watching. I will study not only the bait, but also the hand that threw it. Every step they take will tell me more about them than any archives.
And then... then I'll decide. Accept their game and beat them? Or just wait until nightfall, sneak into their lair and show them what happens when a mouse tries to outsmart an owl.
I took one last look at the hill where they were hiding. The tracks were almost covered by snow. Soon there will be no hint of their presence.
But I'll remember.
I turned around and walked back to the hut. I needed to check on Yuki and think about her training. Now it included not only speech and household skills, but also the basics of safety. The basics of survival in a world where even a simple thing found can be a poisonous hook.
The hunt has begun. But it's not their hunt for me. My hunt for them. And I was a much more patient predator.