Chapter 48: Using my Bloodline to Track (3) - Tricked

There were more splashes of ink along the trail. Every time we came across one, we stopped to analyze it, trying to pinpoint exactly where the ink creature had gone.

"If it’s a villain," Tom said, still looking quite scared, "what do we do? Attack to kill it, or try to take them to prison?"

The rules were pretty straightforward. If a villain posed a threat to others, like fighting in the middle of a crowded city, you killed them as fast as possible.

If not, like in our current situation out in the middle of nowhere, killing them was still an option. However, restraining them and bringing them back for interrogation was always preferred.

The Hunter Society had plenty of hunters with mind powers capable of extracting information, and there was always torture to rely on. Villains worked within an organized structure just like hunters did, so learning more about their operations or other villains was always welcomed.

"We’ll see how the situation unfolds," I said. "If we have to kill them, then we will."

It was easier said than done. If things resorted to that, it would be my first time killing a human. Sure, they were scumbags who killed innocent people, so I shouldn’t feel bad about it, but the first time would still be harsh.

Eventually, we reached a fork with three paths to choose from: one to each side, and one going straight forward.

There was no ink indicating which way we should go.

"Should we split up? We could each take a different path," I suggested.

It was the most logical approach, but splitting up when there was a high chance of a skilled enemy nearby wasn’t a good idea.

That was when Tom stepped forward, showcasing another use of his ability.

"Let me handle this," he said.

Ethan and I stepped aside to let him work. Tom held both palms out in front of him, which actually looked quite funny. I still wasn’t used to seeing people use their powers.

Then, the wind around us began to pick up. A green energy formed in Tom’s palms.

"I’m connecting with the wind to feel where the creature might have gone," Tom explained.

That was pretty useful. I didn’t know he could do that. Apparently, the full extent of everyone’s powers was always kept a secret.

It wasn’t a fast process, though. We sat on a nearby rock and waited for him. After fifteen minutes, he finally gave us an answer.

"Well, any of these paths would be the wrong one," Tom said. "The creature didn’t use a path at all. It walked straight through the forest."

Tom pointed the way. The route the creature took was right between the forward path and the left one, cutting diagonally through the trees.

We moved through the dense woods, getting farther away from any established trail and exploring the wild forest.

I summoned my cube and used it to cut through the thick vegetation in our way.

At first, we didn’t find a single thing, but eventually...

"Another ink splash," Ethan said as he crouched down. "This is the right way."

That was the confirmation we needed. We kept moving forward through the trees.

The weird part was the total lack of animal sounds. There were no birds chirping or insects buzzing. It was strange. Where were all the animals that lived in this forest?

We were far enough from the river that we couldn’t hear the water anymore, either. It was just us, our breathing, and the sound of the treetops swaying in the wind.

"Stop," Tom said, holding his arm out in front of us.

He was the one feeling things through the wind, so we trusted him.

"There’s a cabin up ahead. That’s where our enemy is," he said. "But I don’t think we can get close enough without being spotted."

I exchanged a glance with Ethan. He knew exactly what to do. Tom noticed our exchange, looking completely lost.

"Ethan can make us invisible," I explained. "It’s one of his illusion perks."

"Wait, what? Why didn’t you tell me?"

"Why didn’t you tell me you could use the wind to feel things in the environment?" Ethan shot back.

Tom smirked. "Fair enough."

Ethan used his ability to make the three of us invisible. It was an incredibly useful power to have in almost any situation.

But would it actually be enough to keep us hidden, or would the villain still be able to sense our presence?

The only way to find out was to test it. Tom still didn’t seem entirely convinced that we were actually invisible, especially since nothing had changed from our perspective.

"Are you sure this is working?" Tom asked.

Ethan snapped at him.

"I’m sure! But I already told you, it doesn’t mask our voices. Keep quiet, please."

Tom didn’t say another word after that. We didn’t walk for long before we saw it, the wooden cabin he had mentioned moments ago.

Hidden in the middle of the forest. The trees around it were so tall and thick that anyone flying over wouldn’t spot the place.

The cabin looked normal, a few lights on, but we knew it wasn’t.

We decided to lay low and watch for a bit, try to at least figure out how many people we were dealing with.

I picked up my phone to exchange messages with Tom and Ethan, forming a plan. We didn’t want to talk and get exposed, so that was the only way we could think of.

The plan was pretty simple: one of us would go and knock on the door, looking hurt or lost, and two of us would enter through the back and attack them.

Ethan would be the one knocking on the door. With his illusion power, he could make his clothes ragged and even his body hurt, making it look real to them.

And he could also keep our invisibility even from far away. Ethan was becoming more skilled in my eyes every time I saw him use his powers.

Anyway, with the plan formed, we went into action. Ethan knocked on the door while Tom and I went to the back. I could hear his act from far away.

"Please, help me," Ethan begged when they opened the door. "I was hiking and got lost. This is the first building I saw in a long time."

He took out the phone from his pocket. "No battery. Please?"

At the back of the house we didn’t see a door, but there was a window, and that would have to do.

To our luck, the window wasn’t locked, so we just pried it open, jumped through it, and we were already inside the cabin, in their bedroom.

Everything was looking great, honestly. I was confident things would work out, but then, I heard the woman speak.

"Do you really think I didn’t see you two entering through the back? I have eyes everywhere."

When she said that, a bird made of ink came flying through the window we had just used to enter the house and tried to attack us!

I dodged by rolling to the side. Tom did the same.

Ethan, realizing the plan hadn’t worked, jumped away from the cabin before they could grab him.

The woman and Maison got out of the cabin, trying to get Ethan before we could rejoin him!

Two against one.

Ethan tried to escape using his illusions, even turning invisible, but it didn’t work. The woman created a thick ink that covered his body, locking him in place.

It was like a black slime thing.

We escaped the bird and locked the door behind us, stepping outside of the cabin, glimpsing at them.

"Don’t make any bold moves," the woman said to us. "I have your friend, and I can kill him."

I didn’t like where things were going. The situation was pretty bad.

"What do you want? Why are you after me?" the woman said.

I had to tell her the truth. There was no reason to lie in that situation. She could kill Ethan at any moment if she felt threatened by us.

"We came to look for Maison," I said. "Everyone is looking for him, saying that he was kidnapped."

"Kidnapped?" Maison, who was standing beside her, said. "What joke is this? Mary saved me. If we didn’t leave, then I would have died."

I frowned. What the fuck were they even talking about? That wasn’t what the reports were saying.

"We saw you kidnap Maison during the night with one of your ink creatures," I said. "How can you explain that?"

"This isn’t what you think it is," she said. "I was doing that to protect him."

"Protect him? Why would someone be after Maison in the first place? He’s not a hunter."

"He isn’t," she said, "but he’s stupid. That’s what he is. Maison entered the dimensional rift two weeks ago and angered something inside. I knew the creature would leave the rift to go after him, so I saved him."

"The police protecting the dimensional rift said no one entered the rift. In fact, they were the ones who heard ink sounds during the night and helped us get here."

"What? Are you sure?"

The woman looked frightened. I was puzzled.

"Yeah, why?"

"The creature is mind controlling those cops. So it must have been following you!"

When she said that, something came walking from the forest, slowly getting toward us.