The trio hovered above the clearing for a few moments before selecting the direction.
The Awakened Shieldbearer sniffed at the red dirt before tucking it in the pouch at his side. Then he breathed deeply, shutting his eyes and listening to the wind. When he opened them again, they resembled a hawk, focused and fierce.
"That way," Orrin told the other two.
Noble followed his finger with a short nod. They were off.
Flying only slightly above the trees, the group dipped periodically to check for progress. Noble always did a scan with her second sight before they lowered to the ground, and Flint checked for any anomalies in heat.
They moved cautiously but efficiently.
"Have you always been a good tracker?" Noble asked as she noticed how Orrin looked for any clues between the leafy branches.
"I have always been good at finding things, but it wasn't until I Awakened that I was able to hone that skill. With my heightened ability, I see paths that others cannot. When I get on a trail, my senses are heightened, and I intuitively know which way to go." Orrin pointed, and the group shifted directions slightly.
"Why didn't you seek out the others when they disappeared?" Noble saw the tracker shake his head.
"I wanted to. But Lady Syrce was not willing to let me travel too far from the group. At first, we assumed it was carelessness that led to pairs of people being lost."
Noble frowned. "Pairs of people?"
Orrin shrugged. "One male and one female. It appeared like a romantic tryst, you see? It wasn't until we found the red dirt each time that we realized we were being targeted."
"Is that when you started using that shining stick to alert you when people came or left?"
Noble received a sharp glance from Orrin.
"Yes, and by that description, you have seen one of those sticks yourself. Who let you out?!"
Flint slapped his face with his hand. 'You went to blabbing and now there's no going back.'
"Drusus was just following orders. I had no idea it might land him in trouble." Noble smiled weakly. "Please don't blame him."
'He won't blame the boy. He will blame me!' Flint scowled at the woman.
"You spoke to Drusus, then?" The Shieldbearer's mind raced. "Then he wasn't taken until after you left. What time was that?"
Noble turned to Flint. He sighed.
"Not long before the end of the first watch. It was well past midnight."
"That is good news. It's less time for the monsters to travel." Orrin nodded. "We should be able to catch up with them."
The man indicated a new direction, and the group raced off.
"About Drusus. I am sorry..." Noble's voice trailed off as Orrin shook his head.
"There is no need for apologies. You did not abduct the boy. Whatever else happened is in the past. We can only look to the future. I might not be able to save my cousin's child. But at least I can face Agrippa and say I avenged his son."
Noble blinked a tear from her eye. 'See? Coming clean was the right decision. He doesn't blame either of us.'
Flint's frown deepened. 'No, but now I do. We have to catch those killers. I won't rest until we do.'
Noble nodded. She couldn't agree more.
The fourth time that they dipped below the canopy to pick up the trail, Orrin spent extra time studying the area. His expression was grave. Noble could feel his emotions turn from determined to frustrated.
"What's wrong?"
The Shieldbearer rose from one knee and brushed off his hands.
"The red flecks are becoming less frequent. That makes them harder to spot from the air. I think we will have to come down more often to make sure we don't lose the trail." Orrin frowned.
"The farther we get from the water, the firmer the earth is. We can't rely on finding any more prints either." Flint pressed his foot into the grass. It bounced back without a trace.
When they had first set out, two ruts had helped them move quickly through the air, but those divots had disappeared with the change in terrain.
Noble guessed that the two long ditches were formed by the guards' bodies being dragged through the woods.
Where were they being dragged? Every answer she came up with was more upsetting than the last. Dismissing the frightening thoughts, Noble shook her head. One way or another, they would find out the real answer soon.
"If we need to come down more often, we will. But we should keep moving. Which way do we go now?" Noble lifted the men slightly off the ground in preparation for their departure.
"East." Orrin looked toward a dense copse of trees.
"Good. Let's go." The professor did not need to be told twice.
As soon as they got above the trees, the Shieldbearer gripped his head. "Go south before we go east."
Noble felt a faint ringing of something familiar. Was that what was bothering Orrin? She shifted directions as he asked, keeping her senses sharp for danger.
The only thing in the copse was an empty space. Something about it was wrong…very wrong.
Could the ringing be coming from there? Maybe it was some sort of trap? Noble furrowed her brow.
"Are you sure we shouldn't..."
"East, east!" Orrin's pitch rose.
"Am I not going east?" Noble hesitated. "I'm not very good with…"
"That way!" Flint reached out and pulled the flying woman toward him.
She didn't appreciate his rough treatment, but at least he hadn't insulted her while doing so.
Turning toward the rising sun, Noble continued on their altered course. She squinted at the ground. At first, she didn't see anything of note.
What had Orrin so excited?
She continued to scan the surroundings, but even her second sight didn't yield anything about the situation below.
"Faster. We need to go faster." Orrin moved his arms, trying to swim through the air. It would have been comical if the man hadn't looked so desperate.
Circulating her essence, Noble pushed into her speed. She summoned the [Hummingbird's Wings] to help. The short bursts of speed would not help her companions directly, but they did allow her to concentrate her focus on bringing them along in her wake.
The faster they went, the more anxious Orrin got. Flint, too, seemed on edge. He pulled the sword that had been sheathed at his side, gripping it tightly against the rushing wind.
The world whizzed by below them, and Noble began to wonder if Orrin was mistaken. Surely they had gone too far.
'Maybe I should have trusted my gut and looked closer at those dark trees.'
The thought barely entered her head when the forest began to change color.
It wasn't beautiful like the Wonder Woods. It was sickly and yellow. The change was subtle at first, but the more they traveled, the more obvious the change became.
The yellow turned to brown, and white rot covered the once magnificent cedars.
Noble didn't need her second sight anymore.
Through the haunted woods, she saw them.
She saw it.
Now she knew why Orrin wanted to hurry.
Their time was up.