FULL NOVELXO Chapter The Worst Track
Chastain told him of her ‘sisters’ until her voice faded into sleep.
Finally. He rose and aimed for the cave. Unaware he still bled. Blood which filled the sole of his boot and seeped through the puncture to roll down the side and into the dirt. Leaving a trail a blind man could follow.
Shortly after Acharius was swallowed by the woods another black silhouette emerged. Kneeling to press his fingers to the bloodied ground. Dual sword hilts glinting in the meager moonlight.
His head tilted in the direction Acharius left. His expression interested.
Where are you going? He wondered. Watching Acharius limping off the trail toward his caves.
You’re going far to protect the child. His black hair glinted in moonlight as he glanced back toward the fence. Seeing the black lump of the dead Noni just under the shrub near the gate.
A gate which still swung forward and back. Unlocked. Unlike Acharius.
It swayed open again, giving Chavias a clear view of the House beyond. Where the little redhead is fast asleep.
He walked over and flipped the latch on the outside of it. Securing it.
***
Inspection of his traps yielded another dead Noni.
Why are they here? They’ve not been here in ages. He gnawed his cheek thoughtfully. Still crouched near the animal he turned to study the underbrush until spotting a track. The clawed print of the Noni.
Once he saw it, he perceived the other tracks like a splash of deeper black against the moonlit white of the woods.
Looking at it the way Rhyers taught him. Seeing how something moves by the tracks it leaves…
The trail was vivid to his sight, he envisioned the animal moving backward from the fate it met in his trap. Watching the path it took, each leap and skittering step before veering under the bushes where it died. He assessed its originating direction down the trail. Following until spotting a human track deeper in the woods.
A dark boot print that brought him to a dead stop. Deep. Heavy.
Acharius swallowed. Hard. Suddenly leery of his surroundings.
“Chavias…” His stomach sunk. Rising he limped back to his cave to heal. To make sure the artifacts are still there.
“Yes, Old Friend. It appears we now track each other…” Chavias said it too quietly for even Acharius' sharp ears to catch.
His tall frame watched as his back rolled against the thick trunk as he strode from the Merwood.
Vanishing as quietly as he'd come.