"I do not know their language." Rider looked apprehensive. "Why is it you think I will like the pixies?"
"It seems like some of their games are like hide and seek," I said. "I can't think of anyone better than a werewolf to find where they’re hiding. You'd hear them. Or maybe smell them."
"You won't hear them," Logan said. "Not unless they are handling something that makes noise. They make even less noise than an elf in the woods."
That wasn't promising. An elf made no noise in the woods.
"But they smell," I said. "I know they have to smell."
"That's something Rider can track," Logan said.
"How do you work so well with them?" I asked.
"Just a knack I suppose," Logan said.
From experience, I knew I wouldn't get more than that from Logan. He could be cagey about some of his skills in the field.
"Do they leave a Path?" Rider asked.
That perked me up. "You know, they didn't leave enough of one to follow before, but maybe I'm strong enough now to see their Path."
"We'll soon find out," Logan said. He turned down a gravel road. "No live weapons today. We'll bring our dart guns, but those are not to be used on the pixies, no matter what."
"The goblins?" I asked.
"We're taking them in case we run into them," Logan said. "Try talking first. They're not big, so if they are unarmed, the guns stay holstered."
"No worries there," I said. "But, is that safe to have with the pixies around?"
"They don't like the smell of the tranqs," Logan said. "Pixies leave the darts alone."
Logan pulled to a stop at a stretch of woods that seemed like all other stretches of woods. "And you two stick together like glue."
My surprise must have been written across my face.
"Don't worry, Rider," Logan added, "Cassie has more than a year of field experience under her belt. She'll know what to do."
Logan had far more confidence in my abilities than I did. More than a year? I guess, if you counted training in the field, I had a year and a month. Almost.
Logan looked at me expectantly.
"Right," I said, trying to put more reassurance than I felt into the words. "We'll be fine."
"We won't need to split up for long, but you know the pixies," Logan said. "I'd like to keep you away from the goblins if we can. They are aggressive, and I'm not sure how they'll react to you."
Naturally, that was directed at me. My soul tended to bring the worst out of people who were aggressive.
"Hopefully, we won't find out," I said.
Chapter 4
The cold was like a slap in the face when Rider opened the door. While Logan called in our position and made sure Hank had us logged, I checked my gloves and pulled my knit cap down over my ears.
"Have everything you need?" I asked when I started to review our gear bag.
Rider looked worried. "How do I know what all I will need?"
That made me stop and think. "Anything that the office or Logan thinks we'll need."
Rider appeared to be working through a mental list. "I still need my gun."
"Tranqs," Logan called out to us.
I shifted gears and unlocked the gun case before rummaging around the bag one last time. "Then anything that you personally think you might need."
"What do you keep?" Rider asked.
I patted my pockets. "I have an extra granola bar, because I know the hike is going to take ages. I also brought some tissues and two hand warmers in case I need to break those out later."
"Hand warmers? Are those gloves?" Rider asked.
"No." I pulled one from my pocket and handed it to him. "It's something that gets warm when you open it."
Rider smelled it, and his nose curled before he thrust it back at me. "I think I have what I need."
Smiling, I stowed the warmer back in my pocket and closed the bag.
"Rider can carry the gear," Logan said, taking his gun.
Once my own tranquilizer pistol was holstered, I looked into the woods. The trees stood as bare sentries of the forest. Who would guess that pixies and goblins dwelt there?
"We've got a few miles to cover before we'll have a chance of finding them," Logan said.
"I think we're ready," I said.
Logan nodded and led the way. Once we lost sight of the road behind us, Logan's ears unrolled to their points.
My partners were used to my slower pace in the woods. Rider and I hadn't worked together much, but we had spent time in warmer temperatures, hiking and walking trails. It had taken me a while to adjust to the silent footfalls of my partners. I had become resigned to the fact that I was going to sound like an elephant trampling through the woods in comparison.
Something I hadn't quite adjusted to, however, was Rider's tendency to wander off the trail for seemingly no reason. Or, like now, when there was no trail, he split from the group to take a slightly different path. He took in everything, as well. It was rare for the werewolf's eyes to stray toward the ground. Sometimes he looked as though he were trying to learn the placement of every tree and every scraggly piece of undergrowth.
If I didn't keep an eye on the ground, there was a good chance I'd be up close and personal with it the first time a fallen branch or rock happened upon my path.
We had gone over a mile, according to Logan, when the mostly flat area started to rise and fall like rolling waves. A little over two miles in and we were forced to stop, having run into a drop off.
"We can go down or around," Logan said.
I peeked over the edge and then wondered if the elf had lost his mind. "That's a cliff face. Not even a steep hill, but a literal cliff face."
"There are some hand and foot holds," Logan said.
"That has to be over thirty feet down." I wanted to make sure Logan and I were looking at the same thing.
Logan leaned over the edge. "Around fifty, I'd say."
I opened my mouth, then closed it again, unsure of how to respond. Was this something I was supposed to know? When it came down to it, it didn't matter either way. The answer was the same. We would end up having to get Hank to helicopter in a rescue squad if I tried to follow the elf down.
"I've never been mountain climbing, or cliff climbing, or whatever it's called," I said. "We should go around."
"Wait here." Logan looked down, and then jumped.
The scream lodged itself in my throat, unable to come out. When I leaned out over the edge, I saw Logan on a small ledge eight feet down. Using the term ledge was being generous. It was only a few inches wide.
"What are you doing?" My breath shuddered as I tried to push down my fear.
He leaned out farther than I was comfortable with.
"We go west," Logan said, looking left to right. "I think that’s where we’ll find the easiest way down."
He scrambled up as though it was the most natural thing in the world. He may as well have been crawling like a spider up the cliff face.
"Before you jump off anything, can you give me some warning first?" I asked, feeling perturbed.
"Sure thing, partner." Logan's cheerful voice grated on my nerves.
Shaking my head, I followed him.
The next hour was awful. Our other options looked more appealing when I had to clamor over, down, and around boulders that were taller than I was. Had I been without gloves, I'm sure my hands would have been scraped up. It was a relief when the ground started to level out again.
"There is something not good in the air," Rider said.
"Define ‘not good’," I said.
"Something bad," Rider said.
I rolled my eyes.
"We should be close to the pixies," Logan said. "I've been expecting to see one for a while now, but haven't caught sight of anything."
"I do not know what the pixies smell like," Rider said. "Whatever made this smell has been gone for several days."
"Onward we press," Logan said.
We began to move slower and Logan be
gan to whistle. It sounded like a playful tune, but his face wasn't as jovial as it had been earlier.
At one point, he stopped, turned in a slow circle, and then moved forward again.
"Let's take a break here," Logan said. "You two stay put. Grab lunch, drink some water, and I'll join you in a few."
"Sounds good," I said, grateful for the break. Hiking was one thing, but my muscles were protesting today's workout.
When I looked back up, Logan was gone, having melded into the woods.
"Is that smell still here?" I asked while we waited.
"Not in this spot," Rider said. "There are other smells. Some old and some new."
"Any idea what they are?" I asked.
Rider shrugged. "Most are animals I recognize."
"And the others?"
"I do not recognize them, so I cannot say."
"Good point," I said. "Is there a way to tell if something is an animal or person by their smell?"
"Not in the way I think you mean. We are all animals, but I can tell humans apart from others. All the Lost we work with have a distinct smell that I would recognize. If I have met the person, I would be able to say who it is."
"Interesting," I said. "What about sounds? Do you hear anything?"
"There are many sounds in the woods. Many, many animals live here and even in the cold, they move around. There is also you and Logan. I hear the trees and flowing water."
"You can hear Logan walking in the woods?" I asked.
"Of course."
"Really? I can't even hear him walking when he's next to me," I said.
Rider blinked at me, seeming at a loss as to what to say. Finally, he came up with something. "Is that normal?"
"I guess so. I can't remember if Vincent could hear him or not." I thought about the first time Vincent and I walked through the woods with Logan. "We actually weren't far from here last fall."
"He will be back," Rider said.
I shrugged and shivered, drawing my legs in closer.
"It is natural to miss him," Rider said.
"For all we know, he's already back." It was a thought that kept welling up, but this was the first time I had voiced it.
"I thought you were friends."
"I'm not sure what we were. Can you pass the water?" I asked. It was a lame attempt to change the subject, so I tried again. "Is Logan on his way back yet?"
Rider lifted his head slightly and looked as though he were listening intently. "He is returning."
"When he gets back, we should try to find a place that is likely to have pixies, or at least, recently had pixies. We can see if I can read the Path now."
"If you have never seen the Path of a pixie, would you know one if you saw it?"
"Yes. In the Lost I've met, you can tell from their Path that they aren't quite the same as those around them. It's hard to see in some of them, but if you look hard enough, you can tell. Unless there are a lot of other people or Lost roaming the woods, I should be able to find their Path."
Were the Paths of the gremlins noticeable?"
I looked out into the woods. "I didn't see their Path."
"Their Paths do not show up?"
"I'm not sure. I couldn't reach the Path when I was out there."
Rider nodded, but wisely said nothing. Over the past few months, we had spent a lot of time together. He probably had a good idea about how I felt about my power failing me.
Rider looked into the woods and I followed his gaze. Logan was back.
"I couldn't find anything," Logan said, as he approached.
"Maybe they are being extra careful because of the goblins," I suggested.
"Maybe," he said. He put his hands on his hips and stared into the woods. "We'll follow your suggestion. Let's find a good spot and see if you can read anything."
"You heard all that?" I asked. Even after a year, it was hard to remember that my partner could pick up conversations from far away. Sometimes, I wondered if he could listen to me from his house, but I knew I didn't want to find out the answer to that question.
"I heard the goblins, too," he said. "They're out patrolling. We'll get closer, but I want to try to keep a good mile away if we can manage."
"How good is their hearing?" I asked.
"Hard to say for sure," he said, "but I don't think it's any better than yours. They are noisier, though. If you hear them, assume they can hear you if you're not quiet."
I nodded. "Good to know."
"Let's move out," Logan said.
My muscles protested for a few minutes, but once they warmed up again, I felt better. It was too cold to stop for long.
I readied myself to reach for the Path even though it wasn’t time to. A repeat of yesterday would be too depressing to face. Being closer to the Path also helped me sense the world around me a little better. Logan was a blank slate, but I sensed that Rider felt at ease while we walked through the woods.
For some reason, I was also looking around more. It wasn't a surprise when I nearly tripped over a fallen branch covered with dead leaves.
Looking more closely at the ground, I started to see more undergrowth. "We should be near their glen."
"Maybe," Logan said. "I expected the plants to be less dormant, but we're having a cold year."
We spread out, looking closer at the surroundings, while still keeping each other in sight.
"There are still leaves on some trees up ahead," Rider said. "They are dead leaves, but some of them remain."
We moved in the direction he indicated.
"This is our spot," Logan said.
Frowning, I looked around. There was a glimmer of something in the area. The feeling was a little bit more alive, or more real than the world around it, but it wasn't strong.
"They don't hibernate, right?" I asked, double-checking.
"No," Logan said.
"Something’s not right," I said.
"Agreed," Logan said.
"I do not understand what you mean," Rider said. "There is an odd smell here, but I do not think I see what you do."
"Do you know how it feels when you go visit Essy?" I asked. "The whole area is more vibrant."
Rider smiled. "It hums."
That was one way of putting it. "A glen is similar. Maybe not as strong, since pixies don't always stay close to home, but this feels... I don't know... abandoned, maybe."
"Good guess," Logan said. "I'm going to call us in. Go ahead and see what you can find."
Logan walked into the woods while taking out his phone. He stayed in sight as he started the call.
It wasn't necessary for me to close my eyes, but I did anyway. It somehow made it easier to move into the Path when I shut the real world further off. When I reached the edge of my mind, something snapped like a rubber band, and I fell straight into the roaring tide of the Path.
"Whoa," I said, losing my balance. I grabbed Rider's arm to steady myself. Vibrant color overrode the dull grayness of winter. A torrent stormed through the area, trying to take me along for the ride. Concentrating hard, I pushed back some of the flow, damming it up as best I could.
When I looked around again, the reading was strong, but something that I could manage. Rider's shifting colors caught my attention. His Path flexed and changed rapidly, flowing from simple to complex and back again within seconds.
I tore my eyes away and looked around. It was a pixie glen. The Path remembered the vitality, but it was slipping away. Even as I watched, a glittery ball of bright yellow light tore off a more solid multicolored core. The tide whisked it away.
Distances weren't my strong suit, but when I circled the core of the glen, it seemed to be about a couple dozen feet across. The edges were faded and worn. After I completed a circuit around what remained of the glen, I reached out, dipping my fingers lightly into the mix.
Where my hand touched, the Path flared brighter. I could feel a gentle tug in my chest, and I drew my hand away. The glen wanted to be remembered. The area felt tighter and more solid.
It didn't want to be swallowed up by the forest.
I sniffed and reached out again, but my hand wavered a few inches away.
"It's been abandoned," I said. "At least, that's what it looks like." And I couldn't make it stay. I had to tell myself that so I wouldn't plunge my hand back in again.
"Pixies don't tend to move around," Logan said.
"I get the feeling it wasn't something they intended to do." I looked away from the Path of the glen and tried to focus on the smaller Paths. "A few animals have moved through here." Their paths were simple and single minded. "There's something else, too."
Chapter 5
The new path was a wisp of a memory.
"It could be a pixie." I squatted down and studied the more complex path, getting a feel for it. I couldn't help but smile. "Definitely pixie."
"How can you tell?" Rider asked.
"There's a core here that I can best describe as being mischievous." The lightened emotion didn't last. "Nothing malevolent, but not exactly fun, either. Do you smell anything here, Rider?"
He joined me, moving down to the level of the Path I indicated.
"It's probably a few days old," I said.
"I smell... it is odd," Rider said. "It smells like the forest, but stronger. It seems..."
"Yes," I said, encouraging him without looking away from the Path.
"Frightened," Rider said. "It is hard to describe, but strong emotion alters a smell."
"It was scared," I agreed. "It's faint, but I can see traces of fear."
"The forest is frightened," Rider said.
I couldn't help but look around when he said it. Goosebumps broke out on my arms. For some reason, I didn't want to be close to the ground, so I stood quickly.
It was a mistake. Vertigo gripped me, and once again, I wavered on the spot.
"I think it's time to come back," Logan said.
I took another look around. "There are others like this one. Very faint, but they were all moving in the same direction." I turned, expecting to see something that they might have run from. There were animals. Each one was slightly different, but they had that same single mindedness. "It's like they were running from something," I said. "But I only see animals."
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