by Alex Archer
"No big deal." But she could see that Joey was smarting from the comment.
Annja looked around. "So what do we do now? I mean, Jenny's not here. And if we have any hope of finding her, we'll have to do it soon. I'm at a loss as to how we should proceed." She looked at him closely. "These are your woods. I'd be grateful for your advice."
Joey smiled. "Thanks."
"Well?"
Joey nodded. "Okay, we can try to search for her, but I don't know how much good it's going to do. Without a track, I'm not much use. I haven't really learned how to spirit track yet."
"What's that?"
Joey shrugged. "You'll think I'm being weird."
Annja smiled. "Did you see that sword earlier? What exactly was normal about that thing?"
"Not much."
"Exactly."
Joey sat down. "Well, spirit tracking is when you try to tune in to the person's thoughts or spirit. You use that to guide you to them. My grandfather says it's one of the ultimate tests that a true scout can undertake. Learning how to do it, you can kinda tune in on them anywhere."
"It's not limited by distance?"
"Nope. The process isn't one I'm really familiar with, though. I still need a lot of training before I can pull it off adequately."
"What about your grandfather?" Annja asked.
Joey sighed. "That guy can do anything."
"Then maybe we should get him out here to help us."
"Yeah, that would be the best thing to do, but my grandfather's not able to walk anymore. He wouldn't be able to come out here unless we drove him."
Annja frowned. "What happened to him?"
"He got hit by a car crossing the street. Paralyzed him from the waist down. He hasn't been the same since."
A stiff breeze blew across the hill, chilling Annja. Jenny was somewhere in the woods, probably still in pretty bad shape, and there wasn't a thing they could do about it. All that seemed likely was that she had a cup of pine-needle tea and little else.
"This is not how I expected to be spending my trip," Annja said.
Joey pointed to their left. "My grandfather lives about four miles that way. If we hurry, we can reach his place in a little over an hour. But it's not an easy trek. And I'm a little worried that you might not make it."
"I'm not waiting here for you," Annja said. "The last time I did that, Jenny vanished and I'm not taking the chance that whoever took her won't come back and get me, as well. That'd just make your job that much harder."
Joey shook his head. "Yeah, like if someone tried that on you, you couldn't just whip that blade out and slice them apart."
"It's not that simple," Annja said. "If they surprise me, for instance."
"Like I did?"
"Yeah, like that. Then it becomes much harder to defend yourself. Plus, I'm cold and exhausted. If you leave me here, I'll fall asleep in no time. And that would also make me vulnerable."
Joey shrugged. "Suit yourself. But you'd better be able to keep up with me. Your friend's life depends on me moving fast. If I can reach my grandfather's house and get him to spirit track Jenny, then we should be all set."
"He'll be able to tell us where she is?"
"Almost definitely."
Annja took a deep breath. "Then we'd better get going."
Joey took a moment to orient himself and then set off at a brutal pace. Annja couldn't believe how fast he moved and seemingly without getting tired. He wound his way up hills and down tight trails bordered by steep drop-offs. Streams ran parallel to their progress and, in places, the pines dipped so low that Annja had to duck repeatedly to avoid getting her eyes poked out.
Her breathing came fast and hard and, despite being bone cold earlier, the pace of the trek heated her up until she started to sweat. She could feel the rivulets running down her back and face. Her breath bellowed huge clouds of steam with every exhalation.
But still Joey kept moving.
Annja realized at some point that they weren't on the main trail any longer. Joey was using what looked like animal runs and smaller paths that would have been invisible to her eyes if she'd been here alone. But to Joey they were the back roads and side streets of the wilderness landscape. And he knew how to use them effortlessly.
"You really do know this place, huh?"
Joey nodded. "I've had the time to explore it, fortunately. But there's still plenty that I haven't seen. It keeps me excited about it."
Annja kept moving, focusing on the welfare of Jenny to keep her motivated. If they didn't manage to somehow find her, then that would weigh heavy on Annja's conscience. She just hoped that Joey's grandfather would be able to somehow tune in to Jenny's mind.
After a solid hour of travel, Joey drew himself to a halt. He took a deep breath and then seemed to smell the air. Annja came up alongside him and took the moment of rest gratefully.
"I don't think I've ever moved so fast in my life."
Joey smiled. "Quite the workout, isn't it?"
"I'll say. Are we close?"
Joey closed his eyes. "Quiet for just a moment, okay?"
"Okay."
Annja watched as Joey turned his head slowly from side to side until he locked in on one direction. He stayed quiet for two minutes and then opened his eyes. "You ready to go again?"
"Uh…sure."
"Good." Joey took off, motoring across the valley in front of them. At the base of the next hill, he leaned forward, putting all his weight onto his thighs. Annja copied his lead, and instantly her thighs screamed in protest. She was asking them to bear a lot tonight, but it was all for Jenny.
She had to keep going.
Joey crested the hill and then turned onto a new track. The number of trees seemed to be dwindling and thinning out. Annja felt a change in the air.
Civilization.
They had to be close.
Forty yards farther on, Joey stepped out of the woods onto a paved road.
"Where are we?" Annja asked.
"Close," Joey said. "Very close. This is the main road that runs from town out to the trailhead."
"I don't recognize it."
"You wouldn't have traveled this stretch coming from town."
Annja nodded. "Your grandfather lives out here by himself?"
"He's got me with him when I'm not out running around on my own."
Annja kept pace with Joey, determined not to let him wear her down entirely. "You've got a lot of freedom for someone as young as you are."
"You understand that, though, don't you? The importance of being free. Not a lot of people do. I look at some of the other guys I know and their parents are terrified that they'll get hurt so they keep them away from anything that might possibly harm them," Joey said.
"We live in a different world now," Annja replied.
"Problem is, we're cutting ourselves away from the very earth that sustains us. No one understands nature anymore. It's tragic."
Joey stopped and pointed ahead of them. Annja could make out what looked like a small driveway.
"The house is up there," Joey said.
"I don't see it."
Joey smiled. "Wait a second."
Annja watched and then saw lights come on in one of the rooms, faintly illuminating the small home. "How?"
"He knows we're coming," Joey said. "Let's go."
Chapter 7
As they approached the small house, Annja could see that the roof sagged in the middle and the gutters hung away from the roofline. The night's storm could not have been much help to the obviously aged exterior, with its gray paint flaking off in piles by the stone foundation.
A rough-hewn wooden rail led up to a planked porch. Two rain barrels set at either corner overflowed from the rainfall.
"Great place," Annja said.
Joey smirked. "You're kidding, right? It's falling apart."
"Well, yeah, but in a nice rustic way."
Joey turned and mounted the steps. Annja followed, and as she did so the front door opened, letting
out a wash of light onto the porch. Backlit, Annja could just make out the form of a man in a wheelchair waving them in.
Joey bent and hugged his grandfather. "Grandpa."
"Creeping Wolf," the old man said. "I see you've been busy tonight."
Joey nodded and stepped back, letting Annja into the house. "This is Annja Creed. She needs your help."
"About the woman?"
Joey nodded.
Annja frowned. "How does he know that?"
Joey shrugged. "I told him."
"When?"
"When I took a second to contact him."
Annja frowned. "Telepathy?"
Joey's grandfather coughed and waved his hand. "You see? Everyone tries to rationalize everything. That's the problem with people these days." He motioned to Annja. "Come in and sit by the fire. You look cold."
Annja walked inside and saw that the interior was much nicer than the exterior had led her to believe. A large stone fireplace occupied the central place in the living room. Beautiful, intricate Native American tapestries hung from the walls. The floor was covered in a thick rug that looked like bearskin, although she couldn't be sure.
She chose the threadbare recliner to sit in and marveled at how comfortable it was. Her spine relaxed into it and the cushions adjusted perfectly to her frame.
Joey's grandfather smiled. "Comfy chair, ain't it?"
"Very."
The old man wheeled himself over to the fire. In the twinkling light, Annja could see the wrinkled skin that looked like aged leather. His beard was almost entirely white and hung about two inches below his chin.
He spun around then and eyed her closely. After a moment he smiled. "You may call me Dancing Deer."
Annja frowned. The name simply didn't fit, given the old man's condition. Had it been some sort of cruel joke that someone had given him that name?
Dancing Deer merely smiled. "I wasn't always like this. In my youth, I ran through the woods with the joy of a deer that has just found its strength. Even now, the soul of a mighty buck beats within my chest. Legs aside, I am still a mighty warrior."
Annja bowed her head. "I'm honored to meet you. I've heard a great deal about you from Creeping Wolf."
Dancing Deer nodded. "My grandson is a credit to his people. And he's a fine scout in his own right. He has a lot to learn still, but I can see that he has been very useful to you already."
"And I'm hoping you can be just as useful," Annja said. "I need your help to find my friend, Jenny."
Dancing Deer nodded gravely. "I can see that. The concern you have for your friend is evident on your face. It troubles your spirit greatly."
"If something should happen to her, it would be my burden," Annja said. "I do not wish for any harm to come to her."
"Very well," Dancing Deer said. "Then I must ask you to sit still and allow me to track her."
Joey sat down on the couch. "I was the last to see her, Grandpa."
Dancing Deer nodded. "Come and kneel beside me for a moment."
Annja watched as Joey got off the couch and knelt next to Dancing Deer's wheelchair. The old man placed one hand on Joey's head and then closed his eyes. Annja could see him muttering something under his breath and then it was over quickly.
Dancing Deer looked at Joey. "Bring the sage, please."
Joey ran from the room and Annja could hear him rummaging through drawers, presumably in the kitchen. When he returned, he had a large bundle of leaves in his hand. Annja recognized it as the sage Dancing Deer had requested.
"Light it and let it smolder, please."
Joey leaned in close to the fire and let the bundle catch a kiss from one of the flames. The fire ate into the dried herbs and then Joey waved it to extinguish the flame. Smoke wafted into the room and Annja took a nice deep breath. The effect of the sage was relaxing.
Dancing Deer still had his eyes closed. "Move it around the room until we are surrounded by its essence."
Joey circled the room, letting the smoke hang in the air until it permeated everything. Finally he set the smoldering bundle in a small dish near the fire. Smoke continued to drift toward the ceiling.
Annja could feel her own eyelids getting heavy again. She desperately wanted to stay awake and watch Dancing Deer undertake the spirit track, but she wasn't sure that it was possible.
Dancing Deer looked to Joey again. "I am ready."
Joey glanced at Annja. "You need to be absolutely quiet, okay?"
She nodded.
Dancing Deer's eyes closed again, and this time he started a low chant that seemed to rumble up from somewhere deep inside his chest. As she listened to it, Annja could feel herself being carried along. A drum joined in the chant and she realized that Joey must have been drumming along in time to it.
Dancing Deer continued to chant and the drumming kept pace the entire way. Annja could feel herself starting to fall fast asleep.
She had to stay awake!
The chanting and drumming continued and now a new voice joined in. Joey was chanting along with his grandfather. How on earth were they going to be able to find Jenny? Annja desperately wanted to ask them but Joey had warned her not to make any noise. Whatever they were doing, clearly Annja saying anything would disrupt the procedure.
She relaxed and breathed deeply, inhaling and exhaling as she felt herself get lighter and lighter. The smell of sweet sage in the room drifted in and out of her lungs, and seemed to seep into every one of her muscles, making them relax even further.
The more Annja relaxed, the deeper she seemed to sink into the chair and the lighter she felt. It was an odd sort of sensation. While she'd experimented with hypnosis before, this was nothing like it. She was relaxed and deeply in some sort of state, but she simultaneously felt like she could lift right out of her chair as if she had no weight whatsoever.
The drumming and chanting seemed farther away now, as if Annja was somehow removed from it in some respects. She turned her eyes inward and saw the sword hanging in the space in her mind's eye where it always resided. She could reach out and touch it if she wanted. But somehow she knew her attention was needed elsewhere.
She looked outward and, in an instant, found herself drifting up and out of the chair toward the ceiling. Then she was carried through the house and out into the dark night again. She could hear the wind but felt none of its cold bite.
She turned toward the woods where she and Joey had come from and let herself float that way. She drifted down the trail quickly, her feet never touching the ground at all.
Annja kept breathing deeply. Somehow the sage smell still lingered in her nostrils. Somehow it still kept relaxing her, even while she was outside of the house.
The thought that she was traveling out of her body occurred to Annja and she looked back to see if there was some type of thread connecting her body as she'd often read about. She could see nothing.
Perhaps this was what it was like to die?
Annja kept traveling down the path. She rolled over the hills and down into the valleys. She could taste the air. And soon enough she found herself back where she and Joey had started.
The pine boughs still held the impression of Jenny's body. Annja rose up above the ground and looked at the area from a different perspective. Whoever had grabbed Jenny would have scared her possibly. Jenny must have felt some type of fear, even in her weakened state.
What would it be like, she wondered, to lay there so vulnerable and know that you couldn't do anything? Her heart started beating faster. Annja felt her pulse quicken at the thought of the sudden looming presence that might have carried her off.
Who was it? she wondered.
Where was she?
The fear was palpable; Annja could feel it envelop her body and her mind like some kind of blanket. She wanted to shrug it off and feel relaxed again, but a voice inside her told her this was necessary. She needed to know this fear.
Annja embraced it then, allowing herself to be swept up into the rising tide of anxiety
that Jenny would have felt. And as she did so, her body shifted. She was zooming along the ground again, but no longer in control of herself. It was as if she'd stepped on a carnival ride and been whisked away from where she was.
Something was happening.
In the far distance, she could still hear the drums and chanting. It reassured her to know they were still there, but then Jenny's fear overwhelmed her again and she continued her journey.