Page 36 of Glimmer in the Darkness

“It’s possible someone went this way.” James started walking. Another ten yards, and he saw a broken branch on the ground. And from there, a path opened up. James followed it, and Cassidy followed him.

“Weird that the path starts way back here,” she said.

“Maybe he takes different routes from the clearing so as not to show the way.”

“Like he’s trying to keep it hidden.”

“Assuming we’re following the kidnapper’s path. For all we know, we’re tracking a hunter. Heck, it could be someone scouting for good real estate. Could be kids.”

“Kids wouldn’t work so hard to keep it hidden. Neither would someone looking to build a house.”

True.

Trees towered over them on every side. Pines, birches, oaks, and maples. The leaves and needles beneath them cushioned and quieted their steps. The slope was gentle at first but grew steeper. They walked in silence, the melody of the forest the only sound. Birds twittering, twigs snapping, animals skittering about. The rustle of leaves, the sway of branches in the breeze above. The weather would warm into the eighties today, but the higher they went, the cooler it would be.

They reached a stream, and he stopped and pulled out his phone. No service here, but GPS still tracked his location. He checked his coordinates on his screen, then checked the paper map he’d stuck in his back pocket and made a note.

“Whatcha doing?”

“We need to track our route. If we find her, we’ll need to tell authorities where she is. If we don’t, we’ll need to know where we’ve been so we don’t cover the same ground.”

“It’s like you’ve done this before. I’m impressed.”

A wash of pleasure bubbled up, but he tamped it down. He wasn’t here to impress Cassidy. He wasn’t here to feel anything for her.

He folded the map and shoved it back into his pocket. “I thought it through last night, tried to figure the most efficient way to do this.”

“Smart. I was just looking at landmarks and trying to remember. Of course, I’d never have even found this road, so we’re already way ahead of where I’d be by myself.”

He looked beyond the towering trunks to the blue sky. “Except you said sunlight reached you.” He gazed at the shade all around them.

“We’d started from a different place. It’s not going to feel familiar for a while.”

“Good point.”

They followed the stream, which climbed and circled toward the east. Brightness beckoned them forward.

“What made you decide to come with me?” Cassidy asked.

The path he’d been following—hardly a path, but it had seemed the right way—suddenly ended. In front of him, a boulder. The stream to one side, to the other…

Trees.

“What is it?”

“Lost the trail.”

She stepped up beside him, then passed him and rounded the rock that was taller than she was. He followed, saw no sign of a path.

He hopped over the stream and looked around, but again, no sign of anybody having gone that way.

Had the kidnapper—or whoever—stopped here? Was the boulder their destination?

James looked down but saw nothing to recommend this place over any other. No beautiful vista. Just forest all around.

“Could he walk in the stream?” Cassidy stared up the mountain, and he followed her gaze.

“Staying hidden worth wet feet?”