Page 46 of In Your Light

This was the boundary of the mountain, the border between their world and where the humans lived delineated by the road that joined Tenebrae Cove with the rest of the world. The bridge was long gone, and the last human residents had moved out soon after, thankfully.

Fyn ducked through the trees before the edge, and what he saw made him stop dead. He went to ground and hid behind a large mossy log. He grabbed Zaq as he came racing up and pulled him down. “Shh.”

“What is it?” Zaq whispered.

“Humans.”

Zaq’s eyes went wide. “Humans?”

“Two. And a vehicle.”

“On this side?”

“No, across the river. On the human side.”

He poked his head up and had another look. Yep. Two men and a strange orange tripod. Fyn wasn’t sure what that was for, but one of them pressed his face to it. The other had a small black device and was holding it out, scanning the gorge.

Fyn ducked back down before it was angled in their direction.

“What are they doing?” Zaq whispered.

“I don’t know.” Fyn swallowed hard. “But I’d reckon it has something to do with the old bridge. Why else would they be looking here, of all places?”

“We need to go back,” Zaq said, “and tell the others.”

“Agreed. You go back and tell Pax,” Fyn said. “I’ll tell Ciaran.”

Zaq hesitated. “You’re... not coming with me?”

“I’m not allowed back, remember?” Fyn said. “Not yet, anyhow.”

Zaq winced. “Yeah, sorry.”

“But listen, you tell Pax if he needs to speak to Ciaran, he’ll have to come down to the village. I won’t take any of them up to the camp.” He trusted Ciaran and everyone in the consortium, but the location of the faun’s camp must be kept secret.

“Aurin and Salem have already been,” Zaq countered.

“That was Cern’s doing. Pretty sure he can do what he wants, treaty or no.” Fyn took Zaq’s hand. “Regardless, you and I will meet again in two days at the boundary. If Pax has any message or news, he can tell you to tell me. I’ll tell Ciaran the same.”

“Or maybe Pax and Ciaran can meet at the boundary?” Zaq suggested.

That... could work.

“Good idea. Suggest it to Pax. He’ll need to be the one we accommodate, no doubt. I’m sure Ciaran will be more obliging. We can meet there in two days, midmorning.”

Zaq gave a nod. “Okay.”

Fyn risked taking another look over the top of the fallen log. The two men were still there but were packing up the orange tripod. “Wait,” he said. “I think they’re leaving.”

Sure enough, they soon got into their vehicle and drove away.

Fyn sighed with relief as he stood to full height. “All clear.”

Zaq stood up and looked at where the vehicle was disappearing from view. “If they rebuild the bridge, it means more humans will come.”

Fyn nodded. “Has there been any word from Cern?”

Zaq shook his head. “None.”