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Ember was less impressed. Having only just managed to avoid my stumbling feet, she took off for the front of the line, apparently having decided Amara would be a safer walking companion.
I couldn’t fault her since the near accident had clearly been caused by my distraction. I murmured a second apology to Ida, but she waved it off.
Once I was paying attention, I could clearly see why we’d stopped. The river bent sharply away to our right, while a small stream broke off and continued south, in the rough direction of the town.
After only the briefest of comments, we resumed our progress, but now following the stream instead of the main river. As we walked, I resolved to focus on the issue at hand, but the more I tried to force my mind away from Nik, the more aware I was of the heat from his body and the soft rise and fall of his breath. I stumbled slightly, and a strong hand steadied my elbow from behind. The touch was withdrawn again as soon as I regained my balance, but the tingle of contact remained, distracting me even further.
The flap of wings made me look up to see Phoenix zipping toward me. He was flying above the stream, as if it were a road for birds, its purpose being to clear a path free of trees. I shook my head at my own whimsy, but the thought of a path stuck in my head.
The ground beneath my feet was becoming easier to walk, as if someone had already started wearing out a track along the route. It would be natural for the townsfolk to do the same as Phoenix—following the course of the stream as they made their way to the best foraging ground. But this stream was new and the townsfolk had been falling progressively ill for the last couple of weeks. Was it possible they had already worn down the ground this much, even this far from the town?
A rustling in the undergrowth nearest the stream made me turn in time to see Ember come shooting out from between two bushes. She was moving fast enough that she might have slid into the stream if I hadn’t scooped her up. I wasn’t sure if she was afraid, but something had set her trembling. Whatever she had encountered in the forest had certainly caught her attention.
Making a fast decision, I changed direction, stepping away from the stream in the direction she had come. Nik immediately stopped as well.
“What is it?” He sounded concerned.
I didn’t turn to look at him, just holding up a hand to ask him to wait. Closing my eyes, I sent my power out into the surrounding forest. Dimly in the background I heard Nik calling to the others ahead of us to stop, but I ignored his words as well as their replies, focusing on my search.
This time I ignored the feathered, furred, and reptilian populations I encountered, skimming over them as I looked for something else. Someone had made a path beside this stream, but what if it wasn’t the townsfolk? What if someone else was here in the forest?
It was a large island, and the town only covered a small part of it.
I stiffened as my power brushed against the familiar feel of people. Nik’s hand braced my elbow as he murmured a question I wasn’t paying enough attention to catch. For once, his presence wasn’t enough to distract me as I reached toward my new discovery.
“What have you found?” Amara’s question—delivered in the voice of a master to an apprentice—broke me out of my focus.
I blinked, shaking my head as I turned to look at her. The others had abandoned their single line to cluster around me, all of their faces intent.
“There are people.” I pointed straight into the trees. “Through there.”
“We’re still a way north of the town.” Costas frowned in the direction I’d pointed. “But not everyone forages in the same place. They must be out gathering supplies. Perhaps they’re hoping they can find something that will help with this disease.”
“It’s possible.” I hesitated. “But would they bring sick people along on a foraging expedition?”
“Are they ill?” Amara asked, her voice turning sharp.
“It’s hard to say for sure from this distance.” I hesitated again. “I don’t think they all are. But there’s one—a child—who doesn’t feel right even from this distance. I’m afraid she must be very sick for me to sense it from so far away.”
“A child?” Amara’s frown deepened. She exchanged a look first with Costas and then Ida. “Is it possible someone came out here in desperation and didn’t want to leave their sick child behind? Regardless, it sounds unusual enough to warrant further examination.” She turned to me. “Do you think you can take us to them? Are they moving?”
I checked again before answering. “They seem to be stationary, and I can certainly take us in their direction. But I can’t tell what obstacles might be between us and them.”
“I’ll take care of any obstacles,” Nik said in a matter-of-fact way, and I didn’t doubt his ability to deal with anything the forest might throw at us.
I glanced up and down the river, considering the path that wasn’t quite a path. My instinct told me these weren’t townsfolk who’d come into the forest to forage. And if I was right about that, perhaps…
I stepped away from the river, pushing through the bushes in the same spot Ember had emerged from. At first I could see nothing but more trees and varied undergrowth. Nik strode through behind me, and I turned in time to see him stop abruptly.
Following the direction of his gaze, I sucked in a breath.
“I’m not imagining it, right?” I asked. “That’s a path?”
“A path?” Amara reached us, following my pointing finger to see for herself. “Did you know this was here, Delphine?”
“Not for sure, but I wondered.” I gave Ember a light squeeze. “Ember found something in this direction, and it occurred to me that whoever made that path,” I gestured back toward the stream, “might have made more.”
“Impressive.” Amara smiled at me, and I couldn’t help grinning back despite the seriousness of the situation. If I couldn’t be in town healing people, at least I could be useful out here.
