37. Jack
THIRTY-SEVEN
JACK
“So what do you think about all of this?” Jack asked his father.
“I don’t know, son. I think that we’re still very far from finding the truth.”
The two sorcerers had left the preacher’s house right after Sloan and Aareth. Together they headed straight for the woods. The city was surrounded on all sides by thick, forested terrain and rolling hills. A large mountain range rose to the sky a few miles behind the city.
Jack was already feeling at home. He was accustomed to the noises and smells of the forest landscape. Where most people would give themselves whiplash from twisting their heads at every snapping twig or grunting animal, Jack knew exactly what the sounds meant and where they came from.
This was the first hint that something was wrong.
This particular forest near Burrow Den was unusual in that not as many animals inhabited the area.
Jack was used to seeing a dozen or more different animals by now, including unicorns, rabbits, squirrels, birds, and others.
So far, he had caught sounds of just a handful of these creatures.
“They’re scared of something,” Jack said, more to himself than his father. “It’s too quiet out here.”
“More than that, Jack. They’re terrified. I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
The tone in his father’s voice made him turn his head. Jack gave his father his full attention. Marcus was staring into the distance, like he could see through the trees themselves.
“We need to pick up this thing’s trail. Everything else, all of the answers to our other questions, will follow.”
Jack obeyed, turning his attention to the forest floor. Jack often compared his job as a tracker to that of an inspector or detective. Everything around him was his crime scene. It was up to him to find the clues.
Jack and Marcus traveled deeper into the forest. They examined any and all game trails and small outlets that led ever deeper into the forest. It had been hours; still, there was no sign of an animal that would be big enough to kill a human being.
The younger sorcerer brushed back his thick brown hair as his mind wandered from the trail back to Abigail.
Jack had never had a real girlfriend before, and at his age, he thought that was pitiful.
Not only was he extremely clumsy when it came to talking to the opposite sex, but his father always moved.
For sorcerers, with their skill set, tracking and hunting jobs took Jack and Marcus all over the Outland.
They were never in one place more than a few weeks, maybe a month, before it was time to move again.
Perhaps this time, things could be different. There was a strength in Abigail that Jack admired. If this job took more than a week or two, that would give him a chance to really get to know her.
Jack was so wrapped up in thought, he missed the huge print right in front of him.
He stepped in it instead. The section of the path he traveled ran close to a small stream.
The bank was muddy and soft, allowing impressions to be easily formed.
What made Jack look down in the first place was the suction of his boot to the muddy terrain.
“Ummm… Dad?” Eyes wide, he looked at the size of the print he stepped in. He saw two more gigantic prints before they were lost in the water. “You should see this.”
Marcus followed parallel to his son, further from the stream. The older sorcerer was there in a minute, wearing a vexed expression Jack wasn’t used to seeing.
There was a moment of silence as Marcus squatted down, placing his hand a few inches over the large print. The print dwarfed the sorcerer’s palm by more than double. Just like the drawing Jack had seen in New Hope, he was amazed by the similarities the paw print shared with the average wolf’s.
This track, however, was far bigger than any wolf print he had ever seen. It was even larger than the drawing in New Hope.
“It’s huge,” Jack breathed, trying to conjure up an image of how large the animal would have to be to fit paws of that size.
“It’s larger than a bear and definitely bigger than the drawing we saw of the paw in New Hope.”
“You think there’s more than one?”
“Either that,” Marcus stood and scratched the underside of his jaw, “or whatever this is—it’s growing.”
Jack’s mind went a hundred different directions trying to find an answer to this mystery. Both men heard a loud female laugh behind them.
Jack wheeled around, wand in hand. Elizabeth stood a few yards away, her fiery red hair surrounding her like a cape.
“Wait,” she said with a smile, placing both hands in the air. “I surrender, and I thank you, Jack.”
Jack felt his heart beating like a war drum deep in his chest. Adrenaline was beginning to ebb. He lowered his wand.
“Elizabeth.” Jack holstered his wand. “You have to be careful. You can’t sneak up on us like that. You could have gotten hurt. And thank me for what?”
“Because I saw you last night out late talking to my sister.” Elizabeth ignored everything Jack said except his last question. “You were so nice to her. You should have definitely tried to kiss her. I think she likes you.”
Jack stood stunned, not daring to move a muscle. His eyes darted first to his father to see what his reaction would be. Next, his mind processed the new information that Abigail and Elizabeth were sisters, if he chose to believe Elizabeth.
“Late night chats, huh?” Marcus drew a finger across his throat. “Better not let the captain find out.”
Jack cringed at his father. He was about to apologize before Elizabeth interrupted again, walking up to the two men. She was wearing a dark brown leather skirt and top with tall black boots.
“What are you guys out here looking for? Are you looking for the laboratory?”
“What laboratory?” Marcus asked.
Elizabeth gave Marcus a look that said he should know exactly what she was talking about and was disappointed in him because he didn’t.
“Get out.” Elizabeth pointed behind her with an outstretched finger. “I mean it for your own safety.”
“Excuse me?”
“Get out. If you don’t know about the laboratory, then you shouldn’t even be in the woods, ‘cause they’re gonna get you good.”
Jack was still caught up on the fact that Elizabeth and Abigail were sisters. Elizabeth’s cryptic words went right over his head.
“Wait a minute, Elizabeth, let me get this right. Abigail’s your sister and Elijah’s your father?”
“Yep.” Elizabeth gave Marcus another disappointed look before she turned to Jack. “Weird, right?”
Jack examined Elizabeth closer. Maybe it was just because he knew now, but he could see a resemblance. Their hair color was, of course, off, but skin tone and even the freckles were similar.
“Elizabeth?” Marcus drew the young girl’s attention back to the subject at hand. “Can you show us this laboratory?”
“Okay.” Elizabeth placed a finger on her chin, deep in thought. “But first, it’s time to pay the payer guy.”
Marcus looked at her with a blank stare and Jack had to stifle a laugh despite their circumstances.
“Okay, and how do I do that, Elizabeth?”
“You and Jack owe me one. I’ll collect later. Come on, you two.” Elizabeth turned and started heading deeper into the woods. Without even looking back, she called out, “Wait ‘til you get a load of this. It’s going to make you poop your pants.”