Chapter 27
TWENTY-SEVEN
Jack
“You really need to think this out.” Aareth looked over at a fidgeting Jack as the last rays of the sun died away.
“You’re doing the right thing in resting.
Taking the day off was smart. You couldn’t have pushed yourself all night, all day, and all night again.
I know you want to see if this white werewolf is your father, but you’re not going to do anyone any good if you run yourself into the ground. ”
Jack knew Aareth was right. They had made the decision to rest once they picked up the large werewolf tracks that led toward Term. The group had found an outcropping and a copse in the otherwise rolling grassy hills of this section of the Outland.
Between Jack and Kimberly’s extensive knowledge of the area, they were able to pick the quickest route to Term. The female gargoyle was snoring in the shade of a particularly large tree with massive branches that hung low to the ground. She sounded like a giant bear with a nasal infection.
“I know you’re right.” Jack opened his canteen and took a long draught.
“It just doesn’t make me feel any better about waiting when we have the trail.
Who knows if he stopped in the wooded area around Term, or if he kept going.
He could be halfway to Burrow Den by now, or one of the other dozen cities in the Outland. ”
“But say he is in Term.” Aareth got to his feet and removed his long black jacket.
“Say we get there in the early hours of the morning after running all night again, and he is there. You’ll need your strength to track him, and if he’s unwilling to listen to reason, we may have to be a bit more persuasive. ”
“I’m not going to hurt him.”
“I’m not saying that. What I am saying is that if he hasn’t changed back to his human form yet, he’s still struggling to control the animal inside himself.
He may not be in full control of what he does.
” Aareth took off his boots and socks. “I’m not saying we hurt him, but we may have to restrain him, at the very least, to defend ourselves.
I’m not letting anything happen to you, Jack. ”
Jack only nodded. He understood Aareth was right, and he wouldn’t let anything happen to the big man, either.
With a groan, Jack got to his feet and began stretching sore leg muscles. His quads and glutes were past the burning stage now; there was a deep ache so painful it made him want to laugh as he began to loosen worn muscles.
“Baring your shame again, I see.” Kimberly rolled to a sitting position. She yawned, showing a mouthful of sharp teeth. “Do you have no decency, beast man?”
“I’ve never been accused of being indecent before. Come on, let’s go. We have a long night ahead of us.” Aareth finished removing his clothing and turned into the large werewolf better suited for running.
“I suspect you’d like me to carry your clothing once more?” Kimberly opened her satchel to place inside her own long, white robe she wore to protect her from the sun. “Come on then, put them inside.”
Aareth grabbed his clothes in his maw and took them to Kimberly. He dropped them inside, but instead of leaving her to carry the pack, he grabbed the thick leather strap with his teeth and began to maneuver it around his own head.
“Well, that’s a nice change.” Kimberly smiled at Aareth, then she scrunched her grey brow as if she were remembering some long-past thought. “You know, that reminds me of an ancient tradition that my people practice?—”
“So, same plan as last night?” Jack interrupted.
Part of him felt bad for interrupting the gargoyle, but the other part understood that if he didn’t, they would be there for a very long while.
In the short period of time Jack had known Kimberly, he could already tell she was a great friend and an honest ally, but she did love to inform others about her race.
“You take to the air and tell us what you see. Aareth and I will run below.”
“Agreed.” Kimberly opened her massive wings and began to stretch.
Jack drew the wand from the belt at his side and summoned the same spell to its tip. Just like the previous day, a green glow encompassed the underside of his boots.
With a rush of wings and a gallop of paws, the trio was off.
As the hours passed, the tracking became harder.
Jack would lose the trail as the terrain changed from grass or soft dirt to rock.
It was harder while traveling at this speed, as well.
Jack and Aareth were flying across the landscape at mind-numbing speed.
Every so often, Jack would have to slow down or stop completely to make sure he was still going the right way.
The stars and the moon gave enough light, and the dull green glow at the bottom of his boots helped. Minutes passed into hours as they ran. Every time Jack felt a need to stop to take a break, every time his muscles screamed to him in pain, he thought of his father.
He knew without a shadow of a doubt his father would do the same thing for him if the tables were turned. Jack knew the others still debated whether Elizabeth was telling the truth and whether or not the white wolf was his father, but to Jack, it wasn’t a question anymore.
Whether this truth was something he needed to know or he wanted to accept still remained a mystery. Somehow, Jack knew his father was out there waiting for him. As the run lengthened, all Jack could think about was putting one foot in front of the other and not losing sight of the tracks underfoot.
Caught in the fog of weariness while trying to stay focused, Jack slammed into Kimberly. When she had landed or how far in advance she had given him to stop was lost on Jack.
Running full-out one moment and then colliding with something that may as well have been a boulder took the wind out of Jack.
He bounced backwards, slamming into the hard ground.
Shock lanced through his body as he stared up into the night sky.
It was beautiful, so many stars twinkling away, so many planets and galaxies out there to explore.
“Jack, are you all right?” Kimberly knelt beside him on his left. Aareth’s massive lupine head appeared on his right. “I thought you saw me. I landed in front of you and started to talk, but you slammed right into me.”
“Yeah, sorry about that.” Jack grimaced as he moved to a sitting position. Nothing felt broken, but his legs screamed at him once more. They felt like they were on fire. “I was so lost in tracking, I didn’t look up. What did you find?”
Kimberly helped Jack rise to his feet. She pointed with an outstretched arm to a line of blackness on the horizon.
Jack had to blink a few times to realize it was the outline of the forest, the Mirage Forest that surrounded Term.
Its dense foliage and the way the trees played with the shadows had given it its name over the years.
“We’re here already?” Jack rubbed at his eyes. He tried to take a few steps forward to get a better look, but his actions resulted in him limping forward rather than actually walking. “What time is it? It has to be nearly daybreak.”
“It is.” Kimberly looked to the east where the sky had not changed from its dark, blackish grey to hazy orange, but soon would. “Another hour or so will see the sun in the sky.”
A deep rumbling growl reached Jack. Aareth stood stock still, the hair on his back rigid. He squinted into the forest’s depth.
“That’s the second thing I wanted to tell you.” Kimberly nodded toward the forest. “I think we’ve found your father. I saw motion, a lot of motion, from my vantage point.”
Jack craned his neck forward, willing his eyes to see what he knew was there. There it was, so quick, he wasn’t sure if he had seen anything at all. Something large moving across the tree line. Whatever it was, it wasn’t his father.