Riddle Me This?

Chapter 14

Whatever kind of trees it was that grew here still rustled in the breeze. Colors. Moving. Even here it's beautiful. Fall was disarming, always. Comforting. I couldn't let it do that.

Noam stared hard at the map in his hands. "I...I'm not too sure where we are."

Two days after emerging from the cavern, we stood in the middle of thick woods, near some road that might or might not have been the main road. It was beautiful here, but if even Noam didn't know where we were. . . . Lost. Should we have followed those directions on the note? If someone knew Matt's aunt, then they might know her connection to him and to this place. We might have been tricked into taking that detour.

Can't turn back now.

Matt answered him. "But we're still headed north, right?"

"Well, yes." Noam lowered the parchment. "It's just...as far as finding where exactly we might be...the detour through the caverns did throw us off."

"I knew it would." Meris smirked at Matt. He rolled his eyes.

Really could do without them constantly baiting each other. I scratched under the strap of my backpack. "So what now?"

Noam glanced at the other girl. "Meris, it's Brightleaf Manor, correct?"

"Yes." She looked out over the trees below us. "That's what Barney's message said."

Brightleaf. It sounded like something I would have heard at home.

Maybe if we could just wander along the road in a general direction, we'd have a break from the running.

That's one benefit of getting lost.

But I hadn't been able to ignore the snuffling I'd heard last night, and the one before. Something, off in the dark, hunting us, growling every so often. It had to be the same, or a pack of them, whatever it was, going along behind and waiting for the right moment for us to slip, or fall, or somehow be helpless. Whatever this animal was, it was obviously intelligent.

"Matt?"

"What?"

"What do you think that thing is we keep hearing at night?"

He shrugged. "Curious animal?"

"Must be real curious if it's followed us for two nights." No way that's the right explanation. It might not have even been the same thing. The wildlife here didn't seem like it wanted to be found.

Noam folded his map back up. "I have to confess that when we're this far off course and nowhere near anything, I'm not very good at reading maps. We could be on any of the roads. I can basically pick a direction."

Great.

Meris nodded. "Well if we do find our way again, maybe we can stay on course this time."

Matt rolled his eyes. "Just drop it Meris. That might have saved your life."

She lifted her chin. "If you say so." She looked around. "I'll return shortly." She hurried down the path and disappeared.

"And there she goes." I pulled my backpack off and leaned into the tree, scratching back and forth. The bruised area didn't hurt as much anymore. Too bad there weren't any mirrors to get a good look. How much longer would my ponytail holder last? I felt the thick dryness of my hair at the ends and the waxy oil gathering at the roots.

Bet I look just great. My skin itched with the grime that had gathered on it, and my legs barely cooperated. My teeth even felt fuzzy.I was so tired it barely registered that I'd gone days without my basic routines.