What He Heard

Chapter 19

            He flinched under her gaze. Holding up his hands, Rune took a swift glance around to make sure no one was paying them any attention. He leaned in close, his lips inches from Willow’s ear as he murmured, “Alright, I’ll see what I can do. I’m going to head outside where the winds can get to me easier and I’ll try. I don’t know if this’ll work or not.”

            Willow nodded, fists clenched at her sides. “Anything is better than the nothing we’ve got now,” she said, not bothering to keep her voice low. “I’ll talk to Uncle Allistair, get him to let us go out by ourselves. I know the woods well enough he should agree. And even if he doesn’t…I’ll meet you outside.”

            Without waiting to see his nod, Willow shoved her way into the crush that was her family, forcing her way through any gap, ignoring the glares she got from some. Not that there were many. Her relatives were mostly focused on the Elders in front of them or the whispered conversations they were having with one another, every one of them stiff with tension. The air practically hummed with the compressed emotions of several dozen half-bear people.

            It took her a few minutes of struggle before Willow finally broke into the clear area surrounding her uncle. His face was set, with none of his usual good humour, as he spoke to her cousin Felicia. As soon as he waved the older girl towards the boys waiting for her, Willow strode up to him, chin up, and eyes glittering as they met his. “Me and Rune are going to search the woods,” she said without preamble. “A small team might find stuff a bigger group will miss, and I know the forest better than most. Especially the area around the ridge.”

            His brown eyes betrayed nothing as he studied her. “You think this is a good idea, Willow Reese?”

            She nodded. “Me and Rune are work best together.”

            “Very well,” he said. “But you must take every precaution. This can’t end with you taking silver off again.”

            Willow’s glare should have set him on fire. “I’m not an idiot,” she growled, spinning on her heel and stalking back the way she’d come, not about to wait for her uncle’s dismissal.

            Plunging back into the crowd helped work off some of her strained emotions, as she shoved, and twisted, glad that, as a whole, her family was a sturdy lot. The elbowing she was doing would only be a flash of discomfort for anyone of Byron blood, no worse than a light finger flick.

            The scent of cool air washed over her as a light breeze ran through her hair. Willow wasn’t sure if that was Rune’s winds checking up on her, or if it was because she was close to the door. Either way, it was only a few twists, squeezes, and shoulder checks for her to come stumbling out into the clear night air. Nor was she the only one. Small groups of her relatives broke free of the crowd and would hurry off, swallowed by the darkness in mere moments.

            Willow’s nostrils flared as they took in the scent of dying leaves, wet earth, and faint touch of wood smoke. It was a relief after the thick smells of sweat, deodorant, and too much cologne from some of her cousins that had filled the meeting hall.

            Looking around, Willow couldn’t see Rune. His jeans, dark hoodie, and black hair didn’t help her still adjusting eyes find him. It was the gentle push at her back from a rushing wind that told her which way to go. Feeling a little awkward, she muttered “Thanks,” before striding off in that direction.

            It didn’t take her long to find him. Rune stood just out of sight and earshot of the meeting hall, in front of her Aunt Tracy’s house and behind the birches that ran along one side of the building. He turned to watch her approach, hair a mess as winds continued to circle around him, tugging at his clothes. When Willow stopped in front of him, they included her in their spiral.

            “Did you find anything?” She asked, feeling hope press painfully against her chest.

            He shook his head, rubbing an arm. “Not yet. I think they understand. They started doing this right after I asked them to try and find your cousin,” Rune said, gesturing to the way the winds swirled around him. “I think it’s their way of saying they’re on it, but I could be wrong. I’ve never…they’ve never been this active before. Normally they just bring me stuff, without me saying anything.”

            Willow’s hands clenched. She took a deep breath to keep herself calm and thinking, knowing her mental image of Austin terrified and being chased by the sasquatch hunters was nothing but a trick. But it was harder to tell that to her bear side, the part that she made her want to roar and go racing into the woods, tearing apart anything that go in the way.

            Rune didn’t seem to notice her brief internal struggle, his head cocking to one side as the winds surrounding him picked up speed. He exhaled sharply, drawing Willow’s gaze. “I’ve got something I think might be him. Some whimpering and the sound of leaves shaking. No other sounds, so I can’t give you any more than that.”

            “Which way?” she asked, head up, body quivering to be off.

            “I don’t know. I don’t get directions exact…” he trailed off as the winds pulled him towards the wood, his clothes pressed against his body as the pressure forced him to take a step forward. “I-I guess this way,” he said, wide eyes visible in the light from the house’s front door.

            Willow nodded, eyes turning towards the woods. “You lead the way then. Your winds are the ones who know where to go.”

            With only the rush of the wind and the sound of crickets to be heard, Willow followed Rune into the dark maw of the forest ahead.