Sparks Flying - A Ranger's Apprentice Story

Chapter Twenty-Four

Among the sleeping Rangers curled in their sleeping bags around the dark, smoking remains of the campfire, Maddie was the first to awake the next morning, as the light from the rising sun in a finally-clearing sky spread its fingers across her face. She blinked, squinting in the light, then stretched, yawning. 

"Morning, Sleeping Beauty." Gilan's low voice carried across the campsite from the very edge of the shadowed forest where he, Will, and Halt had stationed themselves for the night's watch. 

It took Maddie a moment to pick his cloaked form out from the shadows, but when she saw him, she waved, yawning again. "Morning, Gil," she replied, also keeping her voice low in order not to bother Halt or Will.

"Want to get the campfire going so we can prepare coffee?" Gilan asked. "We probably don't have time to cook a hot breakfast but coffee will help get everyone awake and alert."

Maddie nodded. "Sure," she said. Taking a stick, she began to poke through the ashes of the fire, searching for the little glowing embers that would, with time, birth the beginning of a new fire. Finding them, she began to fan flames into existence with the assistance of a few handfuls of dried grass for tinder. 

After she'd gotten the flames burning to her satisfaction, she took the weather-worn old coffeepot, filled it with fresh, clear water from the river, and added rich, fragrant ground coffee beans. She nestled the pot on one side of the fire, using a stick to heap coals around the base in order to brew the coffee more quickly.

Within a few minutes, the sharp, sweet scent of coffee began to permeate the campsite, and Will and Halt began to stir from their bedrolls. Halt blinked blearily, looking slightly displeased and annoyed at the fact it was morning. Will still looked exhausted, as if he hadn't slept well. He probably hadn't, Maddie realized.

It was this thought that prompted Maddie to pour a mug of piping-hot coffee and take it over to her mentor, offering it wordlessly. Will took it gratefully, wrapping his hands around it and taking a deep breath of steam. "Thanks, Maddie," he said.

She gave him a half-smile, before turning away to bring Halt another mug. 

Soon after that, the fire was doused and the campsite was packed away. The Rangers tightened the girths of their horses' saddles, tying travel packs into place. Gilan took a moment to perform one of his most important daily routines: checking his sword for damage or rust and ensuring that the edge was razor-sharp. 

It was Halt who first broke the vaguely comfortable silence. "So...what's the plan?" he asked.

Maddie and Gilan looked right at Will, waiting expectantly.

Will frowned. "Well, the first order of business is to keep following the tracks," he said. "I suppose that's what we'll do, still marking our trail behind us so reinforcements can follow. We can adapt our actions if the situation changes."

Halt nodded. "Good idea. Let's get going."

The Rangers swung into their saddles, heading downriver towards the ford.

It was a slow, uneventful day, made only more so by the unspoken uneasiness gripping the Rangers. The only thing to mark any passage of time seemed to be the sun's slow, inexorable climb into the sky. Even this, however, was soon blocked mostly from view after the Rangers forded the river and the tracks, faint but still readable, led them back into forested terrain.

Conversation was sporadic at best, limited to necessary communication about tracking or laying a trail behind them. This final task was Maddie's responsibility, as she brought up the end of the group, using her saxe knife to mark trees along their path.

The trail twisted and turned some, but continued heading roughly north. 

Even when they stopped for their noon meal, the small group remained gripped by uneasy silence. It had all occurred to them, though no one wanted to voice the fact, that something was off about this whole situation. This was too easy.

By late evening, Maddie had taken to twisting in her saddle to glance over her shoulder many more times than she really needed to look back and mark the trail. She shifted in the saddle uncomfortably, rolling out her aching, tense, shoulders. She could not shake the feeling that someone was watching her, and it made her shiver. 

Halt, turning to glance over his own shoulder to check on her, caught her movement and raised his eyebrows questioningly at her. Maddie only shook her head. In front of Halt, Gilan was slumped in the saddle, his hood raised to shade his face, but Maddie knew he was on high alert. Will was in the lead, his face grim and his shoulders set as he scanned the terrain ahead and monitored the tracks they were following.

Maddie turned again in the saddle to slash the bark of a passing tree with her saxe knife as Bumper completed another set of thirty paces, so she was caught off guard and off balance as the piebald pony suddenly stopped in his tracks. She cursed under her breath, grabbing at the pommel of her saddle to keep herself in place, and narrowly avoiding dropping her saxe knife. She slipped the heavy knife back into its sheath and turned to face the front to see what was going on. 

About ten feet down the trail, Tug's saddle was empty. Will crouched on the ground, studying what were presumably the tracks the group of Rangers was following. Halt and Gilan were still astride their horses, though both had craned their necks to try and see what was going on.

Gilan finally broke the silence, voicing what was at the front of Halt's and Maddie's minds. "Will, what's going on?"

Maddie's mentor did not answer immediately, but continued to study the tracks. After a long moment, he straightened and turned to face the other three Rangers, his cloak swishing with the movement. His face was hard. 

"The trail splits in two," he said.

A/N: I AM SO SORRY!!!!!!

Here I am, nearly a semester and a half into college, and I've left you guys completely hanging! I will say that I've barely had time to breathe for the past eight months or so, and even though I'm currently on spring break, I have a lot scheduled and I likely won't have another break until Thanksgiving. The life of a music student is HARD and BUSY (although I love it). 

I will try to at least get a little farther towards the end of this story (I have it all planned out in my head) over break. I apologize for this cliffhanger in the event I fail in updating soon.

I am not dead. Yet.