Sparks Flying - A Ranger's Apprentice Story

Chapter Twenty-Eight

The two Rangers ghosted silently through the trees, just a few more shadows in a night-darkened forest. Will was in the lead, Maddie a few meters to his side and a bit behind. Even for her, it was difficult to keep track of her mentor. It took all her concentration to keep up her unseen and silent movement and still follow Will.

The smell of smoke was growing stronger and stronger, and it encouraged the two Rangers. Will's eyes were mere slits of focus in the shadows beneath his cowl. His mind whirled, calculating the directions of their travel and of the wind, and keeping a sharp awareness of their surroundings, filtering through and identifying every sound in the shadows around them.

Maddie was a mere wraith behind him, slipping silently through the hulking black trees. Will spared another bit of brainpower to monitor her progress. He was pleased with what he saw. Maddie was a natural at stealth and camouflage, and excelled at tasks such as these. She was very light on her feet, and had a working understanding of the movement and placement of the shadows around them. Yes, he had taught her a lot in their short time together, but so much of it was ingrained talent. Maybe inherited in part from her brilliant, graceful mother, but a talent wholly Maddie's.

Will was also grateful the rain had finally stopped. For now, at least. As it was, the mud had gathered around his boots again, heightening the effort it took to take each silent, careful step. His calves burned, but he soldiered on. Alyss was worth every ache and pain, every possible injury, even the possibility of death.

He picked out the garish flickering of flames between the trees in the near distance, and came to a stop, Maddie halting next to him. He beckoned her closer and leaned over to breathe instructions into her ear.

"We're very close. Keep absolute quiet. Depending on how many people are in the clearing, we may attack. If there's too many, we'll reconnoiter and return to camp to strategize. Clear?"

Maddie nodded wordlessly, her face pale but set in the shadows of her cloak.

And they ghosted forward once again.

Weaving between the trees, they finally came to the edge of the clearing. They stopped just inside the tree line, far enough inside the shadows that they could remain hidden from the light of the fire.

Will frowned. Aside from the small campfire in the center of the clearing, it appeared to be deserted. There was nobody there camping or even guarding anything - just a bundle of rags discarded to one side of the fire.

He leaned down to Maddie. "It's a trap of some kind," he breathed. "Or a distraction. We need to circle the clearing, make sure no one's watching for us, before we investigate."

A shrill, thin cry split the air, and Maddie barely managed to bite off a cry of shock. As it was, Will jumped at the unexpectedness of the sound. Still sticking to his ingrained training, he remained stock-still, other than grabbing Maddie's shoulder to keep her from moving. His eyes scanned the clearing, and scanned it again, searching for the source of that vulnerable, lusty cry - a baby's cry.

And then the bundle of rags moved.

"Maddie," Will hissed. "You go right and check the trees on that side of the clearing. Something is horribly wrong here."

"Will," she whispered, her eyes huge. "That's a baby. Do you think -"

Will cut her off. "Go, Maddie. Meet me on the other side."

Torn, his apprentice stood motionless for a long second before she was able to gather herself and obey. Will waited until she moved, and then ghosted in the opposite direction.

The few minutes it took for Will and Maddie to search the trees along the edge of the clearing became painfully long with the helpless cries coming from the pile of rags in the clearing. But they met on the opposite side of the clearing with no surprises.

"I think we're safe enough, Maddie," Will said, and his apprentice immediately broke into the clearing, heading for the pile of rags near the campfire. She gathered the infant into her arms, cooing and talking softly. The baby's cries softened into panicked gasps.

"Will," Maddie asked, her voice broken. "What's going on? Why would they leave a baby -"

Her voice trailed off when she saw her mentor kneeling on the ground close by, hunched over a piece of paper. A piece of paper with a familiar laurel-leaf pin attached.

Maddie ghosted closer, jiggling the baby, and realized Will was crying.

"Will?" she whispered.

The paper held several lines of graceful, familiar handwriting. And suddenly, Maddie understood, and her heart sunk.

"Alyss," she whispered.

A/N: Sorry for the long wait, you guys. I sat and actually wrote the next chapter so you guys have a little less of a cliffhanger. At this point, I kind of have the story sketched out in my head, but am struggling to connect the last few major plot points. No clue when the next update will be. 

College is going great (almost halfway done already!) but I am so busy all the time, it's completely exhausting. It's incredible to be able to study what I love, but at the same time it takes so much work (music practice and rehearsals on top of a full academic workload). Clearly fanfiction has taken a backseat, but while reading back through my stories (this one plus my Blood, Sweat, & Hanon books) as a reader, I needed to know what happens next. I fully intend to finish out this story at some point. I just don't know when.

Anyone who's still reading, thanks for sticking with me.