Moonfall | Book Two

CHAPTER 6 | PART 2

His father and Damien were yards ahead of him, following the twist and turns of the Woodlands as if it were familiar grounds for them. As the two had spent many days and nights inside of the massive territory after the almost war, Michael was not surprised.

To not give himself away, he tried not to make too much noise, but there was not much he could do to prevent the crunch of snow or branches beneath his feet other than follow at a safe enough distance behind them.

Turn back. Turn back now.

It was what his mind was shouting at him to do, and if he was smart, he would have listened. It was not worth it—this risk of his father finding him sneaking around in the Woodlands, while simultaneously trying to find a fairy he was not even certain he could trust was absolutely not worth it.

She was not worth it.

But he was already in too deep—literally and figuratively. And although the fairy was not worth his father's wrath, his mother certainly was, and that was what kept him tailing his father and Damien.

He had no actual plan when he followed them into the Woodlands, but keeping them within sight seemed the most logical thing to do, rather than go off on his own and attempt to find the fairy before they did. The only downside of his carefully maintained distance was being too far away to hear anything that might have explained the reason for their sudden trek.

He would find out why later.

More important than that—at least for the time being—was looking around for any familiar trees or paths that he could recall since his last visit. It was a long shot, but if he was even able to just hear or feel that hum that led him towards the two large oak trees, he was certain either he would find her or she would find him.

Several minutes ticked by as Michael continued his pursuit. He surveyed every inch of the area they passed, but not a single bend, path nor tree seemed to jog any memory for him.

He stopped, lowered his head and let out a frustrated sigh before he saw something move out of the corner of his left eye. He lifted his head and turned to look, but saw nothing. Only a cluster of trees, surrounded by trees, and more trees.

He turned his head and readied himself to begin following his father and Damien once again when a realization washed over him and pulled his attention back to the trees. Not because they were a sight to behold, but a sight odd enough to catch his eye and pull him towards them to investigate.

Of the six trees that formed the cluster, not one of their branches rustled in the wind like the others around them. They were still. Too still.

He went in to take a closer look when he suddenly noticed he could no longer hear his father nor Damien. He rushed back to where he was when he last saw them, but they were gone.

Heart racing, he headed in the same direction they had been going. He alternated between looking up in hopes he would spot them, and looking down at the ground in an attempt to track their footsteps, but there was not much snow on the ground in that part of the woods.

He picked up speed but was careful not to run, as it would have undoubtedly alerted them of his presence.

Whether it was luck or he was a better tracker than he had thought, he managed to eventually catch up to them. They had come to a stop, and the conversation he was too far away to hear looked intense and entirely one sided as his father was the only one talking, while Damien's eyes were casted to the ground.

The sigh of relief Michael was about to release caught in his throat when a loud snap of a branch beneath his feet echoed throughout the forest. He quickly hid behind the large trunk of a tree closest to him, and hoped they thought nothing of it. Hope that turned out useless when he heard footsteps headed in his direction.