We have a problem, Derion's words echoed in my mind.
It hadn't really occurred to me until that moment that something even could go wrong, especially with the team we had put together. I stared at the footprints embedded in the snow, taking in their size, shape, and the distance between each step.
It's human, or at least one of them is. I can't speak for the others, and that's where the problem lies, Derion transmitted to the rest of them. I saw Ysevel, Haldir, and Vyra immediately entering defensive poses, carefully watching the spaces between the snow-laden trees.
I did my best to be as observant as possible, but something was bothering me, and I couldn't quite put my finger on what. No matter how I looked at the tracks, it didn't make sense.
These creatures might have been following this person through the snow like a predator stalking its prey, but the spaces between the steps compared to the size of the feet don't indicate someone was running in this area, I sent to Derion.
He acknowledged my line of thinking with a terse nod. Your thinking is aligned with my own. This is something we must tread carefully with, Commander, he sent, keeping us all in the loop.
Fuuuuck. Okay. Here's what we're going to do, my mother began after a heavy sigh. We're not going to rush this, but we can't afford to waste any more time. I will go with Thoma and Ysevel to investigate these footprints. Derion, Haldir, and Vyra will follow directly behind us and spread out as we work our way along these tracks, she said, moving her arm in a sweeping motion.
If it turns out that there is a much larger group than anticipated, I will let you know as soon as I'm able, but remember that you will be the rear-guard, understood? She asked, receiving silent hand signals from each of them.
I began to follow the tracks as closely as I could, though they were a little difficult to see in certain areas, either due to the light shining through the canopy or fallen snow that filled them. Still, it wasn't impossible to track them, and I used much of what I'd learned from Derion during the next three hours of us doing so.
We moved slowly but methodically through the forest. Haldir and Vyra were spread out on our left and right, while Derion kept a good few paces behind my mother, Ysevel, and I to prevent any direct attacks from behind.
Siraye, I hear something up ahead, Ysevel sent, pointing a finger beyond a mound of snow where the tracks curved up and over. I followed them into a small clearing, the light shining through the snow-capped trees. It was only a single set of footprints, but I could tell that these were the human's.
Suddenly, my mother grabbed my shoulder, and pulled me close behind a tree and put a finger to my lips to silence me. We could hear the sound of indistinct chatter much more clearly now, realizing we were much closer than the densely packed trees allowed us to believe.
As we all peeked out from behind our respective locations, we noticed dark spots in the snow ahead of us that slightly resembled people sitting around a stick in the ground. She had already told the others, Ysevel included, to get to a place of concealment before even approaching me.
Is that what we've been following? I looked up and asked my mother whose eyes were affixed to her target's like a hawk's to its prey as she peeked out from behind the tree. It is, she returned curtly. If I hadn't gotten to know my mother as well as I had in such a short period of time, I would've thought she was angry; but it was quite the opposite.
It was pure, single-minded, and unadulterated focus.
I recalled her lessons on what she called knuckling down, which essentially was diverting as much attention to a particular task or situation as you possibly could, though I had never truly seen her use it in action. It was mostly used for when shit went South, as it basically stripped you of anything unnecessary in those moments.
I couldn't use that during my third-stage exam not because I didn't know how to, but because I simply couldn't; not with my emotions being so scrambled from the night before the exam. I knew, right then and there, that this was a special kind of focus, one reserved for moments like these where even a single misstep could mean death not just for me, but potentially those around me as well.
Surround them, she commanded tersely to the others. I almost asked what I should be doing, but realized it was likely that she had already made the calculation that we could defeat the small group before having made the order. The unquestionable trust the others had in her was astounding to me, because not a single one of them said anything regarding her command. No quips, no jokes, nothing.
It was like they'd all knuckled down.
Wait, Derion said there was a human with them, I thought, not actively trying to transmit it to anyone.
That will be your target, as it's not entirely human anymore by the looks of it, my mother said, her tone was cold and almost bloodthirsty. I realized that it had been over a year since she'd been out in the woods killing anything that came through the portals. I could tell she was itching for a good fight, and there was nothing subtle about it once I'd noticed her unwavering glare.
I turned to peek out one last time from just around the tree, and I felt my stomach begin to sink.
I know who the human is, I said plainly, trying to keep my emotions and tone as even as possible. I knew I had to take a deep breath; I couldn't afford to let a year's worth of destroying and rebuilding myself go to waste. What? How? Vyra asked just as she was finishing getting into position. Where do you know them from? Have you seen this person before? Haldir chimed in.
Irun Mothac, former synner of Codrean. Old friend. Fucking traitor, I replied curtly, feeling myself sink into that emotionless focus my mother had told me about.
He's definitely uglier than before, but that's him, alright, I thought, noticing the daemonic arm and other such features now embedded into him.
He looked…older. Like he had somehow gained about ten years in the span of one. He was taller, more toned, wielding a much bigger sword than he normally would have when he was still one of us. He and a few other dark, plated creatures I didn't recognize the species of were gathered around a stick.
He was teaching them, I noticed. Teaching them how to read cardinal directions using shadows to gauge their direction of travel. That was a trick all synners had learned from a very early age in the event we ever got lost during a training exercise.
I sunk deeper into the cold, single-minded focus.
Thoma, are you alright? Ysevel asked, clearly seeing the effects of my thoughts showing on my face. I'm fine, I nodded, sending her as much of a level-toned thought as I could. I couldn't entirely shake the rage I was feeling, but I did my best to hide it and not respond to my emotions like a child would.
Regardless of my attempts to hide it, my mother noticed and patted me firmly on the shoulder, reassuring me that it would be okay.