Kaelen caught his arm. "Wait."
The old man froze. Kaelen crouched. He studied the ground around the shoe. Marks in the mud. Drag marks. Something had pulled the shoe. Or pulled the boy wearing it. But no blood. No torn fabric. No signs of struggle.
He followed the marks with his eyes. They led to a gap between two massive roots. The roots rose from the ground like arched fingers. The gap between them was narrow. Too narrow for an adult.
"He's alive."
"How do you know?"
Kaelen pointed to the mud. "No blood. The drag marks are straight. If something attacked him, there'd be thrashing. He went in on his own or he was carried carefully. Either way, he's not dead."
The old man stared at the roots. "I can't fit through that."
"I can."
Alistair stepped forward.
"No."
Kaelen looked at him.
"I'll fit."
The words had barely left his mouth when something inside Kaelen snapped into place.
His breath stopped.
