Thunder's Arc

Chapter 3 of 7

They walked together for half an hour. Thunder matched their pace and they matched his. The woman who'd spoken first told him her name was Maren. The others stayed quiet but walked close enough that he could see their faces clearly. The tallest man had dirt under his nails. The younger one kept looking back at the trail they'd left behind. Maren stopped suddenly and pointed to something at the road's edge. A small locket lay in the grass, gold with a cross on the front. Fresh enough that the metal caught the light. Thunder picked it up and turned it over. No clasp broken, no chain. Someone had placed it there deliberately. He looked at Maren. "One of yours?" She shook her head. "We've been carrying nothing but food and water since we left." Thunder closed his fist around the locket. Someone else was out here. Someone who knew where he'd be walking and when. He opened his mouth to suggest they move faster, but Maren spoke first. "The people who sent us aren't the only ones who want that book." Thunder felt the weight shift in his pack. "How many others?" She looked at the trail beside the road, the one they'd been using to follow him. Footprints marked the flattened grass, more than three sets. "We don't know. But they're close enough to leave gifts." Thunder looked down at the locket in his hand. Not a threat. An offering. Or a message he didn't know how to read yet. He made a choice then that surprised him. He held the locket out to Maren. "You carry this. I need to know if someone's trying to reach me or trying to distract me, and I can't figure that out while I'm also carrying what they want." Maren took it without hesitation. Thunder felt something shift in his chest. He'd just asked someone else to hold part of the burden. Not because he couldn't manage it, but because he'd chosen not to. The three of them nodded and they kept walking north together. Thunder no longer moved alone through the forest, and for the first time, he'd let that be his own decision instead of someone else's need.