Mateless and Home Bound (In Process Of Publication)

Chapter 17: Investigation

The forest wasn't supposed to be this perfumed. It hadn't been in a long while. The second that he realized that a second scent had been added to the mix, it sent off every alarm possible. There was only one other person it could be, and that was the very person that he was hoping would stay out of all of this.

"Follow the scent," he told the others. They had come late, but were still very thorough in their job. They were searching the other territories, just in case they found some stragglers. Or if there was something else that they were unaware of about this place that was once their home.

There were a lot of interesting things about this forest now. There were more things connecting to each other than he originally thought. But unfortunately, he couldn't find the one that would help him move around ten times easier. He knew they were still around. They were too sturdy and hidden to have been destroyed.

It just meant that he had to remap the entire area, which was a hassle all in of itself.

It wasn't until nightfall that he caught onto the scent. It traveled quickly, like those tended to do. He transformed into a much tinier being and started flying as quickly as possible to the area he smelt it.

It wasn't supposed to be easy to find. Agatha had spent years building it to be completely off the grid from everyone. But years of protection spells couldn't do much against a scent like this.

He got there before the others, just in time to see the last of the blood bath. Those wolves must be good to take care of this many of them. The bodies were left as the warriors focused on getting home. They probably thought that they would be able to find this place again.

What a silly thing to think. They must not know a thing about magic. Agatha must have done a great job keeping them aloof to her occupancy. He transformed back into his human form as soon as he lost sight of the wolves and started to look around. It really had been a blood bath. Arrows were strewn everywhere. The windows to the hut were shattered. Worry filled him, but he would have to deal with that emotion later. There was still evidence to collect.

"What happened here?!" a woman asked. She seemed to have come out of nowhere. Her long curly hair danced with the little breeze that was there.

"They found him," he told her. He was walking around the outside first, scanning the ground for any hint as to what had happened.

"What?!" the woman almost screamed with how shocked she was. "But that's impossible! There are so many protection spells and illusion spells in this area alone!"

"True," he agreed. He bended down and picked something up. "But no spells can hide the scent of a Star Child."

It was a piece of wood that he had picked up. But it wasn't just any kind of wood. It was the bark from the oldest tree in the forest. A tree that hadn't been alive for hundreds of years. It had been difficult to find such a rare piece of the forest. People didn't realize just how important an ancient tree could be. They had their own magical properties to them. Just about every natural thing did.

"Is that what I think it is?" another voice came from the trees. It was a man this time. His long black hair and tanned skin showed that he had been the only one who was actually born in this area.

"I'm surprised you're the last one to show up, Dakota," he gave a sly smile. "Usually, it's Glinda who's always late to the party."

"Agatha's hut is always difficult to find," he shook his head. "I don't know how you two are always able to find it easily."

"I normally can't," he said. If it weren't for that scent, he wouldn't have been able to find it. He was okay with that. Agatha liked him, but she really didn't like his kind, and that was fine by him. He didn't exactly like his kind either.