Soul Seeker

23: Sköll's Pursuit

The Outrider headquarters was a riot of movement and shouting, and Sköll stood at the gates wondering if it was even worth going in. The Mortmain headquarters were home to the very best, but the atmosphere within could only be described as chaotic.

"What happened here?"

He turned at the sound of hooves to see a glorious reindeer trotting up to the gates. Its antlers were huge, its coat was thick and gleaming. A hard-faced man sat ramrod-straight in the saddle, peering down at Sköll.

"Commander Archer!"

Not just Commander – Archer was the Commander-in-Chief, the head of the Outrider organisation who was answerable only to Suzerain Fenris. Sköll stood to attention. He was not one for authority, but he respected this man.

"At ease, Sköll. Good to see you here, I was told you would be on your way."

They surveyed the state of the underlings running about the courtyard. A few were leading reindeer, while others carried papers stacked in their arms.

"Have you been away, sir?"

"Yes, and I left my son in charge. I'm beginning to think this was a bad idea," Archer muttered. "Well, let's see what's happened."

The sentries opened the gates, and Sköll enjoyed the effect they created as they walked in: the white-haired rider alongside the Commander-in-Chief. A young girl gasped and dropped her papers. People jumped out of their way, and a couple of green-faced recruits actually bowed.

"Where's Darren Archer?" the commander demanded.

The scents in the air were almost overwhelming, and as Sköll followed Archer into the heart of the compound, he pondered them thoughtfully. If he could untangle them, they could tell him quite a lot, and he was looking forward to hearing Darren's tale to see if it came close to the narrative his nose helped him construct in his head.

A curly-haired man was running down the corridor, with his blond partner following. He skidded to a halt when he spotted them, his boots screeching against the polished floor.

"Father – I mean, sir!" Darren Archer said breathlessly. "You're back."

Archer raised an eyebrow. "What's going on, Captain?"

"We found a suspicious-looking group at the stone circle."

"The circle? No one goes there. The locals say it's haunted."

"I know, which is why we went to investigate, but they were hiding something. They attacked and tried to flee with no provocation. We brought them in for questioning."

"And where are they now?"

Darren rubbed the back of his head. "Gone."

"What do you mean, gone?"

"They somehow escaped, stole our reindeer, and used them to create a diversion. So far we haven't been able to track them down – we think it's because they've taken the wild paths."

"They stole our reindeer?" Archer looked incredulous.

"They released them after riding out of the compound."

"Take us to the stables. You come along too, Sköll."

Darren gave a terse nod, and Sköll felt a twinge of pity for the boy as he led them down the corridor. He obviously had wanted to impress his father after being given temporary command, but it had backfired miserably. Archer did not look like an easy man to impress.

Sköll breathed deeply when they entered the stables, the door of which hung askew. He found himself drawn to the second most beautiful steed in its pen, aside from the commander's. He read the nameplate.

Vanquish.

Vanquish snorted and tossed his head.

"He doesn't seem to like you," Darren said.

"Reindeer don't take to me well," Sköll replied ruefully.

"Really?" He knew what Darren was thinking: an Outrider without a steed? How could this be? "Well, this is mine. He was one of the stolen, but we found him in the woods, thank the guardians."

"And so far no one has found the criminals, or figured out what they were doing?" Archer asked.

Darren hung his head. "No."

"It could be possible that they're linked to those bounty hunters causing trouble in the south-east..."

Every hair on Sköll's body stood on end.

It was her. Her scent.

The girl.

"You're the best investigator we have," Archer was saying to him. "Do you think you can track down who did this?"

It was not a matter of whether he thought he could find her, but when he would find her.

Would he take her in for questioning, as was his duty? Even though his role was only a means to an end for now? Would he arrest her, clearly guilty as she was? Would he take his vegvisir and leave? Perhaps he would do all of these things; perhaps none of them. She had saved his life, after all.

Their souls had crossed paths for a reason. There was a reason he wanted to smile whenever he thought of their encounter in the forest, and the strange certainty that had compelled him to hand over his vegvisir. There had to be a reason her scent stood out amidst all the others, the one he couldn't shake, couldn't forget. It awakened a need to run inside him, a need to chase the horizon, outpace the wind, race the sun and the moon themselves. He couldn't explain it, but he knew the answers were just out of reach.

"Yes," Sköll breathed. "I'll find her."