“Alright.” I waved a hand down the middle. “Left goes with Kaleb, and the right goes with me.”
“I’ll be joining,” a new voice spoke up, and I turned to find Dale walking toward us. I looked at Jade, whose eyes had widened slightly. Why was he here? And how did he even know about the search party?
“Dad, what are you doing here?” Kaleb asked, looking at his father with a shocked look.
“I thought I would come watch training, but it seems there is something more important than that. What are you doing? This doesn’t look like proper form.”
I glanced at Jade for a moment, seeing the way her shoulders dropped slightly. She looked so small when her father stood next to her. It made me question what had all happened in the past. I knew that their relationship wasn’t great.
“Jade is certain there is a hybrid close by, and we are going to investigate it.”
His head snapped to Jade, and I watched his upper lip lift slightly. But he quickly calmed his face, letting it fall flat. “Ahh, so a feeling? I’m guessing you have no evidence to back this up?”
Jade went a deep red, and I curled my hands together. I was about to speak, but Kaleb beat me to it.
“Dad, we don’t have time to explain. Either join the group or leave us to work.”
I half expected Dale to argue or to say something, but Dale straightened his shoulders and nodded. “Alright, fine. I’ll join Brandon’s group to help with the search. Another set of eyes is always good. Besides, I want to see Jade’s power in action.”
My stomach dropped slightly, but I could see the horror on Jade’s face. She looked ready to puke, but turned away and started walking into the woods, clearly wanting to avoid anything else. Dale looked at me, waiting for me to say something. I wanted to tell him he wasn’t needed, but as uncomfortable as Jade was, he was another body.
“Alright. Let’s get moving,” I said, waving a hand and looking at Kaleb. “Radio me if anything happens.”
We split into our groups and headed into the woods. I walked closer to Jade and hooked her arm. I could feel hershaking as we walked. “Are you okay?” I asked in a soft voice as I leaned in closer to her.
She glanced over her shoulder at her father, who was several feet behind her. She slowly nodded, though her eyes disagreed. “I’ll be fine.”
I frowned, knowing she was telling herself that. “I can send him back. If you think this will interfere with your ability to help, I will gladly send him back. Or send him to be with Kaleb’s group.”
She quickly shook her head. “No, it’s fine. Honest.” She offered me a tight smile, but I knew it was forced. “We have other important things than this. I can set aside my discomfort for this.”
Jade moved ahead of me, and I sighed. I knew she had a point. We needed to focus on finding the hybrid rather than her discomfort. But I hated the look in her eye. I hated the way she seemed to curl in on herself after watching her grow and flourish over the past several weeks.
We continued to walk, but there was nothing to be seen. I looked at Jade, who continued to stare deeper into the woods like she was looking at something. I knew even if we weren’t finding anything, she was feeling something.
“Our area is clear,” the radio beeped, Kaleb’s voice filling the silence. “Nothing over here. Do you want us to go deeper or head back?”
“Go deeper,” I responded.
“Well, isn’t that just perfect?” Dale spoke up, turning toward Jade. “Are you happy? You just wasted all of our time.”
Jade chewed on her lower lip, refusing to look at her father. I felt anger bubble to the surface and ground my teeth together.
“Dale, just because we don’t see something now, doesn’t mean she’s wrong. There could be a hybrid, and it might be moving.”
Dale waved a hand. “Then why aren’t we seeing any signs that one was here?” Dale looked around. “No footprints, no scent of one. I don’t see one. I’m going to trust my senses over her word.”
I ground my teeth together, trying to hold my tongue, but I’d had enough.
“Dale, you know just as well as I do that witches have a sixth sense. They have a pull, a connection, and a feeling for things we don’t see. While we lean on our five senses, they lean on their sixth. So, if Jade is feeling something, I’m going to trust that.”
I looked at Jade. “Tell him what you’re feeling, Jade. How do you know?”
Jade swallowed, and I watched her work her jaw, licking at her lips. She took a slow, steady breath in. “It’s like a compass. I felt a sensation take over me, starting small, but it started to grow like alarms were going off through my entire body.”
Jade straightened her shoulders, finally looking at her father. I watched her raise her chin as she looked him in the eyes. “This sensation grew when I watched a hybrid rip apart a person right in front of me. I watched it sink its teeth into his neck and tear at his flesh. It was only moments later that I released my power and watched it run. I felt that tug, the energy that the hybrid possessed, and I feel it now.”
I watched her suddenly grow a little taller. She curled her hands into tight fists. Her face filled with anger as she continued. “I may be new to my power, might not even know my full potential yet, but I know what I feel. And when I say I know a hybrid is out here, I mean it’s not an if, it’s a where! So, stop trying to make it seem like I don’t know what I’m doing because I do! I’m not incompetent, and if you get in the way of me tracking it down, I will have you removed!”
