I bounded off the large rocks that made a barrier between the sand of the town and the sand of the beach. Behind me, Shane grunted as he made the same small jump. I was pretty sure I heard him muttering about witches, but I didn’t take the time to stop and check.
For a moment, I thought she’d followed the vampire into the ocean. Only a few tourists were on the beach, and Caitlin and the vamp were nowhere to be seen.
“That way.” Shane sounded bored as he pointed to the left toward the abrupt onset of jungle.
The backside of the brunet man-fairy disappeared between the trees.
With another burst of speed, I tore after him and crossed the sandy expanse in less than ten strides.
“You’re gonna trip and smash your skull into a tree.”
I ignored Shane and darted into the thick growth, only slowing enough to hike my legs up farther to avoid getting ensnared in the vines that covered the undergrowth. Sure enough, within a couple more feet, I didn’t lift high enough, and my foot caught on one of the tangles and sent me careening into a tree. I managed to catch myself before my face made impact.
“Wow, man. You are worked up.” Shane caught up with me and grabbed my arm once more. “You’re not going to catch anything like this. You’re going to keep falling, and even if you don’t, you’re announcing to the whole world that you’re on your way with all the noise you’re making.”
I glared at him in irritation. “We’re going to lose them!”
Shane pointed at his nose. “Even if we did, did you forget who you’re with?”
It took me half a second to catch on to his meaning. “Oh.”
“Exactly. Can you chill out now?”
Doubtful. Caitlin was here. Finn was here. “Sure.”
He motioned farther into the trees. “Come on.”
I followed. Shane’s pace was quick, but not a full-out run. Seeing as I was no longer in danger of falling, I suppose his way was more effective.
Within minutes, we were deep in the dense growth. A glance behind told me we were out of view of the beach, though the crashing of the surf hadn’t lessened.
“Whose scent are you following?”
Shane gave a confused look over his shoulder at me before continuing on. “The witch and the fairy.”
“That’s it?”
“Yeah. If I needed to, I could follow the vampire, but his scent is a lot fainter.”
“I mean, you are only sensing one witch?”
He paused and turned to look me full in the face. “Yeah. Why? This is bizarre, and that’s saying something, considering the reason we were here to begin with. What’s going on?”
I motioned forward. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have stopped. I’ll fill you in. Let’s just keep going.”
He trudged on, his long legs easily avoiding the snares. “Well, I said I wanted an adventure. You’re certainly delivering.”
After a few more steps, Shane took an abrupt left, his profile coming into view, his jaw clenched and nostrils flaring.
“Won’t this head back into town?”
He nodded. “Yeah, they seem to be making a circle. Which would explain why they made two passes through town while we were eating.”
“That doesn’t make much sense.”
He shrugged, never stopping following the trail. “Witches aren’t known for being overly smart. The vampire is just playing with them, and they’re stupid enough to fall for it.”
Any other time, I would have taken pleasure in someone calling Caitlin stupid. This wasn’t one of those times. Stupid and vampire equaled dead. She and I might not have gotten along, but I’d never wish that on her. Not to mention what that would mean for Finn.
