Owen listened to Kaz’s light footsteps fade into the distance. What had that girl been through? What could have put such an intense depth of pain into her voice? Why was she being followed? He doubted he’d ever meet her again, but he hoped she’d somehow manage to find peace, or at least resolution. He wished she’d trusted him enough to allow him to help her. More. The birdcall didn’t feel like enough. No one in that much trouble should have to bear it alone.

His mind was still whirling when he heard the trackers. They were closer behind Kaz than he’d expected. Hoping she’d hear him, he cupped his hands in front of his mouth and blew on the knuckles of his thumbs. The sound would carry over a significant swath of rainforest. He lowered his hands quickly as the burly trackers neared him. He grabbed Devlin’s collar as the dog started to growl.

Judging by the footsteps, all heavier by far than Kaz’s, there were three large men, all panting heavily. He heard the men come to a stop. Devlin’s growl intensified.

“Steady boy,” said Owen, tightening his grip on the old leather collar.

“You, boy,” said a harsh male voice. “Did a girl pass by here earlier?”

“Yes,” said Owen. Monosyllabic seemed the best strategy.

“What did she look like?”

“Dunno.”

“Didn’t you see her?”

“No.”

“How do you know she passed, then?” Owen was pleased to hear the impatience in the man’s voice.

“Heard her,” he said.

Footsteps crunched nearer. Devlin strained at the collar, barking and growling.

“Sit, Lin,” Owen muttered. Devlin obeyed, though he still rumbled.

“What are you doing up here, anyway?” said the man, crouching beside him. He was very close now. Owen could smell the old meat and tobacco on his breath.

“I’m on my vision quest.”

“A little old for a vision quest, aint you?” said a second man.

“This is my third one, sir,” said Owen.

“I never heard o’ no one needin’ three vision quests. He’s lying.”

“Maybe,” said a third man. This voice was softer than the other two and sounded as if it had a lot more thought behind it. “But it has been known to happen. How many days do you have left?”

“This is the last day.”

The second man snorted. “Ridiculous. No one ever-”

“That’s not the answer he would give if he was lying,” interrupted the third man. “Everyone knows how unusual a case like this is. No, he’s telling the truth about that at least. As to whether or not the princess passed by-”

“The girl was a princess?” Kaz was getting more interesting by the minute. “If I’d known, I would have talked to her. I’ve never spoken to royalty before.”

“I’m still not sure I believe you didn’t see her,” said the thoughtful voice, drawing closer. “How long ago did she pass this way?”

“Not too long ago, though it’s hard to be specific. You lose track of time on these vision quests.”

Owen could feel one of the men crouch beside him, pushing the first out of the way. “Didn’t your parents teach you to look at people when they talk to you?”

A rough hand grabbed Owen’s chin and wrenched his head to the side. “No,” said Owen truthfully. “They actually said it was creepy when I did.” He let his eyes wander until they pointed vaguely where he judged the man’s eyes would be. He felt air on his face. Probably the man testing his blindness. The hand let go of his chin.

“He’s blind,” said the thoughtful one, sounding slightly disappointed.

“Hang on,” said the first voice from somewhere above him. “If he’s blind, how’d he know that the person what passed here was a girl?”

“That’s a fair question. How did you know?”

“Well,” said Owen, “It’s hard to be completely sure, but the footsteps were really light – either a very small man or a fairly compact girl. And she was breathing heavily – she was running, you see – and the breath sounded female.”

“Well, that answers that question,” said the second voice. “Let’s go. We have a princess to catch.”

Two sets of heavy boots started away from Owen. The thoughtful-voiced man knelt beside him again. “I still don’t trust your story,” he said. “If we lose the princess because of your information, we’ll come to find you again. And this time we won’t be nearly as nice.”

The third set of boots joined the first and all three men stomped away. Owen waited until they had a good start on the descent. Then he gave the birdcall again and slumped against the tree, suddenly able to breathe again. He hoped Kaz had heard him.

Next Chapter: 5. Kaz - Exhaustion