Chapter 47: Going Hunting (4)
Noah and Arlo pushed through the underbrush, their breathing heavy, sweat beading along their brows. The forest was growing darker, the trees thicker.
Arlo paused for a second, glancing around. "We’ve been going in circles," he muttered. "We should’ve seen them by now."
Noah frowned, scanning the forest floor. "If I were Liam, where would I go? Somewhere elevated. A ridge maybe. Somewhere he could fight with that barrier of his."
Arlo’s mouth opened to respond, but a piercing screech tore through the air, so loud it sent birds scattering from the trees above.
Their eyes met.
Then they ran.
They sprinted through the trees, dodging branches and leaping over roots.
The screech came again, closer now. More desperate. The terrain began to slope downward, and just ahead, the tree line broke into a wide gorge.
They reached the edge just in time to see Liam collapse to the ground below, his hands braced on his knees. Theo stood over him, defiant, facing the monstrous rust-red bird circling above.
Noah and Arlo didn’t hesitate. They leapt down the incline, feet slamming against the ground as they descended into the gorge.
Noah’s heart raced. The bird beat its wings once, then again. A shimmer built around it, sickly and pulsing.
"It’s charging—" Arlo began.