Chapter 54: Trace
Shaan quickly turned around and scanned the area, but Chelsie was nowhere in sight. Damn it. The plant’s roots must have grabbed her, and that meant her life was in danger.
"We have to find Chelsie, Shaan," Nalira said as she brushed off the remaining roots clinging to her body.
"But where should we look?" Shaan once again cast his eyes around. "This place is very dark and we have absolutely -"
’Snap!’
Nalira snapped her fingers, and a burst of flame sparked from her fingertips. She grabbed two stray branches lying nearby and quickly turned them into makeshift torches. Thankfully, the forest no longer felt as oppressively dark.
"Hold this." Nalira passed the torch to Shaan. "Now we need to find Chelsie. She’ll need our help now."
"Uh... okay." Shaan took the torch from Nalira. "Wait, but is it safe to light a fire in this place?"
"It’s not," Nalira replied flatly. "But we don’t have time to worry about that. We need to find Chelsie before something worse shows up."
They walked around the area where Chelsie had last rested, trying to find anything that might explain her disappearance. At first, Shaan couldn’t see anything unusual—until he turned to the side. That’s when he noticed a long groove carved into the soft, damp soil. The trail started just a few steps away from where Chelsie had been lying.
"Nalira, look at that." Shaan pointed toward the trail leading into the trees. "I think this might have something to do with Chelsie."
"Yes. We should follow that trail."
As they moved along the path, Shaan kept his eyes locked on the line on the ground. He didn’t want to lose the only trail that might lead them to find Chelsie.