Chapter 20

Tracking

"Chase watch him, I don't want Will to follow us when we monster may come after him again if he were to come with us" said Halt as he and Gilan got ready to leave.

"Halt don't leave me"whispered Will from his bed. Halt turned and looked at the boy he loved but he could see that it was easy to tell that Will would not be following them any time soon, he was just too weak right now. Too much had happened to his small body over the past few months and now on top of all of that, this happened too... Will needed to rest.

The two men decided that they would start on horses and as they got closer to where the monster might be they would shift into their animal forms to move more quieter and quicker through the Terran to the monster's lair.

As quiet and quick as ranger's horses are, the extra muscle of the two ranger's animal forms could bring was a plus for sure. Just in case, the worst happened and they had to fight. Also they did not want to put their friends in danger if they did not have to. Strength and speed was theirs in their animal forms so why not use what they were given.

The forest was deserted as Halt and Gilan made their way to the spot where Will and the others had been found. Not a bird or beast was making a sound, it was as if they were hiding from this monster too. Gilan swiftly jumped off Blaze and changed into his lion form to do some scouting. As he was doing this Halt was sitting on top of Abelard, his ears and eyes pricked, listening and watching from one side to the other for trouble. He would not let what happened to Will happen again, Gilan was too dear a friend for any thing to happen too as well.

Then suddenly Gilan said that he had found what they had been looking for, signs of some thing big that must have been here with the boys and they started again. Water and mud splashed as the horse's hooves pounded down the road as Halt and Gilan made their way deeper into the forest. No wonder they had not been able to find the tracks before.

"Halt, we must plan. Will would not want something to happen to you" Gilan said, the two lovers would not survive if one or the other was dead, one day Gilan hoped to have something like that too. Somehow he knew that, that day would have to wait for a while, his new life had to come first as well as his friends.

"Don't worry, once we get there and see what's what, we will have a better idea of what we can do to kill this demon" said a very determined Halt, he would not have Will or the others suffer this again.

As they made their way down the trail, the ranger horses Blaze and Abelard carefully picked where to place their hooves. They were well trained for this kind of duty, and the ranger's horses were comfortable in the wilderness.

The two rangers continued tracking, one would watch the forest for movement as they knew the demon had to have potential treats out there some where. They knew that sooner or later the underlings would come at them. The other would watch the trail making sure that they were going in the right direction.

The trees loomed huge in the dark and misted forest, moss on the trunks was vibrant and lush. It stood out on the bark of the trees, and in round lumps on the ground. It showed that something big had past this way, for some of it was squashed.

"The monster that did this, it was very big, wasn't it Halt?" asked Gilan as he looked to the tracks in the moss. Only to feel a little confused when Halt started to chuckle at him.

"Have you been taking lessons on asking questions you already know the answers too from Will, Gilan?" and before Gilan answered Halt continued "yes it was big, now do I think that this was the demon that hurt Will and the others? no I do not. Most likely this was an underling for the main boss but following its tracks should still lead us to our goal".

The trail now was becoming narrower as the moss gave way to brown pines that patterned the path. Ferns covered the ground parts of their soft fens broken as was the dead wood that lay crushed on the ground.

The trail was climbing now and they knew that they had to be coming to the end of their long track. So they decided that it was time to change into their animal forms. Halt first to change, his wolf form's nose was better for tracking than Gilan's lion's nose, so Gilan carried their equipment up the twisted hill sides.

When finally they reached the top of a steep jumble of rock. They saw it, a castle that was more like a mountain. They could barely see it and the woods behind it. The mist that surrounded them was thick like smoke from a forest fire. As they got closer they could see that the walls were made of bones. Bones of every kind stood out in the cracks and craves of the dark walls of the castle.

"If this be the outside of the castle, what must it be like inside? no wonder Will and the others were like they were" Gilan whispered as Halt changed back into his human form again.

"Yes now you know the plan. We must not fail, Will and the others of this land deserve to be free" Halt said before he and Gilan moved inside.

An: so what do you think the plan will be? update as soon as I can.