The Variance: The Test of Time Book 1 by A.C. Marholin

Author:A.C. Marholin [Marholin, A.C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-11-29T00:00:00+00:00

Chance takes us further in, and, without surprise, we end up at the three-path trailhead again. We take the last one, the left one. I hope this is the last one we have to go down. Although, it’s interesting to see someone else’s Quest progression. I’m also pleased to see that it hasn’t been as traumatizing as mine was. At least, so far.

Chance leads us on a long walk, taking us deeper and deeper into the forest. She stops and leads us back off the path to a large fallen tree. I see ashes from a fire and flattened dirt where someone has lain.

“Camp?” I suggest to Chance.

She agrees with the tilt of her chin. “She stayed here last night. The amount of spirit left here is significant.”

Chance doesn’t look around or move herself, so I do.

I know Chance would have done the same if she sensed Eloise had gone or stayed anywhere else, but my nerves won’t let me abandon the space without looking.

Chance obliges me, waiting patiently, even though I can tell she thinks I’m wasting time. I give up after seeing no other signs of her. We walk back to the path and keep going. Chance stops a little way away from a curve. “She’s gone.”

“What?”

“Her traces, they just…stop.”

“What do you mean they stop?”

She sighs, clearly annoyed. “Exactly that, Mitac. They disappear. Gone, poof, no more Eloise.”

“That’s impossible. Are there any other traces around from other persons or animals? People’s spirits don’t disappear unless they drop dead, and I don’t see a body, Chance!”

“You think I don’t know this, Mitac? This is my magic we are talking about here. I am excellent at this, and I am telling you, her spirit disappeared.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose with my thumb and forefinger, trying to fend off a growing headache.

“Tell me more,” I wave my hand, keeping my eyes pinched closed. “Theories?”

“I don’t have any.”

To her credit, Chance looks concerned and genuinely puzzled. I am not sure if she’s concerned for Eloise or if she’s concerned about her abilities. Frankly, it doesn’t matter. Hopefully, she’s frustrated enough to help me keep looking for her.

“No animals?” I ask to confirm again. Chance huffs at me. “So, she wasn’t eaten. Plus, that would have left traces of blood or clothes or something.”

“Correct. I sense no animals have come through here. At least none that could have or would have eaten her.”

“Did she maybe turn around, and you can’t tell the different strands?”

Chance’s mouth pinches, but she obliges in walking around the area again. She walks back to the area where Eloise bedded down for the night. She walks the opposite direction, away from the path altogether. I wait for her until she comes back. I can tell by the look on her face what she’s about to tell me, but I make her tell me anyway.

“No, Mitac, she did not come back here,” she responds to my unasked question. “There is only one exit trace here. She went to the path and walked down it.

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