Page 14 of Wandering Witch

Morning eventually woke me with its chill as I tried to burrow deeper into Locke’s chest for warmth. I sighed in contentment as he shifted his grip on me to offer better coverage on my back just as a blanket was settled over us.

Just as I was about to drift back off to sleep, I heard something riffle through our packs. I murmured for Locke to just leave them for later as I waved a sleepy hand at him. When I brought my hand back to hide in the warmth of my cocoon, I grabbed a fistful of the soft flannel shirt I eventually had talked Locke into wearing to better blend in when we had to interact with the world.

My eyes snapped open just as I was about to succumb to my slumber as I realized the inconsistency. I jerked up so fast that the blanket draped over my shoulders fell away as I looked about our camp.

Locke was still fast asleep and moaned before he tightened his grip on me as I tried to see just what had woken me.

As I cast my gaze around our small campsite, I didn’t see anything off. Right off to the side of where we slept, I could see the incorporeal outline of something digging around in our bags.

“H-hey! What are you doing?” I tried to rise but barely made it more than a couple of centimeters before getting caught by Locke’s embrace.

The ghost shot up and whipped around to make eye contact with me.

“Lady Fare! You’re awake,” it whispered. “Please try to keep it down. I get the feeling that your companion doesn’t get much rest. So I told him I would stand watch.”

I risked a glance up to see Locke’s sleeping face scrunch up for a moment at the disturbances before smoothing out. When I looked back at the spirit, he smiled softly.

“After you fell asleep last night, he and I talked. He mentioned the quest that you two were on and I offered to take a look at the map and see if I had any ideas. I hope you don’t mind.” I shook my head at his explanation as I slowly relaxed back into Locke as I watched the specter, Roan, my memory supplied. “Now, let’s take a look at this map you have here.”

He unrolled the map and placed several rocks in the corners to hold it open. Noises of interest come from him as he studied the paper before him. I watched, entranced as he ran a hand just over the surface before him. As he did, a soft glow emitted from his hand and in its wake, several pinpricks of light stayed behind.

“Very interesting. It would seem you have managed to imbue this map with the power to show all the mysterious disappearances. Very intriguing. Are these circles and symbols your doing?” He gestured again, and this time I nodded as we both gasped and watched the circle at our current location change. It glowed with a dark blue light as it stretched and morphed into the shape of a fish. Just as it finished, the star above glowed with the same blue energy as the upper right spoke shaded in. When it finished, we both looked up at the same time and just locked gazes. “Well, that was most definitely unusual. But I would say that this map is your key for sure. Did this happen after you met Locke?”

I shook my head in the negative at first before I thought about it more and nodded while I raised my shoulders.

“Honestly, I don’t know if the change was exactly like that. It was several days after I met him that I looked at the map again and by then, it had changed. So maybe? I really don’t know.” My head started to hurt. What was going on? Life used to be simple, more than a little stressful with my constant fleeing for my life, but far more simple than magic maps that changed all the time.

“It's okay to be unsure, sweetheart. We can’t all know the answers to everything.” He smiled before continuing, “For now, let’s just focus on what we do know. One, you’ve been given the vision of this map that marks places of mysterious disappearances. Now, I’m just guessing at these locations that you have marked, Alaska had a town, and here was a colony, and this place up here?” He gestured to the last circle. “I’m not one hundred percent sure, but my guess would be that one here is going to be located over a site of similar happenings. Honestly, I have a few guesses as to what could be waiting up there.”

“Really? But I thought that ghosts were trapped at their death spots. So how would you know about the other locations?” I asked.

“I am stuck here, but that doesn’t mean that the living don’t gossip like old maids. I’ve been haunting these woods and hanging with the campers here since well before radios were a thing, love.” He laughed. “When things like what your map shows happen, it becomes a big topic of discussion. Makes it rather easy to keep up with what’s going on in the outside world. It got easier still when such things became pocket-sized.”

I was taken aback at how willing he was to admit to stalking and spying on people.

“It's one of the better things to have happened in my afterlife, I’ll admit. To be able to see just how much the world has changed since my life.”

“I’m much more impressed with the ease of finding food myself. The last time that I was active, the easiest way to get a meal was to attack a town. Now people are willing to part with meat for anyone with meager funds.” Locke’s deep voice rumbled from behind me.

“Trust a bear to be more concerned with his next meal over invention.” Roan laughed good-naturedly.

I felt the muscles in Locke’s chest move in what I would guess was a shrug and he chuckled along. What happened between these two last night? Before I fell asleep, I could have sworn Locke hated Roan, so what changed?

“Thank you for keeping watch. And for your counsel. But we should get going, I don’t want to be caught unaware again by your curse, my love.” Locke eased me off his lap after holding me since last night and stood.

I watched from my position on the ground as he walked around the camp, repacking our packs and making sure the fire was completely put out. I was torn about what I wanted to do.

Yes, I knew we would be wise to leave sooner than later, especially since the curse had been picking up the speed at which it was able to find me. But on the other hand, I really didn’t want to leave Roan alone again. He had been left unseen for so long, and looking at his face, I knew that he was thinking he was about to be forgotten all over again.

“Roan, would you be able to guide us along the best way through your territory so as to avoid being seen?” I asked and smiled as his face lit up.

“I would be honored, love.”

Roan

Ican’t believe they are going to leave me already. We had just met and now that damn bear was going to take her away. I was lost in my misery and nearly missed the offer that the beautiful Farren had posed to me.

There was no way I would turn down a chance to extend my time around the first people to see me in forever. So after the bear shifter had packed up everything, he shifted and lay flat on his belly so Fare could load him down like a pack mule.

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