Kirsten looked at him, concern flooding her face, “Maybe we should’ve brought him with us?”
“Yeah, what if he wakes up and has some way to call to Rankstine?”
“We’d better go back and get him.”
They walked the short distance back down to the location just outside the house where they’d left the man tied up. Kirsten sighed with relief upon seeing him still unconscious and bound in the same position. The limp man felt surprisingly heavy as they heaved him up the hill. She didn’t think he was unusually large, but the bottom half of his body was nearly too heavy for her to carry. Kirsten had to set his legs down several times on the short way up the hill. Bo gripped the man under the armpits and seemed to welcome the short breaks, breathing deeply as they stopped to rest.
Britt and Max were waiting for them when they neared the meeting area. Rushing down, they helped Bo and Kirsten carry the man the last bit.
“What happened?” Max asked.
“We found him crouching just inside the tree line by the house,” Bo began. “Thought it would be safer if we took care of him then while we knew where he was.”
“We were just supposed to observe. Now Rankstine's going to know one of his men didn’t come back,” Max said disapprovingly.
“That’s not entirely true,” Britt countered.
“How do you know he wasn’t the only one?” Kirsten asked. “Did you see anyone else?”
Britt and Max both shook their heads.
“If he was the only one out here spying on us, and Rankstine really can’t see where we are on his little magic map, then Rankstine might just think he’s still out here doing his job,” Britt said.
“Where’s Thomas?” Kirsten asked.
“Haven’t seen him yet,” Max said.
“You two were first to return since we’ve been here,” Britt added.
“Maybe he went out a little farther than the rest of us,” Bo said, trying to comfort her. “He’ll be here soon.”
Kirsten nodded, “Yeah, he’s probably just taking longer than the rest of us.”
“So what are we going to do with this guy?” Max asked.
Kirsten and Bo shrugged, “Find out more about the situation in Grandwood when he wakes up?”
“We could get some information about Rankstine and why the kurr have come,” Britt said.
“Hey, is that a two-way door? Where we saw the kurr entering the wall?” Kirsten asked.
“I believe it’s a one-way kind of set-up,” Britt said. “I ran my hand by the spot where they came through just before we saw them walk in.”
Kirsten kicked at the ground with her boot. “Maybe this guy will know something about it,” she said.
They waited until nightfall for Thomas to return, but he never arrived. Kirsten was the first to offer a suggestion, “Maybe there were more guards out there and Thomas was captured?”
“Or he could’ve gotten lost?” Britt half-asked.
Kirsten shook her head, “No way, my brother and I have spent our whole lives playing in the woods around the house. He wouldn’t get lost so close to home.”
“We’d better go check to see if he’s still in the area or if he’s gone. He should’ve been back by now,” Max said.
Britt, Max, Bo and Kirsten all took a limb of the man who remained unconscious on the ground next to them.
“How hard did you hit this guy?” Max asked as they carried him through the darkened woods.
“Maybe too hard,” Kirsten replied looking at the man who still flopped in their arms.
Reaching the tree line before the farm, Britt said, “We’ll sneak him down to the barn, drop him off, then go searching for Thomas together.”
Nodding, they scanned the area for signs of movement. After determining that it was safe to continue, they carried the man through the dark to the barn. Kirsten slunk around to the door and pulled it open. They tossed the man inside and locked the door behind them. Searching around and not seeing any sign of movement in the trees, they headed back toward the woods.
Once in the cover of the forest, Britt asked Kirsten, “Where did you last see your brother?”
“We split off from him back here, where we began to search the east side of the farm. He was going to look around to the north,” she pointed.
“We’ll follow you,” Britt said.
Kirsten led them around to the side of the farm where Thomas was going to be searching for Rankstine’s potential spies. “We should fan out here,” she said.
They settled on a grid arrangement, searching through the darkened forest. No one dared call for Thomas in case any guards remained in the area. They searched throughout the north side of the farm and woods, not finding any sign of Thomas. Kirsten, at last, heard a loud whistle and ran toward it.
Britt knelt in the dirt and waved them over. Pointing to the ground in front of her, she said, “Look, footprints.”
Kirsten strained her eyes to see through the dark, but as she focused on the patch of bare ground, she saw the outline of several boots scuffing the dirt. “How did you see that?” she asked Britt.
“Freshly broken branches on the ground, disturbed duff, matted down grass,” she said examining the greater area.
