A heavy boot print lay deep in the soft soil.
After several hundred meters, we had finally walked out of the snow; the ground beneath our feet was now dark, rich loam.
I bent down to examine the imprint. The soil was still compact within the tread, the edges of the pattern smooth and sharply defined.
It didn't take a Master Tracker to deduce the truth. The only military boot tracks here would be Catherine's.
I rose to my feet, my eyes tracing the path of the footprints until they disappeared into the dense treeline to the north.
"You still have it," Askarion said, a faint, knowing smile playing on his lips. I shrugged, brushing the dirt from my knees.
"It's not especially difficult. The soil here is dark and moist; footprints stand out." I turned to him, my eyes narrowing. "You probably didn't need my help at all."
Askarion simply nodded, offering no denial.
We continued through the thick foliage. The light was failing fast, the purple light of dusk already settling over the trees. Soon, it would be so dark that tracking by sight would become impossible. If we didn't find Catherine before the sun vanished completely, she would be gone for good.
"I understand you have questions for me," Askarion said as we moved. I stole a glance at him. If I didn't know better, I would have said the Keeper of Eternity looked... nervous.
"You probably wouldn't have the answers to the questions I have," I replied, my eyes returning to the trail. "It's all so convenient, isn't it?" I muttered.
Askarion sighed, the sound betraying his years of existence. And that was when the memory hit me. The vision I'd seen when I first stepped into the Altican castle. The woman. The fire. The two boys.
I stopped mid-step.
"Actually," I said, turning to face him fully. "Come to think of it, I might have a question. Or two."
Askarion nodded, still moving. "Normally, I know what question a person carries in their heart before they even think about it. But now I sense nothing." He paused and turned to me.
"I know no details of whatever is coming."
I nodded, waving the statement away. "It's not that."
Askarion raised his eyes to the sky. "It is better we move as we talk.We are losing light."
I nodded, but at that moment, Catherine was a far thought. The question that had bugged me for a whole day, but for some reason had not crossed my mind once in a thousand years.
"What happened to my mother?"
Askarion's eyes opened in realisation, the smile that had stayed etched to his lips faded.
He turned towards the trail."We shall talk as we walk." he said softly
***
"Your mother," Askarion began. "Her name was Neytira." He raised his head at the name, as a fresh breeze blew, moving through my shirt.
It was as if the elements remembered her as well.
He turned to me and smiled. "She was a wonderful woman."
I frowned and scoffed. "So wonderful my father couldn't speak of her."
"Your father loved her." Askarion replied, his voice sharp and protective. "More than you could ever know."
I bent down to study the tracks, but it was all an act. I didn't want Askarion to see the heavy frown that was forming on my face.
"Then why keep her from us. And most importantly why can't we remember?"
"It is not my place to tell you more than I already know."
"Bullshit." I spat at him, rising to face him.
"That's bullshit and you know it."
Askarion stopped, that tired look returning to his face. But I did not have an ounce of sympathy to give.
"You're the Librarian" I growled, throwing an accusing finger at him "You know everything. If it isn't your place to talk, whose is it.?"
"There are truths that sustain a soil, and truths that incinerate it. I believe your parents choose the former for you and your brother's sake."
He still wasn't giving answers. I threw my hand up in the air in frustration. "Enough with all the fancy bullshit. You say her name like it's a prayer." I pointed angrily at the direction we came from, where father was still battling an anti-god.
"He loved her so much that he couldn't talk about her? Say her name?" The truth was already plain to see. I calmed down a little bit to breathe, my hands finding their way to my waist."Why'd he make you do it? Why make us forget?"
Askarion turned to the sky again and spoke, but this time his voice was the voice of my father.
"I gave my life to make you a God." He smiled to himself, like he had just thought of a joke.
"It is all connected, Magnus. The countdown, the spell on your memory breaking, the thaw. If you want more, I am not the one to offer it. I truly am sorry."
I let out a sharp breath in anger. Stupid, stupid, stupid Immortals and their code of conduct. My father had Askarion by a foline vow. He could tell me nothing, even if he wanted to.
Tired and frustrated I turned to the trail, Askarion trailing behind. "What is that?" He asked. He didn't wait for my response before rushing in another direction, his eyes fixed to the ground.
A fresh pair of footprints lay fresh on the soil, barefooted and feminine. I turned around and I could still see the first pair of prints leading north.
"How the hell…"
"It seems this woman is more clever than we deduced." Askarion remarked, that playful tone now returned. He looked into the distance, his eyes fixed on a particular spot. From where I stood, I could not see anything out of the ordinary, but the Liberian raised his hand forth and a naked woman appeared out of nothing, floating in the air.
Catherine struggled, her body shaking with pain, but Askarion had her in his invisible grasps.
"We have ourselves a witch."