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again.
    “Mirii?” Amarina must not have joined the chase.
    “I'm just going to explore ahead a little.”
    “Don’t go far,” Derain warns.
    Moving slow, sweeping my stick in front of me, I manage to stay on the trail. A hill rises under my feet; I tap my way up to the top. The sun warms my body, helping my sore muscles relax, and a light breeze clears my head. It’s good to be alone, even if it’s only for a few minutes.
    The organic scent of a water source rides the wind. Are we finally getting close to the River Restless? I breathe in again, but instead of what might be the river, I catch something else—an abrasive odor that makes my nose wriggle.
    I’ve smelled this before, yesterday in the clearing, then forgot all about it. My body tenses. Could this be the Sisters’ scent? Have they been here? Wait—are they near now ? Should I warn the others? No, I’m sure it’s only a scent trail. If we already caught up to the Sisters, they’d be shooting at us.
    I decide to follow my nose. Not far, only a few steps. It leads me over the crest of the hill and toward the tree line on the side of the trail where the others yell to each other in the forest. I step over the stream, into the shade of the trees… and fall.
    Not a stumble or a trip—a head-over-heels, arms and legs cartwheeling, straight down a hill-that-never-ends tumble. My teeth snap together on my tongue, and my knee knocks my forehead. My walking stick goes airborne, and I bounce lightly off what must be a tree trunk before sliding to a stop. I yell out in pain.
    When the fog in my head finally clears, I hear the others running to me, surrounding me. I sit up, grimacing. My tongue throbs; the salty taste of blood fills my mouth, and my back stings where it scraped the tree. Wincing, I spit.
    “Fenn, are you okay? Is anything broken?” Peree’s voice is by my ear, as if he’s squatting next to me.
    “You went down hard.” Sympathy pulls on Bear’s voice.
    Oh no. Did they all see it? If so, I won’t hear the end of it.
    Sure enough, Cuda snickers. “Never knew the Sightless could fly.”
    Someone laughs, sounding like they’re trying hard not to crack up. When Kai snorts, too, my shame is complete. I decide to beat them to it—I burst out laughing. After a second, the others join in, all except Peree.
    “Can you stand?” He sounds concerned.
    “I think so.”
    He helps me up. Amarina and Derain walk to us, their feet crunching on the ground.
    “Are you alright, Mirii?” Amarina asks. Moray enjoys the retelling of what happened to me a little too much.
    Someone gives me my walking stick, and I take stock of my injuries. Painful and humiliating, but not life or limb threatening. My hand flies to my sore mouth as I suddenly remember why I fell down the hill to begin with.
    “The Fire Sisters! I think I smelled them.” I explain how I noticed the acrid scent back in Koolkuna and picked it up again at the top of the hill.
    “Do you think they’re here now?” Conda asks. Everyone goes quiet, probably looking around.
    “I didn’t hear anything before I fell.”
    Peree supports me on our way back up the hill. I sniff the air again at the top.
    “I don’t smell it now,” I say. “Anyone else? It was kind of biting. I think you’d notice it.”
    “Nope,” Moray says.
    “Nothing,” Bear says.
    “Are you sure you smelled something?” Kai asks. Or was it a lie to cover your ridiculous fall ? she doesn’t say.
    “Yeah. I’m sure.” If my voice were any sharper, the air around my face would shatter.
    I know I smelled it, and if it’s the Sisters’ scent, it will help me track them.
    After all, I need to find something useful to do other than providing laughs for Kai, Moray, and the brothers.
     

Chapter Six
    We return to collect our packs and move on down the trail, staying close together this time. Everyone is quiet, watchful.
    The sun’s diving in the sky, and we still haven’t reached the Restless. Derain says we