Part 24 (2/2)

”But where did it come from and where did it go? How do you do that?”

Annja took a breath. ”Jenny, I really don't know everything about it or why it came to me. I'd rather not talk about the sword right now. We have more important things to worry about.”

”Okay, okay, I'm just amazed by it, is all.”

”More amazed than your hunt for big foot?”

”Well...”

”All right, then.” Annja turned back to the stone cairn. ”The one over by the burial mound seemed to point this way because of how the rocks were stacked. This one seems to point over to the left there, which would make it sort of a southerly direction. You think?”

Jenny followed where Annja pointed and nodded. ”Seems to be. The sun's coming up from over in that direction, so, yeah, south it is.”

Annja got up. ”Good.” She kicked over the cairn.

”What are you doing now?”

”Making sure that whoever those guys are we don't leave them a clear trail to follow us. I don't want to have to think about them being behind us as we try to find our way out of here.”

”Well, I don't think those guys will be worrying about us.”

”Why on earth not?”

Jenny shrugged. ”They'll have Joey to worry about. And trust me, the look in the kid's eyes was pretty mean.”

Annja nodded. ”A fourteen-year-old shouldn't have that kind of anger in his heart. Kids today grow up too fast.”

”They have to grow up sometime,” Jenny said. ”And I think that Joey is convinced his time is at hand.”

Annja frowned. ”Killing doesn't make you a grown-up.”

”Maybe he thinks vengeance does.”

”A lot of people do,” Annja said. ”I'm not convinced that it's the best way to go, but that's neither here nor there. Joey's gone and it's up to us to get back to town.”

Jenny unzipped her jacket. ”At least he left us the cairns.”

”Speaking of which...” Annja said. She tracked from the position of the rocks she'd kicked over and walked about twenty paces in a southerly direction. By the base of a blueberry bush, she saw another small pile of stones.

”Over here.”

Annja peered closer at the cairn. This time the stones didn't veer off in one direction or another, but seemed equal on all sides.

Annja sat back. ”There's no directional indicator here.”

Jenny leaned closer. ”Suppose it means this is the direction to go in?

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