The presence vanished suddenly, as if it had never been there.
Except Lin knew that sensation. Her crane partially manifested its wings and slightly elongated her legs while following the trail, her beast's enhanced perception tracking the faintest disturbances in the air.
A flash of movement to her right, someone appeared for an instant before vanishing again.
"Interesting," Lin murmured. The jumps were becoming more abrupt now, almost clumsy in their haste. Whoever it was, they were more concerned with speed than subtlety.
Another flash, this time to her left. Lin adjusted her course, her crane helping her maintain the pace while analyzing the pattern of movements.
"Why the rush?" she whispered while following the flashes of movement, her experienced eyes noting how each jump seemed to cost the fleeing figure more effort than the last.
The chase led them toward a more densely wooded section.
