Billow (24 page)

Like the elementals, the void of the Aquidae suddenly winked out.

They were gone.

All of them. Aquidae. Elementals.

Magic couldn't sense them. Just like in the Trident.

Stunned, I stopped in my tracks. Breaths came hard and fast.

How is that possible?

The gardinels soundlessly appeared next to me, eyes focused and ready.

We were in a thick grove of trees that ended in a clearing a few feet ahead.

Tristan's concerned eyes took in my shocked expression. His head tilted in an unspoken question.

Just because my magic no longer sensed Aquidae didn't mean they were really gone. I needed to double-check.

I shook my head. He understood.

With the slightest movement of his hand, the other two gardinels froze. Waiting.

I concentrated, sweeping the area beyond the trees carefully.

There. The faint brush of emotions touched my magic.

One had threads of pain and determination. The other was too fuzzy and weak to make out.

Sweat dripped down my face and I lifted two fingers.

Elementals,
I mouthed.

Tristan took the lead, followed by Garreth, then Ewan. I brought up the rear and we approached the tree line.

Skin prickled.

Tristan's back suddenly tensed. Garreth sprinted into the clearing.

Taking out his phone, Tristan spoke a few words to Ewan in the selkie language.

I didn't understand what he said, but it was his tone that frightened me.

The stillness of it.

I pushed my way forward, vaguely hearing him call for backup.

Four unmoving gardinel bodies. No Aquidae. No children.

Too late.

Garreth kneeled beside one of the selkies sprawled on the ground, his massive body covering it in a final act of protection.

Horror and shock clawed inside my throat.

I focused on the weak energy touching my Virtue. Eyes searched the area.

She was partially hidden in the shadows at the far edge of the clearing.

I ran with shaky legs. "Marcella!"

She sat on the ground, her back against a thick tree trunk. With closed eyes and a peaceful expression, she almost looked like she was taking a nap.

I couldn't locate any visible injury. But her emotions were faint and my Virtue reached deeper to find her source of pain.

And that's when I realized both strains of essence were coming from her. One was hers.

But the other was barely formed. Not distinct.

Marcella's hand rested on the swell of her stomach, instinctively protecting her baby. Light glinted off the bracelet around her wrist and my stomach lurched.

Her eyelids fluttered.

"Marcella?"

I sheathed my dagger and leaned over. One hand rested against the tree trunk for balance and my other hand slid into hers.

Eyes opened, revealing disoriented hazel irises. Breaths came in short rasps and the strength of her emotions diminished.

Where was she hurt? Maybe it was shock.

I bent to get closer and wetness slid against my hand. A dark stain seeped into the part of the tree hidden behind her torso.

With jerky movements, I leaned in.

A stubby branch went straight into her back.

She wasn't resting against the tree. She was impaled on it.

She appeared uninjured from the front because the branch didn't go all the way through.

A dizzying wave of panic and nausea rose.

"Listen to me, Marcella." The words came out deathly calm. "I can't move you right now, so I need you to relax."

My eyes shot to the others. Ewan had returned. A numb weariness carved into his face and he stared at the dead gardinels.

Garreth bowed over the body of his brother. Tristan rested a hand on his trembling shoulder in comfort.

Sorrow-filled dark eyes met mine. He gave a small nod, acknowledging help would soon arrive.

I held Marcella's hand tight. "Stay with me."

Empath gripped the two essences within her, intertwining and pulling them toward me.

It didn't do any good. Both were weakening, but one was disappearing faster.

The baby
.

Desperate, I clung to it. Willing it to stay.

But it was like holding water in your hands. The energy kept slipping away and there was nothing I could do.

"The…children…" Her voice was a bare whisper.

"I know. You don't need to talk."

"Get…them…"

Fingers twitched and a jagged breath rattled through her.

The last, faint strains of the baby's essence faded away.

Heart squeezed. The lurking rage roared in a blinding surge and my voice turned harsh with violence.

"I'll get them."

It was the
sondaleur
's job to find them. And when I did, I'd make sure they paid for this.

They'd pay with blood. For hours. Days. For as long as I could draw out the torture.

"Promise…" It came out in a drawn-out sigh.

"I promise."

Virtue sensed the faint thread of relief. Her eyes drifted shut, essence hanging on by the thinnest thread.

Someone pushed me out of the way. My magic disengaged and I lurched back in a dull haze. Rogue paramedics from the hospital crowded Marcella.

A few chevaliers had already arrived. Julian's back was to me, his dark head bent over the dead gardinels.

Focus
.

It was the only way I could breathe, the only way my heart could still keep beating.

Gather information. Plan. Act.

Bone-chilling coldness dripped into my veins. Eyes scoured the surroundings and I robotically ran through the sequence of events in my mind.

The location was ideal. Thick clusters of trees surrounded the clearing. They followed Marcella's aura and waited to ambush the class. The dense woods provided decent cover for retreat. The park's size as well as the children's lack of auras made tracking difficult.

I'd sensed twelve of them. More than enough to catch four gardinels off guard. And considering how quickly the attack took place, Callan's team was strong and fast.

Once they eliminated the gardinels, it would've been easy to handle twelve helpless children.

Nails dug into my palms and the iciness expanded.

The questions were simple.

How did the Aquidae and elementals slip away from my Virtue? Where were they keeping the children, the other victims?

I was too late. Again.

But once I answered those questions, I'd make up for it.

"Kendra."

"The baby's dead." My voice came out flat.

My cousin
.

I didn't get to name him. Or maybe it was a her.

"They need to clean up the scene." Tristan moved in front of me. "I'll take you back."

"We need to find out how they disappeared." That blank coldness continued to spread.

Dark eyes burned. "We'll find them."

I turned away. His eyes were distracting and I wanted to remain focused.

Paramedics were in the process of removing Marcella from the tree. The buzz of a handsaw cut through the air.

Something inside snapped.

The coldness pushed the burning rage to the surface, supported it in the same way cold air buoyed rising heat.

And this time, I didn't fight it.

Like the black dream last night, I let it soak into my very being. Until we were one.

As long as the rage existed, pain and guilt would fade. Panic and fear wouldn't bother me anymore.

It strengthened me for what I needed to do.

Without another word, I followed Tristan back to the car. I walked behind him, eyes locked to nothing in front of me.

He glanced back a few times, but I ignored him. Just as I ignored the flurry of sounds and movements.

None of it mattered.

With each step, I reminded myself of the promise I made.

I'm coming for you. When I find you, I'm going to take you apart one piece at a time…

A roar of pure and utter anguish suddenly reverberated through the park.

It was a sound so drenched in pain and devastation, the force of it sent me stumbling forward. I grabbed the nearest tree to keep from falling.

Tristan froze. Hands slowly curled up by his side.

Resting my forehead against the rough bark, I shut my eyes.

"Gabe."

NINETEEN

Three days passed.

Seventy-two hours in which my world narrowed to one purpose.

The black dream finally stopped.

And the endless darkness swallowed Marcella whole.

She remained in the elemental wing of Lyondale Hospital and no one knew if she'd ever awaken. Despite the best efforts of the Healers and Dr. Clavet's human treatment, her body continued to weaken.

I didn't go to see her. Couldn't see her body lying in that windowless room.

Couldn't or wouldn't? I didn't know anymore.

No one was left unaffected. The disappearance of twelve children devastated Haverleau. Gardinels reeled from the deaths of four of their own, including Garreth's personal loss. Gabe didn't leave Marcella's side and Julian informally took up Head Chevalier duties to cover his absence.

Ewan parked the car in the courtyard and Aubrey and I got out.

"Do you know what this is about?"

Jeeves called during dinner, requesting our presence at the Governing House. But he didn't give any details.

The shadows under Aubrey's eyes stood out on her pale complexion. Garreth's pain deeply affected her.

She shook her head. "Ian was working on something this afternoon at the Tech Department."

We headed up the large marble steps. Ewan stopped to speak with the Royal Gardinels at the entrance.

Jeeves' back was to us, his navy blue suit bright and crisp against the foyer's white marble. Silver hair shone as he bent forward to speak to someone. When he turned, we saw it was Amber.

"What's she doing here?" Aubrey said under her breath.

I had no idea.

Amber glanced at us as she passed. She'd tried to conceal it with makeup, but her eyes were puffy and red.

She hesitated and for a moment, I thought she was going to say something. But her expression tightened and she hurried out the door.

"
Sondaleur
. Ms. Rossay." Jeeves gave a wan smile. "Mr. MacAllister and Prince Belicoux are waiting upstairs."

"Why was Amber here?" I asked.

"I had the Academy reassign her internship to the Justice Department. She's had a difficult time."

I'd forgotten Amber worked with Marcella. Judging by her expression, what happened hit her hard.

She's great with the children. She'll make a good teacher someday.

I shoved the echo of her warm voice out before the pain returned.

I couldn't. Not now.

"Did we find something?" My voice was rough.

We followed Jeeves down the central hallway to a spiral staircase leading to the upper floors.

"Mr. Macallister has some news." His reply was as polite as always.

"Will the Governor be joining us?" Aubrey asked.

He shook his head. "She's currently meeting with members of the Council."

Once the abductions happened, Rhian had no choice but to fill the Governing Council in on Ian's real identity and what we were doing to locate the children. But the information was still withheld from the public.

We headed down the second floor's east corridor. Raised voices drifted from the Governor's office.

"How can you justify keeping this from us?" The haughty female voice belonged to Marquisa LeVeq, Julian's mother.

"It was for his own protection. As you well know, Marquisa, sometimes it's not very clear whom one should trust."

Hearing Rhian's icy reply was immensely satisfying. My grandmother could out-freeze anyone.

"But he's a nix!" A male voice spoke up. "How do we know he's not lying?"

"Mr. MacAllister has provided us with valuable information." My grandmother's words vibrated with steel authority. "We wouldn't know about the children's abductions if he hadn't told us about the trafficking ring…"

We passed the slightly open door and I caught a glimpse of her sitting behind the desk.

An ondine's health was seriously compromised when a child died before the parent. Rhian's health had rapidly deteriorated after the passing of my mother.

Now that Marcella was severely injured and fading by the day, she'd aged another few years. Wrinkles deepened on her face and she seemed slightly shrunken, as if she'd lost weight.

Her voice remained strong and imperious. But I couldn't help noticing how much frailer she was.

We entered a small sitting room. Ian sprawled across the sofa, looking like he hadn't slept in days. Aubrey joined him and Jeeves stood beside Tristan in front of the fireplace.

I settled into a chair. "What happened?"

Ian pulled himself upright. "I tracked down the hacking attack on the Academy server." His voice was thin with exhaustion. "It originated from a computer at an office space in Nevada. It's leased to a dummy corporation."

I knew it. "Gilroy."

Ian nodded. "Building's security cameras confirm him going in and out around the time the info was accessed."

We needed to find that double-crossing bastard. This was proof he'd sold Marcella's information to the Aquidae.

Which meant he knew where to find them.

"Any way to figure out his location?"

He sighed. "No. Wherever he is, he's laying low."

Jeeves' face drew tight with worry. "I've investigated among humans, but uncovered nothing new."

I didn't realize part of his job responsibilities as Chief Counsel included field work.

"My gardinels have searched every part of the city," Tristan added. "There's no sign of Gilroy or any Aquidae. It's like they just —"

"Vanished," I finished.

If we figured out how they pulled off that disappearing act, we might uncover their location.