Wizards and fae—all of them wearing the navy blue and gold trimmed coats of the task force uniform—had set a perimeter, and were testing out the magic present, trying in vain to find leads.
And all I could do was stand there. Waiting. Hoping.
My phone buzzed with an incoming text, and I frantically checked it.
Jasper
Any updates?
No.
Mom
I’m sorry, Jade. Keep us updated—and let us know if you need backup.
I took a deep breath before putting my phone away. While fighting to retain a sense of control, I’d sent out a text in our family group chat about an hour ago, cluing them in to the situation. They’d been concerned and were ready to sprint into action like the slayers we were.
I appreciated the support, even though it wasn’t practical when they were so far away.
“Here.” Orrin pushed another potion bottle into my right hand. It was a sparkling blue shade that looked purple from the red lights cast by the police cars. “Drink it.” He awkwardly cleared his throat and didn’t look at me—shy, even though he’d spent the last three hours glued to my side.
“I already consumed three fae potions,” I said. “I don’t need it.”
My head had cleared a while ago, but the pain in my heart grew with every minute that passed.
We’d arrived on the street with carloads of reinforcements less than twenty minutes after leaving Considine. There was no sign of him, Gisila, or the fae, besides the blood stains and abandoned weapons from the battle.
Considine was gone.
Orrin uncorked the potion for me and then pushed my hand up by my face. “Drink it anyway. Your eyes don’t look like they’re focusing right.”
That had less to do with the head injury and more because for the first time in my life, I was mentally free falling, and all my training and conditioning hadn’t been able to snap me back into work mode.
Orrin took my silence in stride and wiped snow off his shoulders. Big flat flakes were falling from the sky, which was lightening to a dark gray as morning drew closer. “You need to be at peak health when wedoget word about Elder Maledictus, so you can be part of the team to extract him.”
Unable to argue with that logic, I took a slug of the potion, barely noticing its sour cherry flavor as I studied the street again, looking for anything we could have missed.
She took Considine. She had to have. No werewolf has been able to catch even a hint of his scent. But where did she take him?
There’s no way they were holed up in the fae realm. Only fae monarchs were capable of the magic needed to keep up the borders that blocked out the poisonous miasma that ate at the unclaimed parts of the realm.
Gisila could risk passing through it, but stay there? Not a chance.
“Gisila…” Orrin trailed off. “Her dragon form is overwhelming. There’s nothing you could have done.”
I miserably shook my head. He was technically right—I knew that from a tactical standpoint. But it felt wrong—sowrong. And technicalities were no consolation with Considine missing.
The radio on my belt crackled.
“Night shift, find me and report in.”
That was Captain Reese’s voice—she’d been on the site since reinforcements arrived.
I turned in a circle, looking for the tall werewolf.
She stood on the sidewalk with Sarge at the far most perimeter, giving her a clear view of the entire street. She was facing Sunshine and Grove, an unreadable expression on her face as Sunshine pointed down the street and held up a clipboard.
“Come on.” I clutched my empty potion bottle—I’d give it back to Grove, he’d clean it and reuse it—and motioned for Orrin to follow.
