The fae fell in line behind me, sticking with me when we joined the rest of our team.
Tetiana gave me a concerned smile, and April’s forehead was wrinkled with worry when she glanced at me, but I did my best to muster my professionalism.
I needed to get it together. I needed to be able tofightwhen we picked up Gisila’s trail.
Captain Reese scanned our team while she idly massaged the side of her residual limb—it was probably hurting from being on her feet and in her prosthetic for so long. “I’m sure you’re wondering,” she began, “So I’ll tell you immediately: we still have no leads. The team sent toLuxe SejourHotel found Gisila’s suite abandoned. Hotel staff said she hadn’t been there since yesterday morning. The expanded search perimeter here on the street has revealed nothing. It seems like Gisila took Considine and her people, leaving through a fae portal. We have found a possible clue, though.”
Captain Reese nodded to Sunshine, who hopped on top of a nearby bench, making her visible over everyone’s heads, and adjusted her red scarf.
“We believe it is likely Considine was carried out after a fae potion was used on him—one designed to make him lose consciousness,” Sunshine said, her teeth chattering from the cold winter air. “We found trace amounts of the potion left on the sidewalk. Grove confirmed it isn’t any of the potions he used during the fight.”
“If he’s unconscious that’s good, right?” Brody asked. “It means they didn’t kill him.”
“Elder Maledictus would be hard to kill, even unconscious.” Tetiana said. “Being as old as he is, his healing abilities are insane.”
“Does that mean he’s okay? If he’s hard to kill, why bother? Maybe they’re just keeping him unconscious,” Juggernaut pulled down on his winter hat, which was covered with a layer of snow.
The icy fear that encased my heart thawed slightly at the task force’s united concern for Considine.
“Maybe,” Tetiana said. “It would be hard to even suffocate him—vampires still breathe and have a heartbeat, but while unconscious we can slow it down drastically.”
April brushed fresh snow off her jacket. “You hibernate.”
“It isnothibernating,” Tetiana said.
“They could starve him,” I said, and then immediately regretted the thought.
Tetiana’s shoulders fell. “They could starve him,” she agreed. “If he’s sleeping it’s not such a big deal. But if he wakes up…most vampires must drink pouch blood daily.”
“Considine would be able to hold off,” Clarence said, his voice shockingly confident for the usually shy vampire. “With hispowers, he’ll be fine for a few days. He’ll probably send out a command to all the vampires in the city when he wakes up.”
“How long do we have until the next moon cycle is complete?” I asked.
“Seven nights,” Sunshine volunteered.
Seven nights… that’s too long, even for Considine. And if Considine enters a ravenous state, he could do a lot of damage before he snaps out of it.
Vampires were deemed ravenous when they were blood starved and lost all logical thoughts. They were incredibly destructive and blood thirsty when ravenous—no matter how kind and controlled they were normally.
Sarge stirred next to Captain Reese. “We’ll get him back,” he said.
“Yes, sir!” a couple of task force members chorused.
Captain Reese linked her hands behind her back. “The last concern is perhaps one of the biggest. In the initial reports Blood and Grove both reported hearing Gisila mention oracles. The exact phrasing is recorded in the report, but we assumed it meant she bought a prophecy.”
Grove raised his hand. “She bought a prophecy specifically to find out how to guarantee she’d be able to enter Tutu’s—which apparently meant Considine had to be out of the picture.”
“That matches the set up.” Brody rubbed at his still red nose. “All of those coincidences so we didn’t sense them incoming until it was too late? I don’t buy it.”
Sarge cleared his throat, and everyone fell silent.
Captain Reese’s upper lip curled back in an angry snarl. “What is unclear about Gisila’s wording, is whether she bought a prophecy…or got her hands on the illegal oracle we’ve been trailing.”
Binx growled deep in her throat, and Medium-Sized Robert scowled, his brow lowering over his eyes.
“Gisila has the money, it’s possible she legally purchased a prophecy,” Sarge said. “However, that would be a rather large coincidence. Especially because she’s very obviously tied into the Magiford information stream given how easily she was able to spread word of Blood’s identity. Even if another supernatural found the illegal oracle first, she’s strong enough to crush any of the smaller groups that we suspect.”
Captain Reese nodded, making a tendril of her steely blonde hair—which was held back with a clip—fall out and frame her face. “Between her power, finances, and obvious disrespect for following the law, she’s a good candidate for illegally holding an oracle.”
