Chapter 15
“Nothing,” Nathaniel said, sleepless at dawn as he tried yet again to ping Sienna. He and Desmond had searched what felt like half the planet, just trying to feel any traces of her magic. Normal Tiros could not block out their Maestros as she could. But Sienna was anything but a normal Tiro. It was times like this that they were reminded of just how powerful she was. “I can't keep trying and getting no response. It's–”
“I know,” Desmond had been silent through most of this, and Nathaniel realized that it was more than just Sienna missing that weighed heavily on his mind.
“This isn't like Reynolds,” he said, softly. “This isn't the same.”
“Isn't it?” Desmond said dryly. “I don't even know why we are looking, Nathaniel, if she doesn't want to be found.”
“Desmond, she could be captured! She could be in danger! She could be hurt, or–”
“Tiro,” Desmond met his eyes, “she may be blocking out your words, but you and I would both know if she was hurt or in danger, wouldn't we? We would feel that in the air, feel it as if it was our pain.”
Nathaniel faltered. “Maybe….”
Desmond shook his head with a small smirk. “Maybe?”
Nathaniel tried to search for different words. “All right, quite possibly. But just because she's not in danger this moment doesn't meant that she won't be shortly. You know how many people are after her.”
“The Jurors would tell us to abandon this case,” Desmond said quietly. “A Tiro who leaves on their own is not be pursued. I would know.”
“The Jurors be damned!” Nathaniel cried, and Desmond raised an eyebrow.
“Well, that's just it, isn't it Nathaniel?”
Nathaniel stopped, confused. “What?”
Desmond took a deep breath. “The Jurors be damned is pretty much how we've been operating since we got her, isn't it?”
Nathaniel fell quiet as he realized his former Maestro's point. “No,” he said at last. “We've–”
“If you're going to say we've taken their advice, that's laughable, because we've done nothing of the sort. From the moment she walked into our lives, we chose a path that was inadvisable. I,” he corrected himself, “chose a path that was inadvisable for both of us, and you came to bond with her the same as I. We have valiantly denied every suggestion and request they had, sealed her files, chosen paths for educations and quests that they haven't approved, only because Maestros have rights over their Tiros.”
“It's always worked out well for you before.” Nathaniel said, trying to reassure his former maestro. “I'm here only because you fought for me. And Christa.”
“But not Reynolds,” Desmond pointed out. “I failed at my very first attempt, and it appears that is coming back to haunt me. I damned the Jurors with Mariah, and look where it's gotten us.”
“You cannot shoulder this whole burden on yourself, Maestro,” Nathaniel said softly. “Sometimes, fate lays different cards for us, and nature has a whole different path.”
“I highly doubt nature intended us to take this path.”
“What are you saying?” Nathaniel asked. “When we find her....”
“If we find her, and she wants to return, I imagine things will be different,” Desmond said. “For all of us.”
“They won't be.” Nathaniel held his chin high. “I will not abandon her.”
Desmond said nothing to that, and Nathaniel could feel his very spirit torn.
They walked in silence for a few minutes until the younger Maestro spoke. “I have an idea,” he said. “If Black Caesar's followers are looking for her, they might have a better grasp on where she is than we do. And if they do, perhaps they can lead us right to her.”
“How?” Desmond asked. Nathaniel cocked his head with a slight smile.
“You can't do imitation magic? Using the bond?”
Desmond rolled his eyes. “I can do intimidation magic just fine, young one. But in case you haven't noticed in the past few years, our Tiro has an incredibly unique magical signature. Imitating her would not be easy.”
“Nothing worthwhile is easy,” Nathaniel answered with a smile. “Isn't that what you taught me?”
“And I'm regretting it every day,” Desmond said pausing by a tree. The easiest place to do any kind of magic was standing by nature, ready to draw from its support. “You want me to start?”
“I thought you couldn't do it?” Nathaniel teased him, always trying to find the humor in any situation. Desmond reached out to the tree, taking a moment to refuel himself.
“I didn't say I couldn't do it,” he said. “I just wasn't sure I could create a good enough signature for them to be fooled. We don't want them to know we are on to them.”
“After you killed the minions who tied me up?” Nathaniel asked. “I think they have a pretty good idea that we're onto them. Now....”
Both of them fell silent as they drew the energy to continue. Nathaniel found it easier to work on creating a magical signature that would be hers if she was well. Using his usual attention to detail, Desmond began to trim and cut pieces out of it, creating the powerful and yet broken line that she always left behind.
When they were ready, they both pushed their palms forward, leaving a scar in the atmosphere.
“Do you think that will do it?” Nathaniel asked.
“It will have to,” Desmond said. “If we continue to leave those every few feet, I'm sure it will attract them, even if they aren't sure it's her. It's the best we can do for now.”
“I wish I was bonded to Laura. I would check in with her,” Nathaniel said. “I used to be able to push some thoughts through, but not at this distance.”
“I'm sure that Laura is moving along just fine,” Desmond said. “You have to remember, Devon is still answering her. He's not as removed as Sienna.”
“Sienna isn't answering because she's scared,” Nathaniel assured him. “We'll find her.”
“I hope so,” Desmond replied, biting back another comment. He knew that his Tiro hadn't run to Reynolds' side, but he couldn't help but remember what had happened when he had found Reynolds. This was a trip down memory lane that he did not want to take.
Meanwhile, Laura was on the other side of the city, and true to Desmond's word, she was moving along just fine. Devon's choice to answer her had made him easier to trace, and she came upon the warehouse where they had spent the night.
It was wiped clean, but she had expected that. She had taught him well, although she never thought that he would now be using it against her. It was hurtful, but at the same time, she understood. She didn't want Devon to be in pain; no parent would want that for their child. She just wished that he had chosen a better way to do it or, at least, a better place than a planet with a girl that everyone wanted to capture.
She paused when she got to the corner of the warehouse, her nose wrinkling. They may have wiped away all magical traces of their presence, but they hadn't quite cleaned up after themselves.
He was getting sick exactly when she knew he would, based on the medication that he had taken with him. Devon liked to think he was invincible, which annoyed her to no end some days. But today, it verified her thoughts that he was here.
“But where did you go from here, my dear?” she asked, closing her eyes. ‘Devon.’
She didn't expect him to answer; that would be too obvious. Instead, she followed her instincts out the door and onto the busy street. The warehouse was at the edge of the market district, and the market was already bustling with people. She paused, trying to think like Devon.
He would choose the busiest path with the most witnesses if he didn't want to be captured.
Laura approached the market stalls cautiously, watching for anything out of place. She didn't want to stand out, and so she moved from stall to stall as if she was carefully considering each of her purchases. She picked up some fruit, and then a dress, looking at each detail, while reaching out with her magical senses, trying to pick up their trail.
“Can I help you?” someone said to her, and she looked up. There was a shopkeeper standing there, his eyes ablaze as he saw her. He was clearly taking in her well-made clothing and strong form and assuming she had money. “Special deal on that today.”
“Oh,” Laura said, trying to think about how she was going to play this. Normally, she and Devon had a well-thought-out plan for any situation. But this wasn't exactly something she expected in any scenario. “I would. It's just…I've given my siblings the money, and they took off this morning, looking for their own purchases.” She didn't look old enough to be Devon's mother, but he and Sienna looked humanoid, and she was hoping that the pink-skinned alien with three eyes in front of her wouldn't be able to distinguish just how different they all were. “Maybe you've seen them?”
“Maybe?” the shopkeeper said. “What do they look like?”
“Boy and girl, about this tall, almost adult,” she said. “Stayed up all night, so probably a bit tired and dazed. Rascals, they are. Would they have walked through here?”
He paused so long that she was afraid he had drifted into some sort of trance. He closed his eyes, humming, and Laura was about to ask again when his eyes suddenly snapped open. “Yes,” he said. “Yes. I did see them.”
“Where did you see them? When did you see them?” She leaned forward a little too eagerly, and the shopkeeper narrowed his eyes.
“How do I know that you want them for good intentions?”
“What?” Laura asked.
“There's a lot of souls on this planet hunting others for bad reasons,” the shopkeeper said. “How do I know you aren't one of them?”
“They are family!” Laura cried, hoping she sounded believable. They were, after all, in a way. Devon was the closest thing she would ever have to family. The Tiros after him would live up to his example, which she hoped was going to include a happy ending. “Please.”
Apparently, she was convincing enough, because the shopkeeper pointed down the crowded lane.
“I saw a couple who could be them, going that way. But....”
“But?” Laura asked, confused.
“Don't think it was them.”
“Why not?” she replied.
“Because you said they are siblings, right? Not sure how you humanoids do it, but I saw them kissing over there by that tree.”
“That's them,” Laura said, turning on her heel and leaving the shopkeeper incredibly confused as she began to follow the path, sending out magical pings.
She suddenly stopped as one of her pings was returned.
“Devon?” she asked to the crowd around her. Her pings came back at her full force as she heard a scream at the far end of the street.
There was a magical explosion that she recognized as Devon's signature, and then more screaming. People began running in all directions, and a black cloud formed over the spot of Devon's last known whereabouts. Laura moved forward as quickly as she could, dodging beings as she tried to make her way there. Her eyes did not deceive her as the cloud took shape. That was Black Caesar's mark: strong and menacing.
And when she reached the spot where she knew they had been, she found nothing. They were gone.