“What do you mean she is gone!?” Senka yelled, angrily stomping her way from one end of Lady Zae’s tent to the other. Meanwhile Lady Zae and Duncan watched her warily from their seats across the room. “Chloe barely knows how to light a fire! Why the hell would she take off by herself?”
It had taken Duncan a great deal of convincing to get her to follow him here after his none too subtle announcement. But despite her begging and pleading with him to explain exactly what he meant by “gone,” Duncan had refused to speak another word of her sister’s apparent disappearance until she returned with him back to the tent. Now trapped inside the large canvas room with the two of them staring at her as if she might shatter at any moment, Senka was on the verge of losing it completely.
“I’m serious, you guys,” she continued as she spun and headed the opposite direction. “If she ran off with some guy you better tell me. I have a right to know!” Gasping she spun and faced the pair of them watching her with their saddened expressions. “It was Henry’s boy wasn’t it? Don’t think I didn’t see the way the two of them were hanging all over each other at the dance a few weeks ago. Or the way they have been sneaking around when they believe no one is watching.”
“Senka…”
Lady Zae began, only to be cut off by Senka’s frustrated grunt. Raking her fingers through her hair, which was now more out of the ponytail than in, she resumed her pacing. “I just can’t believe she would do this to me! Sure, we have our issues and don’t always get along… but to run away while I’m gone and not even say goodbye?!”
“Senka listen, I don’t think Chloe left voluntarily.”
Lady Zae’s words stopped Senka dead in her tracks. Slowly turning around to face her, Senka furrowed her brow. “What do you mean, you don’t think she left voluntarily? What other reason would there be for my sister not being here?”
“Perhaps you should sit down.” Duncan offered. Still dressed in nothing but a loin cloth, he slowly rose from his chair and approached her.
Shaking her head emphatically, Senka backed away. “Not, until one of you tells me what is going on.”
Lady Zae rose and joined Duncan’s side. Together they approached her as if she was a crazed animal in need of pacifying. “I think we are going to have to insist, dear… for your own safety.”
Backed against the canvas wall with Lady Zae’s canopy bed on one side and the pair of them on the other, Senka quickly found herself trapped. Resisting the urge to flash, she did her best to suppress the threatening tears. “Where is my sister?” she asked again, hating how weak she sounded. However, neither one of them answered her as they each took ahold of one of her arms and led her back to the massive red couch they had just vacated.
Gesturing for her to have a seat, the pair of them then sat on the coffee table on either side of her, essentially pinning her in. “Before we begin, I need you to make me a promise Senka.” Lady Zae began, her voice very serious. “I want you to swear to me, no matter what we tell you, you will not flash from this room. You will stay here and hear us all the way out.” Taking Senka’s hand into her own, Lady Zae’s expression softened. “Can you promise me that dear?”
A rogue tear escaped her eye before she could stop it. “You’re scaring me Lady Zae. I’ll do whatever you want me to do, just please tell me where my sister is.”
The pair stared at her a moment as if evaluating whether or not they believed her, then turned and glanced at one another. When they began to speak, much to Senka’s surprise, it was Duncan who began.
“A few days after you left to go hunting, a trader and a young boy came to our camp claiming they were in need of a place to sleep and rest their horses for a night.”
“He said his name was Linus.” Lady Zae cut in. “And he was, for lack of a better word, perfect.” Lady Zae paused, sighing as if the mere memory of the stranger stirred feelings inside her. “He possessed a beauty and charm the likes I have never seen before. And from the moment he walked into camp he had us right where he wanted us.” Beside Lady Zae, Duncan scoffed and shook his head.
“Was he Fae?” Senka asked, knowing the Fae were renowned for their beauty but uncertain what any of this had to do with her sister.
“No, he was not one of my people, nor did he confess to us what race he was.”
“Which should have been our first clue.” Duncan growled, clenching his fist. “He came in and made himself at home… a little too at home. I should have kicked his scrawny ass out the instant I found him hanging around Chloe and Brit by the well.”
“Brit, Ulysses’ daughter?”
She recalled having met the Elemental girl once or twice at camp functions. With her flaming curly locks and face full of freckles, she tended to stand out a bit.
Duncan nodded his head sadly, unable to meet her gaze. Beginning to get a feel for where this story was heading, Senka’s stomach clenched painfully. Even so, she kept her promise and remained still, as they continued to tell her their story.
“They seemed to be strangely drawn to him, almost as if they couldn’t get enough of his presence. Every time we turned around, be it in the wee hours of the morning or late at night, we would find the two of them back at his side, giggling and laughing as he went on and on about himself and his travels.” Duncan paused, tightening his fists until his knuckles turned white. “I should have done something… anything. I knew deep down in my gut he was up to no good and I didn’t do a damn thing about it.”
“It’s not your fault.” Lady Zae soothed, placing her dainty hand on top of Duncan’s massive fist. Sighing, she then turned her attention back to Senka. “It’s mine. Duncan came to me with his concerns and I dismissed them.” Hanging her head in shame, Lady Zae dropped her gaze. “He was just so courteous and friendly, I didn’t want to believe what Duncan was saying to be true. So I accused him and the other men of being jealous of the attention Linus was drawing from the women… I dismissed his concerns without a second thought.”
Confused, Senka stared up at Duncan. “Concerns?”
“He had to have been using magic of some kind, one that only affected women, because every one of them was drawn to him like a moth to a flame. Single, married, young, and old it didn’t matter, they all hung onto him like he was the last man in Lanoria.” Shaking his head, he ran his hand through his greying hair. “Hell, even the women that like women were drawn to him. It was the damndest thing I ever saw.”
“He ended up staying nearly a week; eating, drinking, and laughing with us as if he had known us for years instead of days.” Lady Zae joined back in. “Then a few days ago he came to me and said he was about to leave. I was so saddened by the news, I literally begged him to stay. But he said he had to leave, that he had a large trade fair coming up and he needed to get there before all the best places were taken. He said he wanted to thank us for our generosity and asked if I would hold one last gathering at the square so he could bid us all farewell. I agreed and that night, he showed up at the fire pit with a crate full of wine. He claimed it was a special and very rare brew that he had smuggled in from the Caster region and he wanted us to have it as a token of his gratitude. Then he cracked open a bottle and insisted we all join him in a farewell toast.”
“We all drank the wine.” Duncan sighed. “None of us saw the harm in a drink, especially if it meant we were getting rid of him.”
“I don’t know exactly what was in the wine, Senka. All I know is the first of us started waking up yesterday morning, nearly an entire two days later, disoriented and hung over by whatever he had given us. And there still many in the camp who remain asleep even now.”
“Which is why we didn’t realize until this morning, when Ulysses awoke to find Brit gone, that we realized Chloe was gone as well.”
“Wait? Are you telling me this man kidnapped my sister and Brit?” Bounding to her feet. She was about to flash out of the tent when Duncan jumped in front of her and grabbed her arm tightly.
“Senka, remember your promise.” Lady Zae spoke calmly, trying her best to pacify her. “Please don’t do anything rash.”
“Rash! Are you kidding me? Some asshole walks in here and kidnaps my sister right from under all your noses and you want me to be calm!” The pair of them jolted under the harshness of her words, but Senka was beyond the point of caring. In her mind all she could think about was the kind of things a man like Linus could and would do to two young girls. Unable to stop the flow of horrific images bombarding her mind, she fought harder against Duncan’s unrelenting hold. “Let me go Duncan, I have to go find her! I have to go find my sister! She needs my help!”
But Duncan refused to obey her commands and instead tightened his grip. Infuriated by her inability to escape, Senka continued to whale on her best friend, who despite her efforts, held on to her seemingly unfazed by her antics.
“Get off of me!” She shouted, knowing her fighting was useless. Duncan wasn’t going to release her. He knew full well there was nothing he or Lady Zae could do to keep her from flashing, so he was doing the only other thing he knew to do. By holding on to her arm, Duncan was ensuring there was no way she could leave this tent without taking him with her.
Not that she couldn’t. The problem was Duncan had no intentions of letting her go even if she did. Even at his advanced age, the man was a pillar of strength and resilience. And no matter how many times she flashed and tried to shake him off, he would hold on until she had exhausted herself enough to surrender. At which point he would throw her limp body over his shoulder and haul her back to camp. She should know, he had done it to her before.
Even so, Senka refused to surrender. Tears streaming down her cheeks, she continued her abuse of him until she physically couldn’t move any more. With not an ounce of fight left in her, Senka then sank to the ground at his feet. Following her to the floor, Duncan knelt before her, embracing her as she collapsed into the warmth of his chest.
“We will get her back Senka.” Coming up behind her, Lady Zae laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Every male in the camp, who isn’t under the effects of that cursed liquor, is scouring the plains for any clue as to where they may have gone.”
“Then let me help.” Senka sniffed, pulling away from Duncan’s hold she wiped her eyes on the back of her hand. “I can travel further and faster than anyone else here. It makes sense that I should be out there looking.”
“Perhaps…”
“Absolutely not!” Duncan snapped, cutting off Lady Zae and causing both of them to jump. Grasping both her arms tight enough to hurt, he narrowed his gaze. “Did you not hear what we said? He has the ability to affect the way women think and act. If you go and confront him alone, what is to stop him from using his gift on you as well?”
“Duncan…” Lady Zae began, presumably coming to her defense. But Duncan was having no part of it.
“No! Everything inside me is screaming that something bad will happen if she does this. And I will not allow it!” Turning back to face her, Senka was taken aback as his intense gaze fell upon her. Unable to identify the swarm of emotions so obviously churning beneath those pale grey depths, Senka quickly became uncomfortable and dropped her gaze to hide the warm flush she could feel rising in her cheeks.
“I don’t blame you for hating me.” Duncan said, misinterpreting her reaction. “I failed you.”
Releasing his hold on her, he rose to his feet, and moved away. Stopping next to a small table, he picked up a glass and threw it across the room. “If I had just trusted my instincts and ripped the head off that scheming snake when he first showed up, then Chloe and Brit would still be safe at home instead of in the hands of those monsters.”
Dropping into a nearby chair, Duncan held his head in his hands. As head of camp security she was certain he felt somewhat responsible for what had happened to the girls. But despite what she had said earlier, Senka didn’t blame him. Nor did she blame Lady Zae. How could she when it was that same willingness to accept others into their fold, no questions asked, that had attracted her to the Wanderer lifestyle to begin with.
Being a community of vagrants and outcasts, it was their policy to never turn away anyone in need. And even now, it was something she sincerely hoped they would not change. After all, no one, not even Duncan or Lady Zae had any way of knowing what kind of vile creature the trader would turn out to be.
But guilt or no, Senka had no intentions of being grounded to her tent while others were out looking for her sister. Taking advantage of the slight distance now between her and Duncan, she rose to her feet and dusted off her pants. “I don’t hate you Duncan,” she said, her quiet voice pulling their gazes back to her. “And I understand your concern… I really do. But she is my sister and I can’t just sit around here doing nothing while she is out there all alone.” Smiling apologetically, she shrugged her shoulders.
Realizing his mistake, Duncan leapt to his feet and reached out to take hold of her once again, but he was a too late. In the blink of an eye, she flashed across the room, snatched up her bow and quiver, and was preparing to flash away when suddenly Kral, another of the camp’s Shifters, came rushing into the tent.
“Sir! My Lady! We found the cart!”
Dressed in nothing but a loin cloth, with his dark skin drenched in sweat, Kral scanned the room, locking eyes with Duncan. “It’s just a few hours away from here.”
Upon hearing the news, Senka instantly forgot her plans to escape. “What about the girls?” she asked. Stepping forward, she grabbed ahold of Kral’s arm and forced his dark brown eyes to meet with hers. “What about my sister?”
Kral instantly paled, “S-senka, I didn’t realize you had returned.”
“My sister Kral, did you find my sister?”
Dropping his gaze, Kral shook his head. “No, the cart was abandoned.”
Releasing his arm, Senka covered her mouth, struggling to hold back the tears.
“What about their scent?” Duncan growled, “Did you track their scent?”
“The trader’s scent stops at the cart.” Kral sighed defeatedly. “I tried my hardest boss, I really did. But from there I got nothing, it’s like he just vanished into thin air.”
“A Jumper.” Instantly all eyes flew to Lady Zae. “The boy with Linus, I bet he was a Jumper. That’s how they managed to get away so fast without leaving a trail.”
“Yeah, that’s what we guessed too.” Kral agreed.
“But what about the girls’ scent.” Senka interrupted. “You said the trader’s scent vanished at the cart, but can you still track the girls?”
“Yeah, the trader must have met up with another cart and they took the girls. But even though their scent was faint, we managed to track them…” Suddenly unable to hold their gaze, Kral stared blankly at the floor. “But then we were forced to stop.”
“Stop?” Duncan growled. Charging forward, he halted only inches from the smaller man’s face. Kral wisely kept his head dropped in a submissive position, not daring to challenge the older male. “We are Shifters and there are children’s lives at stake! Only death should keep you from completing this task!”
“That’s just it sir.” Kral answered lowly. “Where they went we cannot go without risking us all being killed.”
Shock and understanding contorted Duncan’s face as he backed away from the young Shifter with a defeated look. Confused as to what had robbed him of his words, Senka stepped between them, pulling Kral’s attention back to her. “Where did they go Kral? Please, I need to know.”
Glancing first to Duncan for permission to continue, Kral released a ragged sigh. Staring back down at her, his dark brown eyes filled with sorrow. “They took her into Shifter territory young miss. They took her to Zerdanda.”