Chapter 46
Lochlan
“A CONCERNING UPTICK IN DUCK ACTIVITY—SHOULD WE BE WORRIED?” —THE STELLA RUNE GAZETTE
Eight hours.
Eight agonizing hours, and still no sign of Nia or Jade.
Lochlan paced the length of the living room with his phone clutched in one hand. His brother was on the way, but the train would take hours—hours Lochlan didn’t know if they had.
Thane had answered on the first ring, his voice bright with excitement. “Hey little brother! Are you coming to—”
“Thane.” Lochlan had barely managed to choke out his brother’s name.
Thane’s tone had shifted instantly, somber and intense. “What happened?”
“Nia and Jade are gone.” Lochlan had gripped the phone tighter, voice raw. “I think they were taken.”
Silence. A heartbeat. Then—
“I’m on my way.”
And the line had gone dead.
Lochlan glanced over his shoulder at Ivy and Becket, both seated at the dining table with their laptops open.
Their screens cast pale lights over their faces, each focused, though Lochlan had no idea what they were working on.
Searching, tracking, hacking—whatever it was, it wasn’t happening fast enough.
The tension in the room was suffocating.
Helen and Jimmy from the bookstore were out canvassing streets and alleyways, asking anyone and everyone in town if they’d seen Nia and Jade. Natasha and the other goblins were searching the tunnels and canal, hoping to find any clues as to where they’d gone.
But Lochlan knew they wouldn’t find Nia. Not like that.
He didn’t know who had her, or why, but his gut told him the truth he didn’t want to face.
Nia had been taken, and Jade had either been kidnapped with her, or managed to escape during the fight.
The thought of Jade running scared through the streets—or worse, lying hurt somewhere—made his chest tighten painfully. And Nia…
He couldn’t finish that thought.
Wulfric and the Videt were doing their part, working with magic Lochlan didn’t pretend to understand. Wulfric’s frustration was razor-sharp, his scowl deepening with every passing minute. “It’s useless,” he growled, making Ivy glance up. “The block is still there. I can’t see her thoughts at all.”
They were trying everything—spells, tools, methods Lochlan didn’t have words for. But none of it was working. Every failed attempt felt like another weight pressing down on him.
The front door burst open. Lochlan turned, his heart leaping at the thought of Nia walking through that door. But it wasn’t her.
It was Thane.
Dressed in all black, he strode inside with a large bag slung over one shoulder. Echo padded in beside him, his sleek black shepherd’s head low as he sniffed the floor.
Without a word, Thane dropped his bag on the counter and pulled Lochlan into an embrace. Lochlan closed his eyes for a moment, letting his brother’s steadiness anchor him.
Thane pulled back, one hand firm on his shoulder as he met Lochlan’s gaze.
“Tell me everything.”
Lochlan hesitated, his shoulders slumping slightly. “I was a fool,” he admitted, running a hand through his hair. “I left her when she was upset. After what I’d done—”
“Logistics, Lochlan,” Thane interrupted, his tone cutting off the spiral of guilt.
Lochlan exhaled, dragging his focus back to the facts. “I left here around nine this morning,” he began. “About twenty minutes later, the ducks found me and brought me back home.”
Thane gave him a look, one brow lifting.
Lochlan sighed. “Logistics.”
Thane nodded, motioning for him to continue.
“When I got back, there was a smell in the air,” Lochlan said, his voice tightening. “And an empty canister of what we think was a sleep-inducing substance. The house was a mess, and Nia and Jade were gone.”
Becket looked up from his laptop, his expression grim. “We asked the neighbors if they’d seen anything, but no one has come forward.”
Across the room, Ivy began to pace, her hands twisting nervously. “What if it was someone she… you know.” Her voice trailed off, leaving the rest unspoken.
Lochlan dragged a hand down his face but nodded. “It could be.”
Thane glanced at him sharply. “What?”
“There was a man,” he said, his voice tight with anger and regret. “I’ve seen him once before, but the other afternoon, he was watching us. Nia said it was nothing. But he’d threatened her before, yelled at her, in her office.”
“So it was something,” Thane said. “Who is he?”
“I’m not sure,” Lochlan admitted, raking a hand through his hair. “But I think she coerced him into giving money to some charity.”
He’d tried to remember, but if Nia had mentioned the name of the organization the purple-faced man was supposed to donate to when they’d argued in her office, he couldn’t remember it through the haze of stress and panic.
“I wonder…” Ivy’s fingers flew over her keyboard as she searched.
Her movements were frantic, her breath coming faster.
“Nia put a note in here, but we don’t have any record of receiving the funds and—” She froze, her eyes widening as she looked up.
“Wait. The man who threatened Nia. Was he a big guy?”
Lochlan nodded, his brow furrowed. “Yes?”
Becket leaned back in his chair, his expression thoughtful. “You think it’s the same man who came up to you at the autumn festival?”
Ivy snapped her fingers. “Yeah, I bet that’s him! He said he wouldn’t be donating, which I didn’t really think was strange. People back out all the time. But he looked really unhappy—maybe even angry—about it.”
The room fell into a tense silence as the pieces slowly came together.
“But who is he?” Lochlan demanded.
Ivy shrugged helplessly, her eyes darting back to her laptop.
Before Lochlan could press further, Wulfric’s growl of frustration cut through the room like a thunderclap. They all turned to see him gripping the elder—the same one Lochlan had interrupted earlier that day—shaking him with barely restrained fury as the man attempted to scry for Nia.
“I’m trying!” the elder yelped.
“Try harder!” Wulfric roared. The lights flickered violently, casting long, sharp shadows as his anger radiated through the room. “You fucking bird brain!”
“Yes, birds!” The elder flinched, his eyes wide with panic. “All I see is chickens, thousands of them!”
Ivy gasped, rushing forward to stand between the elder and Wulfric, who was towering over the older man in a state of rage. “Chickens?” She grabbed the elder’s hand. “Do you see a farm?”
The elder hesitated, glancing nervously at Wulfric, who stood seething behind her. Finally, he nodded.
Ivy turned to Lochlan and Thane. “Jackson Runner. He’s the CEO of a poultry distribution company. Nia was talking to him the night of Mabon. He didn’t look very happy, either.”
Thane was already at his laptop, his brows knit in concentration. “Runner Enterprises has a facility that houses chickens in the farmland just outside Stella Rune,” he said. He pulled out his phone, pressed a button, and began speaking. “Alpha team, rally at thirteen Perseverance Lane.”
A voice on the other end of the line responded, though Lochlan couldn’t make out the words.
Thane checked his watch, his tone hardening. “Make it ten minutes. I’ll be there in twelve. I expect the team ready for extraction upon my arrival. I’ll send instructions en route.”
He put down the phone and turned back to his laptop. Across the room, Wulfric’s guards were also on their phones, their low voices an undercurrent in the tense atmosphere.
One of them ended his call and looked up, his expression firm. “We will handle this.”
Thane didn’t even look up from his screen. “Are you trained in kidnapping extractions?”
The guard hesitated. “Er…”
Wulfric cursed under his breath.
Another guard stepped forward. “We’re trained to protect against magical attacks.”
“Great,” Thane said dryly, flipping the screen of his laptop. With a swift motion, it transformed into an improbably sleek, streamlined tablet. He tapped at it quickly before snapping the protective case into place. “You can be my anti-magic insurance. Stay behind me and out of my way.”
Ivy blinked at the device, her mouth falling open slightly. “Witchcraft?”
Thane gave her a quick wink as his fingers flew over its surface. “No, miss. Just good old technology.”
Becket raised an eyebrow. “Right. We all agree Thane’s hot and mysterious. Can we stay focused for five seconds?”
Ivy stuck her tongue out at him.
Before either of them could respond, Lochlan spoke. “I’m going with you.”
“No,” Thane replied flatly, not even looking up.
“You think I’m just going to sit here?” Lochlan snapped, stepping closer, his frustration boiling over.
“You aren’t trained.” Thane said, his attention fixed on a detailed map.
His fingers moved rapidly across the surface, zooming in on the warehouse and the surrounding terrain.
“This place is out in the sticks,” he said, his voice clipped.
“Only one way in by road, and if they’re smart, they’ve got eyes on it.
We’ll go through the back farm on foot.” His gaze flicked to the guards, his tone dry. “Hope you don’t mind some cow patties”
Lochlan stepped closer, his jaw tight. “I’m going.”
Thane glanced at him sidelong, his expression unreadable. After a beat, he sighed. “Fine. But stay close to me or Echo, and follow my lead. No heroics.” He turned back to his tablet, his voice lowering. “I’ve done this before. You haven’t. If you come, I need to know you’ll follow orders.”
Lochlan bristled at Thane’s words but held his tongue.
Thane’s attention was back on the tablet. “We’ve got nine minutes before my people are in place. The guards can handle any magical interference, and Echo’s trained to sniff out anyone or anything hiding along the approach path.”
At the sound of his name, the sleek black shepherd let out a low bark, his ears perking up as his tail wagged in a subtle but eager display of readiness.
Lochlan hoped Echo could help them track down Jade, too.
Thane shut the tablet with a decisive click and grabbed his gear, slinging the pack over his shoulder. Confidence Lochlan found himself envying in that moment radiated off his brother like heat.
“Move out,” he commanded, heading for the door. “We’re not leaving her in there a second longer than we have to.”