Chapter 44
forty-four
Kit
Kit returned from yet another fruitless day of searching, his heart heavy.
The enforcers were close to diminishing the number of resources they’d given to the case, and not even Mary’s impassioned arguments could sway them to keep the pace up.
The vampyres in the Underground were all either in hiding or had already been questioned about the van they’d found at the edge of town close to a manhole.
A manhole that led directly to the most complex tunnels the Underground had to offer.
Worst of all, the backpack they’d found had had no DNA on it, so a magical tracker couldn’t be deployed yet.
It was starting to look hopeless, but Kit refused to give up. Ten children didn’t just go missing without due cause. Perhaps they were looking in the wrong direction.
All those thoughts circled in his head uselessly as he knocked on apartment -651’s door. No answer. His heart sped up. Gentry always answered the door, her beautiful face lit up at the sight of him. It was the one bright spot of his day. She was his one bright spot.
Wasting no time, Kit disengaged the wards and practically threw himself through the door. He instantly spotted the small woman on the floor, her eyes open and her pupils flickering up erratically in her skull.
“Gentry!” He knelt down by her, his heart in his throat. It almost looked like she was having a seizure, her limbs trembling slightly. He pressed a hand to her forehead and felt even more alarm when it felt warmer than even his skin. Magic. There had to be magic involved.
But if it was, it was unlike any he’d ever seen on a magic-less person. There were no strings or paths he could sense attaching her to a magic user. Rather, it was coming from inside her.
Drayer Netherton. It had to be that bastard.
All Kit could think to do was wet a cloth and press it to Gentry’s forehead to cool her off. He was just thinking of picking her up and running her to a healer when her shaking ceased. Then she opened her beautiful eyes at him.
“Kit?” she croaked.
He helped her sit up. “Yes, it’s me. What happened?” He wasn’t sure if he quite managed to keep the savage tone out of his voice. Gentry always balked when he showed any negative emotion. Always thought it was directed at her. Stupid girl.
Gentry’s eyes shone with fear. “Amelia. We have to save Amelia.”