October 21, 2002 – 03:15
Coralis stood near the edge of the highest rooftop of the school building. She pulled her hologram out to reach out to Sebastian. She knew Frank wouldn't be sleeping and that he wanted her to call him when she had a chance. She decided to call him after she spoke to Sebastian and Lizzy.
Sebastian was about to answer Linda about what exactly they were doing for a living when he felt his hologram vibrating.
"It must be Coralis," he said. Lizzy stopped pacing. He answered it and Coralis's holographic image came out of it. "Before you say anything, you need to know that Louis and Linda were there when I arrived with Stephanie. I didn't know how to explain how you'd be at the school already or our method of communication, so uh, now they know about us."
"WHAT?"
Sebastian turned around and rotated his hologram so she could see who was with him. Louis was amazed by what he saw above the device that Sebastian was holding. Coralis saw Lizzy next to Sebastian.
"Did you find her? Is my ex the one who took her?"
"Not yet, but I know which direction to go next. Her father isn't the one who took her, but he is involved. I spoke with her friends, the school principal, some of the school administrators and a lot of staff members. I woke up a lot of people. I found out that her father sent her a few letters over the past 2 weeks and that she wanted to tell me, but for some reason, the school administrators forbid her to do so."
"Are you serious? That's against our laws, they aren't allowed to stop her from communicating with you, especially considering how the CMMA appointed you as guardian," said Sebastian.
"Yes, I am dead serious. When I got here, I ran against their wards, so a staff member might be involved, but the school claims that it's impossible and thinks she left on her own."
"There is no way she would have done that, no matter what he said in his letters," said Lizzy.
"You don't think she left on her own?" said Sebastian.
"No, I don't think she did. Her stick was still in her room and she didn't learn transformation yet. Whoever took her passed through her dorm's window. There was a lot of energy signature lingering around, which didn't quite match Audrey's. I also found out that a certain Pier Glozo enrolled Audrey at WES back in January."
"That's her father's full name, right?" said Louis.
"Yes, that's her father," said Lizzy.
"I followed the trail of lingering energy to a tunnel entrance deep in the back wood that was heavily warded. I think that the janitor is hiding something, but there is no point in forcing my way into his mind to find out what he knows because he'll just make me see what he wants me to see."
"Who do you think took my baby?"
"I think she did have a guardian appointed by her father, and that whoever it is, most likely a relative, is the one who took her. However, when he enrolled her, no guardian name was mentioned on the documents he sent."
"It doesn't matter if she had one, it got dissolved the moment you let your blood drip on the parchment the CMMA sent you," said Sebastian.
"Correct, but it seems people at her school didn't get that memo. After I call Frank to update him, I will head back to the tunnel entrance and have the school let me pass through if I can't override the wards protecting it, to see where it leads. If Lizzy is still up, I'll pass by her place when I'm done here or call back if it leads me to Audrey."
"I'll be up, please come whenever."
"There is no way any of us will be able to sleep," said Molly.
"I work in the morning, but I can leave from here," said Linda.
"I need to inform the CMMA about this. You should have known the moment she received a first letter from her father, given the situation," said Sebastian.
"Please do so. I wanted to do it myself, but I need to find out where that tunnel leads first and gather as much information as I possibly can, so I have no idea when I'll be able to call them. Please check also for updates on her original guardian and her father's family."
"They didn't tell you? The agents who met with us said they'd tell you about anything they find about him," said Molly.
"I'll go home to grab some stuff and I'll be right back, I can work from here tomorrow," said Louis.
"Haven't heard from them in a while. If his family is involved with unregistered witches, it'd be like a goose chase to find anything on him, so they probably won't have anything new to tell me. Sebastian is right, they need to know about what happened tonight."
Sebastian convinced the Hudsons to try to get some rest. Coralis called Frank to let him know about what she found out and told him her plans.
"I have an exam in the morning, but I should be out around 9. I'll head to Lizzy's as soon as I'm done."
Coralis slid her hologram into her cloak and took off toward the tunnel entrance. She sat on her knees and deposited her stick next to her on the ground. She put her hands on the ground and closed her eyes. She released a small amount of energy to gauge the wards surrounding the tunnel entrance. They weren't part of those protecting the school territory.
She opened her eyes and got back up. She shrunk her stick back into a keychain and shoved it into her cloak. She took two steps forward and raised her hands in the air, palms facing the sky, and looked straight in front of her. Tree leaves ruffled and she felt something in the air dissipating. She lowered her right hand next to her and reached out in front of her with her left hand. She could pass it through.
As soon as she entered the tunnel, she stopped feeling the lingering energy that led her there. She released a small amount of energy to try to get a feel of the type of magic present in the tunnel.
The tunnel led to the basement of a blood den located a few kilometres south of the school. She found two young human males in their early twenties locked in cages, no one else was around. They looked weak, but they were awake.
"Have you seen a 10-year-old girl walking through here with an adult?"
"We did, yes, a few hours ago. The girl was asleep or unconscious, I'm not sure. The man was carrying her in his arms, but she didn't seem awake."
"Can you please describe him to me?" said Coralis while reaching out for the padlock on the cage. "I will let you out if you're here against your will."
A few hours later, she rang Lizzy's doorbell and Sebastian answered immediately. She had some blood stains on her cloak. Coralis walked in and saw Lizzy walking out of the kitchen with puffy eyes. Her siblings followed her out of the kitchen. Coralis could tell that none of them slept.
"Did you find my baby?"
"Not yet, but I have a description of the man who took her and found out the type of shit her father's family was involved in. I need to go to Chicago to inquire about something, and I'll be back with an address to raid and search. It probably won't be where Audrey is, but someone there will know something."
"Chicago? I take that vampires are involved? I'd say you clearly ran into vampires, judging by your cloak," said Sebastian.
"Yes. I overrode the wards protecting the tunnel and followed it. Coven witches spelled that tunnel to purge any energy signature entering it, so the energy trail ended there. However, it led me to the cell area of a blood den, which was also spelled to dissolve lingering energy signatures. I questioned and released two human prisoners, killed some vampires guarding the main floor, burned the place down and took the prisoners home."
"Now I see why my sister insisted on not calling the cops. Sebastian explained to us the situation and what you are… but damn, in less than 12 hours from her disappearance, you have made more progress than the police would have made had we called them," said Louis.
"The cops would probably have told us to call them back 24 hours after she went missing, or something like that, or more if the school thinks she left on her own," said Linda.
"High Mage Finnas called me shortly after I spoke with the Family Affairs department. He wants us to keep him updated on the situation and said he'll have the school investigated. He doesn't understand why they prevented Audrey from reaching out to you when she started receiving letters from her father."
Meanwhile, somewhere north of Timmins, Mousse Glozo was watching the security tapes sent to her by a friend. She pressed on her hologram.
"Mind to tell me why Blue Thunder is on your trail?"
"I don't know why Blue Thunder would be after me, Aunty, but I'm not worried. If she can't follow my energy signature, she can't find me."