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“I know,” he whispers.
“When Patrice realized Alex’s talent, she tried to find more?” Micah puts the puzzle pieces together.
“That bitch planned the entire thing,” Amelia says, moving to the middle of the room. “No wonder she welcomed you into the group so readily.” She nods toward me. “She planned the whole damn thing, down to the death of the chained children.”
“Patrice wanted us to kill the children?” Alex looks around our small group. “She wouldn’t do that, would she?” Alex wipes tears from his eyes.
“I’m sorry, Alex. I think she would.” I pull him close. “I don’t think she was alone,” I whisper.
“Elijah?” Thorne asks.
I shake my head slowly. “I smelled sulfur at the church.”
“Shit!” Thorne slams his hand down on the desk. “You just now thought to say something?” His words are angry—a side of him I haven’t witnessed before.
“What does that mean?” Fran asks, looking between the two of us.
“Kragen,” Amelia answers.
“Or Marnie,” I interrupt.
Fran crosses her arms across her chest. “I hear the names you’re saying, but I have no clue who thesepeople are. Who are Kragen and Marnie, and why would they be helping Patrice?”
“Kragen is the pirate who took me from Thorne’s ship three hundred years ago. Marnie is his daughter.” I refuse to look at Thorne as I speak.
“And?” Fran persists. “What does that have to do with all of this?”
“Kragen is a sadistic asshole, and his daughter is half goddess,” Thorne answers like his words are common knowledge.
Fran stares at our group, no doubt letting Thorne’s words sink in. “Is that the plot of a fantasy book, or are you being serious?”
Amelia scoffs. “I’m afraid it’s real. The sulfur smell is associated with the two of them.” She makes eye contact with me. “And Elsie.”
“Who was at the church before me, Alex?” I turn to the small boy.
“I never saw anyone at the church, but there was someone at the house that smelled like you. She had dark hair and eyes.”
“What was her name?” Thorne insists.
Alex shrugs. “I don’t know. I only saw her once.” He looks at his hand. “She was a vampire. That’s all I know.”
Fran sits on the edge of Topher’s desk. “It looks like there’s more at play here than we thought.” Short arms cross in front of her chest. “We need to find the girls and Patrice. The rest will fall in place from there.”
“Agreed,” I add. “Stopping Patrice is the first priority. We can’t allow her to do this to more children. Kragen and Marnie or whoever the hell is helping her will be next.”
“Elsie’s right.” Fran turns toward Amelia. “We could always call the council.”
Topher sighs. “Do we want to involve the council? We all remember that whole fiasco.”
“No,” Amelia answers simply. “I say we go to the warehouse and see what we find.”
“Are we just going to pull up in front like some sort of paranormal X-men?” Luna asks. “I mean, I’m okay with that, but we need costumes.” She smiles, helping relax the tension in the room slightly.
Twenty minutes later, we’re sitting in front of the building from Fran’s picture. I send my energy through the dilapidated structure, feeling nothing human or inhuman. I have no doubt that everyone in this vehicle has already done the same.
“I feel nothing,” Amelia says, confirming my suspicion.
“Aye, neither do I,” Thorne agrees.
