The Siren's Voice Calls

Chapter 31

-Peter's POV-

When we arrived at the airport in Inverness, we rented a vehicle and were given directions to the nearest hotel. The sun was just setting when we stepped outside. Sebastian called Nicolae while we were on the way to the hotel to have us meet up with them at the Castle Tavern once we settled in our hotel room. The three of us dropped our bags off in the room and immediately left to head our way to the tavern. Once we arrived, I saw a few of Marco's men standing around outside the entrance. I recognized them as some of the wolves who we fought with against the small unit of Templars. They nodded their heads in greeting as we approached. "Marco and the others, they're already inside," one of them stated without looking our way. As we entered, we saw the place was crowded. Sitting in a rounded booth in the back corner was Sebastian, Marco, Ludovica, and Luca.

As soon as he looked up to see us stepping through the front door, Sebastian waved us over. My brothers and I then moved through the crowded tables and sat down along with him and the others. "Can I get any of you a drink?" "What are you having?" I asked. Sebastian spoke up, answering, "The whiskey here is excellent!" We agreed to have what was served to them. The barmaid came by to give the four of them their plate of food they ordered before we showed up. She turned to us and asked Nicolae, Drogo, and me if we wanted to order any food. We kindly declined the offer, saying we weren't hungry at the time. Once she left, we began to discuss our plan to infiltrate the shifters' hideout and rescue Lydia. Sebastian pulled out a map to help guide us with pinpointing the location. It was the same map Sarah used to find Lydia with the more powerful locator spell.

A few nights prior to leaving, we called Sarah to come over to the manor since we had more information to share. Sebastian was there as well. She brought everything she needed to confirm Lydia was overseas with a worldwide spell. She spoke the words 'Le six ce strul no cruv' three times. Sure enough, the pendulum set up with a tripod on the table pointed toward Scotland on the map. Sarah took down the large device and replaced the world map with one of just Scotland that we acquired. With her handheld pendulum dangling over the map, she chanted the words 'Vitto Brosche. Tarem Car. Manifesto Fen.' It was a more advanced spell that she wasn't used to casting, but she managed to pull it off. The pendulum pointed toward an area north of Inverness. Though it could not pinpoint the exact location, it was enough. Sarah said she wished she could join us in the fight, but the locator spell was all she was allowed to do. I thanked her for her assistance and told her we would inform her the moment we had Lydia.

Bringing my mind back to reality, I caught Marco stating he could have a couple of his men scout out the mountain range to find which cave it was where Lydia was being held captive. "We will have to be careful and remain hidden, of course," he ended with. "Right. We do not want to alert them to our presence and take off to hide elsewhere or do something to Lydia as a result of their panic," Nicolae replied. Everyone had finished their drinks, so Sebastian offered to go up to the bar to order more and I offered to go with him. At the counter, Sebastian waved down the bartender and asked her for another round for the seven of us. While we waited, I spoke to Sebastian in a low voice, asking, "How many caves are there? We cannot waste any time to find Lydia. The longer she is with them, the more danger she is in." "I know, Peter. I completely agree with you. Perhaps we could split up to cover more ground in search of her. It must be a remote location and not one the public tourism goes through."

"Beggin' yer pardon, but I couldna 'elp overhearin' ye," the female bartender said to us. Both of us turned our heads toward her in surprise. "I'm sorry, what?" Sebastian asked her. Leaning in closer to him, she kept her voice down and said, "Ye mentioned a cave an' a lass named Lydia, aye?" "Yes, do you know something about it?" I asked with a glimmer of hope. She looked around and then answered, "Aye, but not 'ere. Grab yer friends an' follow me tae the back." We immediately stood up and walked back to the booth to let everyone know. They stood and joined us in following the woman to the back area, which was off limits to customers. We were allowed to pass the barrier when we approached. At the end of a hallway was a staircase going downwards. Soon we came to a room with a long table set up in the middle where many men and women dressed in robes were gathered.