Descendants of the Kings (Book 2)

51.3: Mules withstanding

"People have gone missing from our lands too," Ella said. "Strange events have been taking place, and we could never explain how they moved so quickly. This might just be the reason."

"It would explain why some areas of the forest suffered magical draining more than others," Aedion added.

"I didn't think of that," Gidden rubbed his forehead. "And the attacks on the patrol guards. It all makes sense."

"Is there a way of mapping how far these tunnels go?" Will asked. "Perhaps not the levels, but at least the length."

"Perhaps if we waited until the next summoning," Blaise said thoughtfully. When they all turned to him, he shrugged. "It's awful to think of it, but there will be a next summoning. They will not stop only because you foiled one of their attempts. But at least you can use it to help map the areas of highest magical draining. That might not give you an exact layout of their tunnels, but it will tell you where it reaches."

"That is true," Gidden said with a sigh. "I don't like it, but if we wait until the next summoning, we could map out high-concentration points."

"Is there nothing we can do until then?" Grayson asked. "Are we to wait until more villagers start disappearing?"

"What about the people who are already missing?" Will added. "Is there not a way to find them? Are they..?"

He let the notion hang in the air. Dead. He meant dead. Just like those bodies in the mass grave. Were they searching for corpses or people? What would they find if they eventually did find them?"

"I believe they are still alive," Ella said gently. "There is still a chance that they will be found. We are not giving up on that possibility. All we can do for now is keep searching."

"I wonder if they are being kept separate," Briar stated quietly. When everyone turned to her, she shifted in her seat. "I mean, it would not make sense to keep them all together. It would be difficult to control that many people, and if they were discovered, it would ruin their entire operation. It is more likely that they are all being kept in different locations. Perhaps close to where they do these... sacrifices. I wonder if that has to do with the location of the attacks."

Ella nodded at that, eyes twinkling. "You may be onto something there. Blaise, do you keep record of the demon attacks in different towns of Faerie?"

"Of course I do," Blaise sniffed as if offended she would even ask.

"Do you keep such records?" she asked Grayson.

Grayson took out a small folder and passed it across the table. "These were all added by Thomas, Cedric, Juliet and Will. As dissappearances are not reported in our Kingdom, it is much more difficult to document. We rely only on what people tell us."

"Most of the disappearances take place near the mountain range," Cedric added. "Which makes sense in hindsight--it's how they've been coming and going so easily. But there are a few spikes in activity that I think could be relevant."

Blaise perused the file and compared it to his own documents. "If I'm not mistaken, the dates line up quite well with disappearances in Faerie."

Gidden, who'd come up to stand behind Blaise to better see, hummed. "I don't have the dates, but I'm quite sure they may just line up with spikes of magical draining as well. I can have Ronan send you that information. He is the one who takes care of documenting unusual patrol occurrences."

"Do you think we might be able to find a pattern?" Willa asked hopefully. "A way to perhaps predict when they usually strike? It might help us better protect our people."