The Lost War (Hectic Series: Book One)

Chapter 12

Oliver faltered as he walked through the door to Kim's room and found her bed empty.
Confused, he let his gaze drift around the room for a moment.
Her wing had nearly been torn off, it's not like she would have decided to go for a nice little stroll. Well, knowing Kim she probably would have-she was always determined like that-but still.
He hadn't passed her in the main hall, so he assumed she must have taken a secret passage that only she knew about.
But then again why would she? Those passages were only for emergency and the occasional midnight snack in the kitchens.
So he was left with only two options: she either jumped out of the window to her death or simply atomized into thin air, neither of which were very logical.
So where was she? He'd left for all of two minutes and suddenly she was M.I.A.
Turning around, he walked back down the hall with Dex at his side while anxiety blazed throughout his nerves.
He smiled at the maids and waved to the soldiers with his usual calm demeanor, which somehow made it worse.
Kim was missing. She could be almost dead.
Something was very, very wrong.
He found the healer coming back to give Kim her medication.
Oliver grabbed him by the shoulders. "Where's the Empress?"
The healer looked at him quizzically. "...in her bed, presumably. I was just coming-"
"No she's not! She's gone!" Oliver spun around and raced back down the hall.
The kitchens.
Mary would know. She'd been taking care of Kim.
He suddenly stopped dead in his tracks.
Mary.
He took off running.
"Where's the Head Chef?" He yelled when he crashed through the kitchen doors.
No one answered him. Instead they stood there, staring like brain-dead fools.
"Where is she?"
There were a few mumbles as the cooks conversed with each other, and then a long silence that told Oliver he was not going to be getting an answer anytime soon.
Once again he went running down the hall, but this time he careened into Queen Riley's room.
She jumped up from where she was sitting on the bed. "Oliver! Hello-"
"The Empress," he gasped, "she-she's gone. I think Mary-the chef- I think she might have-"
"Relax," she said, "I don't know what you're saying."
He took a break and tried again. "Kim, while I was telling the councils to get ready to evacuate, went missing. I think Mary, the Head Chef, might have taken her."
She sat him down on the bed. "Now why would you think that?"
"I've no idea where else she would have gone. After nearly being de-winged would you decide to wander around?"
A look of unease settled on the Queen's face. "But why Mary? What would she have against Kim?"
Oliver shook his head. "No idea. She'd been getting strangely friendly with Kim, making sure she had medicine and food while she was sick and all that." He arched an eyebrow. "Does that sound like the way a normal person would treat a Hectic, let alone the Empress?"
"Oh, no," she said, "you're right. We need to...but where would she have taken her? And how did she escape?"
Oliver settled into deep thought for a few moments. "I remember Kim saying something about  Max Carver, and how he left. He had some sort of pendant on a necklace and said a prayer, and then he just...vanished. Do you think Mary could have been allied with the demons?"
Riley was already racing out the door. "It's looking like a good possibility. The Councils will evacuate tonight, you tell the soldiers to...go do something to keep them occupied. Where's the Lieutenant?"
They found him a few miles outside of town, in the training camp. This time Oliver had no qualms about flying on a Wryvex.
Lieutenant Brian Mager listened as Oliver reiterated the entire story, and by the way he turned and started barking orders Oliver could tell the situation wasn't good.
"If it's any consolation," Brian whispered to Oliver, "we're going through the soldier's belongings to weed out any spies. And I'm not one of them, just for the record. I'm going to send out a team to scout the area."
Oliver offered him a small smile.
It wasn't really any consolation at all.
Mary was far gone by now, he knew. Despite the lack of concrete evidence, something was telling him that Kim had been taken to the demons.
Kim's suspicions about them were certainly proven correct.
Later that night, after word had spread that the Empress was missing and the people of Carrain informed of the situation and warned to stay in their houses, Oliver sent the soldiers guarding the West Wing out for a drink.
He was surprised at how quick people were to listen to him. He certainly had no political authority to be using. 
Maybe being friends with members of both councils had something to do with it.
He let Queen Riley lead the councils through the escape passage in Kim's room. No one else knew about it, so it was bound to be safe.
The Hectics all took to the sky, and the Kings and Queens were led away in their chariots.
Once they were gone Oliver sat in Kim's room with Dex curled on his lap and one thought ringing through his head.
The Empress was gone and the war had begun.