By the time darkness had completely swallowed the sky, thunder began to rumble in the distance. A light drizzle soon followed, gradually building into a relentless downpour.
A red Cadillac Eldorado pulled up outside the cottage, its headlights cutting through the curtain of rain. Behind the door, Per stood waiting. Moments later, Filbur and Zentur stepped inside, water dripping from their coats.
"She's here?" Filbur asked immediately.
Per gave a silent nod.
She led them into the living room. Cerro was sitting stiffly on the lone couch, his discomfort evident.
"I didn't ask for a doctor," Cerro remarked, looking at Per.
"We're here for something else," Filbur said. His gaze swept over Cerro's bruised and battered body. "...But judging by the way you look, I'd say you need one."
Per laughed softly. "Stay here. I'll get her." She slipped out of the room.
Filbur stepped closer. "You don't have to ask. Since I'm already here, let me take a look at those injuries."
Zentur lowered himself onto the long couch with a weary sigh. Cerro stole a glance at him. His shoulders were slumped, his gaze fixed on the floor, and an unsettling silence hung around him.
A few minutes later, Clair stepped into the living room. "What brings you here?" she asked.
Filbur looked up, but the moment his eyes fell on the bruises and cuts marking her body, his expression hardened with concern. He immediately rose from his seat. "You're injured too?" he asked. "What happened to both of you?"
Clair and Cerro exchanged a fleeting glance before she answered.
"Just a little game."
Filbur recognized the lie the moment it left her lips. The wounds covering both of them told a story far grimmer than any game. But he let it pass. They had come for something far more important.
Clair studied Zentur's troubled face for a moment before breaking the silence. "Where's Eifrit?"
The room fell still.
Filbur exhaled slowly. "That's the reason we're here," he said. "Eifrit has disappeared."
The room fell silent. Everyone looked at Filbur, except Zentur, who remained staring blankly at the floor.
"What do you mean she's disappeared?" Clair asked, concern written across her face.
"Four days ago, Eifrit headed to Istanbul to help defuse the escalating tensions among humans. We've been at this for a long time, striving to prevent wars between countries. However, on our last mission, Eifrit went alone. I followed after three days, but I lost contact with her along the way. When I arrived, our human companions informed me that she hadn't returned after scouting the grounds of the Sorigol District. I searched there, but found no sign of her... only this." Zentur revealed an arrow belonging to Eifrit. "And this," he added, placing a large, empty syringe made of silver metal on the table. "I believe something has happened to her," he declared, his voice filled with certainty as worries and anger mixed in his expression.
"I tried to get a sample from the syringe, but it was empty. Whatever had been inside was already injected," Filbur said disappointedly. "I reached out to the Fallens in the north and south, and they provided me with related information. There's a confirmed report detailing the disappearances of three other Fallens, all occurring just last year. In one of those cases, they also found a strange syringe."
"Does that mean somebody is hunting us?" Per asked, her voice filled with concern.
"That's what we're thinking too, but so far, nobody has any clue as to who the hunters might be," Filbur answered. "Two separate investigations are still ongoing to locate the victims and determine what happened to them, but there has been no further progress in the cases," he added.
YOU ARE READING
Divine & Wicked: The Strayed Memories (Book2)
Fantasy(Fantasy•Romance) COMPLETED Zach awoke a few days after his surgery, his mind foggy and his heart empty, as though his life had been reset. He moved through what he believed was his normal routine, unaware that fragments of a forgotten past were slo...
