Page 17 of In the Dark

“Has there been any word?” Orestes asked her. “On the Cavaldi girls?”

Kelsi shook her head until hair obscured her face. “No, sir. Nothing yet.”

Orestes continued to drum his fingers in a harsh tattoo. “How is it possible,” he began slowly, “for three women to disappear in the blink of an eye without even a hint of their whereabouts? Not an inkling as to where they went?”

When the girl did not answer, Orestes slammed his hand down and jostled several items on his desk. Kelsi jumped and he felt a rush of elation at her reaction. “Tell me!”

“I don’t know, sir!” she squeaked timidly. “No one has seen or heard anything, but we have witches and wizards looking around the clock. We have everyone at your disposal doing their jobs.”

“I need them found. Immediately.” Orestes’s hand vised around a cup of water and threatened the integrity of the glass. He kept his powers firmly in check, preferring to first rely on physical intimidation.

“We’re looking, sir. It’s difficult to—” Kelsi shut her mouth, realizing immediately that talking back was not the correct response.

Orestes narrowed his eyes, called on his gifts. His magic subtly crackled in the air around him. “What did you say?”

“Nothing.” She vehemently shook her head until it threatened to fall off her shoulders.

“It sounded as though you were on the verge of telling me how hard it is to find three young girls with significant magical signatures. It sounded as though you were complaining at the duty you’ve been tasked. Am I correct?”

Kelsi opened her mouth to respond and shut it again for risk of saying the wrong thing.

“You will double the manpower searching for the Cavaldi girls. I want every able-bodied person under my command utilizing their strengths. Put them on the streets. Find them.”

“We’re already working our hardest,” his assistant protested, although meekly.

“Work harder. They need to be found. I won’t rest until I have them in custody. They need to pay for what they’ve done, what they dabble with.”

A sly voice came to life inside of Orestes, urging him to do what was necessary. It whispered to him of the glory to be gained once the Cavaldi empire fell. What admiration would be his for exposing those girls as the cause of the destruction once the veil broke apart for good. He thought of the admiration and praise to come, once he drew the Harbinger witch to his side, the one witch with the power to restore balance. To further his agenda. It was the same voice that had spoken to Herodotos, the voice that had brought the two of them together.

Orestes smiled slyly. “Find them and bring them to me. Draw them out if you must,” he demanded.

At his own words, an idea sprang to life in his head. The seeds of it grew and blossomed until Orestes knew exactly what he needed to do.

“Use any force necessary to get them here.”

His assistant hesitated only a moment longer before shooting him a final, curt nod. “Yes, sir.”

The Niagara earth elemental would have to wait, although Orestes knew the man would be dealt with harshly. There were certain steps to take, pieces to move on the great chess board before everything could fall in line.

He leaned back in his chair with steepled hands and ice creeping along his heart. Yes, he knew exactly what needed to be done. Now to put it in place…

**

Karsia woke hours later, collapsed on the side of the road and throat sore from screeching. Blood lined her hands where her nails had dug into the ground and cracked. The wounds were already healing.

She sat up with an aching back and no memory of her actions the previous night. Except for Morgan, his slow smile and odd gray eyes.

“Morgan,” she groused, pushing to her feet. Frost crept along the ground and the threat of snow hung heavy in the air.

Karsia no longer felt the cold. She cracked her knuckles to work the blood back to her blue fingers, shook ice from her hair, and peered at her surroundings.

She’d run far. That was her first thought. Gone was the small city with quaint buildings and focus centered on the college. Here, there were fields quiet with lack of activity. Trees bare of leaves creaked in the wind, branches reaching out like arms. The sun slumbered and wouldn’t rise for hours.

She wiped the remaining blood on her pants. Black was a good choice. It was much better at hiding stains. A hard lesson to learn, after her first few times blacking out and waking up with odd, unidentifiable pigments dotting her clothes and skin. No recollection of why, or how, or what.

She turned back the way she’d come, surprised no one had driven by and tried to help her. Night hid all manner of sins, she thought, stretching her legs.

When she first jumped in front of the bolt and darkness grew inside of her, Karsia half expected to sprout claws and become the monster. The stuff of nightmares and stories to scare children into behaving. It took time to realize malevolence was more human than anything else. Evil could be deliberately hurting someone. It could be physical violence. It could be a gunshot, or an ill-timed word, a lie or a stolen trinket or a refusal to help someone in need. It was any dark deed stemming from a place of selfishness.

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