Page 55 of The Outcast
My gaze flew to Thor, who I considered a friend, but he didn’t flinch either. “Keith knows that he signed his death warrant when he kidnapped Sparrow. He might be naïve enough to think we won’t find them, but he’s well aware that the moment we do, he’s dead.”
I looked around the room seeing people talking among each other or making calls. Some were pacing, others stood like pale statues with grave faces.
“Did you eat?” Thor asked me.
“We had breakfast.”
“It’s close to three. Get some lunch.” With a nod to a platter with leftover sandwiches Thor patted my shoulder and walked past Indiana and Aubri. “You two as well. Fuel up and be ready to go at any moment.”
The hours of waiting felt excruciating. Aubri and I called and interviewed each of the Explorer candidates, asking them about anything Keith might have told them during our last week with him. None of the things they told us were helpful. Day turned to night and without saying it out loud, we all understood that for every hour Sparrow was missing, the chance of our finding her alive was decreasing. When one of Sparrow’s brothers sat against a wall, crying, we all looked on in sympathy, feeling the same sense of powerlessness within us.
It was close to midnight when Indiana, who sat next to me, touched my arm. “Who is Lord Khan talking to?” He was staring across the room at Khan, who stood with his arms crossed looking out the window. “I thought I heard him say that something was good news.”
My attention zoomed in on the ruler, and around us quiet conversations died out and the attention shifted to Khan.
“All right. Keep digging and let us know what you find.” When Khan turned around, the entire group of people in the room was already facing him, desperate for news. “That was Freya. It turns out that the reason there was no police report that came up during the vetting is that Keith changed his name. She found out by comparing his address to the tax information connected to his address. She said that she went through his financial transactions searching for income and found something interesting. Keith works as a caretaker of a number of hunting cabins spread out across Alaska. The cabins are owned by a man who lives on the East Coast.”
We all listened with rapt attention.
“Freya is tracking down the owner to get a hold of the addresses because Sparrow might be held captive in one of those cabins.”
“That makes perfect sense,” Solomon said. “It’s not hunting season and the cabins would be empty.”
Excited chatter broke out among us as we speculated over how many cabins we were talking about and how fast we could track down the owner.
“Do we have the name of the owner?” I asked.
“Yes. Freya already spoke to Raven and we have police trying to locate him as we speak.”
The next hours were a rollercoaster of emotions. First the police tracked down the man’s address. Then they reported that he wasn’t home. We waited until three in the morning, when we learned that he was rumored to be on a business trip in Freeman, the capital of the Northlands. But without an address or name of a hotel it was like searching for a needle in a haystack. It was seven in the morning before the owner of the cabins contacted the police.
When Raven called us with information, none of us had slept for twenty-four hours. We were a miserable bunch with dark circles under our eyes and longer stubble and beards than when we began this search. Khan allowed us all to hear on speaker when he spoke to Raven.
“How many cabins are there?”
“Twenty-two, spread over a vast area. I’m sending through a list of locations to all of you.”
Khan squared his shoulders. “Good. We’ll go to each of the cabins in teams.”
“Yes, Lord. I already dispatched police to cabin one, two, and three. The Alaskan police force is small so they can’t cover all the cabins.”
“My Huntsmen can help,” Mason declared.
“So can we. What are we waiting for? Let’s go!” I exclaimed.
Khan held up a hand. “I’m going to send you out in groups. If the cabin you get to is empty call Raven and she’ll assign you a new one. Police are covering the first three cabins on the list. Mason, send the Huntsmen to search the next three, and then Archer, Ryder, and Aspen will go to cabin number seven. Magni, Mason, and Laura will go to cabin number eight. Boulder and Jones, you’ll take cabin nine. Thor and I will take cabin ten, while Aubri, Indiana, and Banni will head for cabin eleven. Understood?”
Confirmations were given all around and then we crammed into the doorway to get out fast, spreading out in drones and taking off.
“We’ll find Sparrow,” Indiana said with conviction. “I know we will.”
Aubri’s foot was tapping on the floor and with impatience she asked the navigation system of the Black Ghost, “How long will it take until we reach our destination?”
“Arrival will be in forty-three minutes,” a female voice responded in a matter-of-fact tone.
My stomach made a loud noise reminding me that I hadn’t eaten breakfast, but I ignored my hunger.
After twenty minutes of flying Christina called Indiana.
