Page 89 of Destined for Shadows
Chapter 27
Bartol
Thirty-six hours had passed since they’d discovered Cori had gone missing, and they were no closer to finding her. Bartol was in a near state of panic at this point. Through the bond, he’d felt his mate suffering and her hope fading. Griff had been hurting her in agonizing ways that would surely kill her if he didn’t stop soon.
The previous night, Bartol had been reduced to curling into a ball, unable to do anything except ride the pain with Cori and try futilely to reach out to her. According to Lucas and Melena, the bond shouldn’t have been strong enough yet for him to experience her pain while conscious, which led them to believe the situation had to be quite bad if he did. He only wished he’d forged an even stronger connection so that he could find her.
For now, the agony had stopped, but the vampire would be awake again soon.
Bartol rode in the passenger seat of Emily’s red Hummer, drumming his fingers on the armrest as he scanned the roadside. He knew he wouldn’t find Griff or Cori standing there just waiting to be found, but he needed to do something. Tormod was in the backseat watching the roads just as closely. The nerou had been deeply upset when he found out what happened and insisted on riding along with Bartol and Emily during the search. Lucas and Melena formed their own team, and there were more than a dozen other groups scouring the area as well. It was a mystery how they had not discovered Griff yet.
“Still not picking up anything,” Emily said, frustration on her face.
Bartol pointed up ahead to a narrow dirt road they’d missed when they traveled this way earlier. “Turn there. It should get us to an area we haven’t covered yet.”
Everyone had sectors to check around the Fairbanks region. They’d divided the nerou off into teams with the werewolves working during the day and vampires taking a turn at night. This was probably the largest-scale search that had ever been done by supernaturals for a human being. It humbled Bartol that so many had come out to help, even if he had been a little demanding about it.
Whether Cori realized it or not, she was a favorite within the community. It likely helped that she was the primary tattoo artist for most of them since she had adapted her skills to their healing abilities, and she showed no fear of them. Cori was kind yet sarcastic to everyone, regardless of their race, making them feel comfortable around her. She truly had no idea of her value.
“Are you sensing anything?” Bartol asked after a few minutes, growing more impatient as the sun fell farther in the sky.
They were in a remote area northeast of Fairbanks that didn’t get much traffic, and there weren’t a lot of homes. It wasn’t very far from where Bartol had come through the portal from Purgatory. He noted the forest was still scarred from the fire outbreaks during the spring, and large swaths of trees were gone. The only advantage to that was it made it easier to see deeper into the land without the thick vegetation getting in the way.
Emily clutched the steering wheel. “Nothing. I don’t think they’re here.”
Bartol’s phone rang. He checked the screen and saw Melena’s name pop up.
“Yes,” he answered.
“I just got a call from Yvonne,” the sensor said, sounding breathless. “She’s agreed to let Micah heal her so she can do a locator spell on Cori.”
Bartol had heard Melena went to visit the mystic in the hospital. Yvonne had been adamant that she didn’t want “supernatural” help and believed she should let nature take its course. That wasn’t unusual for her race. They believed their magic was at its best when they kept themselves untainted, but of course there were always exceptions. He desperately hoped this was one.
“Are you certain?” Bartol asked, afraid to get his hopes up.
“Yes. She feels she owes Cori that much,” Melena paused, “but there’s just one catch.”
Bartol leaned forward in his seat, noting the others in the vehicle were listening just as closely with their enhanced hearing. “What?”
“We need something personal of Cori’s that means a lot to her if we want to find her.”
He thought back to her belongings at his cabin. “That won’t be a problem.”
“Great,” Melena said, sounding relieved. “Micah will need some time to heal Yvonne and then she’ll need a few hours to rest and let her magic regenerate. Can you meet us at Derrick’s place around midnight?”
That was over six hours away. Bartol wished they could speed up the process, but he could hardly blame the delay on Yvonne when she didn’t have to help at all. “I will be there with the item you requested.”
“Okay. See you then.”
Emily let out a sigh of relief, then began turning the Hummer around. “Thank, God. I was beginning to think we were never going to get a break.”
Bartol did as well, though he didn’t voice his thoughts aloud.
***
The reception area was full when Bartol made his way inside the alpha werewolf’s home. Everyone stared at him as he walked across the foyer, carrying a painting he’d carefully wrapped in brown paper. Only the people involved in the locator spell would be allowed to view the portrait. Bartol hated to use it at all, but he felt certain the emotions Cori had for the painting were stronger than anything else she owned. He could not risk using anything less that might not allow them to find her.
It felt good to be doing something useful, and it allowed him to focus on the matter at hand. Bartol hadn’t experienced a fresh round of pain from Cori yet, but he suspected it was only a matter of time. The vampire had likely slowed down because he was on the verge of killing his captive—not a comforting thought at all.
