32. Kairhyse

32

Kairhyse

I don't take my car; instead, I run. I run faster than I have ever run in my entire existence, hoping that I can get there quick enough to get a trail. To get to her before they fucking touch her more than they already have.

I'm not sure how long it actually takes, but the moment I'm turning onto her street, I can see firetrucks and smoke filling the air.

Down on her knees as I'm approaching the building is Sydni. She has the black cat, Mister, wrapped in her arms, screaming and crying. Tyson is over her, his hand on her shoulder, a phone in his hand and raising it to his ear.

Before it even rings, I'm beside him, grabbing hold of it and ending the call. "Don't."

His eyes are wide. "You."

"Me," I hiss. There should be no one he is calling. Them being here is already so fucking dangerous, Gods be damned!

I crush his phone, and he curses out a ‘What the fuck, man?!' before I get down onto my knees next to Sydni. In front of her is a pool of blood and a phone that is shattered. "Butterfly, you need to tell me what happened? Talk to me."

She moves her hands outward, and Mister falls with her arms, breathing slowly. The cat is alive, thank the Gods. But, where is my Xera ?

"We—" Sydni pulls Mister back into her chest and turns her head up to me, "We were on the phone, and the next thing I hear is an explosion. I screamed for her, but she never answered. Then…" Her shoulders tremble, and she edges toward me.

I don't hesitate to wrap my arms around her and pull her close. "Take a deep breath and talk. Tell me what you heard."

She nods. "They said to grab her. They said they couldn't understand how she was still breathing after the fall. Then I heard dragging, and then… she screamed, and I heard the sound of a door sliding shut." She shudders, "And then came silence, and the only thing I could hear was the fire blazing and the faint echoes of post-explosion cracks."

Fury rises in my chest, threatening to lash out. I take a shaky breath. I need to go after her: now!

"One of them called her Stephanie." She rubs her face against my chest.

I can't leave them. I'm afraid that there may be someone watching, because if I were to do something like this and I kidnapped my victim, I'd be watching for their associates. Which is now a bigger problem, because I'm here, and if it's reported to Achille… Fucking Beyond, this is a mess.

Without responding, I scoop up Sydni into my arms and turn to Tyson. "We need to go."

We leave the scene as it is, and thankfully the authorities and news reporters haven't arrived yet, only the fire crew. That lets us slip away without drawing any attention.

Once I put Sydni into the back seat of Tyson's car, I stand. "Let me drive, but give me sixty-seconds. Sit in the passenger seat, and do not speak."

I can see that he wants to argue but doesn't, and quickly turns to go to the other side of the car.

With a deep breath, I'm gone and quickly into the building of her apartment. The stairway is demolished from the third floor, and I can't get up. But I need to try and find something. There is still a fire blazing, which makes it a fucking problem. They purposefully destroyed the apartment, as though they knew someone with heightened senses may try to locate her.

If they believe it was Stephanie, a crucial piece of this puzzle is absent. Achille confirmed that she was the girl who died with the Bastilla twins, but that information wasn't disclosed to the public. The body was mistakenly incinerated, and my assumption is that Achille discovered her identity because he had sought information about the body.

Though… how did whomever took her know what her name was? Who was present, connecting her to the twins, leaving the party with them, and then ultimately being found? The only sensible answer is Clay, but he is dead, as will these fuckers who touched my girl.

I'm about to rush back when a blast sends a whiff of smoke down the stairway.

That's when I'm hit with a scent that is familiar. A Vampire, and several Shifters.

I don't linger because I can't tell anything beyond what they are. I'm going to go with my gut instincts and connect them to Clay. Achille said they had a lead, maybe this was it.

I get into the car, slam the door, and start the engine before Tyson can even let out a startled gasp.

"Rhysie…" Sydni leans between the front seats, her face red and eyes begging for me to give her an answer I don't have. "Did you find anything? Where do we start…"

There is no way that Sydni doesn't love that girl, "We start by taking you both back to my place, and you will stay inside until I get her back." I quickly pull the car onto the street and head toward the main part of the city.

"No," she puts her hand onto my shoulder, "no, I'm helping. Don't shrug me off!"

Tyson nods, "Before you destroyed my phone, which I'll be expecting a replacement, I was reaching out to my underworld contacts. I wasn't calling the authorities. I'm not a moron."

"No offense," this was offensive, and I knew it, "you will get in my way. I'm not going to play any of this by the books."

I'm pretty sure Sydni wants to die because when she grabs hold of the steering wheel, she nearly takes us right into the back of a stationary car.

"Sydni!" I shout, and pull us away just in time and quickly come to a stop. "If something happens to you, do you understand what she'll do?!"

"I don't care!" She is scooting back and toward the door, "I'm leaving. You won't lock me away, I am going to find her—"

I swear to Gods, I can't handle this. I'm out of the car in a blink and standing in front of her. She's clutching tightly to Mister, who hasn't moved or even meowed since I caught up with them. I can hear his little heart; he will be fine, just scared.

She is shaking her head, "I can help, please, she is MY best friend."

This is wasting so much time arguing with her. "Syd—"

"The car…" I narrow my eyes, "I could hear the start-up clatter of a BV-14. It's the first model." Slowly, my shoulders drop. "The rattling of the windows caused by the sliding door indicates that it's a BV-14 van. We can help, Rhysie. Let us. We knew the risk by staying in her life, we may be Mundane, but we aren't useless."

I truly want to do this alone. Destroy this fucking world to find her and bring her back to me, but as I look at this little butterfly, I know that is not the right move. Going into this too half-hazard will only cause more trouble for my little demon. It may destroy whatever world she has built when she does return.

When . When .

"Okay. I'm sorry. You are right," I sigh. "Which direction did the van begin going?"

Her lips pull into a smile that trembles, "It was heading south…"

I swear to Belial himself, I will fucking kill them all for taking you from me.