Kara Davies

It has been three days.

Athena, Leon, Demir, and Brigitte disappeared sixty-five hours ago and they still have no clue where to find them. Kara doesn't even want to think about what could have happened to them by now, and yet, that's all her mind wanders off to. The only thing that can distract her from awful thoughts is the hunger for answers.

The moment she had a laptop at her disposal, she–thank God for her unconventional hobby–had hacked all the surveillance cameras in the area where they had seen them disappear, but up to now, they have found nothing useful. One moment, the car is visible, but when Kara watches the fragments of the next camera, the car is gone. The moment they vanished isn't documented, which makes it incredibly hard to tell what happened exactly.

So, while the rest is looking for clues outside, she stays in, trying to find a coherent timeline for their friend's disappearance; checking every frame from the highway they disappeared from. She did background checks on every car that drove by, but found nothing out of the ordinary.

Yet.

Perhaps she's going mad - it must be the six cups of coffee she consumed this evening - but if she strictly takes the footage she sees into consideration, there are only a few reasonable conclusions she can draw: the first being that all the images are useless because some annoying, magically arsehole messed with them and secondly: Demir, Leon, Athena, and Brigitte were kidnapped by an invisible and untraceable vehicle, which doesn't even seem that crazy right now.

"Madame Rosetta, could you please take a look at these videos?" She asks the enchantress sitting in front of her. Rosetta arrived with her husband two days ago, and they have been helping them to find clues. According to the witch, her husband Matteo, who's a warlock - or wizard, sorcerer? I don't really know what's appropriate - is the best tracker of their coven. If anyone can find them, it's him. Right now, Matteo is out there with Denise, Darius, Shani, and Hinote, trying to find a trace to follow. Kara hopes they'll return with different news this afternoon. They have to. We cannot afford to lose another day.

"What do you want to show me, cara," Rosetta answers. She stands up from her chair and positions herself behind Kara. "Well, the timeline isn't right, and the only explanation for that is if there is something wrong with the footage. Now, I cannot detect whether anyone has tampered with it, but perhaps you can. You know, with your magic." Smooth, Kara. Well done.

"Let me see if I can reveal some magical interference," Rosetta says and Kara presses play. The witch's eyes focus on the screen. Kara sees a hint of pink glowing in her eyes. Oh, she's using magic, like right now. That's awesome. She never saw Athena's eyes change colour when she used her magic; only when her fangs appeared and her vampire side got out. Which was obviously much, much scarier. She misses her. She misses all of them.

"Stop!" Kara freezes the frame immediately. "What's wrong?" she asks the enchantress, but Rosetta keeps staring at the screen.

"I think I know what happened."

֎֎֎֎֎֎֎֎֎

The sound of a car door being shut downstairs makes Kara rise from her chair. They're back! She runs to the door to open it from her friends. First, she sees Hinote, and she knows immediately they found nothing. His expression speaks volumes. After Hinote, Denise, Matteo, and Darius enter their room. Kara frowns, but doesn't ask where the last member of the search party is.

Shani will return soon. Hopefully.

The group stays silent, which means no one has the guts to ask the question everyone is afraid to ask. Kara walks to the kitchen to fetch something to drink for everyone. "Thanks, Kara," her girlfriend whispers to her. She smiles before embracing Denise tightly.

"Nothing?" Madame Rosetta asks her husband while they greet each other with a hug as well.

"Nothing," he confirms severely. His hand brushes softly over hers. "Did you find anything?"

"We did, actually," the enchantress answers. Darius looks up in surprise. "Really? Thank the Goddess, finally some news."

"Don't get too excited. We're not sure if it can help us now," Rosetta says quickly before looking at Kara. "Why don't you show them, cara." She nods and leads the group to the table where a laptop and an extra monitor are installed. She turns the screen towards her audience and presses play. "This is part of the video footage of the highway I've been scanning these past few days, and this," she opens another video, "this is the actual footage." On the screen now appears the video Rosetta has retrieved this evening.

"Somehow, these maggots managed to change the video to make us believe the car disappeared here," she points to a spot on the map in front of her, "Instead of what you see in this video, which is further this way."

"Rosetta could get the real footage in which they disappear almost half an hour after we thought they vanished. Look!" She plays the first video again. "While we already saw them disappear, they actually drove further. While we stopped our car to contact them, they drove further, and with communications down, we had no idea what was really happening. They drove until... here," she points to a spot further north on the map.

"What are you saying, Kara?" Hinote asks her, visibly shocked by her announcement. She looks aside at Rosetta. She nods. "What miss Davies is saying is that the kind of magic they used wasn't necessary to make something or someone disappear. It was to make you see something that wasn't really there," the witch explains.

"You're telling us we were tricked by an illusion?" Darius's face turns pale. He covers his mouth with his hand. "I can't believe it..."

"It's more than an illusion, caro," Rosetta replies quickly. "This is not on you. Magic like this is quite strong; the things they made you see looked like the truth; nothing could have indicated otherwise."

"Can you see what happens to them in the video? Where did they go?" Denise asks her. She immediately shakes her head. "No, I can't. These are the only images we have of them. In all the other frames, both our car and the car of the kidnappers are gone."

"How did they pull that off?"

"I imagine they made the car invisible. If they had tampered with the footage, I would have been able to get the real video, as I did with this video, but there is nothing for me to detect."

"Are we certain they didn't drive past us while we were waiting for them? If they were invisible, we could have missed them?" Darius asks. Matteo responds by nodding. "I would have sensed the magical residue in the air while we searched the highway and I didn't. Sadly, the traces we did find didn't lead us anywhere. I'd like to look at the map again. Now we have the actual time and place of their disappearance, I might be able to connect the few clues we found with this new lead."

"Good idea," Denise agrees.

"Yes, and I'll keep looking. There must be something they've missed. Something I won't," Kara answers while turning the monitor towards herself again.

"You... " Hinote says before shutting her laptop, "should get some sleep, Kara. You look exhausted." She feels exhausted too. It has been ages since she sat behind her computer. I've missed it. But boy, did she wish she could feel so passionately about it under different circumstances. She looks at her watch. Damn, it's already 3 at night.

"Yeah, I'm going to bed. Wake me up the moment you find something, okay?"

"We promise," Darius says without looking up from the map.

"Come, let's go," Denise says while grabbing her hand. "The sooner we go to sleep, the sooner we'll wake up tomorrow." Like they can sleep over five or six hours, anyway.

They leave the room. The moment Kara thinks there is enough distance between them and the group, she asks the question that has been hanging on her lips from the moment they entered.

"How are they?"

Denise looks aside. She sighs. "As well as can be expected..." she tells her. Translation: not good. The encounter between Hinote and Darius is still imprinted in her memory. Darius scared the hell out of her; first when he exploded in anger, and even more when he fell into Hinote's arms in desperation. She has seen people be angry or cry before, but not like that. Never like that.

Shani doesn't get angry or visibly sad. She just looks... well, not human. She talks when she needs to share information; she eats when they offer her a plate and she runs when she's not needed. She just runs. Nobody knows where she goes or what she does when she leaves the room. When she returns, she says nothing. After that, she talks when she has to and eats when she's forced to.

"I'm really worried," she tells Denise. "About both of them." Denise nods in agreement. "We need to find the rest. Fast. Hinote said the mate bond is making them unhinged and the only thing we can do about it is finding them all."

"But how? We're trying everything and we're not getting closer," she sighs.

"I don't know. I really don't know. But we are getting closer, Kara. You've made that happen today," Denise replies.

"I wish it would just lead us somewhere."

"It will. Perhaps tomorrow will be the day," she answers while jumping into the bed. Kara follows her quickly and pulls herself close against Denise's warm body. She feels tired, even with all the coffee in her system, and before she knows it, her heart rate is steady, her body numb and her head off to dreamland.

֎֎֎֎֎֎֎֎֎

Kara?

Kara!

Goddess, I hope this works. Kara, we need your help. We have been taken by vampires, my father, and s-...

We are all alive, but we don't know where we are exactly. They took us on the hi-... after we saw you guys suddenly disappear. Leon and I were unconscious, but Dem-... said we travelled two, maybe two-and-a-half hours after that and that we didn't drive on the highway. We weren't going fast enou-... and there were a lot of turns. We also think we're far from the woo-..., but they have weakened our senses so we cannot sense our surroundings properly. Demir says the last thing he smelled was biscuits... uhm, I'm sorry, cookies... he was quite determined, I told you. '

"They want the scroll, Kara. I don't know how they know so much about it, but they want it, and I'm not sure how long I can fight him off. I-I..."

"My magic is fading... I can't hold it much longer. Be careful, okay. Don't underestimate them, but also, ... be quick, please. If I fail, Leon and Demir are in terrible da-..."

A silence follows, but Kara is certain Athena isn't finished talking yet. Damnit. She wants to yell, despite knowing her friend is gone. "Athena!"

"Athena!"

"Kara! What happened?" She's sitting right up in bed. Denise's right in front of her. Worry is written all over her face. When she looks into the room, she sees Hinote standing there as well.

"I saw her. I saw Athena," she mumbles in confusion. The dream is repeating itself in her mind. Again and again.

"How?" Denise says breathlessly, so soft, Kara isn't even sure the question is meant for her.

"I saw her. I heard her. She was there. We have to find them!" She jumps out of bed so quickly, she has to steady herself. "Kara, slow down. Tell us what you saw," Hinote says. She can't read his eyes. Does he think she's imagining things?

"It was her. I'm certain. I saw her!" She exclaims before throwing her jumper over her head and pulling it over her upper body.

"All right, I believe you. What did she say?" Hinote replies slowly.

The images Athena sent through her mind are racing through her head. She's panting because of the impact on her brain. Denise rushes forward to support her, but Kara raises her arm to stop her. "No, we have to go. We have to figure it out." She inhales deeply.

"Figure what out?"

"Her clues. Get the map."

֎֎֎֎֎֎֎֎֎

"Okay, here were they taken. Now, draw a circle of the radius of a two- and half-hour drive; no highways," Kara orders loudly. They have surrounded themselves around the map after Kara had shouted to unite them all at once. Besides her, she sees Hinote quickly do the math, and surprisingly fast, he marks the area on the map. So, the vampire is crazy smart. Good to know. "So, we have to look within this area?" Denise confirms. Kara nods.

She's thriving and feels more awake than she has in days. The fresh energy sparked by the hope Athena has given her. "I'll cross out where we've looked already," Darius says as he takes over the marker from Hinote. Kara watches as a large part of the area in the circle is crossed down. Fewer places they could be... She doesn't know if that's a good thing.

"What else did she say, Kara. Tell us everything you can remember?" Darius tells her. She nods and closes her eyes, but the adrenaline in her body makes it difficult to concentrate. She wants to say she can't when, from the corner of her eyes, she sees Rosetta beckoning her. "Come, cara, I'll help you remember." She walks towards the witch and lets her place her finger on her forehead. It still feels weird, but she doesn't fight it. This needs to happen. She closes her eyes while the images of Athena's dream are broadcast in her mind. She barely hears Rosetta when she recites the words Athena has spoken to her. The reactions of the group are just as vague.

"Vampires!"

"Her father?"

"What else did she say?"

"Did she say 'cookies'?"

When the pressure on her head is gone, she opens her eyes to see the entire group already busy trying to figure out Athena's message. She wants to join when she feels someone touching her arm. It's Shani. "What's wrong?" she asks her. Tell me... is he okay? Are they all okay?" Shani asks softly. Her eyes reveal the anxiety she feels. As if she doesn't want to know the answer to her question.

"They are alive," Kara begins, unsure how much she should tell the already fragile-looking werecat. When she nods, urging her to continue, she obliges. "but, I don't know for how much longer. Something in Athena's tone and words scared me. All I know is that it's not too late yet. But we need to hurry. Athena sounded... well, she sounded terrified. And I think she was about to tell me what they did to them, but the connection broke too early."

"Uhm, guys? Didn't Athena say Demir smelled cookies right before they were taken out of the car?" Denise says loudly, demanding everyone's attention.

"Yes, why?" Hinote answers.

"Because there is a biscuit factory in this town; it fits our description perfectly," she responds, clearly surprised.

"You're serious?"

"Yes!"

Within seconds, they're all in front of the laptop again. Everything's happening so fast, Kara can't follow any of it. Perhaps it's time for some coffee.

She's about to make her way into the kitchen when she hears Matteo shouting different orders. "Look for abandoned places, regular houses, everything. How was the wind three days ago? If Demir smelled the biscuits in the factory while he was barely conscious, the wind must have blown towards him." Wow, that is really smart. No wonder he's an excellent tracker.

Her second try to get her much-needed beverage is stopped by Darius. "We'll narrow the area down in the car. Let's just get there first. We don't have time to lose," she hears him yell at the group. Everyone seems to agree and rushes off to grab their stuff, leaving her and Denise suddenly alone in the room. Shit, that went fast.

I should brush my teeth. We have to go!

Within minutes, they're in the car. Kara found out just in time that going somewhere requires shoes, but now she's ready to take off.

In the ninety-five-minute drive that follows, they find the right part of town. There aren't any abandoned buildings, but Matteo's certain they can hide in a regular house. 'Well, in this total area, there are only three houses empty. Humans occupy the rest," Kara tells them, reading the information from her laptop.

They all look up when Darius's phone rings. It's Hinote. He's in the car with Shani, Rosetta, a couple of hundred metres in front of them. "Shani caught Leon's scent. Or his blood, actually. It's fresh." Shit. "I can now smell it too; we're getting close," Darius answers loudly. His face shows more colour than it had shown in the last sixty-five hours. He looks aside at Kara.

"Which way are those three houses?"

Kara shows him the map on her laptop. "Right here, here, and here," she points out. Darius sniffs in the air; his eyes flicker for a second.

"It's this one."

"Let's go!"

Within minutes, they drive into the right neighbourhood. They park their cars far enough away from the house. From the corner of her eye, she sees Shani, Hinote, and Rosetta approach them. Even though she's not going in the house, she feels the adrenaline rushing through her body. This is it. They're getting their friends back.

Next to her, she sees Mateo deep in thought. He whispers something and she can only imagine what he's doing. "I'm scanning the area. There are nine vampires occupying the house. We must proceed with caution," he says severely. The rest nods. Except for Darius, who frowns in confusion. "I don't detect any vampires? Or any of them. Just blood."

"They've probably masked their scents," Rosetta answers him. "The witches who helped them with the kidnapping must have done it for them. It's why it was so hard to find them. It's much easier to find someone from the same species. Shapeshifters can find shapeshifters, and vampires are easier to find by other vampires. But with some magical help, the chances are much lower to get caught."

"Well, we found them, so I suggest we go in," Darius growls impatiently.

"Agreed!" Hinote replies.

Not much is said after those words. Kara sees Hinote, Shani and Darius look at each other. Rosetta and Matteo are behind them when they run towards the house. Kara's impressed the couple wanted to go inside. They had all agreed the magical pair had done enough, but still, they wanted to join the supernatural group inside. Perhaps Kara is underestimating their powers again. She has seen what Athena is capable of, and even though they're not hybrids, they're really old; full of life experiences. They must be able to handle a few vampires.

Still, they all should not underestimate them, but that's hard when you don't know what you're up against exactly. Athena warned them for a reason. She knows her father best, and Kara believes her when she said to be prepared for anything.

She can't see the group anymore. They must have entered the house by now. Denise is sitting next to her, her eyes are also fixated on the road. She wants to grab her girlfriend's hand, but there is a crossbow in the way. She sighs. This is my life now.

The street is empty. Not a single resident is outside. No child is playing, and no dog is being walked. As if they know what's going on right next to them. Good, at least no innocent bystanders will get hurt.

I wonder when they'll come back. Hopefully, we weren't too late.

"Oh-oh, there are people on the road. They look like-... What are they doing?" she hears Denise suddenly say out loud. Kara looks up and stares in the direction of Denise's finger. She gasps. She recognizes one of them.

"That's impossible."

What is she doing here?