Bergin and Jezora were once more standing outside the Lower Quarter Station, waiting, when Eddin reined the mare to a stop.
"That was fast," Vania commented quietly as Eddin helped her down.
"I contacted them while you were changing," Eddin replied. "I'll take Tarva to the stables; you three get inside and get those things up to the wizards." He handed his cloak to Vania and turned away, leading the bay mare around the side of the building.
"So...still riding double, I see," Jezora remarked, grinning.
"We have a child to find; if we don't find her first, her body will be abandoned somewhere in the slums in five days." Vania walked past the pair and went inside, leaving them to catch up.
They found her staring up the stairs; Bergin asked, "You okay?"
She nodded vaguely; "A whole crew of them is coming down. We need to find her and find her quickly; we need to squash this guy hard, so he doesn't hurt anyone else."
"All right. Well, can we discuss this new development before they get here?" Bergin tugged at her sleeve. "Come sit down; you look so pale. I'm not sure you've recovered from yesterday."
She plastered a grin on her face, which looked more like a grimace. "I'm fine, Bergin. This case just... hurts. Laria's only six. Her father died trying to protect her, so she probably watched him die before the wizard carried her away."
"Horrific," Jezora commented as they gathered around Vania's desk.
Vania sunk into her chair and leaned back, closing her eyes. Gods, I'm tired. I'm doomed to never get a good night's sleep again, aren't I?
Eddin cleared his throat, bringing Vania back to sitting upright as he asked, "So, how much have you two heard?"
"Got another victim," Jezora said.
"Except, this is one we can save, if we move fast enough," Bergin added.
Footsteps made the group look toward the stairs; "Oh, gods, it's all of them, isn't it?" Vania muttered as the group of wizard enforcers crossed the room to where the four gathered.
"We can handle this if you'd like to... step out," Bergin murmured to her. "Eddin can explain what you two found. You're probably still unwell from yesterday. No one will think less of you."
Vania sighed as she shook her head; "No. I'm seeing this through. We need to save Laria—that takes precedence over my comfort."
"So, we are here, as requested," Rand'din announced, gesturing to himself and his fellows. "What is so important we must all stop what we're doing on our own cases?"
"Another person went missing last night. A six-year-old girl named Laria; her father was murdered when he tried to defend her," Eddin said. He grabbed his cloak from the top of Vania's desk. "We recovered two of her toys from her room; one of them is her favorite that she always took with her everywhere. We need you to use them to trace her."
"A simple trace spell? You don't need all of us for that."
"Not so simple," Eddin said quickly. "The man who took Laria is a magic user. He may have spells on her that will hide her from simple trace spells, so we need all of you to work together, in case you need to overcome his power. Plus, if he senses you and lashes out, you can protect each other."
Rand'din frowned, but agreed, "Fair point, Enforcer Bucktin. Very well, we shall combine our efforts for this. Where are these toys?"
Eddin pulled out the broken doll and the little leather frog. After looking at them sorrowfully, he handed them over to the wizard.
"The doll was her favorite?"
"No. That frog. She named him Sir Hops."
Rand'din nodded and walked away, all the wizards following after. They filed back up the stairs and disappeared.
Vania sighed, rubbing her temples.
"So, what to do now, hm?" Jezora asked. "Is there more to today's happenings we need to discuss?" She looked back and forth between Vania and Eddin, grinning.
"No. You heard the facts," Eddin replied. "Once they've traced Laria, we'll all go rescue her; we'll send the wizards to her home to gather what they can from the blood left behind—most of it is Adar's—the girl's father," he quickly added as Bergin and Jezora looked at him in confusion, "but his knuckles were split and bloody, so he may have got a few good hits. If he broke the wizard's nose, the wizard's own blood might be there somewhere. Then we'll really have him, even if he's hiding Laria."
Bergin grinned slightly; "I notice you refrained from calling the killer a wizard in front of our wizard colleagues."
"You know how touchy wizards can be about defining magic users. It's best not to step on toes when you're asking a favor."
"A favor? The captains of two different stations ordered this case become priority. This isn't a favor; it's a necessity!"
"Enforcers Bucktin, Nahalora, Nahlstrom, and Kahlin. My office, please." All four of them hurried down the corridor after the captain.
"Update me on the slum murders case," Captain Murrick demanded after they'd all gathered in a line in front of his desk.
"A little girl was abducted overnight; her father died trying to save her. Our wizards are at this moment attempting a trace spell, using essence from the girl's toys we took from her bedroom," Eddin said.
"Is this the same fellow who attacked Enforcer Nahalora yesterday outside this very station?"
"We believe so, sir."
"And the one responsible for the murder of at least three Marked tydring from the slums?"
"We believe so, sir."
"And we have not found any victims to be from anywhere else?"
"Not that we have found, sir."
"But that could be because the stations don't always communicate," Bergin added. "You saw the jumbled mess the Du l'Tagne case was. There could be victims we don't know about."
Captain Murrick looked at all four of the assembled enforcers, then said, "I just received word from Upper Quarter Station. Three bodies were found this morning in Averton Park. Two were from noble families, one was from a wealthy merchant family. All lived in the area of the Upper Quarter Station and had no ties to the slums. I need the four of you to go there and investigate, since you're the ones working this case.
"Our comrades from Upper Quarter Station are keeping watch on the scene and keeping the public away, but it's already becoming a spectacle and a scandal for the victims' families. It would be best for all involved if you get up there quickly."
"We can go as soon as we've captured the killer and rescued the girl," Eddin said.
"The families of the victims wish to... undo the desecration... their loved ones received, which cannot happen until you go investigate. Go, see about the bodies, check the scene. I'm sure the trace spell won't even be finished by the time you come back."
"Undo the desecration?" Bergin asked. "I'm sure these new victims aren't Marked, as all the others have been, so there was nothing for the killer to steal from them, aside from their guts, which we won't be able to return."
"I've been informed the three victims had their bodies... altered... so as to appear Marked. Without seeing for myself, I can't be certain, but they said something about fingers, wings, and a tail."
She had the most beautiful pair of pink, orange, and blue butterfly wings you've ever seen, Licia whispered in Vania's memory. Derry added, Everyone called him Mr. Stork. He had white feathers in place of hair, and only three knobby, taloned fingers on each hand. Bergin mumbled,They took the young man's, um. Tail.
"Sir," Vania spoke up. "Was the tail a short, furry brown bear's tail? And the fingers something that looked like a bird's talons? Were the butterfly wings pink, blue, and orange?"
"Yes, Enforcer Nahalora, they were." The captain folded his hands on his desk. "This sound familiar?"
"It's the parts the killer stole from his first three victims, sir."
"So, we officially have our link. Good. I haven't been stalling the Nanki family for nothing. Go, investigate. See what there is to learn. Take a few orbs with you—gather what traces and essences you can, so once our wizards finish their trace spell, they can work on those."
"Sir. You want us to go up there right now?" Vania asked.
"Yes, Enforcer Nahalora. The victims' families are waiting to receive their loved ones back to be prepared for burial. As they are right now, they are a public spectacle, which is deeply humiliating for the families during their time of loss."
"We have our entire team of wizards working on tracing a six-year-old girl who was stolen from her bedroom this morning after witnessing her father being murdered trying to protect her, so we can save her from becoming the next body we find, and you want us to go attend to a trio of dead bodies?"
"I'm certain the four of you can finish your observations quickly and be back here before the trace spell is even finished, yes."
"But what if we don't get back in time, Captain?" Vania challenged, taking a step forward. "What if Rand'din and the others finish their spell before we get back, and, the killer, having sensed their spell, moves? By the time we'd get to the location, he'd be gone, and Laria with him. And then he'd know for sure we are close to catching him and he'd increase his protections; he might even decide to kill her quicker. We cannot take that chance."
Eddin placed a hand on Vania's shoulder, trying to pull her back from the captain's desk. She wrenched herself free and stepped even closer, pounding her hands on the desk, leaning in close to the captain.
"We have an opportunity to save someone's life, and you want us to go save someone's reputation instead? Since when did three dead rich people become worth more than one living girl?" Vania demanded.
"We exist to protect the people," Bergin quoted quietly, staring at the enforcer's emblem hung on the wall behind the captain.
"That's people, not reputations," Vania hissed. "This might be our only chance to catch him."
Captain Murrick looked sternly at Vania; "Enforcer Nahalora, you are out of line. However, you make a good point. The three of you," he indicated the other three Enforcers, "are to go immediately to Averton Park as soon as you've concluded your business with the trace spell, however that ends. And you, Enforcer Nahalora, are to come report directly to me. Understand?"
"Yes, sir." Everyone nodded. Eddin grabbed Vania's shoulder again and she stepped back as he pulled, falling back into line with the others.
"Dismissed." The captain waved a hand at them, then turned in his chair to the side of his desk, where an orb and crystal stood in golden mounts, waiting.
"Wow, girl, I didn't think you had it in you!" Jezora said, slapping Vania on the back. "Getting up in the captain's face like that—what backbone! What courage!" She raised her hand higher and smacked the back of Vania's head. "Also, what idiocy! That little stunt will cost you your job, you know. You can't just directly challenge the captain's orders like that."
"Fine. If that's the cost of saving a life, I'll do it," Vania replied, rubbing the back of her head and moving farther away from Jezora. The other female Enforcer paused in her stride, looking down at her palm as she rubbed it.
"I told you she was hard-headed," Bergin said, shaking his head at his work partner. "You can't strike a stone and expect not to feel it."
"Didn't feel like a stone," Jezora muttered. She eyed Vania suspiciously. "Felt more like—"
"Enforcers. We have a location," Rand'din announced from the stairwell. He took the last few steps slowly, leaning on the handrail; his dark skin looked pale.
Eddin smoothed out the map of the city upon his desk; "Come tell us, my friend. We have a magic user to hunt and a little girl to save."
Rand'din walked over slowly and stared at the map, blinking and squinting for a few moments, until he finally dropped his finger on a place. "There. The girl is there. The magic user sensed our spell, so you'd best hurry if you want to catch him."
All four enforcers leaned into the map, staring at where the wizard's finger had landed: a small piece of green just outside the city.
"Thank you, Rand'din," Vania smiled. "Will at least one of you come with us? We're about to raid the lair of a murdering magic user; having a wizard on our side would be beneficial."
Rand'din shook his head; "We need to rest. You were right to insist we all work together—it took all of us to find him and defend against the power he instantly assaulted us with once he sensed us. We're very lucky we lost no one."
"Thank you for the information you bought with great cost," Eddin replied, nodding. "He's probably weakened after his altercation with all of you—we should be fine, as long as we're careful. You all get rest and take care of each other."
"All right, we have our location," Bergin said. "Let's go!"
They hurried out the door and to the stable, saddled their horses, and raced to the nearest city gate.