Chapter 134: _ Gone With The Darkness
"L— locate them?" Cora stuttered, her eyes dancing in her eyes.
Rhett smirked to himself. Ninety-five percent.
He didn’t know whatever Cora could be hiding but if she was involved in this missing person’s case and knew more than she was letting on, then it’d be so sad that the fey– supposedly creatures of light were indeed capable of such darkness.
Not to ntion how easily she had fooled him before with her false story. Hold up. Now, Rhett had no idea if that story of hers was false.
Before Rhett could analyze her reaction further, "Yes, locate them." Farkas barked at her with suspicion filling his voice.
Cora jumped, clearly caught in a corner where she knew not where to turn to next. Her gaze darted between the photo and Rhett’s watchful eyes.
Finally, she nodded slowly. "Yes, Lady Aceco. I’ll see what I can find." She moved towards a small bedroom at the back of the apartnt.
As if being controlled by an invisible force, Cora turned back imdiately. While Rhett wondered if she was about to run away, she bit her lip, her gaze darting around the room before landing on a small bookshelf tucked away in the corner. She moved towards it slowly.
Rhett watched her closely, his suspicion still simring inside of him. What was she hiding? What could Cora possibly be hiding regarding this family’s case?
He was sure Farkas had seen it too and they were just both standing there, reading her and trying to figure it out. It stunned Rhett that Aceco didn’t notice this.
Cora knelt on the floor and reached behind a stack of well-loved books. Pulling out a small wooden box, she turned and held it out to Aceco.
"This belonged to little Lily," Cora whispered. "A music box her father carved for her."
"Should do." Aceco took the box gently, her fingertips tracing the detailed carvings on its lid.
A faint lody seed to emanate from within it which sounded in Rhett’s ears like a bittersweet reminder of a life cut short. Even though there was a high chance that the family mbers could just be alive.
Right now, all answers lay with Aceco. His shoulders tensed as he turned to her, waiting in anticipation. She closed her eyes, focusing on the object held in her hand.
The room held its breath while Aceco did her thing, the only sound audible enough was the faint ticking of a clock on the wall. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she opened her eyes and Rhett saw sadness replacing the initial hope in usually in them.
Bad news; he already knew.
"I can’t feel her," Aceco said softly, eyes glistening.
Farkas gasped with his hand flying to his mouth simultaneously. "Does that an she is Dead?" he croaked.
Aceco nodded slowly and a single tear rolled down her cheek. "Yes, the girl— little Lily is gone."
Cora, who had been fidgeting nervously at the edge of the room, suddenly erupted into a fit of sobs. Tears stread down her face, her shoulders shaking with grief. "Oh, poor Lily! Those wicked vampires! How could they do such a thing? Her voice hitched with a sob. "They took your light, they took your laughter... how can they be so cruel?"
Rhett watched her closely. He couldn’t deny the genuine pain in her voice, but sothing about her deanor felt off. Her sobs, while intense, lacked a certain rawness– a depth of grief one would expect for a lost friend’s child. He also noticed a flicker of sothing else in her eyes – not surprised at the news, but a weird sense of confirmation.
It was as though this wasn’t new to her ears. So, she knew that Lily was dead as just wasn’t sure, how? She also seed genuinely sad to hear it.
So what was her deal?
Rhett cleared his throat, cutting through Cora’s theatrics. "Enough," he said sharply. "We need the other items. Find them, now."
Crying won’t bring the child back anyway.
Cora flinched at his sharp tone, wiping away the tears with a trembling hand. "Y-yes, Gamma Rhett. Of course." She scurried towards a small dresser tucked into a corner of the room, her movents jerky and distraught.
Farkas cleared his throat. "We need sothing from the father too, sothing with his essence."
Argh. Rhett fought back the urge to give a roll of his eyes. Farkas just always wanted to have sothing to say even though it was the sa as ’stating the obvious’.
Cora rummaged through the drawers, pulling out clothes and trinkets but each movent she made seed to take a herculean effort. As if she was being forced to do this because she was left with no choice.
So, she was sad to find out about their death but not surprised and also unwilling to help find them?
Hm.
Finally, she erged with a worn leather pouch. "This— this belonged to Aella’s husband."
Aceco took the pouch with her gaze filled with compassion. She closed her eyes once more, focusing her magic on the item. Monts later, a heavy sigh escaped her lips.
"He’s gone too," she said softly. "Taken by the sa darkness."
Rhett gritted his teeth. Damn the vampires for taking them hostage, using them to lift the veil, and killing them.
Cora crumpled back to the floor so loudly, that it distracted Rhett’s thoughts. "No! Not him too! He was so kind, so good! Why would they..." Her voice trailed off into another torrent of sobs.
Rhett watched her closely. This ti, the grief seed more pronounced, the tears flowing more freely. He couldn’t be sure, but there was a hint of desperation creeping into her performance. As if she was overdoing this to try to convince them that she really was sad about the deaths.
Farkas interjected. "Just the mother’s belongings left. Oh, wait. We need to find the last child as well."
Cora, wiping away her tears with the back of her hand, nodded numbly. She shuffled towards a small chest tucked away beneath a pile of blankets. Inside, snuggled amongst soft silks, lay a silky scarf, embroidered with rosy flowers.
Aceco accepted the scarf, her expression grave. A tense silence filled the room as she focused once more. When she opened her eyes again, they were filled with a deep sadness.
"Gone," she whispered. "The mother too, lost to the darkness."
Cora dissolved into another bout of tearful sobs, her body shaking with grief. But this ti, Rhett saw a flicker of sothing else in her tear-filled eyes - a spark of fear.
She was getting more fearful by the minute. ant they were on the right path and getting closer.
Farkas, with his gaze fixed on Cora, spoke with a gruff thoughtfulness. "If all the adults are gone, then the child— could they have lifted the veil?"
Aceco pondered this for a mont. "It depends, General Farkas. The strength of the child’s magic would determine that." She turned to Cora. "Do you have sothing belonging to the little boy, Cora?"
Cora looked up from her hands, her gaze flickering nervously between Aceco and Rhett.
What now? Rhett wondered.
Her face was pale and drawn and seed to be etched with a deep fear that went beyond the performance of grief.
"I— I don’t know," she stamred. "There wasn’t anything left after..." Her voice trailed off.
Hm, Rhett gave a half smirk. "This is their house, Cora. It looks so untouched too and all of their belongings are ho, so go get it already."
He was tired of watching her waste ti. Whose ti did she think she was wasting?
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