“Right, that’s it. Let’s go.” Jinx laughs.
With a pointed look in my direction, he throws his dagger on the ground and picks up a training sword. He runs toward Sailor, who easily evades him. They’re laughing and taunting each other as they circle around, and I wonder if I was a little too harsh on Jinx. He was right. He knows when to stop to make sure no one gets hurt. I am still musing on it when Mel runs into the warehouse.
“Grace is missing,” she shouts.
“What do you mean missing?” I demand.
“She disappeared as soon as you and Sailor came out here and she hasn’t been back since. And she’s not answering her cell phone,” Mel says.
“It’s possible she’s just busy with something,” Ya-Ya says.
“I know. But I have a bad feeling about this,” Mel says. “When have any of you ever known Grace to ignore her cell phone?”
“I was the last one to speak to her before she left. She said she was going to see Nexus,” Jinx says. “She had a pile of notes about the possible identity of the horseman. She seemed pretty excited. She could have just gotten caught up in it all and not heard her phone.”
“But Nexus was with us,” Mel says.
“No she wasn’t. She portalled straight back to her cave before Sailor’s dad even knocked on the door—she was chasing the voice,” Jinx says. “I remember because Grace was annoyed she snuck away before she had time to talk to her.”
“I’ll call Nexus. Hang on,” I say.
I move away from the others. I can see Ya-Ya and Aziza trying to comfort Mel, but Mel looks pretty scared. It’s not like her to overreact, so this feeling must be strong. I can feel my own nerves kicking in as Nexus finally takes my call.
“Rye, what’s up?” she says.
“Maybe nothing,” I reply.
“Oh there had better be something. You know I hate these phones. They fry your brain you know,” Nexus says.
“Is Grace with you?” I ask. “Just she was on her way to you and Mel is worried about her.”
“I haven’t seen her since the mission,” Nexus says.
Dammit.
“Okay, thanks Nexus. I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about. We’ll find her.”
I go back to the others, my face grave.
“Nexus hasn’t seen her. We need to go and look for her. She’s probably headed into town,” I say.
I try to keep the worry out of my voice, but I can hear the slight tremor as I speak. I swear if we find Grace happily cocooned up in the library, which is my guess as to where she is, then I’ll strangle her.
Sailor heads for the door to the warehouse and turns back with a frown when no one follows her.
“Don’t we need to go look for her now?” She frowns.
“Well sure but we’re hardly going to walk into town, are we?” Aziza smiles.
“But Grace is the one who makes the portals,” Sailor says.
“She’s the best one at it so it usually falls on her, but the rest of us can do it too. I’ll do the honors,” Aziza says.
She slams her palm forward and a portal appears before us. It’s not as big or as bright as the ones Grace makes, but it’ll serve the same purpose. We step through and emerge just on the outskirts of town. We move quickly, heading toward the town square.
“When we get into town, Sailor, Ya-Ya, and I will take the library. Mel, Jinx, you guys take the row of shops. And Aziza and Sunday, you guys take the park,” I say.
We head into the town square and it’s immediately apparent something big is going on. People scramble around all over, some walking slowly, white faced and shocked. Others run in blind panic. I can hear a voice calling over a loudspeaker.
“This is the sheriff. The town is in a state of emergency. Please return to your homes in a safe and orderly fashion.”
I glance at the others, who look as shocked as I feel. A couple deputies are making their way along the street closing down businesses. A couple of the residents put up an argument when they are told to return home, but most of them just follow the orders. I spot the sheriff’s car up ahead. The message is being blared out of a small speaker on the roof.
“Wait here,” I say to the team.
I jog toward the car and tap lightly on the window. The sheriff winds the window down.
“What’s going on?” I ask.
He pulls the loudspeaker away from his mouth for a moment. I can see how white his face is and I can’t help but spot the strain lines around his mouth and eyes.
“There’s been a virus outbreak. It’s a bad one. You guys should get home,” he says.
“Grace is missing,” I reply. “Have you seen her anywhere?”
He shakes his head.
“No. If she’s been affected by the virus, she’ll be at the clinic. Otherwise, I would assume one of the residents has taken her in.”
“Thank you,” I say.
I jog back to the team and pass the news on. As one we head in the direction of the clinic. Several ambulances with their sirens blaring pass us in both directions.
“This is bad, isn’t it?” Mel says quietly.
I nod grimly.
“Yeah,” I say.
I leave the rest unsaid. The team are all thinking the same thing. And if Sailor hasn’t worked it out yet, then she can have a few more minutes without fear gripping her heart while we run to the clinic.
We reach the clinic and pile in. The waiting room is jam-packed, and nurses and administration staff move through the crowd issuing instructions. I glance down the hall to the emergency area. Several curtained cubicles are clearly in use. Harried doctors dart in and out of them.
“This place is chaos,” I say. “It’s no good waiting around for someone to
