far beyond any animal it took only seconds to come on the scene. In the center of the road lay the lifeless body of a Royal, an arrow piercing his chest. Several feet away, the unfamiliar footprints of a man mingled with a fresh puddle of Kira’s blood-streaks and smaller drops led off into the forest. They followed them into the trees until they came to a small clearing. There was blood everywhere, but no bodies.
“Kira!” Octavion called. His voice echoed through the trees, but no answer came.
“Luka, circle around the perimeter,” Octavion ordered. “See if you can pick up her tracks leaving the clearing.”
Cade was already mapping her every move. His natural instinct to track sent him darting from one side of the clearing to the other. Octavion circled around in the opposite direction he’d sent Luka, only to meet up with him- neither having found any sign of her.
They tried to stay out of Cade’s way; their interference would spoil the trail and muddle his senses. From where he watched, Octavion could see bits and pieces of evidence that gave him little hope. White pieces of shredded fabric similar to her sleeve were scattered about and covered in blood. A dagger lay in the dirt on one side of the clearing near a pine tree, also stained with her blood. Even in the dark he recognized the hair stuck in the bark of a tree to be Kira’s. His mind played out the scene in his head-at some point during the scuffle, her attacker had slammed her head against that tree.
Octavion called out her name again, but the only response was his own voice reverberating in the distance. Where was she? “Cade,” he said in desperation.
Cade held his hand up to signal for silence.
The silence spoke clearly to Octavion’s fears. He turned to question Luka, to see if he’d received similar enquiries from Nestor, but the furrow in his brow answered before Octavion could utter the words. He grabbed Luka’s arm to get his attention, but he averted his eyes.
“Luka, what have they found?”
Another moment passed as Octavion watched the expression on Luka’s face turn from shock to horror. When Luka finally turned toward him, Octavion could see it in his eyes. Kira was dead.
Octavion released his grip and stepped back. “Where is she?”
“I do not know.” Luka paused for a moment, looking at Cade, who now stood in the middle of the clearing, his attention on them. “A rumor has come from the village. It seems King Tyrious is bragging about avenging his son’s death.” He put his hand on Octavion’s shoulder, but he jerked away.
“Where is she?” Octavion demanded.
Luka shook his head. “They did not say. But. . they claim to have proof of death.”
Octavion could feel himself losing control. Where first he needed to find her, now he craved revenge. Luka grabbed his arm on one side and Cade appeared at the other, holding him against a tree.
“They are wrong, Octavion. The signs tell a different story.” Cade’s eyes held truth in them, but did little to dilute the fury building in Octavion’s heart. “Let me explain before you wage war on Kazedon. If I am wrong, I will fight by your side.”
“As will I,” Luka said. “Now breathe, you need to have your wits about you. We must know the facts of this before we give up all hope.”
“Show me,” Octavion ordered.
Cade walked them through his version of what happened. After being pulled from Althros, Kira had been dragged from the road, and thrown to the ground, but the Royal had not killed her there.
“Althros?” Octavion asked. “How can you be sure?”
“Because I have chased him down after getting out of the stables. One of his shoes has a bent nail, see?” Cade pointed to the print in the dirt. “She must have conned the stablemen into giving her a horse.”
“Althros is not a horse, he’s a beast.” The thought of Kira even getting close to the animal made his gut twist into a knot. “Continue.”
“Like I said, he did not kill her here. I have seen Royals do this when they hunt for sport and not to satisfy their cravings. He played with her, like a cat plays with a mouse.” Cade pointed to several spots where Kira had been tossed and dragged. “And then there is this. He pointed to the tree with Kira’s hair caught in the bark. “She was thrown against this tree. The Royal came at her, but then he stumbled back into the dirt. He lay flat on his back, not struggling or moving while she got up and walked to his side.”
They all walked to where Cade showed the Royal’s markings in the dirt. “And this is where it gets strange,” Cade said. “Kira takes four steps toward the trees and then-” He paused for a moment. “Octavion, I need some light. Can you still charm a stone?”
Octavion took a deep breath. “I think so. It has been a long time, but I will try.” He traveled with his mind to the edge of the forest where he’d seen a deposit of moonstone a few days before. He searched the ground for two stones and returned to where he’d left his cousins. Clenching the stones tightly in his fists, he summoned the powers of the moon through his gift as a Jayde. His hands trembled as the moon’s light gathered around him and filtered through his fingers and into the stones. He opened his palms and held the stones out for Cade to take.
“Will that do?” he asked.
“Perfect,” Cade said. “Nice to see you have not lost your touch.” He held the stones close to the ground, sweeping them from side to side to illuminate the tracks in the dirt.
Octavion didn’t watch the ground, but Cade’s face. His expression seemed to shift from that of a focused tracker to shock, then fear. When he froze, the stones illuminating a single footprint and gasped, Octavion stepped closer and crouched near him to get a better look. Luka did the same.
“What do you see?” Octavion asked.
“Brother,” Cade said. “Tell me I am wrong.”
Luka leaned close and examined the footprint, the color washing from his face. “Nigel.”
“What?” Octavion blurted. “Nigel was here?” He pressed his fingertips to his forehead and tried to summon the Darkord with his thoughts, but got no answer. “Are you sure?”
“Not for sure, but. .” He took another look at the print. “It’s this little imperfection at the heel. See how it looks like a piece is missing from the sole of his boot? Nigel’s print looks similar. I remember seeing it in the clearing the night I guarded the girls.”
“You mean the night you fell asleep and let him touch Kira.” Octavion stood and began pacing, marring the scene. He’d been right about Nigel. Kira hadn’t accidently bumped into him, he’d been stalking her, waiting for the right moment to strike.
“Octavion! You are walking all over the signs,” Cade yelled.
Octavion stopped. “Does he have her?”
Cade stood and glanced around the clearing as if going through the battle scene in his head again. “I do not know. There is only one print. And Kira’s prints stop and go nowhere.”
“What do you mean?” Octavion asked. “Did Nigel or the Royal take her at that point?”
“Not the Royal. He rolled in the other direction, stood and walked five steps before his foot prints stop. I assume he vanished at that point. His prints show no additional weight, so he left alone. There was no further confrontation. She did not die here.”
“Could Nigel have taken her?” Octavion asked.
Luka grabbed one of the moonstones from Cade and searched the scene himself. “I do not think so. He has not been a Darkord long, but could barely transport himself. He did not have the strength to take his brother to where we stepped through the portal-I had to help him. By now he could have lost his gift altogether.”
“But Kira is much smaller,” Octavion said. “Could he have taken her?”
Luka paused for a moment, as if considering Octavion’s question. “Not likely, but-I still cannot fathom Nigel being involved in this.”
“He was in the village two days ago, following Kira,” Octavion said. “That is reason enough for me.”
“Perhaps we should start with Kazedon,” Cade said. “They claim to have proof of death. We should see exactly what they have, then go from there. Maybe the Royal who escaped can give us some answers. You will
