“If it truly is my sister Zara in those pictures, she must’ve found a portal after I left home and that’s how she met Vince, Olivia’s twin brother.”
“Holy Fates, Asher,” Rickert said, rubbing his forehead. “An uncharted portal? Where’s home? We need to have your sister show us.”
“We grew up in Vallenberg, my stepfather’s village, but she’s gone now.”
“That’s a four- or five-day ride north of Crestenfahl.”
“Three on a fast horse,” Asher said. And now that the Crestenfahl portal was gone, the journey would take even longer from one of the other secret portals.
Rickert exhaled slowly and tried to get up. “Bloody hell. This iron sickness shit is for the birds.” He grimaced and slumped down again. “She needs…to show us…the exact location.”
He paced around the room, a twinge of guilt spearing his gut as he thought about his sister. “I haven’t seen Zara in years. I don’t know where she is.”
Rickert cursed. Asher glanced over but couldn’t tell if it was because of the pain or the news about his sister.
“Where did Olivia’s family live?” Neyla asked. “Since we’re already here, maybe we can begin our search on this side.”
“Granite Falls,” he said.
She gave a knowing nod.
“You’ve heard of it?” Asher stopped pacing.
“It’s a picturesque little town in the foothills of Mount Pilchuck, about an hour northeast of New Seattle. They host an herb festival every year.”
He remembered what Olivia had told him about her mother’s herbal remedies.
“We’ll need to send…someone back…through the portal…to report this news. Start the search…over there as well.” Rickert visibly relaxed when Neyla whispered something in his ear and began to caress his neck and shoulders.
“What can you tell me about Olivia?” she asked. “She’s an unregistered Talent?”
Only that she’s amazing, intelligent, beautiful, sexy, and perfect. And totally wrong for me.
Asher nodded. “She’s a gifted Healer, but doesn’t want the army to know. After what they did to her brother, she’s terrified the same thing will happen to her. She keeps a low profile. Moves around a lot.”
Now it was Neyla’s turn to curse. “Bastards. I don’t blame her one damn bit. Once you’re in, they control everything about your life. I met a few other Talents working in the army, but her brother’s name doesn’t sound familiar. Does she know what unit he’s stationed with?”
He shook his head. “After they took him away, they got a few letters then nothing. They never heard from him again.”
Neyla frowned. “I was allowed contact with my family after I joined the army. There’s got to be more to it. I’ll make a few calls and see what I can find out.”
“You’re going to call someone?” Rickert said, sitting up on one elbow. “What…are you going to say? If the army finds out you’re alive…and back on this side of the portal, they’ll come after you.”
Neyla patted his hand. “There are a handful of people I trust on the inside.”
“Do you have any idea what could’ve happened to her brother?” Asher asked.
“Well, for one, they could’ve killed him,” she said. “That’s certainly a possibility. But when my Talents were discovered, I was sent for extensive training where I was taught how to hone my skills. While I was there, we’d heard about a place called the Institute, where they took those with dangerous Talents and kept them under lock and key.”
“Dangerous? Aren’t many Talents dangerous if they want to be?” He was thinking of Rickert’s ability as a Fire-Talent, which allowed him to set fire to things far away.
“Yes, but these were people they claimed were mentally unstable. Although our trainers never came out and said it in so many words, we knew that if we didn’t cooperate, we could potentially be sent there as well.”#p#分页标题#e#
He considered the possibility that Olivia’s brother wasn’t dead, but alive and imprisoned somewhere, unable to make contact with the outside world.
“What’s her brother’s Talent?” Neyla asked. “Is he a healer, too?”
Asher frowned, unable to recall whether Olivia had told him or not. “I assume so, but I don’t know for sure.”
She rose and began to fasten her blond hair into a ponytail. “Could you take me into town to make a few calls? I may not be able to find out anything, but I’d like to try.”
He gave her a grateful smile. “Thank you. And if Olivia were here, she’d thank you, too.”