“Down here is the hallway that leads to the training facilities, but they stopped using those, according to Ristan. They stopped teaching them weapon skills, and were more focused on showing the kids how to use their powers. A Witch’s power is ten times more effective in a fight, which makes sense. Anyway, there are two small staircases down here.” I pointed to them on the map. “These ones go directly to the catacombs and the libraries. Archives are further down, and that is where the librarian Ristan was asking me about was stationed when I was active in the Guild. They normally stick to protocol so my guess is she’d still be at the same desk. The catacombs themselves don’t have a map; only librarians know to get around in there. Those things run under the city, and can take you pretty much anywhere you want to go.”
“So if they are in the catacombs?” Ryder asked.
“Then we’d have a hell of a time finding them. I don’t honestly think they’d go down deep into them though; if you don’t have a Guild librarian with you, you’re pretty much screwed down there. Librarians were the only ones who were allowed to study the maps of the catacombs.”
For all we knew, it could be for nothing. Ryder hadn’t been able to make contact with Ristan; they shared a mental path, but it was empty, as if Ristan had ceased to exist. I could see the tension of that question in the room, and knew that I wasn’t the only one praying that both he and Alden were okay.
There were also the children who trained at the Guild to consider, if most of the Witches and Warlocks were Mages or had joined ranks with them over time. The Humans needed the Guilds, but they needed them to be there for the right reason, they also needed them to not be on a crazy vendetta and run by Mages hell-bent on revenge no matter what the cost.
“So this is what we know from Vlad and Adrian. The Guild went quite a few days ago, and they said that the Fae are growing bolder. It’s like they know that no one is there to stop them. It’s gotten worse in the last few days. Vlad had to take out a few of the Light Fae. Said they fed until the woman turned FIZ, and then continued until she was dead. He doesn’t allow that shit in his place and took their heads without a second thought,” Zahruk said, looking right at me. “Then yesterday some unclaimed Fae turned up and caused a bar brawl, and when Adrian threatened to call the Guild, they told him go ahead. It was like they knew there was no Guild.”
“Because there isn’t one in Spokane now,” I mumbled and got up to pace. “I should have gone and checked on them.”
“When could you have done that, Synthia? When you were dying, or when you were fighting here, against Faolán?” Ryder asked calmly.
“I knew Ristan wasn’t telling me everything, and I didn’t make him say it. I know better, I was a damn Enforcer! I know when something is wrong and I felt it but I chose to ignore it.”
“You can’t hold yourself responsible,” Aodhan said. “I knew something was off with Ristan as well, and I didn’t pry either.” Many of the brothers nodded in agreement as if they all had noticed the same thing.
“Nobody is at fault here,” Zahruk said, cutting in. “The only thing we can do now is load up on weapons and go have a look. Maybe rid the world of some of those fuckers in the process. It’s the only choice we got right now, but first we need to secure the castle and the babies. I have Darynda with the babes, along with some of the guards who I trust. We leave the castle guards here—I trained them myself—and they know what to do should any of the visiting Fae get itchy. I doubt they’d have the balls to do it, but I never take chances.”
“And me?” Ciara asked as she moved into the room. “I’ve trained with you as well, brother. I can help protect the wee ones.”