An elderly priest in cleric robes got out of the car and came to me. "You must be Sam."
He held out his hand, but I reached over it to hug him instead. "Father Patrick, it's so good to finally meet you, but you shouldn't have come here. It's still very dangerous."
The father's smile was infectious, even in the midst of such bitter sadness. "Do not worry for me. The Lord is my keeper and He alone decides the time and place of our reunion , does he not? But I'm not here to give a sermon. We've brought buses for the kids, and I have a safe haven for them lined up until we sort all of this out."
I marveled at all he and Brad had done, but a man and woman dressed in suits walked up to us before I could thank the priest.
The man held out his hand to me, and I shook it. "I'm Agent Morrison, and this is Agent Simmons."
I raised my eyebrow at Brad. He'd involved law enforcement? I couldn't decide if this was really great news, or really dreadful news.
"Sam, these are the people who sent the mysterious email. They work for a secret arm of an intergovernmental agency created, in part, to stop Rent-A-Kid from becoming too powerful: IPI, International Paranormal Investigations. They helped us put together the resources we needed to get your guys out, and they want our help in taking down the entire organization from the top."
Agent Morrison's mind opened up instantly to my mental touch. 'I know you can read my mind, Sam, so you'll know I'm telling the truth. We're here to help. We can discuss all the details later. In the meantime, we're taking your friends and fellow students to a property owned by the Church and run by Father Patrick. We assumed that would be a more comfortable solution for all of you while we get to know each other?'
I nodded and called to Lucy. I could read minds, sure, but sometimes a lie detector is better to have around. For me to tell if someone was lying, I had to dig. She knew instantly.
She walked over with Luke in tow. "Can you read these guys for me?"
We had both agents make several statements of intent about what they planned for us and whether they intended to hurt us—intentionally or otherwise.
"They're on the up and up. We've got some seriously injured kids here. Did you guys happen to bring any medical personnel with you?"
Agent Simmons got on her walkie-talkie, and within a minute or two several ambulances drove up with E.M.T.s ready to get to work. I'd never seen so many vehicles around our school.
One medic noticed my hand and pulled me away from the group.
Lucy stayed beside me as the woman had me sit on the back of her ambulance, where she unwrapped my makeshift bandage. "This is a pretty bad burn. How'd it happen?"
I told her, leaving out all the painful details.
Lucy arched her eyebrow.
"I'll tell you later, Luce. Just know, the Seeker is dead."
Her eyes filled with tears, which I did not expect. "I believe you. We have so much to talk about."
"How far along are you?" The medic palpated my stomach and held a stethoscope to it.
"Um... I guess I'm... four months along. I'm not sure."
"You look big for only four months. Are you sure?"
Lucy glared at her and the woman shrugged. "You'll need to have a full psychical as soon as possible. And regular prenatal appointments, if you want a healthy baby."
Somehow prenatal appointments hadn't been high on my list of things to do with people trying to kill or imprison me, but I promised I would follow up.
She smeared ointment on my hand and wrapped it in clean gauze. "This is a third-degree burn. You need to get it checked out immediately."
I promised, and headed back onto the school campus.
Lucy grabbed my arm. "Where you going, Chica? We need to get out of here."
"I have to find Drake. He's not with any of the students, so he must be on the campus. He could be trapped or hurt. I have to get to him."
"Okay, but let me at least get Luke to help."
I waited while she found her brother.
The three of us searched every room, every hallway, every soggy, burned-out area. No Drake.
My feet and hand and... just about every part of me hurt so much, but I couldn't stop. Waterlogged, frozen to the bone despite Brad's jacket, and nearly delirious from exhaustion and pain, I kept looking.
Luke pulled me into another hug. "Sam, we've got to go. He's not here. Not anymore."
Some of the buildings had been burned so badly. There might be remains....
Brad's new government friends promised to launch a full investigation and sort out the bodies, but they made it clear anyone not alive and accounted for had likely perished in the fires.
I would never accept that story.
Drake was not dead, and I would find him.
He had to know. He had to understand.
The Seeker gave me one last gift before he died, and while I didn't know what it all meant, I knew one thing clearly.