No sooner had I clicked off the comm stone and made that promise, my sister bolted right past me and out the door. David and I ran after her, trying to calm her down,but it didn't do much good. She was desperately worried about her girlfriend, and nothing was going to stop this charging Bitaur.

Eventually, I was able to get her to stop and explain the situation. We needed to know everything that transpired in order to figure out where she might have been taken.

As she explained it, Fleur had been on the comm stone with her contacts when Zoe saw it through the window. A shadow moved past just before a gunshot shattered the glass, nearly missing them both. Just before the second shot, Fleur was already rushing her out of there, shoving her down the stairs into the basement.

But just before she could follow, they crashed in through the door and grabbed her. Right before it happened, she abruptly shut and locked the door on Zoe.

Zoe described how it all happened in the blink of an eye. When we had come in and were calling for her, she was searching for another way out. That explained why she hadn't heard us at first.

I could only imagine how scared she was. Not only for herself, but for Fleur.

She described them as wearing all black with hoods and masks covering their faces. All she could make out were their eyes. According to her, one of them had a single crimson eye and was missing the other one; while the other had slate blue-grey eyes. From what I knew of Dusgelvan, which was admittedly not a lot, it appeared to line up, but we still couldn't be sure. I couldn't even be sure that the Maji Guard weren't somehow tied up in all of this, too. But that was a story for another time. Right now, we needed to figure out where they might have taken her.

And we had to find her as soon as possible. I couldn't take my time on this one, for there was little time to waste. A friend's life was at stake. I couldn't do my customary rundown of all the facts. We had no choice but to decide all at once. As much as I didn't want to admit it, David's suggestion of the house was the best place to start looking. So that was where we went first.

When we got there, however, as much as Zoe wanted to, we couldn't just go barging in. We needed to be methodical about this. Neither of us was really certain this was the place–though we were also unsure that it wasn't.

David took the lead as he directed Zoe and me to go around the side toward the back of the house. I let her take the lead with her magic while I hid Psicon in the amulet that Fleur had given me. Just as we made it halfway toward the back, she stopped me as she closed her eyes. A moment later, with a few hand gestures, Dragron erupted from the ground in front of her. I was almost impressed — though I recalled her problem was dismissing it. But we'd file that away for later.

Dragron led us around to the back, its tongue flicking at the air and head scanning from side to side. I wondered if it was picking up on something. Had it caught a scent? Was there someone here? I couldn't really tell.

Just then, it stopped, its head snapping toward the backdoor as it emitted a low growl. We both froze, watching while its eyes remained trained on that door. I felt for sure it sensed something or someone. I didn't think it could be David it was sensing. It knew him.

Zoe motioned for me to take cover while she remained with her Mystimon. Then she charged a flame spell in her left hand, surprising me with the sheer speed she'd managed this time. Had Fleur's tutoring actually been paying off?

Seconds passed while the two glared at the door. Glancing behind me now and then, I scanned around with my telepathy, searching for any sign of movement. Suddenly. . . "Zoe, watch out!" I cried just as a figure emerged from the door — but it was only David.

We all breathed a sigh of relief, but also dismay, when he informed us that there was nothing inside. So this place was a bust, and we were right back at square one. Then what did Dragron sense? I glanced around, narrowing my eyes.

"Where to now?" asked Zoe, folding her arms and tapping one foot against the ground. I had barely enough time to think over everything, and she was already expecting an answer. An answer I didn't have for her. I really didn't know where to go after this, as this was the best possibility I could think of. I felt our only option was to wait for Tarda, but I was reluctant to admit it. The way she was, especially right now, she needed to be doing something, and I understood that. Not knowing what to do in the current situation was impossibly hard for me, and I really wished I had an answer.

David nodded toward the house. "I still think this is our best shot," he said, shaking his head.

"But they wouldn't have brought her here to start with," I replied, the reason seeming obvious. "This house has been crawling with Maji Guard and us since the body was found. So they would have moved to a secondary location now."

"Then where?"

That was where I was stuck. It would help if we could get someone around here to talk to us. But since we'd been here, everyone had shut themselves away in their homes. They were scared. I didn't even need my empathic ability to know that. 

My guess was it had something to do with the Dusgelvan. The more I learned of them, the more unnerved I was. But what I wanted to know was what they wanted with Fleur to start with?

I thought over everything she had told me. She believed her parents had something to do with it. Okay, so if her parents were part of this, then who were they? What importance did they have to the entire case?

"Zoe, what has Fleur told you about her parents?" I asked, thinking it through.

She appeared to consider it  before giving me an answer. "They're diplomats or something. . . I know she hardly ever sees them, and that a family friend is the one who looks after her."

"Who is this family friend? Do you know?"

"I more than know of her. . . I've met her. Lady Magnola. She's some really important person in Olympus."

I stared at her. "Why didn't you tell me any of this before?" I said, before shaking my head. That wasn't important right now. "We need to go see her right now! If Fleur is her ward, then she needs to know what's happened. Take us to her place, now!"

She wasted no time as she turned and started running back toward the road. "She's in the Palace District. . . Anyone know how to get there faster?" She said as she turned to look at her Dragron, who was lumbering up behind her. "Almost wish she would evo already. . ."

Rolling my eyes, I smirked. "You can hardly handle her now. What makes you think you could handle a Megazard?"

She shot me a glare as she turned to David and stopped at the road. "Got any ideas, jerkface?"

Oh, right. That's it. Call David names. That'll get us there faster. Some days I wondered if she even listened to herself, much less thought anything through before saying it.

"I can get us a ride, just need to make a call," he replied, pulling his comm stone from his pocket and stepping away.

I wondered if this had anything to do with the friend whose automobile we'd wrecked. Just then, Psicon popped out of the amulet and crawled up to my shoulder as it squealed at me. I understood that to mean it was unhappy in the amulet, or simply liked being on my shoulder.

Moments later, he returned. "So. . . My friend is sending a ride for us. I used the chance to convey your apology for damaging her automobile.” 

"Me?!" I exclaimed. The way I remembered it, it was more Vierre who'd done it.

"Is there another telekinetic around here?"

Good point. Sighing, I took a deep breath. "So do I finally get to meet one of your friends who've been spying on me?"

"I wouldn't call it spying, more keeping an eye on you. In case the jerkwad comes back, you know?"

I rolled my eyes. How many people were we going to call names today? I wasn't exactly enthused with all of that.

I glanced at Zoe, and she'd already turned away, staring at the road before us. I sensed concern emanating from her, though I also detected a hint of shame. It was as though she blamed herself for what had happened. "It's not your fault, you know," I told her softly. 

"It is too!" she shot back. "I should have done something!"

I shook my head. "But there wasn't anything you could have done, Zoe. You've got to know that."

Yet she just turned away from me again, rolling her eyes. I could tell that nothing I said would change how she felt in that moment. There was only one thing to be done.

Find Fleur.

David's friend didn't send an automobile for us. . .

She sent a dragon!

I was both startled and amazed as the Megazard landed before us. Shooting a glance back at Zoe, I grinned. "And you wished your Dragron would evo?"

The look on her face said everything. She instantly knew how foolish her wish was as the dragon loomed over us. It landed on its four legs as its scarlet, red, scaley skin glistened in the scorching sunlight.

Its triangular-shaped head looked straight at us as we reflected off its dark eyes. Its teeth were long and sharp, horns adorning the back of its head, and its long tail whipped around in midair.

Staring back at Zoe, I asked her, "Have you gotten the dismissing part down yet?" I wasn't sure it would be a great idea trying to mount this Megazard with her Dragron.

She rolled her eyes as she turned to the beast. "Dismissed!" She shouted as it rapidly turned into blazing energy and disappeared right in front of us. Impressive. She finally figured that out. "As it would turn out, I suppose my issue was just how forcefully I'd been saying it. I guess I wasn’t confident enough when I said, I don’t know."

Yet I suddenly felt a wave of trepidation wash over me as I glanced back at the dragon. I was unsure how I felt about flying — to be honest, I had never flown before at all, be it a Mystimon or an airship. This would be a new experience for me, and I was feeling a little anxious about it.

Noticing my unease, David took my hand and smiled down at me. "It'll be okay," he told me in a comforting tone. I didn't know what it was. Just being in his presence seemed to calm me. The heart wants what the heart wants, Fleur's words rang in my head once again as I felt my heart throbbing in my chest. I could no longer deny it. I really did feel something for him.

"Thanks. . ." I said meekly as he guided me to the dragon. But just then, Zoe marched right past us and mounted it in a single movement.

"You're both taking too long!" she yelled back at us. I breathed a sigh. There was little I could say to her. She was worried about Fleur; she was allowed to be impatient.

Slowly, David gave me a lift up onto the dragon's back. Next, I held out my hand to lift him up. When we were finally secure, the beast flapped its huge, magnificent wings. Wind billowed out on all sides as it lifted up into the sky. As it did, he wrapped his arms around my waist, winking at me.

The city appeared to grow smaller and smaller as we rose higher into the sky; the buildings passing us by at a brisk pace. The dragon roared as people screamed, looking up at us from the streets below. They were probably not used to seeing a Megazard flying overhead — the walls around the city were enchanted specifically to keep flying wild Mystimon out.

Megazard zipped right over the Palace District walls, as Magi Guard officers screamed at us from their posts. Feeling myself yelling over the rushing sound of the wind, I asked Zoe, "Where's Fleur's place at?"

"Past the palace, in the northwestern corner of the district!" She yelled back at me. I could hardly believe what I was hearing.

That was an area reserved specifically for foreign dignitaries and diplomats. Then again, given her status as an exchange student from Olympus, it made sense that would be where she stayed. "Megazard, take us that way!" I called out to the dragon, hoping that it would hear me — or even pay attention to me.

Yet, the beast grunted in response and veered toward the northwest. I was impressed. Whoever his friend was had raised this Megazard well.

Finally, the beast came in for a landing, and it softly lowered to the ground. Getting off, I turned toward the beast and gave it a pat on its head with a smile. "Thank you," I said.

The dragon seemed to nod as it lifted into the sky and took off at high speed. "Well. . ." I started as I turned to Zoe. "If you can do half as well raising your Dragron, maybe the world won't be screwed after all."

She rolled her eyes and shook her head at me as she stepped right past me up the road. I guessed she didn't appreciate my joke, as David and I followed her.

"Kairine. . ." whispered David to me. "Are you trying to piss your sister off?"

I shrugged.

Eventually, she brought us to a gorgeous and magnificent courtyard. It was framed with palm trees on both sides of the marble-tiled path, as bright green grass sprawled out on either side. Looming over us were pristine marble walls and arched wrought-iron gates. "Is there a password or something to get in?" I asked Zoe as I looked around. 

It surprised me that there weren't any guards. I expected to see at least one or two, but there were none here. "Exactly how are we supposed to get in?"

"We ring the bell," she replied simply, walking over to the wall. As I glanced in that direction, along the right-hand side of the gate was a metallic panel. On it was a single, large and round, white button. Without hesitation, she pressed the button. We were all startled by the loud hammering sound of a large brass bell that I hadn't noticed perched at the top of the marble wall. Okay, that was certainly one way to get people's attention.

Moments later, a man dressed in a neat black tuxedo, white-skinned with a curled black and grey mustache, marched up to the gate. "Ah. . . If it isn't Zoe. . . I am dreadfully sorry, but Miss Aurora is not in at present," he said in a polite tone.

She shook her head. "That's exactly why we're here. . . We need to see Lady Magnolia," she responded, motioning to us. "Fleur has been kidnapped!"