Sacrificed To The Triplet Alpha Kings novel Chapter 386

Chapter 386: Thalia Isn’t Here

She pulled a small mirror from her bag, spelled for communication, keyed specifically to Elena.

She activated it and waited.

Elena’s face appeared in the glass almost immediately. She looked exhausted and worried.

"Victoria," Elena said. "Did you find her?"

"No," Victoria said, and the word tasted like failure. "She was here but she’s gone. I think she set up decoy locations. Left her magical signature to make trackers think she’s somewhere she’s not."

Elena’s expression was grim. "That’s smart. And frustrating."

"I don’t have time for this," Victoria said, and she could hear the desperation in her own voice. "I need to find her. Need to get to the Underworld. Need to...." She stopped and took a breath. "How long has it been? Since Lilith died?"

"Six hours," Elena said quietly.

Six hours.

Out of seven days.

Victoria felt the timeline pressing down on her.

"I need to search faster," Victoria said. "Find other locations Thalia might be using. But I don’t know where to start."

"What’s around you?" Elena asked. "Any signs of magical activity? Portals? Recent travel?"

Victoria looked around the abandoned quarry. "Nothing. Just old mining equipment and..."

Movement caught her eye.

Victoria’s head snapped toward it.

Something was watching her from the shadows between two buildings. Something large. Something that definitely was not human.

"I need to go," Victoria said quickly.

"Victoria, wait...." Elena started.

Victoria closed the mirror and slipped it back into her bag.

The creature stepped out of the shadows.

It was tall, easily seven feet. Its body was vaguely humanoid but wrong in ways that made Victoria’s skin crawl. Too many joints in the limbs. Skin that looked like old leather. Eyes that glowed faintly red in the fading light.

"Witch," it said, and its voice sounded like rocks grinding together.

Victoria called up her magic defensively. "What are you?"

"Guardian," the creature said. "This place is claimed. You trespass."

"I’m looking for someone," Victoria said carefully. "A dark witch. Thalia Morvaine. Have you seen her?"

The creature tilted its head in a way that suggested curiosity. "Why do you seek the dark one?"

"That’s my business," Victoria said.

The creature made a sound that might have been laughter. "The dark one left three days ago. Created portals. Many portals. Went in many directions."

Three days ago.

Before Victoria had even started preparing for resurrection.

Thalia had been planning her escape for longer than she had been planning to find her.

"Do you know where she went?" Victoria asked.

"Many directions," the creature repeated. "West. North. South. East. All directions. To confuse pursuit."

Victoria felt her heart sink. "How many portals?"

The creature held up one hand. Fingers that had too many knuckles. "Five portals. Five directions. The dark one is clever."

Five locations.

She would have to search five different places to find which one Thalia was actually hiding in.

At six hours per location.....assuming she could travel and search that quickly....it would take over a day. Maybe two.

She did not have two days to waste.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify