Chapter Two

Rudolph flopped into his seat next to Tony and dropped his binder onto the desk in front of him. "You okay, dude?" Tony asked.

"I haven't been sleeping well," Rudolph replied, burying his face in his hands and shaking his head.

"We all know your brother snores."

Rudolph leaned back and lay his arms on the table. "It's not that," he said, shaking his head.

"You sure?"

"I can sleep through his snoring just fine, and I have, consistently, mind you. It's not the fact that he sounds like a chainsaw, as you Americans say."

"So what is it?"

"I keep thinking that we...forgot someone."

"Forgot someone?"

"It's what's been keeping me up at night, the sense that we've forgotten someone, or someone was unable to come to the Call."

"Who do you think it is?"

"I'm not entirely sure."

"So what do we do?"

"Mr. Thompson, Mr. Sackville-Bagg, do you two have anything to share," Mr. Boggins asked. Both boys shook their heads. "Well, then, enough talking so we can get on with our lesson."

"We'll talk later," Rudolph whispered, and Tony nodded.

TLV

Gregory slumped in his seat and tilted his head back, struggling to think of a way to get out of the most boring assembly he had ever experienced. Ever. Compounding the problem was the fact that something nagged at the back of his mind, much like the sense that he had forgotten something...or someone. It was almost impossible. He'd made the Call. He knew that everyone in the clan answered. Except those who'd been claimed by the hunters.

Von.

Something about Von's description, given to him by the three most trustworthy people he knew, his siblings and the human boy who helped save his entire clan, deepbly bothered him. Despite being presumed dead, none mentioned a stake being driven through his ribs.

Gregory's head snapped up. His mind seized on an idea, and almost immediately he knew how to implement it. He walked up to the nearest teacher, asked to use the bathroom, and slipped out of the auditorium. He turned and walked out of the school and down a side street, and he allowed his feet to guide him to the graveyard.

He moved quickly, instinctively looking over his shoulder every few paces. So far as he could tell, he was alone save a few cars on the road and one or two visitors in the cemetery. Mentally, he ran through Rudolph's tale as he slipped into the old crypt first. He followed the tunnels as if he were his brother moving backward, and after a few wrong turns, he reached the underground chamber containing Von's grave.

The coffin was large enough for two, fitting the description, and it was surrounded by chains and debris. Above it was a hole leading to the surface, presumably drilled by Rookery. The lid on the coffin was askew.

Gregory stepped forward, wondering if he was waiting for something. His foot touched the side of the coffin, and he blinked a few tumes. He leaned forward, his hands on the edge of the coffin, and studied the inside. A Scottish woman lay on one side, perfectly preserved, a stake through her ribs. The space next to her was empty.

Gregory stepped back and rubbed his eyes. Nothing about the scene changed. This could mean one of two things: Von's body had been moved, or he was alive.

He took a deep breath and ran through a mental list of people to talk to. His parents would think he'd lost his mind. Anna was a viable option, as were Rudolph and Tony, but what could he say? "Von's body is missing. Please pass the gravy." It wasn't something typically discussed over dinner.

Then it hit him, and he looked around the chamber one last time before walking down the tunnel the way he had come.

TLV

"So, Von's body is missing?" Rudolph asked, holding his hands out and giving Gregory a skeptical, slightly confused look.

"Yes," Gregory replied.

Anna and Tony exchanged looks from opposite sides of Rudolph, seated on Gregory's bed, and then looked at the teenager, seated on Rudolph's bed. "You're absolutely sure?" Rudolph asked, and Gregory nodded.

"So, he's alive?" Tony asked.

"I don't know for sure," Gregory replied. "Either that or his body's been moved."

"How do we know which one's right?"

"I say we wait," Rudolph said. "We can't just jump to conclusions. You remember what happened to some of the others."

"Well, I don't have a better plan," Gregory said with a shrug. "Waiting it is, then."

"What're we waiting for?" Tony asked.

"An answer to fall out of the sky," Rudolph replied.

"Until further notice," Gregory said.

"But there's hope," Anna added, resting her hands over her heart and tilting her head back. The three boys merely exchanged looks.

"You kids doin' okay in here?" Bob asked, poking his head through the door. After a chorus of 'yeses' and nods, he said, "Okay, good. We'll be downstairs if you need anything."

"Okay," Tony replied.

"Alright," Rudolph said.

Bob closed the door, and a strange silence settled over the four.