Chapter 103

Kahlan met Hotch's team in their conference room and gave them an update on everything that had happened since they left for their latest case. First, she told them about her trip to New York City and the information Emerell had given them, and she had to answer several questions to convince them that Emerell really was an angel. The girls wouldn't let her move passed that, though, until she described him in detail. She could tell that some of them still weren't convinced, but she pushed on by telling them, "Cam is already tracking down some of the info he gave us with Pen's help."

"Yessiree. We were able to match that partial plate from the van that was used in Mon Capitan's abduction to an actual van owned by that Reese guy, and we've issued a country wide APB," Garcia put in.

"Yes, hopefully someone spots it soon," Cam added.

Next, Kahlan told them about Chuck's visit with the hunters, and how Chuck got them even more people to investigate. She ended her report with a heavy sigh and slunk back against the chair she was sitting in, Hotch's chair. As the cushions expelled the air caught in them, a faint hint of Hotch's scent wafted out to her, and she breathed in slowly as her eyes slid shut. God, I miss you, Hun.

"And what aren't you telling us, Kiddo?" Dave asked as he reached over and gave her shoulder a paternal squeeze.

She sighed again. "Nothing. We're just waiting for the harvester to call back."

"What the hell is a harvester exactly?" Morgan asked as he glanced at everyone around them. Cam and Kahlan's faces didn't give anything away, Rossi and the girls all looked as lost as Morgan felt, but Reid was sinking down into his seat and not meeting his eyes. Morgan huffed. "Ut-uh, out with it, pretty boy."

Kahlan's eyes snapped to the young genius'. "You know what they are?"

"They were mentioned in the books the Schewel's gave us," is all Reid offered.

"So, what are they?" JJ asked. "Are they as bad as they sound?"

"They have to be with as much as he's trying to hide," Morgan put in.

Reid's eyes begged Kahlan to save him, so she took a deep breath and told them everything she knew about them.

"That's why he's still alive," JJ stated as she processed it and tears formed in her eyes.

Kahlan nodded as she sighed. "Yep."

"But that's a good thing. That will give us time to find him," Mack insisted.

Kahlan huffed as she got up from the table and took a couple steps away all while shaking her head.

"That's not a good thing?" Morgan asked her as he studied her.

She snorted and turned back to them. "Oh yeah, it's really good that he's basically stuffed in someone's demented fucking pantry where they can go and get whatever they want from him over and over again like some twisted carcass that provides them with pieces to sell!"

Garcia's eyes widened and when Kahlan's words truly sunk in, she teared up. "You mean. . . they can. . . they'd do that to him?"

Kahlan wilted as she studied them. Rossi's face had lost all its color, all the girls and Reid had tears either welling up in their eyes or streaming down their cheeks, and even Morgan stared wide-eyed at her. She bit her lip. "I'm sorry. I should have kept those thoughts to myself."

Suddenly Garcia sniffed, wiped her face off with her hands, and then slammed them down on the table making several of them jump. "I will find them! I don't care if it's the last thing I do! I will find my liege, and you all will bring him back to us!"

Kahlan's face turned hard. "Oh yeah, we will," she vowed. "And now I am going to leave to see if I can track down any more info while you all do your profiling thing. Maybe you all can figure out where these assholes have taken Hotch." She stepped towards the door but stopped when Rossi called out for her.

She turned back, and he pulled her into a hug. Once he released her, he gave her his most fatherly look. "And you will keep us updated, right, young lady?"

She smiled. "Yes, dad."

He smiled as he nodded and finally let her go completely. "And be safe!" he yelled before she could shut the door behind her.

XXXXX

Hotch took a step towards the thrown torch, but Copper grabbed his arm. "You sure you want to do that?"

"No, but it looks like I have to. I want out of this damn place and backtracking is going to take more time than I want to spend," Hotch told him and then went to the torch.

He picked it up and held it up as far as he could as he looked around. Things were littered all over the ground, and when he recognized some of the items as bones, a shiver ran down his back.

His companions joined him as they also looked around. "It doesn't seem like anything is in here," Therry offered in a whisper as she held up her torch to add to the light of Hotch's.

Something in one of the passages to Hotch's left reflected the firelight, and Hotch squinted as he tried to figure out what it was. Once he did, he moved to go to it, but the faun grabbed his arm. "What?"

Hotch pointed. "It's Gaylord, the guy from the cage," Hotch told him as he pointed to the man's arm that was visible; the wizard's wrist band is what had reflected the light. He shook the faun off and headed towards the older man with quick steps.

He squatted down as he got closer. "Gaylord?" he called out quietly, but the man didn't move. Once he was close enough, he reached out and nudged the man's arm. "Gaylord? It's me, Aar. . ." he started, but the words died on his tongue because the arm fell to the floor with a sickening thud. It wasn't attached to anything, and the ripped-up shoulder joint signaled that the arm had been torn from its owner.

He stood up in a rush and then studied the passageway. A wide blood trail lead away from the arm and into the darkness.

"Son of a bitch!" uttered right beside him made Hotch turn. The others had joined him, and the look of horror on their faces made him mentally cringe. When the man with the collar's eyes snapped to his accusingly, Hotch shook his head. "I didn't do that!"

The man's eyes squinted in suspicion. "Vampires move faster than the eye can see."

Hotch sighed. "The blood in that trail is dry. If I had just done that, it would still be wet, and his body would still be here. Whoever or whatever did that, dragged his body down that passage," he insisted as he pointed down it.

"You seem pretty sure about that," Maxin observed.

"Of course, he is. He's probably kil. . ." the collared man started.

Hotch cut him off with a look. "It has nothing to do with me being a vampire. It's my job to figure out crime scenes."

"Your job?" the faun asked.

Hotch nodded. "I was an FBI agent before being brought here."

Dag, the young dwarf, swallowed hard and then took a deep breath. "Well, I vote we don't go that way."

"Agreed," Maxin voiced and then moved to the dismembered arm and proceeded to take the wristband off it.

"What are you doing?" Hotch asked him.

"One never knows when something may come in handy," is all he offered as he shoved the metal bracelet into one of his pockets.

"What do you think did it?" Therry asked as her eyes roamed over their surroundings.

"Something big," Copper offered.

"Something strong," the collared man put in.

"I suggest we get out of here before we find out," Hotch offered as he turned to go back into the open area.

"Yeah," the faun agreed and then motioned for everyone to follow the vampire.

Before Hotch could decide on which passageway to take, an ear-splitting scream type howl made every hair on his body stand up.

They all turned and tried to figure out where the horrible sound had come from, but Hotch knew that with the way the labyrinth's construction made everything echo that that would be nearly impossible.

The thing screamed again, closer that time, and Hotch started moving to the closest passage all the while praying it wouldn't lead them to whatever had killed Gaylord.

XXXXX

It was dark by the time Kahlan got home, and she sat in her car even after she turned it off. She sighed. She knew her children suspected that their father was in trouble, and she knew she had to tell them that he was in fact missing, but she dreaded sharing that kind of news with them, again.

As her eyes searched the house in front of her, she sighed again. After another moment, she took a deep breath and opened the car door. This is easy compared to what Aaron's probably going through! The least you can do is suck it up, get in there, and come clean with them!

Joey met her at the door with a big smile; and Kahlan tried to give her one back, but she couldn't. "Hey, pumpkin."

Joey's Hotch stare emerged as she studied her mother which Kahlan tried to ignore as she took off her coat and used hanging it up as an excuse to take a moment to try and sum up the courage to face her own daughter.

When Joey huffed, Kahlan finally turned back to her. "Did you guys save me any dinner?"

"What have you been doing?" Joey asked as she folded her arms across her chest.

Kahlan's mouth went dry. "What do you mean?"

"You're doing something out of the ordinary because your normal work usually puts you home in time to make dinner, and you've been gone too much lately. What have you been doing?" Joey demanded calmly.

Kahlan swallowed. Damn, she even has Aaron's Unit Chief tone mastered.

"This is about Daddy, isn't it?" When Joey saw the whisper of a wince cross her mother's face, she knew she was right. "He's in trouble, isn't he?"

Kahlan looked into the house. "Where are the boys? We need to talk."

Joey's eyes softened as they watered. "I knew it."

"Joe. . ."

"I'll get them," Joey said and then ran to the basement steps.

XXXXX

Hotch was pulled to a stop by a thick hand. "While you may be able to keep up this speed, the rest of us cannot," Maxin told him as he breathed heavily.

Hotch looked at the rest of the group trying to catch their breath and then winced. "Sorry."

"We just need a few minutes," Copper assured him.

"I need more than that," the collared man started, "I need a drink."

"That would be nice," Therry agreed as she put her torch down on the ground to let her arm rest. "How long do you think we've been in here?" she asked as she leaned up against the wall.

"Long enough to get hungry," the young dwarf whined.

Copper chuckled. "Yes. I am hungry, too."

The others quickly put in their agreements as Hotch investigated the passage behind them to make sure they weren't being followed. When he turned back, he realized they were all staring at him. "What?"

"We were just wondering if you were hungry," the collared man asked.

Hotch mentally huffed. "Not yet, but you'll be the first to know when I am."

The man swallowed and moved back a step. When his heel came into contact with a large stone, it sunk into the ground and the area they were standing in started to rumble as the walls started to slowly vibrate.