"What is your name?" A deep voice asked, already knowing the answer. Of course they knew her name. Hers and the one of the boy. After all, they had been watching them closely these past weeks, constantly on the lookout for a new possible champion. And those two newcomers were just deliciously perfect for Saber. She was the most unpredictable one from their pack. The smart and quiet one. And she was also the last to choose a reliable champion.
"Susan Thompson" another voice answered, quiet and scared. "Please, please don't hurt me. My family has money." Her voice was breaking as she tried to plead for her life, but to no avail. Grimclaw was ruthless. Without so much as a warning he tore the blindfold from her face, just to look her straight in the eyes. Her innocent big blue eyes, opposed to the merciless silver in his.
But her eyes couldn't focus on his for too long, for something else caught her attention. The breath got caught in her chest, while she gazed upon the lifeless body of a boy, laying next to her. His face seemed familiar, she thought. Was it somebody from her school? Why was he laying there? Was he dead? Who were those people and what did they want from her? The terror inside of her grew with every passing second and once again she tried to plead with her Kidnapper. But before she could say a word he suddenly threw something over her shoulders. It felt like a hide maybe, but there was not much time for her to analyze the item, because soon after a sharp pain tore through her whole body, leaving her breathless once again. And then her world turned black.
"So, what's your name now?" The same voice from before repeated their question. And the one answering him might have sounded the same, but behind that once innocent voice you could clearly hear a different person now. "Do you really need to ask, my dear?" Pleased with himself the man held out a hand, helping the girl stand up. "It's good to have you back, Saber."
"What do you mean, there was nothing? The trace can't just end into nowhere. Maybe..." She didn't exactly want to say that out loud, but it had to be said. "Maybe they are dead and their bodies hidden somewhere around that area. Did you check for that?" The two men in front of her just shook their heads which would have infuriated Vera even more, if she hadn't felt so weak in that moment.
"It was getting quite dark already. I do remember where it ended. We can go again tomorrow, with daylight, and loom for the bodies. But until then we all should get some Rest." It was Hamishs way of telling her to go home. Usually he would have taken her there immediately himself, considering the way she looked right now. But Jack was there, so he pulled himself together for a little longer. For now he would accompany his friend to the den and later he would check up on Vera for sure.
Vera on the other hand had other plans. After the boys left she couldn't just get up and out of that room. A part of her felt nostalgic, while her eyes wandered around. This was her life for the past... How many years had she been here again? The title of temple magus was given to her at a young age. In fact, she had only just passed her final exams when the previous temple magus passed away and she was offered the position. Youngest person to ever get that title.
This was her safe place from that day on. All the items displayed in the shelves keeping a story she experienced since then. One specific item caught her eye and she finally managed to get up on her feet, walking towards it until she held the little item in her hands. It looked like a charm, the skull of a small animal, some kind of a bird, with a leather band attached to it. Where had she gotten that thing? Has it always been there? She couldn't remember, even if her life depended on it. What a strange feeling, trying to remember something so silly and failing all the way. Whatever, she thought, holding it by the leather bands and slowly wrapping it around her throat. Once Vera was done, she went looking for a mirror, only to notice that it felt like the charm had always been hanging around her neck. "Well, it doesn't really fit my style, but I kinda like it." She said to herself, before finally calling it a night and making her way home.
Meanwhile Elizabeth went to her library, looking for a specific journal. After her last visit with Vera, there were a couple things that weighed heavily on her mind. For example the face she suddenly seemed to remember again. A face she had seen in her dreams. A face that was gone the moment she had woken up and yet again, while talking to Vera about the people in her drawings, it suddenly had come back. A face that now seemed to haunt her for the rest of the day. If she remembered correctly, there was another council member who once mentioned another person besides the pregnant woman. Maybe reading that journal again would help her figure out more about that stranger.
But the moment she opened the door to her library her body stopped moving, eyes locked on the spectacle in front of her. Black and red flames, dancing around one another, engulfing her precious book shelf and consuming all of the journals it could get. When she realized what was happening, her paralyses ended, leaving her to act quickly with a spell to extinguish the flames. Only problem was, the spell wouldn't work. Why wouldn't it? No matter how often she repeated it, nothing changed. Almost in awe she then decided to watch, as a years worth of important data burned to ashes, leaving nothing in the end. And just as the last page was singed unrecognizably, the flames disappeared.
No other book had been touched by them. No other damage to report, than the councils dream diaries. "What the actual fuck was that?" It was then that she remembered one of the first dreams she had about this. The pregnant woman engulfed by red and black flames. Within seconds she had a phone in her hands, dialing a number. "Hey, whatever bad thing is supposed to happen? I think it has begun. Yes, exactly. Wait, I have something that you might be interested in." While talking her other hand grasped the sketch of a strange man just a little tighter.