Once Upon an Adventure Page 2

  Ash gave a nod. “That’s correct. They do as they please, overall anyway. After going through the scrolls Nadia collected for me, I’ve uncovered a few more details, but nothing overtly useful.”

  “Like what? Maybe there’s a detail that will help us here?” I hoped there was anyway.

  Ash sighed as she began to pace. “There is a hierarchy and system of rules for when encountering mortals. The hierarchy, as far as I can figure, is very good witch bad witch. The Noble beings are at the top. The ones that cause the most chaos, and actual negative mayhem are the Lesser Daeums. They tend to avoid the others, since well, if I read correctly, the Noble Daeum’s pretty much instantly slay the Lesser. We believe that a Noble Daeum was who caused the situation with Nadia.”

  “What about the rules?” Cat inquired, her expression still as tight and stressed as when we first arrived. I noted that she kept looking toward the tunnels to my right.

  “To gain access to their magic, one must accomplish something for them,” Ash summed up before continuing on, pacing a circle around our immediate area. “According to what we learned from the council, they all gave up a minor magical talent in order to have their request met. After the objectives are completed, the Daeum is allowed to take a bit of liberty in completing their goal but it isn’t supposed to cause purposeful physical harm.”

  “Isn’t supposed to?” That did not sound comforting.

  “Well, a great example is Nadia’s case. Being changed into a different form does not cause harm. Fighting the wolves guarding the area can, but that was a choice she made, not a choice the Daeum made for her. Though she had claws to help her stay safe enough. It’s weird. Don’t mess with deities.” Ash shook her head, coming to a stop before pointing down a tunnel. “I sense the least amount of magic that way.”

  Cat nodded, looking relieved it was in the opposite direction she had been eyeing. “Someone didn’t get that memo about messing with them. Either way, that’s away from the magic I sense so let’s try it.”

  I sighed, not liking the idea of wandering but it was better than waiting here. “Let's give it a go then.”

  I created a handful of little fire lights to follow us, creating a magical trail so if we had to backtrack, we could.

  Cat and Ash walked ahead, nearly side by side as I trailed behind. I made sure a light stayed several paces ahead of them but wasn’t exactly sure what we could encounter. My body felt rigid as I thought of bears, and other creatures with claws and teeth.

  After several deadends and a lot of backtracking, those fears stopped. We were more bored than not, wandering with a faint hope of finding an exit.

  “Could we be trapped?” I finally mused aloud as we came to a halt at a crossway.

  “I wouldn’t be surprised at this point." Cat agreed, no longer tense or concerned.

  “There has to be a way…” Ash sighed, picking a path and continuing to walk. “If it is Daeum magic we can’t be stuck without food, or water, or everything…”

  “Didn’t you say this felt different?” Cat asked hesitantly as we followed.

  I didn’t like the direction that thought was going in. “What if this is from a Lesser Daeum?”

  Ash stopped dead in her tracks and tilted her head to the side, as if she was listening to something.

  We watched her for a moment before Cat spoke up. “You okay there Ash?”

  Ash turned to face us. “Oh, am I the only one who can hear that?”

  “Hear what?” I was starting to worry about her.

  “That sound…” She trailed off and nodded toward the wall.

  I looked at it, puzzled for a moment before I let my magic flow. The illusion was so tight knit I wouldn’t have noticed it without her mentioning it.

  “It’s mixed with magic I’m not familiar with. Can you do something about that?” I asked Ash as Cat stared at us like we were both losing it.

  “Hmmm." Ash thought aloud.

  After a few moments, maybe even a full minute I felt something change. I pulled at it with my magic, caressing all the threads of the illusion before tearing it to shreds and unveiling another pathway.

  “Well, this can’t be good.” Cat shook her head. “Shall we go anyway?” She motioned to the new tunnel before leading the way.

  “Might as well." Ash agreed, touching part of the wall. “Going to mark this and let that magic flow again in case whoever, or whatever, brought us here checks back.”

  I nodded as I followed and was surprised that the illusion quickly mended once Ash did her thing. If it was a Daeum, I wondered what magical characteristic Ash shared with them to be able to do that. Some magics overlapped. Her brother Marcus was an easy example. He could enchant and manipulate any technology like a master enchanter could, but he could also go beyond, only with that niche ability though.

  I didn’t voice my curiosity, for now, we needed to focus on getting out. I just hoped the others were okay and faring better than we were.

  Chapter 2

  ——Nadia——

  Vincent lit a small fireball in his hand as we all sat in silent surprise at the suddenly dark room. Magical lights didn’t just go out. We looked around at one another, not sure what to say about the odd problem when it dawned on us.

  “Where is everyone?” Rey shot up from his chair, Vincent shortly behind him.

  I didn’t move. Instead, I let my shifting magic rise and inhaled deeply, trying to see if my wolf could gather anything useful. Trails would be easy enough to pick up on.

  “They’re not here." I stated, shocked by the realization. “Their scent just ends where they were sitting.” That didn’t make any sense. How could someone come in, with no scent and take them without a trace?

  “You’re saying someone just magiced them away? Into thin air?” Vincent asked, mouth agape. I could feel him stretching out his magic, searching for illusions.

  “That is exactly what I’m saying." I confirmed, glancing over at Rey who stared at me in horror.

  “What? Why them?” Rey asked, not able to come up with a reason.

  My best guess wasn’t much of an answer. “Likely to get our attention. It would be a huge national emergency for them to take us.” I looked over at Vincent. “You’re due to wed in about a month correct?”

  Vincent nodded. “Yeah, so this would still cause an uprise. There might be another reason.”

  “I can’t think of one. Cat and I just got engaged after the new year. You’re not engaged yet are you?” Rey looked to me for confirmation.

  “Not yet. Finding the right moment is harder than I thought.” I sighed. “Not that it matters now.”

  Vincent closed his eyes and the darkness vanished as he dismantled the spell. “Whatever was making it impossible to remove the illusion a moment ago is gone.”

  I bit my lip as I considered that. “What could make it impossible to remove an illusion? You’re a master level enchanter, are you not?”

  Vincent nodded. “Certified and everything." he confirmed. That exam wasn’t easy to pass. The series of tests took months to go through.

  “Can anything block that?” Obviously there could be since it happened, but what?

  “Nothing comes to mind. It would have to be ungodly powerful.” He sighed, coming up blank as I had.

  Oh.

  Oh no.

  “Not this again.” I leaned forward into my hands, groaning, before taking a deep breath and facing them.

  “What does that mean?” Rey raised an eyebrow at me, surprised and confused by my dramatics.

  “Possibly another Daeum issue. We lost my little bookworm to whatever is happening though." I explained, trying not to sound too exasperated by the likely turn in events.

  Rey sighed. “Ash sent me a lot of that information since I thought it sounded cool but I’d be lying if I said I read more than half of it. I know Cat read over a bit, but that’s not exactly helpful right now.”

  Helpful was exactly what we needed right now. I pulled out my phon
e and started to search my contacts. “Let’s see if Marcus can find them.”

  Vincent and Rey audibly sighed in relief. Marcus had gained a lot of popularity in our group with his tech magic. Everything was so much easier when someone could magically transform your things.

  He picked up on the second ring and I quickly filled him in on the little that happened before putting him on speaker phone. Before I could even ask him to, Marcus was already typing away in the background and then quickly cursing.

  “It’s exactly how things were with the Daeum situation." he finally snarled before letting another string of curses out. “Wait… there’s…” he muttered to himself for a moment. “You’re never going to believe this.”

  “What is it?” Vincent demanded.

  “A weird box popped up. It says to find the ones you miss the most, return back to the beginning in a week's time." Marcus replied. “Whatever is going on, I really don’t think you should do that. Not yet anyway.”

  “What is that even supposed to mean?” Rey grumbled, but I had a feeling.

  “Someone must be very mad at us." I stated simply.

  “What do you mean?” Vincent seemed surprised. Not that the goodie-two-shoes did much wrong.

  Marcus gave a laugh. “Oh that is very, very likely.”

  At least Marcus seemed to be on the same page. “Well,” I began, “They took those who are very close to us. I’m going to guess the beginning has to do with them. Was there someone you may have accidentally wronged where our loves are concerned?”

  The two men in front of me groaned.

  “I don’t even know where to begin with that." Vincent finally grumbled after a moment passed. “I know Arnessa’s step family really hates her. They aren’t even invited to the wedding at this point.”

  Rey nodded. “Yeah, I’m fairly certain Cat’s family found out through the grapevine about the engagement. It’s not really her fault though. Don’t think any of this is really anyone’s fault.”

  “Depends on who you ask.” I shook my head. “Those who feel wronged like to hold grudges and will hold whatever view they like, as incorrect as it may be.”

  “I really don’t think Arnessa’s family is clever enough to pull something like this off though.” Vincent shook his head.

  “I really don’t expect this from Cat’s family either.” Rey shook his head.

  I folded my hands in front of me, “I wish I could say the same.”

  “What do you mean by that? Ash gets along great with her brother.” Vincent sounded as perplexed as Rey looked.

  “Isn’t her mother gone, and father well out of the picture? That doesn’t make any sense.” Rey agreed with Vincent’s statement.

  “Let me tell you about a little thorn named Donny." I stated.

  Marcus started laughing. I had forgotten he was still on speaker. “A little thorn named Donny is a great way to start the story. I’ll do some digging on what he’s been up to.”

  “Thank you, Marcus.” That would speed things up. “While you’re at it, can you check in on all the possible families? Might as well see if any of them are involved.”

  “Already running that.” He chuckled.

  “You’re the man." Vincent cheered.

  With a sigh, I gave them the brief run down about what I knew about Donny from Ash and Marcus, and the little bit I experienced. It was too bad he didn’t get locked up for longer and sadly restraining orders were just paper.

  “Well, any leads yet or is it too soon?” I asked Marcus hopefully as I finished.

  “Actually, already getting information you’re not going to like." Marcus stated. His grim tone said enough, and yet we still needed the facts.

  “I don’t feel like this situation is going to have any real ups until it's resolved." Rey sighed, speaking accurately for all of us.

  “Donny wasn’t seen in town for about seven months. Just straight up vanished according to most people. Says on social media he was on a hunting trip. According to records I shouldn’t have access to but may have gotten access to, he did a lot of traveling. He seemed to go off the grid a continent over and showed up again on a completely different continent before using any ID or cards again.” There was a lot of rapid typing and clicking going on as he spoke. “It’s confirmed that he has been back in Arnessa’s hometown as well as Cat’s.”

  “Damn, didn’t think someone like him could travel like that.” Rey whistled.

  “It gets better." Marcus stated dryly.

  Vincent groaned as he covered his face. “Well, let’s hear it.”

  “Donny has been missing for the last month again. Recent reports were from Arnessa’s family coffee shop, and just before that a coffee shop near Cat’s. So, the best place to start looking for him is at that coffee shop. Sadly, all video feed seems to be missing from those visits. I don’t know what you’d find if you asked in person, but you should have people for that.”

  Nadia clicked her tongue. “Who’s to say those people aren’t all gone? In fact, if this is a Daeum at work, I bet everyone we could use to help us is temporarily gone.”

  Vincent pulled out his phone. “I really hope you’re wrong.”

  I couldn’t tell who he was calling, but it didn’t matter. No one had rushed to us when the power went out so I doubted I was wrong, at least as far as my own people went.

  After a moment he shook his head. “Okay, no one’s answering but they all might be busy with dinner.”

  Rey pulled out his phone. “Mother would totally answer her phone for me, dinner or not.” We waited expectantly. “Okay, four rings is very troubling. She’s answered in two rings in the middle of the night before.” When no one picked up, he shook his head. “What now?”

  “Well Marcus, am I right in guessing we should have a direction to go in? Daeums just love giving a very specific set of rules.” I really didn’t want this to be a Daeum, but it seemed that was exactly who we were dealing with.

  Marcus sighed. “Well, we didn’t until you said something. I’m going to read exactly what this new popup says and let me tell ya, it’s fun.”

  “The joy is all ours." Vincent grumbled as he crossed and uncrossed his arms, too agitated to get comfortable.

  “Go for it." I agreed, gesturing into the void.

  “All ears.” Ray shook his head.

  “Here we go.” Marcus took a breath before reading it. “Your presence is not requested at this time. If you try and seek who you lost, in an endless maze you’ll reside. Stay put and wait, don’t rush, just hesitate. Let the threats be removed, and the guy try to swoon.”

  “That freaking asshole!" I shouted. I didn’t need more details. “Donny had to have been the one to try and set this whole mess up! And since he couldn’t possibly do it all on his own he tried to get more people involved in this mess.”

  “So, he picked other people that might have a thing against royals?” Rey asked, exasperated. “None of this makes sense.”

  “He’d have to have half a brain to make sense!” I tried to rein in my voice, but it was hard to hold back my anger. I couldn’t help but snarl in my wolf growl causing both guys to take a half step back.

  “It’s okay, we’ll figure this out. Somehow.” Vincent tried to reassure me, but his words lacked conviction.

  “If we try to find them, worse will happen! But we can’t stand by and wait!” I pounded my fists on the table causing everything on it to rattle.

  “Actually, it just says we’ll give up in a maze, in stupid fancy wording." Rey pointed out. “So we may still get some really good information before that point. It might be worth it to look.”

  “I bet they’re counting on you to sit back since you know how Daeum’s work." Vincent agreed.

  My temper cooled some. “True…” I wasn’t sure what to think, but I really needed to keep my anger in check.

  “I don’t think you need my help from here, but” Marcus interjected, “Don’t divide this up. Stay as a group. I’m sure they’ll be e
xpecting you to divide and conquer if you do go out, and they’ll likely have a way to counter your magic.”

  Rey nodded. “I agree. Do you have information about everyone’s magic? That’ll be useful incase we do get into some sort of squabble.”

  “I’m sending you each an email with all those details, what the pop-ups were, and everything else I can find." Marcus replied with a chuckle. “Check back regularly.”

  “Thank you Marcus. Don’t know what we’d do if you disappeared.” I meant it too. We’d be lost right now.

  Marcus gave another laugh. “I’m betting these families and Donny told the Daeum who the greatest threats are. In his eyes, I’m the useless tech guy. Brains over brawn wins this round.”

  “Thanks man.” Rey stated, already looking at his phone. “This is perfect.”

  “No problem. I’ll see what else I can do to help. Find my sister and kick his ass Nadia.” Marcus called to me.

  “Gladly." I agreed. I was more than ready to solve this, and potentially remove someone's arms, but that would have to wait until we found Donny.

  We made plans and gathered provisions before we started out early the next morning. Using the full advantage of magical travel and royal privilege we made it to Magic Beans shortly after their morning rush. None of us were exactly sure how to approach the situation, and we really only had the most basic of plans.

  “So, I can change everyone’s appearance with my illusions, but what exactly should we say?” Vincent asked as we eyed the shop hesitantly. With a shrug I felt his magic cover us, disguising us in an instant.

  “I’ve no idea, but I can have my wards at the ready in case we are attacked with anything magical." Rey offered as we stood outside at the very end of the lot.

  “I wish diplomacy worked with deities. No one deserves this sort of situation.” I tried to think of what tactics might work. “If worse comes to worse I suppose I can just scare it out of them.”

  Rey smirked. “Think they’ll be afraid of the big bad wolf?”