The Shadow Howlers
Chapter 20 - Gone

Psyche continued to pretend that she was too depressed to function. Her sisters were up to something, but she wasn’t sure exactly what. She had heard about the woman they had watching over Selena and how she had died because of two pups. Psyche had been so happy that those pups saved her daughter. She knew Aglaura and Cidippe were going to try something else before they would have to take care of Selena themselves.

Jameson was trying to figure out their plan, but he hadn’t found anything so far. Psyche wanted to talk to Eros, but it was risky. If anyone found out, they would both be dead. Her sisters were only happy when making others miserable or ruining their lives. If they were successful in killing Selena, they would rub it in her face but play it off as though it was best for her so she could move on.

Jameson walked into the room and looked at Psyche anxiously. He had some information for her but no real answers.

“Where are they?” She asked quietly. Jameson held his finger to his lips just as Aglaura and Cidippe walked into the room. He poured Psyche a cup of water, and she took a sip before turning to look out of the window.

“Hi, dear sister. Our first plan didn’t work, but we have another one already in the works. We promise you will get out from under this depression. We’ll make sure of it.” Aglaura said, taking Psyche’s hand. Psyche wanted to rip her arms off and toss her into the bowels of hell. Instead, she kept her face blank and pretended she wasn’t there.

“Come on, sister. Let’s finalize the plan. We’ll be back, Psyche. We have two insignificant problems we need to take care of,” Cidippe said as she pulled Aglaura out of the room. Once they were gone and their footsteps had faded away, Psyche turned to Jameson.

“Do you know what they’re planning?” She asked softly. Jameson glanced out the door just to make sure no one was eavesdropping. He didn’t see anyone, so he pulled a chair beside Psyche.

“I believe they’re going to hurt someone at the palace, but I’m not sure who. They’re not going to attempt to kill Selena yet. They want to get to someone close to her. It’s like a warning that she’s not as protected as she thinks.” Jameson whispered. He couldn’t figure out who they were going to go after.

“Try to mindlink Andrew so he knows they’re making a move,” Psyche said. Jameson made several attempts with no luck.

“I can’t connect to him. With him being in another realm, he has to focus in order for us to speak. If he’s not expecting a mindlink from me, it won’t work. We just have to hope that he and those at the palace can stop whatever they’re planning.” Jameson replied. Psyche didn’t like knowing that something was going to happen and not being able to warn anyone. Please don’t let anyone get hurt or killed because of her stupid sisters.

Bianca and Gunnar put Trisha and Polly to bed before going to their room. Bianca felt anxious, but she didn’t know why.

“What’s wrong?” Gunnar asked when he noticed the frown on her face.

“I don’t know. I can’t put my finger on it, but I have a weird feeling that something’s going to happen. I’m not talking about Selena and her crazy aunts.” Bianca began pacing around the room. Gunnar was worried about her. They had only been together for a few weeks, but he knew her well enough to know if she had a feeling about something, it was probably right.

“Do you want to walk around the palace to check on things ourselves?” He asked, wrapping his arms around her. Bianca hugged him and sighed. Just being in his arms always made her feel better.

“That’s a good idea. Maybe if I see that everything is okay for myself, I can get some rest,” she said, kissing his cheek. After what happened at Last Moon, Bianca was scared of missing something right under her nose. She still felt guilty that her parents were doing such horrible things, and she had no idea.

Gunnar took her hand, and they left their room. After peeking in on the girls, who were sound asleep, they began walking around the palace. They started on the top floor and worked their way down each floor. It was getting late, so not many people were around. When they reached the ground floor, they walked through each room. Bianca still didn’t feel any better.

“Let’s go outside and search the grounds,” Gunnar said when he saw she was still nervous.

“Thanks. I’m sorry, but I just can’t shake this feeling,” she said as they walked out the front door.

The palace grounds were huge, but they began walking every inch of them. They passed several guards who said they hadn’t seen anything. The warriors from the Shadow Howlers said the same thing. Bianca and Gunnar ran into Omar and Alani when they reached the back garden.

“What are you two doing out here?” Alani asked worriedly.

“Searching for something, but I don’t know what. I have this bad feeling that something is going to happen tonight.” Bianca replied. Alani nodded in agreement.

“Me too. That’s why I told Omar we needed to be out here with the warriors. Have you checked the palace?” Alani was even more concerned that Bianca was feeling the same way she was.

“Yes, but we’ve also checked out here. I guess we could check the palace again. Maybe we missed something. There are plenty of guards and warriors out here in case someone or something shows up.” Gunnar answered as they headed back inside.

The couples split up and checked the entire first floor, leaving no area untouched. When they moved to the second floor, they split up again.

“Did you find anything?” Alani asked as they met back up in the hallway.

“No, I’m just going to check on the girls, and then we can go to the next floor.” Bianca slowly opened the door and looked into the room where the girls were sleeping.

“No.” She gasped and flipped on the light.

“What is it?” Gunnar asked, looking over her shoulder. She didn’t answer but didn’t need to; he saw it for himself. The bed Polly and Trisha shared was empty. They searched the entire room, and they were nowhere to be found. Gunnar sent out a mindlink to everyone in the palace.

“Trisha and Polly are missing. Find them now.”

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