Lexi woke long after the sun had already set. Bleary-eyed she rubbed the sleep from her face with one hand, the other running through her black hair, combing down the stray strands. Letting out a soft sigh she lifted herself from the bed and slouched over to where the documents were still strewn across the floor.

While she did feel better from the extended rest, she couldn’t say that she felt any more hopeful that a new development would magically appear. Still, she dropped down to one knee and collected the nearest file, flipping through the pages slowly. As she reached the final page, one that contained a few photos of the student in question, along with some pictures of classmates, she tilted her head. Along the bottom of one of the photos was handwriting that was most definitely not her own.

“Makina,” Lexi sighed with a shake of her head. She held the picture up to the light to help make out the messy scribble. “La…ra…”.

So this was Lara. The way her shoulders hunched and how she looked somewhat off to the side instead of directly at the camera gave her a rather timid appearance. She seemed the polar opposite of Makina. Lexi shook her head with a small smile and began to place the photo back down when something tickled the back of her mind. Her fingers tightened around the photo as the beginnings of a thought began to form.

“Wait…I…” Lexi’s thumb ran back and forth along the picture, feeling the almost indistinguishable indentation from Makina’s notes. Eye widening she lurched across the floor and grabbed at another file. She flipped through it rapidly until she found the right page. Her eyes widened as she stared at the photo.

Blindly she reached back until she located the phoenix stone on her bedside table.

xXx

Makina was pulled from her slumber after far too few hours of sleep by two hands roughly shaking her by the shoulders. She kept her eyes screwed shut and tried to worm her way free, but the hands held her tight.

"Go away, please, or I shall smite you," Makina groaned.

"Makina, wake up!" Lexi snapped. There was a tinge of panic in the girl's voice that Makina had never heard before. She slowly opened her eyes, but was barely able to see in the dim light of her room.

"Lexi?"

"Makina, what did you do after you left my room?” Lexi asked, still holding her tightly by the shoulders.

Makina shook her head. "What time is it?"

"Makina. What did you do?"

"I went to see Lara. Then I came back to my room.”

“How long were you with her? When did you come back?”

"Why? What's going on?"

"When was the last time you saw Lara?”

"I'm not sure. We had dinner together than talked for a bit. Maybe a few hours ago?” Makina shook her head. "Lara was tired. She wanted to go to sleep early."

Lexi finally released her, her brow furrowing. "It’s possible then.”

"Lexi, what is going on? Why are you asking about Lara?" Makina tugged on Lexi's sleeve. "What happened?"

"Banksy." Lexi swallowed hard. "Banksy's gone missing. Lara is gone too."

xXx

Makina could barely keep pace as Lexi all but dragged her through the cold, deserted academy halls.

"Lexi what is going on?" Makina tried to slow down, but Lexi wouldn't allow them to break pace and tugged her along. "Why are you asking about Lara?"

"Lara… she turned up in three of the victim’s files," Lexi said quietly. "It's also possible that she is connected to a few of the others."

"I don't understand." Makina managed to pull Lexi to a momentary halt. "How?"

"The latest victim wasn't Lara's first mentor. She had another. That girl was badly injured, so was another girl that was working as a tutor for Lara. I didn’t realize it was her until I saw your note.”

"I don't…" Makina shook her head back and forth rapidly. "What does that mean? What are you saying?"

"Maybe nothing. But... it's possible that she is the reason Banksy went missing. At the very least she is a link, and the only one we have right now." Lexi gave Makina firm tug, but Makina stomped her bare foot and refused to budge.

"Lexi! You can't honestly believe that! Lara would never hurt anyone. She doesn't have it in her. She's couldn't!"

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

"You said you thought she had a connection to the case, that she knew something." Lexi tightened her grip on Makina's wrist and began to walk again, pulling the girl along.

"Well, yes." Makina stumbled a bit. "But that doesn't mean… we can't just assume that because-"

"I know." Lexi pulled them down a corridor. " I don't want to make any rash decisions, but right now she is the only lead we have. Innocent or not, we need to find her and we need to find Banksy. Cross is waiting for you in his classroom. I want you to wait with him until I come back."

"Where are you going?" Makina asked, glancing up at the Hunter.

"I'm going to go investigate Banksy's room more thoroughly," Lexi said as she released Makina. "Go straight to Cross's office. I'll meet up with you soon. Okay?"

She gave Makina a final nod before bounding off, quickly melting into the darkness.

xXx

"Damnit!" Cross knocked a pile of papers from his desk before placing his hand firmly against his temple. He closed his eyes and willed the magic to guide him, but was met with an unfamiliar wall of resistance. He pushed against it, but it held firm. "Come on. Where are you Banksy?"

"Having trouble?"

Cross opened his eyes and glared at Kosu. She was seated in a desk in the front row of his classroom, still clad in the academy's uniform. A shiny red apple sat on her desk in front of her.

"This seems familiar, doesn't it?" Kosu picked up the apple and took a small bite. She pursed her lips and made a face. "A bit tart. Care for a bite?"

Cross advanced on her, slamming his hands down on her desk. "Where is he?"

Kosu's eye grew wide and she cowered in her seat. "Oh professor, please, you're frightening me."

"Kosu!" Cross growled.

Kosu sighed and dropped the act. "You never want to play with me."

"Tell me where he is, Kosu."

"I do not know." Kosu said with a shrug. "He is being hidden."

Cross let out a breath. "He's alive, though?"

"Quite," Kosu said, taking another bite of her apple. She made a face again. "For now."

"Why can't I find him?" Cross reached up and gently rubbed his temple. "Something… it's…"

"Blocking you?" Kosu smiled knowingly. "Yes. Someone is blocking you. With enough time you could probably break through… but then again, how much time do you really have? So hard to tell, isn't it?"

Cross took a step back and ran a hand through his hair. After a moment he began to pace back and forth.

It was possible…

"Oh." Kosu was out of her chair and hovering in front of him. A hand to his chest stopped his pacing. "I know that face. I wouldn't recommend doing that."

"Cross stared into her mismatched eyes. "If I Walk, I could find him."

"You could." Kosu tilted her head. "But its even more likely you will get lost."

"You could guide me."

"I could…." Kosu smiled at him coyly. "But I won't."

"Why?"

"Do I need a reason?" Kosu winked. "And do not bother going alone."

Cross pushed her hand off his chest. "But…"

"You know what will happen,” Kosu said, undeterred as she slid closer to him. "The knowledge that you seek would place you outside of my protection. Without me, well, that wouldn't be very good for you." Kosu lifted up her hand to cup his cheek. "I know you don't like it, but do try and trust me. You are not ready to walk the Void alone, Cross. Not yet. Besides, I do not think your friends would be very happy if you died trying to save one of them. Especially that one!"

Kosu gave him a firm shove. Cross stumbled back and crashed against his desk. He caught himself just as the door opened and Makina walked in. She barely spared him a glance as she walked across the room and seated herself at his desk. Cross watched her out of the corner of her eye. When Lexi had filled him in, he knew that Makina would take the news about Lara badly. He felt like he should say something, but nothing of particular use came to mind so he remained silent.

"Cross?" Makina asked softly after a few minutes of silence.

"Yeah?"

Makina looked up at him. "Do you think Lexi is right?"

Cross knew what she meant, but he still asked. "About Lara?"

Makina nodded slowly.

He sighed and rubbed at his temple, trying to zero in on Banksy again. When he was once again met with a thick wall of resistance he paused and shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Taking in a deep breath, he instead tried to focus on Lara, picturing her in his mind.

Again he was met with the same resistance.

"It's possible," Cross said, giving his head a small shake. "Right now, something is blocking me from finding Banksy, and whatever it is, its also blocking me from seeing where Lara is."

"But, that could mean Lara is in danger too, right?" Makina brought her legs up into the chair and rested her chin on her knees. "It doesn't mean… it doesn't mean that Lara did anything, right?"

Cross frowned and walked over to Makina. Reaching out, he rested his hand gently on her head.

"Don't worry." Cross gave her a soft smile. "Lexi is going to find them soon. Both of them."

Makina nodded, but remained silent.

xXx

Blood had never bothered Lexi, even when she was young. Countless Hunts had long ago left her all but immune. She could watch a limb be cleaved off or a man die in front of her without so much as batting an eyelash. More often than not she was the cause of such actions.

The blood she found in Banksy's room made her want to vomit.

Though she loathed the action, she slowly closed the door to the tiny room behind her, sealing herself in with the sick, coppery smell. She would have locked the door, but the lock had been broken earlier, along with a sizable chunk of the entryway, the splintered remains spread out across the floor.

Crinkling her nose, Lexi lifted her scarf up and over her face. The action helped, but only slightly.

The room itself was a mess. The small bed had been overturned and the pillows were strewn across the room. One of them had been ripped open and the feathers had spilled out, some slicked with blood. Narrowing her eyes, Lexi dropped down to one knee. With a deep breath, she began to rebuild the events.

Banksy would have been lying in bed. He would have felt safe because he would have locked the door himself and secured it with magic. He might have been asleep when the door was broken open. It would take someone with a lot of strength, either magical or physical, to break through one of Banksy's locks.

When the door opened, Banksy had stood up, kicking the blanket off the bed. It was still on the floor where it had fallen. The attacker had moved in on him and then…

Lexi frowned, turning her head slowly around the room. Banksy wasn't much of a fighter, but the room showed the results of more than a little bit of resistance. There was blood on the floor as well as on the wall.

The trails made no sense, unless…

"There was another person here," Lexi said softly before freezing as the door behind her creaked open. Lexi spun to face the newcomer, drawing a small dagger. “What did you do to Banksy?"