Remus is missing.

The last report we received was from London. After we locked the girls up, everyone with the ability to travel great distances quickly without being seen left to scour Britton. Every siren we can spare is searching every possible ocean path he might have taken.

Damian is also missing.

We have searched every inch of Athens and the surrounding area. His bag and wetsuit were found, but he was not. Cory seemed concerned when we asked if he had encountered Damian. His concern seemet facetious, but they have never been close. I'm sure he hasn't seen him.

With two of my people definitely missing, the other elders have taken a moment to census their people. There are many unaccounted for. Too many for this to be a coincidence. Only three of the ancient races don't have at least one missing.

Naturally, everyone old enough and capable of caring for themselves is out looking for the missing people. At the same time, they are recalling anyone still in the human world to the new cities. Only elders in key positions, like Vulcan, are remaining in the human realm.

Have we miscalculated?

Were we too late in our retreat?

Or were we betrayed?

I cannot tell anymore, and the mistrust is beginning to divide our races. The only reason we have not all turned on each other is because those who communicate telepathically tell us they sense no duplicitous among those of us here.

The children were able to send the signal. Under any other circumstances, we would devote all our resources to shutting it down. But it seems we have a larger problem. Every fifteen minutes the signal pauses for a minute and then continues. The search teams have confirmed the signal in every timezone, and each message is different.

Poseidon set the auto shutoff for the laboratory. Unfortunately, the auto shutoff has a mandatory 48 hour countdown as preforming a hard reset breaks many sensitive components. The signal will likely play for all 48 hours before shutting down for good. It will then take at least a week to get the equipment back up and running. I doubt the sirens on the search teams capable of safely shutting off systems will return before the 48 hour time limit.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

At least the girls are locked up and unable to cause anymore mischief.

Oberon uses a fairy circle to portal into the room. He crosses the room and sits in a chair opposite me, resting his chin on his folded hand. The other elders are still out looking for people, Oberon is the one best suited to bring messages along. "If many more of us go missing, we may have to consider evoking protocol one."

"Calling our space faring brethren for a rescue will result in human annihilation, and will almost certainly unbalance this world." I have never seen protocol one as much of an option.

Oberon leans back in his chair and looks out the underwater window. "Will the earth unbalance if we leave?"

"Of course it—" he cuts off my angry tirade before I even really begin.

"No, think about it. Are we actively part of the food chain anymore? Do we cause the rain? What do any of our races bring to the world? Have we done anything of substance in the past millennia?"

I pause and think about everything he has said. What have we done? What is our purpose?

"We bring life. The power of the ley line gives the spark necessary for life. Without us, the ley line would die and the planet along with it."

"Do we continue life, or did the magic still present in our blood just start it? If we left would it continue as it is, stagnate, or fail?"

I narrow my eyes at him, "What are you suggesting, Oberon?"

He turns to me then, "The humans are violent. It is likely they have taken our missing brethren. The reasons we have to stay are, to my understanding, not there."

"If we leave we could kill everyone in this half the galaxy."

He stands up then, pacing back and forth on the other side of the room like a caged animal. "Could! Could kill half the galaxy. Is that chance really worth all our lives? You are the oldest among us, what are the real chances."

"Real enough to not risk destabilizing the ley line."

"Do we have to be on Earth to maintain the ley line?"

"What?" I utter, shocked. To my knowledge, no one had ever suggested anything like that.

"There are nine planets in this system and many moons. Is the ley line tied to the Earth specifically?"

I contemplate his suggestion. He seems content that I am finally taking this seriously. Could we evacuate Earth? Would that be beneficial to the larger ecosystem? Would quarenteening humanity on the planet allow them to learn from their mistakes? If the Earth fails, will we be enough to hold the balance on another planet in the system?

"My father determined ley lines run through stars. Our ley line runs through Sol."

Oberon looks at me shocked, "I did not know that."

"No one did. My father ran the calculations and experiments himself. I have kept his confidence until just now."

"We could move to Mars. Or one of the many moons. That would allow us to keep the balance no matter what humanity does to this planet. Our magic would still anchor the ley line, without putting us at risk."

"We could," I agree, "but how would we get there?"

He collapses into the chair and puts his head in his hands. Fae are so dramatic. "Indeed. I suppose that is the question."