"Sean, I need to speak to you in my office now," the chief called. Roy frowned. "What did you do?" "I'll find out." Thompson shut the door behind me. "I just received a call from a Peyton Spencer. He says you threatened him with a sword. You're lucky he's not pressing charges." "Sir, I was…" "He told me you’re dating his ex and thought she was there." "Lorraine's missing." "Yesanith, you were told to keep that thing put away. But you've repeatedly had it and your knives out." "I thought he had Lorraine." "Today. And Robert told me that you used it to protect a neighbor. But you had it out last week and other times, not to mention all the knives in the lunchroom. What is wrong with scissors?" "The knives are handy." "Why do you even have so many?" "They're from when I was a knight. How do you know how many I have? Did Roy say something?" "No. Sean, just leave the blades put away." "How did you know?" I pressed. "And how did you know about last week?" "I just do." "Are you a mage?" "Yes. I can see it when mithril’s within ten miles of me. If you don't put that armor and shield away, I'm going to shoot you. That much gives me a headache." "Sorry. I can't put them back into the pocket until I repair them. I'll take them Underhill." "Please do." "Why didn't you say something?" "I'm not in the habit of telling people. Most don't take it too well." "I understand. Does Gillman know?" "Unfortunately. My wife and his are sisters. My wife kept going on and on how I can find anything that's lost." "You’re a seeker?" "I am. It's why I became a cop. And why you're here. Gillman was going to keep you locked up indefinitely. The army doesn't officially recognize magic, but he and his team study unexplained phenomena. They called you specimen forty-nine. Not all specimens were living things. There were artifacts and instances. I don't know the details. "When my wife kept going on about what I can do, Gillman figured out what I am. He asked me what I knew of elves. I said that they no longer existed. I told him what little I knew, passed down either from my family or from other mages. It wasn't much. "He let it slip about you. I told him he needed to release you. Every source I'd ever spoken to said elves didn't survive locked up. They needed to be able to be among nature. I pointed out that you hadn’t caused any trouble as Jesse Knight and suggested bringing you here. He had a group trace your various identities and saw you've kept your nose clean, so he agreed to let me keep an eye on you. "It wasn't until you tracked that sniper that Gillman thought about you helping with the kidnapping case. My magic doesn't work on people, but I was getting desperate. I’d made myself sick trying to locate the girl. I couldn't lose her so I agreed." "Thank you." "It helped us both and the girl." "You mentioned knowing other mages. Are there any you're still in contact with?" "A few, why?" "There's a little girl, Lorraine's niece, she's either an empath or a psychic. She needs to be trained." "I wouldn't recommend any of the mages I know to work with a child. They seem a little rough around the edges. And only one’s an empath." "You said you can't find people. What about the star Terry mentioned?" "I'm trying, but seeing your armor continuously gives me a headache. I can't focus." "I'm sorry. I'll take it Underhill. Store it there." "Take Friday off and get it fixed." "Thanks. Oh, and do not let Kat know you’re a seeker, or that you can see mithril. It's a rare ability and highly prized. Being able to find such a rare and valuable commodity would be tempting for her." "If it's so rare, how did you get so much?" "Gifts mostly. Shandalar has blessed me most of my life." "Your goddess gave it to you?" "No. My king and my parents did. They were rewards for jobs I was able to do well because of Shandalar's blessings." "Now, what makes you think your girlfriend is missing? Maybe she dumped you." I shook my head. "Lorraine's not my girlfriend. She's my best friend. Peyton just thinks we're dating. Her niece feels someone took her. She feels it strong enough she made her dad bring her to talk to me. Lorraine hasn't been at work for several days. That's not like her. She texted her boss for the time off and she always calls. I went by her apartment. Her car was there with the keys on the seat. Her neighbor said that she was gone. Food was spoiling in the fridge. That's something she never lets happen. She cleans out my fridge. I called her, and she texted and said she was on her way home, even though her car was there. She called me by the pet name she used to use for Peyton and said she loved me. She wouldn't do that." "It's suspicious, but like with Kat, unless there's foul play or some kind of proof of an abduction, there is not much we can do. We'll fill out the paperwork, check out her place, and ask around." "Track her phone?" "That too." *** I went with Sam and the others to the apartment. I gave Sam my key. "You were in there already? So your prints will be on the door?" Sam asked. I shook my head. "I knocked, but I never touched the doorknob, only the key. I used a spell to open the door and anything I moved inside." "Before we go in, do you want to do a re-creation?" I hadn't thought about that. I nodded, but Roy spoke up. "She's been missing for several days. The last time Sean did the spell for that long of a time, he got sick. He was shaking so hard he looked like he was having a seizure." "Was there any sign anyone was in there?" Sam asked. "No." "Then don't worry about it. We’ll check for prints and anything else. Save your strength for when we do have a crime scene." We didn't find anything useful anymore than I'd had earlier. There was too much iron in the parking lot near her car for me to do a reconstruction there. I understood how helpless humans must feel never being able to rely on magic.