Gage simply shook his head. "I will call home when we get back."
"Time to snip those apron strings," Liam sang.
"You mean burn the damn apron," Gage muttered.
Liam placed a hand over his heart. "Ahh, the problems that come with being beloved and the babies of your families."
"Liam! Stop torturing the Tau Unit and get your ass over here! The Unit Commander and his team should be here any minute," Cadoc Baines, the Vanguard leader, barked out.
"Coming, dah-ling," Liam called back.
When Cadoc glared at him and turned to face the portal, Liam winked at them. "He hides how much he loves me."
Ari kept a straight face and nodded. "We can see that."
Liam gave a final wave and jogged over to his unit leader.
Kincaid turned to him. "Will we be okay?" he asked quietly.
Ari knew exactly what the witch meant. Not that they personally would be okay, but that they wouldn't cause problems for the other warriors due to their inexperience.
Ari nodded. "Aiden himself has said on more than one occasion that he's pleased with all of Éire Danu's units. He isn't the type of commander that would say something he didn't mean, especially with so much at stake. Have confidence in yourself, Kincaid. We're doing more at our age than any of these old geezers ever did." Liam, without looking, simply raised a middle finger, causing them to laugh.
Gage was about to respond when the portal lit up, and their commander stepped through. Accompanying him were Kendrick, Micah, and Ben. Around them, to the man, the Vanguard straightened.
Aiden noted the change and gave a short nod. "As you were." He waved them over. "Gather round, men." They formed a loose circle around Aiden. "According to my mate's research, there were nine fae families living in Monroe, most included multiple generations. We're looking for approximately seventy-five people." Aiden pointed to Kendrick. "Kendrick Ashwood, Alpha's acting witch, will explain how we'll be tracking our missing persons."
Kendrick stepped up to stand next to Aiden. Those closest to them unconsciously stepped back. If Kendrick noticed, he gave no indication that he saw it or that he cared. He held up what looked like a cross made of gems, dangling from a chain on a key ring. "I, along with the Ashleigh brothers, have created this to act as a compass." He tapped the clear center stone. "Queen Aleksandra has provided some of her light to track her children, since she is tied to them all it shouldn't matter which human city we search." He pointed to the surrounding stones. "I have charged each gem with my own elemental magic. Emerald for North, topaz for East, ruby for South, and sapphire for West. The gems will react with the queen's light in the center diamond and light up accordingly. There will be widely spaced blinks of light if the fae are farther away, rapid blinks as we get closer, and a solid light when we are within a hundred yards. The center stone's color itself will give us a direction. For example, green for North, but greenish yellow for Northeast." He smiled down at the device. "Kinda genius, really," he marveled.
"Kendrick," Aiden murmured quietly.
"Right. In the event we don't get any readings, we have this." He held up a tiny vial. "This contains the queen's own blood. Blood will give us a wider range, but there may be some interference if any in this area are descendants of the fae who made their home here. So, we will primarily be relying on the center stone's stored light." He grinned evilly as Ilar groaned. "This gentleman has figured out the one true flaw to this approach." He pointed to the gems in his hand. "All fae Vanguard must be magicked so they won't interfere with the Divining Compass."
Ilar scowled. "Witch magic messes with my equilibrium."
"It's a small price to pay," Kendrick retorted, not looking in the least bit sorry.
"Fae warriors, line up," Aiden ordered. Ilar and Kyran Li'Alriden moved to stand in front of Micah and Kendrick.
Ari noticed that Kincaid's eyes had yet to leave the compass. "What?" he asked.
Kincaid stepped close. "Look around, Ari, I'm not the only one staring."
Ari looked around the clearing. Every single witch unit warrior's eyes were locked on the compass. "What?" he whispered.
"You don't get it because Kendrick explained the compass so casually, but what he's holding could be considered a once-in-a-generation national treasure. He's treating it like a cool keychain." Kincaid's voice held awe and frustration. "He also just confirmed that he has mastered all four elements, something no other witch has done. He just threw it out there that he charged the compass using all four elements like he simply charged his phone." Kincaid looked up at him. "I don't think there's anything he can't do."
Ari snorted, but then saw the truth in Kincaid's eyes. He looked over to the strange witch. "He's just an archivist, right?"
Kincaid exhaled. "Maybe that's all he's allowed us to see."
Gage eyed Kendrick as he and Micah finished warding the fae. "Glad he is on our side."
Priest nodded. "No lie."
When Micah stepped away from Kyran, Aiden looked to Kendrick. "You're up."
Kendrick held the compass. "Invenio." He frowned when nothing happened.