Avet’s jaw tightens. “Zagiri is the granddaughter of a trapper? That can’t be a coincidence. Cher and Taline both have trappers in their families, too.”
Sargis’ voice calms me down when I don’t have the answers, or when the answers to the puzzle aren’t what I want them to be. “There’s more.” Sargis doles out his verdict without caveat. “It gets worse, kids.”
I cringe when all sense of calm leaves me.
“It’s not just an older guy who came calling on a sorority girl and abducted her for nefarious, perverted reasons. From what I gather after reading police reports from a year ago, Zagiri was also taken by a vampire.”
Though we all suspected as much, to have it confirmed tunes my focus.
Sargis is a useful friend to have in these situations. “Be careful, kids. When you go in, expect that there is more to this than you understand. If all three missing girls are from trapping families, then this isn’t a random attack, or even an attack that happened to Taline because she was rooming with Cher. The three are connected. Figure out how, and you might be able to track down Cher.”
My arm hair stands on end, so I know this is an important detail I need to lock in the forefront of my mind. “Keep digging into Zagiri and her family,” I request of Sargis.
“Already on it.” Sargis’ voice turns soft. “I’m glad you’re in on this, Keran. It’s been too long since I’ve been able to blow your mind with my stellar research.”
I crack half a smile. “I’m sure it won’t be the last. Thanks, Dad.”
16
SORORITY SISTER
Once we get out of the restaurant, the three of us are refocused and ready to tackle this next step of the journey. We’re only an hour away from the sorority house.
Avet insists on riding Sevan’s motorcycle.
I know what he’s doing, pushing the two of us together. But the joke’s on him, because neither of us is in the mood for a burgeoning romance. We talk shop the entire drive, ferreting out each other’s trapping style so we can be prepared. We spend the drive making sure that the other one will be ready for whatever might come our way.
By the time I pull into the parking spot half a block down from the large two-story house, I don’t feel quite so worried that I will have to watch Sevan’s back. If the arsenal of vishap traps she carries in her bag is any indication, she hasn’t needed a partner on hunting trips in a very long time.
I get out of the car and pop open the trunk, fishing through Avet’s bag of tricks for an ID that might fit the situation. “Internet technician or electrician?” I ask her as she moves to stand beside me.
Sevan takes the water bottle she stole from the cupholder in my car and flicks her face with a few droplets. “No need. It’s a sorority house. They’ll be more trusting of a woman than of a man coming into their home. I can be Cher’s cousin, come to see my dear missing family member’s old room. I’ll ask for a minute alone in the space, and I’ll summon whatever spirit might still be there.”
“But we’re not looking for a spirit,” Avet replies as he joins us, looking energized from the ride. The day Avet needs caffeine to get his mind firing is the day I will wonder if something is wrong with the world in general. He is a constant ball of energy.
Sevan cocks her hip to the side. “Maybe you’re not, but I am. Sargis told us that a girl went missing from this house last year. She’d been visited by her older, mysterious boyfriend, who most likely killed her.”
“But all of that is conjecture,” Avet argues. “We have no idea if Zagiri is actually dead, or if she died here.”
Sevan shrugs, unperturbed by Avet’s logic. “Either way, her stuff was here. Her spirit might be clinging to this place since it was her last known residence. That’s what I’m here to rule out.”
“And if you conjure up a rotting spirit?”
Sevan shrugs as if the notion is no big deal. “Then I put the spirit to rest.” She crosses her arms over her chest. “You know how I work. I start from the ground up. If we try to conjure Zagiri’s spirit in the sorority house and it doesn’t work, we can try the lab next, since Sargis said the roommate’s statement placed her there, too.” She taps her boot to the concrete, indicating all things buried.
Avet pinches the bridge of his nose. “Fine, but then what? I can’t imagine Zagiri’s spirit is still lingering in the place. Cher would have known.”
“Cher wouldn’t know unless she conjured the spirit forth. Cher isn’t a trapper, so she would have no cause to do something like that.”
Avet harrumphs. “You’re making this more complicated than it needs to be. I want information on my sister. The goal is to find Cher.”
“That’s part of the goal,” Sevan argues, matching Avet’s stubbornness with her own. “Now the goal is bigger. Find Cher, yes, but also figure out if Andranik is an anomaly, or if more vampires than just him are targeting young women so they can keep them as a live snack.”
Avet points to us. “Having you two with me on this was supposed to speed things along, not slow the hunt down. I need to find my sister.”
I can see Avet’s tensed neck muscles. He’s had too much time in his own head, being on the motorcycle for so long. I motion for him to come closer, so I can pull him into my arms for a rough hug.
It takes a few seconds before he deflates, but finally, his arms go around me, his chin resting on my shoulder.