Chapter 5: Mundanes and Magic

Her mind extending far in front of her, Serine moved through the stuffed streets of the city barely perceiving the people around her. Only her hand's connection with Rowan's mattered physically. She followed the trail of minds and memories before finally touching the thoughts of Kathleen Marley. Serine came to an abrupt stop.

Rowan made another call while she marked the locations of two more sets of Hunters in the area.

Serine carefully reached into Kathleen's mind. The woman was thinking about the tea she was drinking. It was too bitter and she was considering berating the waitress for it. Frowning to herself, Serine went a bit deeper and found the name of the coffee shop. She whispered it out loud and Rowan repeated the name into the phone.

Hanging up, Rowan tapped on Serine's arm. "Come out," she said.

The vampire's words sounded like they were traveling through honey and it took a moment for Serine to even realize Rowan had spoken. She began extracting herself from Kathleen's mind and those of the others around her. When she came back to herself a few minutes later, Serine blinked and realized Rowan had led her to just outside the little coffee shop. Marcus and the twins were just stepping inside.

Rowan led Serine past a little white menu sign out front and through the glass doors. The inside of the shop was clean and smelled wonderful, like freshly ground coffee and sweet caramel. The counter to the left had an intriguing display case filled with pastries and a couple of chalk boards hanging over the back that advertised real fruit smoothies. It was the kind of place Serine would have loved to come to and relax for a while, had she been free to do so.

Marcus, the twins at his back, approached the table of a skinny woman wearing far too many expensive jewels for the area and made eye contact with the waitress standing there. The young girl looked to be near tears and happily scurried away at a gesture from Marcus. Kathleen spun around, ready to continue shouting at the person who'd sent her victim away, but stopped with her mouth hanging open. Marcus casually took a seat at the table.

"Might want to close that trap of yours," he commented, as he slid her tea cup over to himself. He took a long sip of the hot drink.

"What are you doing here?" Kathleen demanded in whisper.

Rowan and Serine sat at a small table nearby and Rowan ordered them both small drinks.

"Isaiah's not happy with you," Marcus casually replied.

"I told him to be patient," Kathleen hissed.

"And he told you, pay up or become food." Marcus smiled at her around the cup.

Serine thanked the waitress and sipped her own coffee, the first she'd had in well over a month. It was hard to enjoy though, given the circumstances.

Grumbling and swearing under her breath, Kathleen began digging in her oversized purse. "This is ridiculous," she claimed, pulling out a black leather checkbook.

"Sweetheart," Marcus crooned, setting aside the tea. "What's ridiculous is that you made a deal with a vampire and tried to default on it."

"You and your kind need to be eradicated," she snapped back. She tore off the finished check and handed it over.

Marcus smiled and took it. "That's not going to happen while you and your rich friends depend on our services." He stood slowly. "Besides, you'd have to admit you hired us." He grinned and turned his back to her, headed out the door once more.

Rowan waited until the twins had exited after Marcus and a few moments after that. She nodded for Serine to follow. The two stood and left, not giving Kathleen, who was still fuming, a single glance.

"Find the others," Rowan whispered to Serine as they stepped out into the street.

Serine nodded but paused as she glanced around. There were now six Hunters in the area. She felt Rowan's hand tighten on hers as she noticed as well. Rowan’s phone rang and she answered.

"Yes. Yes, we noticed." Rowan hung up without saying goodbye and spoke to Serine. "Find out what's going on."

Wide-eyed, Serine stared at her and finally nodded. She spread her mind out carefully, reaching toward the nearest Hunter who was speaking with an irate looking Mundane. Thinking better of the action, she switched her focus to the Mundane instead. A light touch and she was able to listen in on the conversation.

"...too big to be a stray," the Mundane was saying. "The damn thing stole my dinner right out the pan! It had to be a shifter!"

Hearing enough, Serine closed her eyes and pulled back. The decision was made for her. "They're talking about Remmis," she whispered, trying to keep the disappointment from her voice.

"Finally," Rowan growled. She started typing a quick text. "Bad news they're after her too, but we'll deal with that if we need to. Find her quick, now!"

Serine nodded and unfocused her eyes once more. She reached back out to the still ranting Mundane and looked for the specific memory. She watched in mild amusement as the Mundane remembered the serval rushing around her apartment. Serine began walking. She searched the minds of those around quickly but very few had seen a serval or a person matching Remmis' description. The few breadcrumbs led her further into the darker sections of the city as the night grew long.

Within the bounds of the magically gifted streets, Serine allowed her mind to probe a little further and found what she was looking for. With a squeeze of Rowan's hand, she moved along down back alleys of Imp’s Row and through pop-up markets unable to ignore the shocked thoughts of those who saw the Masquerade walking through the normally peaceful gatherings of magic born people. Serine shook herself and focused on the memory one of the peddlers had of selling Remmis some food the night before just before she'd found them.

Serine paused near the food stall and focused her mind in the direction of where she'd last spoken to Remmis. She touched the mind of a home owner who remembered chasing a large cat out of his shed early that morning. From there, it was easy to follow Remmis' path. They hadn't been particularly subtle about coming back to the magic populated area and it only took a few more moments to locate them directly.

Serine paused, considering carefully. Seeing no choice, she gave Rowan's hand a squeeze. With no need to hide her actions or speak in a code, Rowan immediately called Marcus.

Barely keeping her voice steady, Serine spoke in a whisper. "Two blocks up ahead. If they come in from the West and you approach from the South, you stand a good chance."

"Two blocks up, come in from the West," Rowan repeated and hung up the call. She let go of Serine's hand but Serine squeezed, focusing on her.

"Don't kill them," Serine whispered.

Rowan pulled her hand free, frowning at the worry in Serine’s voice. "Isaiah wants her alive," she reminded her.

"They use they/them—"

"Doesn't matter right now." Rowan shook her head and hurried forward.

Serine bit her lip, trying to keep herself from crying as she followed slowly. She counted to ten and reached toward Remmis once more. "They're coming again."

Instant panic welled up in Remmis' mind. "What?" they demanded.

"I'm sorry," Serine whispered to them.

Remmis began swearing and cursing. "Where do I go?"

"Just run." Serine pulled back from their mind, returning fully to her own, and hurried forward.