Clairempathy

"Missing? How is that even possible?" Michael asked in confusion and shock. He had just returned with Aurelie from a night feast, only to hear the bad news.

"I don't know either, it's strange. Winter wouldn't just disappear without any trace, I think she was taken," Naomi replied

Richard sighed and sat on a chair, they were all currently in a spacious lobby. "We can't just jump into conclusions, Naomi. For all we know, she could be in another realm. Visiting Jack maybe," he muttered with a bored expression

Naomi shook her head. "No, I doubt that. Ron already made contact with the other realms, and there's no sign of her," she stated. "And Jack, really? He's barely spoken to Winter since the 20s,"

"Well that can't be good, where could she be?" Aurelie said with a worried look

Michael sighed. "My best bet is that she never even left the human realm, but there's only one way to confirm that. A way that even if she's being cloaked, we'll still know," he muttered and almost immediately, everyone present in the room shifted their gaze to Richard.

"What?" he raised an eyebrow, in confusion.

"You're an empath," Aurelie said

Richard scoffed. "Partial empath," he corrected her. "But so what?"

Naomi sighed. "Well, can't you try finding her using her emotional signature or something?" she asked

"First, it's called a linked clairempathy," Richard retorted. "And second, I already tried that. But I couldn't sense her, and I couldn't have known what emotion she was feeling before... Before she disappeared. I closed the link with you all a long time ago," he muttered softly, with a hint of pain visible in his voice.

"Hey, that wasn't anyone's fault. What's done is done, we just have to find a way forward, together," Naomi comforted him. "But first, we have to find our little sister. Can you try again?" she asked

"Yes, I can. But don't get too hopeful," Richard replied, before closing his eyes. His eyes remained shut, while his senses became heightened, allowing himself access to the emotional plane.

After a few minutes, he opened his eyes and sighed. "I'm sorry, I couldn't sense her. Wherever she is, it's not in the human realm," Richard muttered softly, already feeling a wave of emotions from everyone present in the room; Fear, concern, restlessness.

"This is bad, where could she be?" Naomi muttered, already getting restless. "I mean, it's not like she would just leave, right?"

Aurelie shook her head. "Winter wouldn't do that, she tells me everything. Or maybe she's playing a prank on us, she is quite fond of pranks," she chuckled, trying to lighten the mood of everyone. And it seemed to have worked, as they all laughed slightly.

"You're right, Winter wouldn't just leave," Michael said. "She checks up on me once a month, and we would go to the movies and musicals together. But, last month was... Different. I didn't hear from her at all," he stated

"You know, come to think of it. The last time I heard from her was about three weeks ago, on her birthday," Naomi pointed out. "And I haven't heard from her ever since. I thought she might be busy with work, so I didn't disturb her,"

Aurelie sighed. "That explains why she didn't call to acknowledge the gift I got her. I should have known something was wrong," she muttered

"So you all just assumed she was busy, and didn't check on her to confirm? How caring of you guys," Richard said sarcastically.

"Like you're any better," Aurelie retorted. "You haven't spoken with her in centuries, and yet you criticize us for not checking up on her in a month. How original," she snickered

Naomi sighed deeply and clapped her hands loudly, attracting everyone's attention. "Now's not the time to quarrel among ourselves, no one's at fault here. We all should have just been less unperturbed about her social inactiveness. But now, we have to find her," she stated with an authoritative expression. Ever since they lost their mother to the sea, Naomi and her other half had been in charge of the Corsaire family, watching over and making decisions on behalf of them all.

And even though their Aunt Carmilla, watched over them for years and sometimes acted as the family leader who called the shots, Naomi was still the one responsible for her siblings.

"We will find her. If there's anyone good at finding our sister, it's us," Michael muttered with a determined look

Aurelie nodded her head. "Mum's already in Solnon, organising a search party. They plan to raid every realm on earth, both recorded and unrecorded. I'll join her," she muttered

"Okay that's good, Michael and I would go to London and check Winter's penthouse for clues . Richard, you and Ronald should head for Vulkanis," Naomi ordered, assigning tasks to them. "There's a slight chance that she could be there, and we both know that the vamps and wolves don't really get along. So it'll be best if you, an Immortal and Ron, an ambassador of the races, be the ones to go there," she stated

"That's sounds good, I'll make sure mum doesn't plan on raiding the lycans realm," Aurelie said and began walking out of the room

"Good luck with that, I bet that's exactly where she plans to go first," Richard chuckled

"She won't. Afterall, it's still my day. And that means, I call the shots," Aurelie winked and left

"So, she's gone. You should probably get going as well, there's no time to lose," Richard muttered

Michael nodded. "Indeed, I have booked us a flight to England. Plane leaves in an hour," he said

"We could have just.. taken my private jet, but no problem. Let's go," Naomi said with a wry smile, before turning to face Richard. "Richard, you should stay here... No, you must stay here till Ronald returns. He's running an errand for Carmilla in Bordeaux and should be back soon," she stated and began walking out of the room with Michael

Richard sighed. "Aye, aye, capitan. I'll just wait here like a good little puppy," he muttered with a smile

"I'm serious, Richard. Wait here for Ron, he'll be back soon. Then you can both head to SPECTRA and access a portal to Vulkanis. Do not goof off exploring all the clubs in Paris, STAY HERE," Naomi warned with a strict expression. Richard nodded in agreement, and Naomi left with Michael, after giving Richard one last warning glance. She really meant business.

Naomi and Michael got into a car and drove out of the chateau, heading to the airport. While Richard sat comfortably at the bar stand in the room, poured himself some vodka and sipped from the glass cup.

"Hm, I think I'd prefer whiskey," he sighed and glanced across the stand, which had various bottles of liquor and wine on it. But there was no whiskey.

Richard sighed in dissatisfaction. "I just remembered, Carmilla doesn't like whiskey. Fuck, who doesn't like whiskey?" he mumbled and stood up

"Sorry, Naomi. But I really need some whiskey, and probably someone to talk to before Ronald gets back," Richard muttered to himself and began walking out of the room. He walked across the passages, past the other rooms and halls, and after a while of walking, he was outside the castle.

Richard then approached his car; a sleek, grey Bugatti Chiron. He got in and started the engines. "Time to go to a real bar, it's been ages since I visited one in France anyway," he said with a smug smile, before driving out of the estate.