The kidnappings were clustered around graveyards and cemeteries.
“Your theory appears to be correct,” Ceff said. “The children who were taken all lived within walking distance of a burial ground.”
The major difference between graveyards and cemeteries was that graveyards are often small and located beside a church. Cemeteries are larger, public burial places. The primary difference for supernaturals was that graveyards were always on hallowed ground. Large cemeteries, on the other hand, often had unconsecrated land where criminals were typically buried. Traditionally, this area was at the rear of the cemetery, but as cities grew so did the number of deceased. Most cemeteries now encompassed land not part of the original. If hallowed ground had been a problem for our kidnappers, then they would have stuck to the large cemeteries.
But that train of thought was a dead end. The pins indicated activity around both cemeteries and graveyards.
“Yes and our kidnappers don’t have an aversion to hallowed ground,” I said. I pointed to two church graveyards marked by a cross. “That rules out any demon involvement.”
Some demons have a taste for human flesh. It was rumored that human children were a sought after delicacy. Knowing demons weren’t involved was a relief, but it didn’t bring us any closer to catching the kidnappers.
Harborsmouth was a huge, old city. There had to be hundreds of graveyards and cemeteries. Even using the app to focus on the most concentrated areas of kidnappings, we were left with too many locations to search.
I growled and slammed my fist on the counter.
“I know,” Jinx said. “I spent forever dipping crossbow bolts in holy water. Why can’t it ever be demons?”
My roommate was pouting because she wasn’t going to get the chance to hurt some demons on this case? Some things never change. I ducked my head and stifled a laugh.
I took a deep breath and looked up into Ceff’s handsome face. He tilted his head to the side and blinked at me, fork paused halfway to his mouth.
“You wish for demon involvement?” he asked.
He gave a slow, disbelieving shake of the head and this time I did laugh. Ceff wasn’t aware of Jinx’s love hate relationship with demons. She loves to hate them, especially one demon in particular.
“No, I’m glad we’re not dealing with demons,” I said. “But if Jinx is going to fight something, she’d prefer it had pointy horns and a forked tail. You should see her at target practice.”
It was true. Stick horns on the target and Jinx nailed it every time.
“You never know when a demon might walk through your door,” she said, eyes gleaming. “It’s best to be prepared.”
Jinx patted her back where a crossbow was slung over her shoulder. The weapon looked incongruous with her frilly apron, but then again, that was Jinx all over.
“Yes, but we don’t shoot clients, right?” I asked. “That was the deal.”
Jinx shrugged one shoulder and cleared our plates off the counter, dumping them into a sink of soapy water. One of these days Forneus, a demon attorney and sometimes client, and Jinx were going to kill each other. I couldn’t always be around to break up their fights.
I just hoped the demon didn’t pick today to come through our doors. Jinx was tired, hung over, and heavily armed.
I yawned and stretched. It was time to get back to work, but where to start? I flipped through the case file one more time. Nothing helpful there. If only I could narrow down the most likely burial grounds for a wisp hideout.
“Perhaps our theory is flawed,” Ceff said. He was still looking at the map displayed on my phone. “We know that the wisps acted as bait, luring the children away from their beds, but we haven’t asked why. What motivation would they have to bring them to a cemetery? There are many stories of your people tricking foolish travelers, leading them deep into bogs and over cliffs, for their amusement, but why capture so many young faeries? Once at the cemetery, what do they do with the children?”
It was a good question, one I had no answer for. I sighed and ran my hands through damp hair.
“I don’t know,” I said. “There’s too much I don’t know about wisps. I’ve read everything I can get my hands on, and those stories involve either treasure or trickery, sometimes death, but nothing about kidnapping.”
“Wisps don’t eat kids, do they?” Jinx asked. “You know, like ghouls. No offense, Ivy.”
I sure hoped wisps didn’t feast on little kids. It was hard enough getting used to the idea of having faerie blood running through my veins without being related to cannibals. I placed a hand on my stomach, wishing I hadn’t eaten an entire plate of toast and eggs.
“No, wisps are not child eaters,” Ceff said. “It would seem that these wisps are either stealing children for monetary reward or amusement.”
“Reward?” I asked. “As in, working for someone?”
“Yes, it’s a possibility,” he said. “Wisps are attracted to treasure. With your father gone, and no one to tell them differently, it’s possible these wisps may have bargained their services for gold.”
My chest tightened, as if a crushing weight had settled there, and I curled my hands into fists. If I had found my people and assumed my role as princess sooner, this mess may never have happened. Those children would be home safe with their families instead of huddled somewhere scared, or worse.
“So who would want a bunch of faerie children?” Jinx asked.
I shook my head. Who indeed.
Feeding on children went against vampire law, but I didn’t trust bloodsuckers. For the long-lived undead, the blood of faerie children would be a potent delicacy to break the boredom of immortality. I wouldn’t put it past a hungry vampire to use hired help as bait, if they had the means. And most of the dust bags I’d met were loaded. I’d have to pay a visit to the head of the local vamps. Oh. Joy.
As for fae who may wish to steal a bunch of kids, I was stumped. Faeries were known for abducting human children, not their own. The victims included both Seelie and Unseelie fae, so it wasn’t a case of one court attacking the other, and the list of fae races represented by our clients was vast. I couldn’t see how kidnapping such a diverse group of kids would aid in any political maneuvering, but with the fae nothing was as it seemed. I’d have to ask around, just in case. Kaye said local fae leaders gathered at Club Nexus. Maybe things would seem clearer after a trip to the club.
But I’d have to wait until dusk to interview any vamps or fae royalty. That left searching the homes where the children were abducted and nearby burial grounds. I picked up my phone and scanned the map. A large number of faeries who live in Harborsmouth reside on Joysen Hill. Many of these families were targeted by the kidnappers, and there are two large public cemeteries and three small graveyards on The Hill. With its close proximity to Club Nexus and the entrance to the head vamp’s lair, it seemed like a good place to start.
I was going back to Joysen Hill. Hopefully this time I could avoid the attentions of deadly fae and a run in with the law. With my track record, I wasn’t so sure of that.
Chapter 11
Twenty-four hours ago, I’d juggled an armful of shopping bags while Jinx shopped on The Hill. Now I walked Market Street again, Ceff at my side. He was a lot more fun to look at than my roommate. My kelpie king boyfriend climbed the hill in a fitted dress shirt tucked into dark blue jeans that showed off some of his most attractive assets. I licked my lips, pulse racing. How did I, a grouchy half-breed, end up with such a dreamy guy?