The search for Samantha Reede was frustrating and fruitless. For hours Jake and Damien tried to gather as much information as they possibly could about the occurrences just before and immediately after her kidnapping, questioning witnesses, following leads, and alerting the Ward. Zoheret, of course, was nowhere in sight, though several people could verify that she was, in fact, at the carnival that evening, what clothes she was wearing, and who she was speaking to. When reports had her speaking to the District Leaders Saraekiel and Chtahzus’aak, Damien frowned outwardly and sucked on his teeth, thinking.
He remained ever vigilant for any sign of a trap. From the moment he stepped out of the Lexus, Damien maintained a heavy auric presence, pressing the weight of his age onto those whom he approached and questioned on Jake’s behalf. He scanned the minds of those who came within a few feet of him or Jake, sussing out anything suspicious happening on the surface of the mind. Twice he had caught witnesses in lies, though he suspected that it had more to do with the weight that hung around Damien rather than any wrongdoings. Young ones found it difficult to maintain eye contact and some of the Anarchs eyed him with open contempt as he followed Jake. The District Leader, who wore the magic ring, had felt none of it for himself.
Despite his best efforts, continual redirectings, and self scoldings, Damien’s mind kept wandering back to Rachel and the White Rabbit and the resurfacing of Laurent. When frustration overtook him with all the dead ends that he and Jake examined, Damien found himself looking down at his cell phone, checking that the green dot of the locator beacon that he understood as Rachel hadn’t moved from the address that was the White Rabbit. Seeing that relieved one part of his anxious mind while niggling at another part - what if the reason the dot wasn’t moving was because Rachel was dead? He clicked his phone shut and returned to his duties helping Jake, trusting that he was being needlessly paranoid.
When he stepped to Jake’s side for the first time that night, they both felt thoroughly prepared and confident in their abilities to find Jake’s fledge. As the night progressed and details became more confusing and frustrating, that confidence began to waiver, slipping into a reluctant whirlpool of desperation and despair. With the approach of dawn, it was Damien tugging on Jake’s shoulder to remind him that they both needed to return to the protection of their homes for the day. There was a desperate grumble and a bright flash of his anger aimed in any direction that would bring his fledge back. Damien hardened himself against it, giving the District Leader a few moments to grasp the truth.
They wouldn’t find Sam tonight.
The realization of the situation sunk into both of them and slogged their shoulders. By the time he turned over the engine of the Lexus to head back to the Rabbit, he had a painful headache running down the side of his face and neck, his eyes momentarily blurring into blindness every few minutes. His jaw ached and his throat was dry; he needed blood badly. The only good thing to come from the night was that he would be returning safely back to Rachel and taking her home for the day.
The mixing of complicated emotions tired him immensely, adding to his heaviness. There was regret at not keeping his promise to Rachel and Jake that they would find Sam; he wasn’t accustomed to not keeping his word. That same regret was blended with a sense of relief that he would be returning home safely with Rachel, to lay in bed with her and hold her close and never let go. There was frustration, anger, annoyance at the situational dynamics of whoever the hell planned such a thing.
Most of all he felt confused. Nothing about this situation had Laurent written on it. So who had taken Sam and was he just supposed to believe that it was all a coincidence with the sighting of Laurent in the bathroom? Why would Laurent go through the trouble of kidnapping a District Leader’s fledge? Damien refused to believe that Laurent didn’t know he was a wanted person. Such a move would be too risky, especially with all eyes on Jake during the election process. And why wasn’t Rachel just taken in the mall while she was under less protection? What did Sam have to do with any of this?
When he stepped back into the White Rabbit, he scooped up into his arms a visibly exhausted, but very much alive and awake Rachel. She had indeed been kept safe from harm, and he felt like he had at least done something correctly that night by leaving her at the Rabbit. Had they been alone, he may not have let her go. Damien would have swept her from her feet and held her as close as he could. Despite his excitement, relief, and joy, decorum kept her feet on the floor and Damien settled with lacing his fingers together with hers. Before they said their goodbyes to the Pierre, Lisa-Joe, and Quinn, Damien had gulped down a couple pints of blood, cooling the throb in his face and the ache in his jaw.
Few words were spoken beyond a kind of reporting of the details of the actions of the night. Damien listened to whatever brief words Rachel gave him, finding a simple peace in the warmth of her hand as he drove. She was back with him and despite his failures of the night, she was unharmed.
Safe.
He kept his hand on the small of her back as they entered the house. Damien locked the door behind them and set the alarm for the upcoming day. With a gentle hand on her cheek and an arm around her back pulling her into a protective embrace, he looked at his human. “What do you need, Rachel?” And he would give her anything she asked.
