Who: Lorna Dane and Thomas Raith with an appearance by Harry Dresden What: looking for Alex and Neena When: after this log Where: Chez Summers, then above and around Irvine Rating: PG-13 for magic and minor PC injury Status: complete
A couple hours after Alex left with Neena Lorna was starting to get really worried. He wasn’t answering texts or calls, and she had no idea where he’d gone. She asked Mavis to excuse her, and Emma came in as if summoned. Lorna wondered what was going on until Emma sat down in the same room as Mavis and complained about the heat. Lorna promised Mavis to keep her in touch, and went out to ask everyone else if they’d seen Neena.
She decided the best place to start was Neena’s new boyfriend, so she made her way over to the prettiest guy at the party (now that Alex was gone).
Thomas was starting to wonder where Neena had gone off to, himself. It wasn’t a jealous sort of worrying, it was the ‘I hope everything’s okay’ sort, and considering their lives, and their luck...well, he knew which way the cookie was most likely to crumble. When Alex’ fiancee came over to join him, that pretty much sealed the deal.
“Is it time to send a search party?”
Lorna nodded. “Yeah, I think so.” She looked worried, and her heart sank. “He’s not returning my calls, and. . . I don’t know, why would he run off with Neena in the middle of a barbecue?” She pushed her hair back out of her face. “I don’t know where they went, or why. Did Neena say anything to you?”
Thomas shook his head. Feeling Lorna’s worry made him even more worried, and he had to take a moment to tamp down those feelings lest they find themselves enmeshed in some kind of negative feedback loop. It was possible that some emergency had come up, but he would have thought that their partners would have at least told them, if not asked them along. He and Neena were past the stage where she ran off to save the world by herself without leaving word. Or so he thought.
“Let’s make sure Scott hasn’t sent them on a last-minute supply run, before we panic.”
Lorna shook her head. “Emma came in to keep Mavis company, if Scott knew where they were she’d have said something, I think.” She chewed her thumbnail, her worry growing. “Which probably means he’s out of her telepathic range.” Or something else had happened.
“All right,” he said, nodding. “If they’re out of telepathic range, what’s the most logical place to start looking?” He tried to think of a list, and then it hit him. “My brother could probably whip up a tracking spell, if we give him something that belongs to either one of them.”
“Oh! Good call.” Lorna said, her expression brightening. “Neena’s truck is still here, there’s bound to be plenty of her stuff in there.”
“Yes.” Thomas stood, and scanned the place for Harry--who’d be frankly hard to miss, towering over even Nate. “That’ll save us a lot of running around, if there is trouble.”
Harry was currently bantering about odds and ends with a young man he had just met, some model or something, and glanced around as he felt attention bent toward him. He saw Thomas looking and waved a hand, then excused himself from Michael, or Matt, or whatever his name was.
Long legs made quick strides and he came to stand next to his brother and Lorna, taking in their faces. Oh damn it. He had been hoping for a peaceful day. He set his drink down and started pulling in his concentration. “What went wrong?”
“Alex and Neena left together and we don’t know why. It’s been over two hours. Alex isn’t answering calls or texts.” Lorna looked pretty upset by all this. Alex missed her calls sometimes, but he always returned them as soon as he could.
Thomas would have to say hello to the young model, later, but right now, his mind was elsewhere. He hated to interrupt the picnic and cause mass panic, but he wasn’t going to get any rest as long as Lorna was worried about their other halves. “I’m going to grab something of Neena’s out of the truck,” he said, “Do you think you could track them for us?”
Harry’s face tightened and turned grim. “Yes. I’m parked near her truck too. Luck of the draw. We can get my materials from it, while you get that.” He rubbed his hands together. “I’m still learning to do this in this world, but yeah, unless something interferes, I should be able to.”
Lorna nodded and turned to the parking lot. “Do you need anything else? I can go get stuff.” Alex took the vehicle they arrived in, but Lorna could transport herself faster than the truck could go, anyway.
“If you want to grab something of Alex’, just in case they are no longer together,” Thomas suggested, “That might not be a bad idea.”
Lorna nodded, and looked down at her ring. “I guess a gift he gave me wouldn’t count as being his. Uh, I think he took everything with him.” She tried to think what she might have on her person that belonged to him.
Harry nodded. “Not unless... well, did he give it to you in a scene where he set things up and asked?” He waved a hand. “Or vice versa? That could work, then.” Emotion created a ghost track.
“What Harry’s asking is, Is that an engagement ring?” Thomas translated. If so, Thomas probably couldn’t touch it, but that’s why he’d worn gloves to the party. Lots and lots of happy couples. Which was good! He was just a little jealous. But there was no time for jealousy here, now.
Lorna nodded. “Yeah. I did the asking and gave him the ring he’s wearing, but he gave me this one when we got home, before we. . . you know, celebrated.” She blushed a little, and handed the ring over.
Harry nodded and took the ring as they walked toward the truck. “Once we have something of Neena’s, we can cast a double spell and lock them down.”
Thomas went into the truck and retrieved the item; purposely choosing something that he had actually seen her use, rather than just grabbing any old thing. He handed the sunglasses to Harry, hoping, and praying that the spell would work smoothly. And that everything would be all right.
Lorna fidgeted, hoping this would work. She didn’t know what to do if it didn’t. Unless Alex used his powers in a big way this was the only chance she had to find him.
Harry took out chalk from his coat and sketched a careful, if quick circle. Stepping in, he held the two items and let his mind sink into them and into the connections they held to those who held them and those who had held them. He shimmered for a moment in warm light and magic flared, reaching outward. He felt a tug in one direction and let his mind go that way, arrowing toward one part of town, before suddenly something dark, evil, and very angry surged back along the line. Harry had time to throw up only the most basic of shields before he was slammed against the walls of the circle with bonecrushing force, and the connection was cut.
He fell to the street, shuddering, and clutched outward for Thomas or Lorna. When he caught one of them, he whispered four words. “South, Danger. Dark magic.” And then unconsciousness swam up and sucked him down.
Thomas was at his brother’s side in an instant, breaking the circle as he crossed it--if it wasn’t already broken by Harry’s fall--and grasping for the man’s hand. “Shit,” he said as Harry passed out. “Shit, shit, shit.” He looked up at Lorna. “We’re gonna need the big guns.”
Lorna gasped when Harry was thrown back and moved closer, hovering out of Thomas’s way. His reaction and his unconscious brother only cemented the idea that Alex was in serious trouble in her mind. “Luckily I know a guy. Did he at least get an idea of where to start?” She was already looking around with her powers, to see if there was a noticeable change in the magnetic field around them, and especially around Harry. “I think he’s okay, just knocked for a loop. His. . . uh, aura I guess, is the same as before.”
Thomas gave a strained smile. He could only imagine what Harry’s personal electromagnetic field looked like, given the effect he sometimes had on electronics when he’d been magicking. But at least he knew his brother would be okay. It was more than they could say for Alex and Neena, just yet. “South,” Thomas said, “Danger and dark magic. That’s all I got before he blacked out.”
Lorna nodded. “Okay. That’s towards Irvine. I can find Alex if he uses his powers, but I’ll have to be almost on top of him to find him if he doesn’t.” She chewed her lip. “Let’s get Harry inside before we take off, I don’t think leaving him in the driveway is very nice.” She focused on Harry’s body, lifting him up gently, making sure to keep him still. “Mavis and Emma can look after him.”
The door opened and Harry floated inside and next to Emma’s magnetic field. That accomplished, Lorna took a deep breath and looked south. “Are you afraid of heights?”
“Elaine’s probably inside, too, and she’s good with bumps and bruises,” Thomas said, “I’m not worried about Harry.” He watched as Lorna levitated the tall man into the house, then turned to follow her gaze. “Not afraid of heights. And even if I was, I’m more afraid for our people. Let’s go.”
Lorna nodded and they both lifted up, and darted away, headed south. She kept her speed down, compared to the last time she’d run away to help Alex. It wouldn’t do either of them any good to arrive naked covered in friction burns. She kept her senses open, watching for any large displays of magic or energy. If the magic wasn’t being used consistently she wasn’t sure she’d be able to see it.
Thomas wasn’t really sure what they were looking for, either. Harry would be able to sense magic, but Thomas’ talents lay in other arenas. He might, however, be able to sense strong emotional disturbances--especially if they belonged to Neena. As much as he hoped for the best, he would be alert and ready for anything.
The flight to Irvine took a little longer than normal, and other than the normal pockets of magic and high energy she was used to, Lorna didn’t see anything going on that drew her attention. She saw a blip at a corporate office, but it was so small. Harry had reacted to strong dark magic, not some little night light. It was frustrating. They were looking for a needle in a field full of haystacks.
Thomas considered trying to reach out for Neena with his powers, but if she was trapped somewhere, he didn't know how much good it would do. He didn't know how far it would reach, either, and the last thing he wanted was to distract Lorna. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
Lorna touched down on top of a building, sighing a little. “I don’t know. What can you do? I’m trying to track them using electromagnetic fields, but in a city that’s going to be nearly impossible, unless the magic being used on them is really strong, and therefor very visible.”
Thomas grunted. “I guess all I can really do is stay alert for strong emotions and magic, myself. Maybe between the two of us, we’ll pick up on something.”
Lorna nodded and sighed. “We’ll have to do a more thorough sweep, which will be slow and time consuming.” She opened the lock on the ladder to the roof and extended it downward. “You live in Irvine, don’t you? Do you have a car?”
“I do,” he said, “It’s parked at Neena’s. You know where that is?”
“Well enough.” Lorna said with a nod. “Alex picked her dog up when she was playing dead, and I went to her bar a couple times before it was gone.” She could always call a cab, too. “I guess I should have just stayed on the roof.” She shook her head, sighing. She’d made so many mistakes, what was one more?
“Hey,” he said, reaching out to touch her shoulder. “We’ll find them. Harry will tell the others what he sensed, and we won’t stop looking until we do.”
Lorna nodded, and took a deep breath. “You’re right. We will.” She smiled at him, and she did feel a little better. She didn’t know what was going on, but they had good people to help them look. “I’ll call Scott and let him know what we figured out, then we’ll head to your place for your car.”