That was it. No number or name came up. Just the message.
I automatically looked around me, as if the person who sent it was nearby, then I scoffed. As if they were in my room.
Who would send this?
Emily?
Kellie was upset, but she was not the type of person who would do this. She’d already confronted me about it anyway.
I knew Emily was upset — she’d made herself perfectly clear — but she’d already told me to stay away. So who was it? Surely it wasn’t Justina. She would just say it to my face too.
Maybe one of Emily’s other friends. Felicity? Did Emily have a big brother who was looking out for her — and being a jerk about it?
I sighed. There was no real way to tell, but Emily was the most likely person to send this. How could she have gotten my phone number?
Should I take this seriously? Should I tell someone? It was only one message. Maybe I was overreacting. I would have to wait and see if they send any more messages. Then I would decide if I need to do anything about it.
I sure as hell wasn’t going to let someone tell me who I could date. It was my life. They could all go to hell.
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There was tension in the air as we filed into the church on Monday afternoon. People were talking in hushed whispers, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying. Had they found Sophie? Had someone else gone missing?
We were supposed to be listening to a talk from one of the higher-ups in the church. Victor someone. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to sit through some boring talk with updates of what’s happening in the magical world by some old dude I didn’t want to know, but now that we were here and the crowd was buzzing, my curiosity was piqued.
As we took our seats, Jericho approached the podium, his hands fluttering around the microphone stand like he didn’t know where to put them.
The crowd fell silent and he cleared his throat. “Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. It’s so good to see so many of you here today.”
I looked around at the crowd. He had their undivided attention. There was usually a certain percentage in a large group who were not really listening or they were looking at their phones, but not here. Every Descendant obviously took these meetings very seriously and I guess their lives and well-being hinged on things like whether the Normals knew they existed or not. I held my breath.
“Some of you are already aware of the situation, but this will be news to most of you.” My chest tightened. “As you know, the Guild and the local police have been investigating cases of missing persons, and I regret to inform you that our very own minister, Kevin Jacobson, is now missing.”
There was an audible gasp and people started to whisper, which became louder by the second.
Jericho held up his hands and called for order. “I assure you that everything is being done to find him and to investigate what has happened. Apparently, he didn’t come home on Friday afternoon. His wife is beside herself.” He fidgeted with the microphone on the lectern. “If anyone saw him on Friday or has seen him since Friday, could you please let us know and speak to the police? Anything could help at this point, so even if you think it’s something small and unimportant, please speak up.”
The noise picked up until he spoke again. “We will keep you all updated as we find out more.” He took a deep breath. “Now, we need to get to the reason we had originally organized this meeting for today. Our state leader, Mr Victor Westerfield, has come to speak to us about some important subjects. Let’s give him a warm welcome.”
The applause was enthusiastic, which made me more curious. I remembered how Jericho acted when he had talked about him before. Why was everyone acting like he was some kind of celebrity?
I looked to the front of the room and waited. Jericho looked to his left and smiled warmly as a tall man who looked to be about forty-something with short brown hair and a short, well-kept beard stepped up to the lectern and cleared his throat. “Good evening all. Thank you for your attendance.”
The silence was eerie as the gathering hung on his every word.
“For those of you who don’t know me, I am the leader of the New South Wales branch of the Descendants of the Faith Church and of the New South Wales branch of the Descendants’ Guild. I am dedicated to serving all of you. To your protection and well-being. I assure you that everything is being done to find the Descendants that have gone missing. We will find your loved-ones.”
Ruby stood up. “What about Sophie Vella?”
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr9xv0CczTM
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Author's Note: Can you help me out here? What do you think of the pacing in the story? Is it fast enough? Too slow? Any feedback you can give me helps so much.
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