As I walked into the tower, my feet creaking along the wooden floor, I waved to the Gelvaran woman sitting at the desk, a slight smile across my face as my cheeks flushed at the sight of her. Her hair was long and golden, glistening in the afternoon sunlight filtering in through the windows. She just cleaned them, I thought. "How are you today, Fleur?" I asked her, taken off guard by her glowing ocean-blue eyes, and her pointed ears framed her angular face perfectly.

"I am doing well, Kairine, thank you. And thank you for coming in. I have a case for you," she said, standing up from her desk. As she did, she seemed to tower over me a good few feet. She walked over to me, handing me a folder. "Take a look at this. A middle-aged man, a noble by the sounds of it, came by, asking if you can help him. He sounded distraught. I asked him to come back by, and I believe he should be by in a few minutes."

She always has a case for me. "Fleur, do you ever just call me by just to chat? Get coffee perhaps?" I smirked at her as I glanced down at the folder she'd handed me. Pulling back the cover, I found a photograph clipped there. It was pristine, black-and-white, and depicted a young girl with flowing black hair. She couldn't be older than seven or eight. But that wasn't what drew my eye. It was the gem hanging from her neck on a sleek thin chain.

"Well, I could do that, Kairine, but you always bring it back to work. So I thought I'd just cut to the chase this time," Fleur said, beaming with a chuckle. 

"Fair enough," I said, making a mental note to get to know her better some time. And leave work out of it. "So what can you tell me about this girl?"

She breathed a sigh as her expression turned serious. "She's missing. The Maji Guard are doing everything they can to find her, but the man, a Dr. Grey, he thought that perhaps you might help," she muttered, her tone flat and monotone. "Oh, here he is now."

A moment later, the door swung open and a man, dressed in a dapper navy-blue suit with a black necktie stepped inside. His hair was an ashy-brown and his eyes a forest green. A long and thin mustache lined his upper lip with his jaw square. As he saw me, he appeared surprised for a moment, taking a step back, before composing himself. "Hello. I was unaware you were so young," he said, his voice smooth and formal.

I smiled as I turned to him, my hand out. "I do this in between classes and fighting with my sister," I replied with a slight smile. As he shook my hand, I continued. "Fleur tells me that you're searching for your daughter. How long has she been missing?"

"Her name is Larina," he said, cracking a slight smile, his posture straight; though he was straining himself from my reckoning. I observed a stain on his otherwise pristine-white shirt under his jacket. Gazing down, I noticed his finger nails. Chipped, as though he's been chewing them. "And she's actually my granddaughter. Her parents died on a trip in the Quatrica Islands just a year ago, and I've been taking care of her since," he continued, his voice shaking and his bottom lip quivering.

Instantly, I motioned for Fleur to get him some tissues. "Sir, it's alright. We'll find her. You sound like you care for her a great deal. Can you tell me what places she likes to play, and where did you see her last?"

Just then I could feel a wave of emotion emanating off of the man. I winced as a sharp dull pain shot across my head. I can feel. . . remorse and guilt. Does he feel guilty? I thought to myself, trying to sort through everything that I was feeling. But it was all coming too fast. Black tinged along the edges of my vision as I clutched my head. I could see him asking something, but his words were muffled.

Fleur placed a hand gently on each of my shoulders and she stepped in front of me, staring at me with those ocean-blue eyes. "Focus on me," her words broke through finally. "That's it," she continued, her voice soft and gentle like the morning breeze.

Finally, she turned toward Dr. Grey. "Being a psion, she has to keep her emotions measured and controlled. Otherwise, she can lose control of her powers," she explained. "This newest one, empathy, has been a struggle for her."

He stared at her wide-eyed for a moment before nodding. "Okay. I understand," he muttered. "You had me worried there for a moment, Kairine. Are you okay?"

I nodded slightly. "I'm fine, thank you for your concern," I murmured, still wincing from the pain in my head, though it had dulled down a bit. "Tell me about your granddaughter, please? It may help us find her. Like about this gem around her neck in this photo, can you tell me about it?"

He sighed heavily as a tear fell from his eye. His eyes are red. "That gem is an amulet that I found a long time ago on a dig. You see, I am an archaeologist. Or at least, I fancy myself one. I found that gem in the Quatrica Islands once a few years ago, and I gave it to her as a gift for her birthday. She never takes it off," he murmured, his eyes falling to the floor as he covered his face with one hand. "It's a blue sapphire, and I've been told it has some magical qualities by appraisers. Larina just loves it."

Pursing my lips, I nodded. "It's alright, sir. You don't have to hide your tears from us," I told him softly, approaching him and gently placing a hand on his sleeve. "Where did you last see her?"

He sobbed as tears rained down on the hardwood floor. "We were in the Market District just this morning, browsing the stalls. One moment she was there, right next to me. . ." he sobbed some more, wiping his eyes on his sleeve. Looking down his attire some more, I noticed his front pocket devoid of a handkerchief. That's odd. But he probably misplaced it. His shoes were scuffed and dirty. It looked as though he'd been walking a lot. "She must have wandered off? Oh Gods, I really hope she's alright!"

So we had a place to start. The Market District was known to get very crowded, but the largest crowds were usually in the mid-day, after people had gotten off work. The crowds in the morning should have been pretty light.

Turning to Fleur, I asked her.,"Do you want to come along on this one? It might be easier with another set of eyes," then I glanced at Dr. Grey. "You may come as well. The more eyes, the better. Can you show us to the exact road you were on when you lost track of her?"

He beamed at me, a glimmer of hope in his weary eyes. "Oh yes! Thank you so much! Of course I can show you to precisely where I last saw her."

With a plan in place, our next stop would be the Market District. All hands on deck in the search for a missing child.

The streets of the Market District were like a labyrinth, twisting and turning in multiple directions. I wondered, often, if the city architect was drunk that day. This was why I needed the help of Dr. Grey and Fleur. I would have called on my sister, but I wasn't interested in her blowing up building walls. She was more like a wrecking ball, when we needed a finer touch.

Dr. Grey showed us to the road where he last saw her. It was Potgeiter Road; immediately I saw problems. Not with the search, but with the case. There were too many open doors to different buildings that were used by the market stalls when they needed to escape sandstorms, which were frequent here. This was fine. The problem was that it created a host of places that a potential bad actor could hide, waiting for an opportunity to snatch a helpless little girl.

But on the bright side, there weren't really any alleyways or anything for her to get lost down.

My eyes scanned along the crowds. There were too many people here to do a proper grid search. "Fleur, can you take Hanru Street, while Dr. Grey, you search Verwoerd Road?" I told my companions. "Dr. Grey, do you happen to have something of hers that I might be able to get a read off of?"

He shook his head solemnly. "I'm sorry, I've not been back to the house since, I have nothing on me, young lady," as his eyelids drooped.

"It's fine, I'll work with what I have," I told him, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. "We'll find her."

He stared at me, teary-eyed for a while before nodding and turning toward the west and starting toward Verwoerd. As I turned, Fleur had already gone. Alright. So if I were a youngster, where would I be hiding? I shut my eyes, casting about my senses. But the cacophony of noise from the mid-day crowd made it impossible. Too many minds here, it's hard to focus.

I stepped forward toward the stall where Dr. Grey said he'd lost track of her, while zig-zagging through the throngs of people. My eyes turned east, then west. Kneeling, I felt along the ground as I closed my eyes. That was when I saw it. It was just a flash, for a brief instant, but it was distinct, clear as day. That blue stone. But there was something else as well. Another presence. She didn't wander off, she was taken.

Standing, I scanned along the people once more. My eyes fell upon the man minding the stall. He was shorter than I was, with a long fiery-red beard and red hair, wearing a creme-white apron over his blue overalls. A Vikarahn. They're known for their keen eye, serves them well on the open oceans. Approaching him, I gave a slight bow. "Greetings. Do you remember seeing a little girl, about seven, a human, wearing a blue sapphire gem necklace?"

He glared at me with his glacier-blue eyes for a long time, his gaze hard and stern, expressionless. After a moment, though, his gaze softened. "Alright. Yeah, I did see her."

"Why would you hesitate to tell me that?" I asked him, raising an eyebrow.

He exhaled a long sigh. "I just don't want anyone thinking I had something to do with it. . ." his eyes dropped down to the stall before him. "My wife left me this stall and the rights to this spot when she passed on two years ago. And if anyone thought I had anything to do with what happened, I could lose it. And to tell you the truth, Miss, I feel guilty. Because I saw them take her. . . And I did nothing." A tear fell from his eyes, dripping down on an antique clock lying on the table before him.

I pursed my lips. "I'm so sorry for your loss," I murmured. "If you help me find her now, I'll make sure that everyone knows you for the hero that you are. Clear your name."

His gaze lifted to meet mine, his eyes glassy and watery. "But don't you deserve the credit if you find her?"

I shook my head. "Honestly, who gets the credit doesn't matter right now. Only finding her matters."

"You're right," he said, nodding. "There were two men, wearing black with hoods. I didn't really get a good look at their faces, but they went straight for her, as though she were a target. They took her that way." He pointed toward the east.

Two men, wearing black. And they targeted her, it wasn't a crime of opportunity. Nodding, I turned the direction he pointed and started off. My eyes scanned along each of the open doorways. Some had tarps covering them. As I got to each one, I pulled the tarp aside to glance inside. I have a bad feeling about this.

I pulled my comm stone from my pocket. A moment later, Fleur's image appeared before me. "Fleur, we may have a problem. The stall keeper described two men wearing all black with hoods, and they targeted her. She didn't wander off, Fleur, she was kidnapped."

She stared back at me wide-eyed, her mouth hanging open. "You don't think it could be. . . ?"

"Can't rule out anything."

Hanging up with her, I glanced around at the throngs of people around me. If it's them, they could be watching me this very moment. Then, my gaze caught something peculiar on the ground. It was glinting in the mid-day sun, shining in a bright blue. Stepping over to it, I leaned down to pick it up. It was a sapphire gem, still on its necklace. How long has this been here? And why hadn't anyone picked up before now? My eyes shot up, scanning along the buildings. I pulled the photo from my pocket, examining it closer for any more clues. What are you trying to tell me, Larina? Looking up from it, I scanned along the ground some more. 

There! There's something else! My eye caught the glint of a tiny white object. Moving slowly, I picked it up and rolled it around in my hand. It was a white pearl, and it looked new, as though it hadn't been on the ground for too long. Lifting the photo up again, I saw it. Her hair was tied in twin pony tails, each with a band of pearls. Clever girl. She's leaving a trail. Her grandfather must have taught her well.

Looking around where I found the pearl, I could see it was only a couple of meters away from where I'd found the sapphire, near the right edge of the road. Right before me was a doorway covered by a multi-coloured tarp.

Slowly, I stood to my feet, looking around at the crowd, searching for any sign of the men who'd grabbed this poor girl. Then, taking a deep breath, I walked toward the tarp, lifting it aside. Stopping, I listened for a moment. Just then, I heard something. It was slight, but there was definitely a sound. I listened closer, shutting my eyes.

Sniffle. Sob. Sob. Sniffle.

"Hello?" I called out to the darkness beyond. "Is there someone there?"

Moments later, a reply came. "H. . . Hello?" sobbed the voice of a little girl. "P. . . Please. . . Help me!" 

Wasting no time I stepped inside. "Keep talking so that I can find you," I called back, my voice calm and steady. "Is your name Larina?"

A pause. Then, "Y. . . Yes! Yes, I'm Larina!"

My heart skipped at the sound of that, as I moved in that direction. "I've met your grandfather. He is very worried about you. My name is Kairine. I'm a friend."

Seconds later, I found her. There, in a tiny room in the back of the building, she was sitting huddled against the wall, her hands and feet bound. Quickly, I ran to her. "Let's get you out of here and then I'll get you back to your grandfather," I told her as I got to work untying her bonds.

Her face drooped at the sound of that, as more tears fell from her eyes. "He's probably so mad at me!"

Stopping, I gently lifted her face to look her in the eyes. "No, not at all. He's just very worried. He loves you very much, and don't you ever forget that, alright?"

She stared back at me with red and glassy eyes for a long time, before nodding. As I got the last of her bonds undone, she said, "You're really nice, Kairine. Thank you," as I helped her stand up. "Nothing like those mean guys said about you."

My body froze at the sound of that as chills ran down my spine. Slowly, I leaned down to look at her. "What can you tell me about the mean guys, Larina?"

"They had like black skin and red eyes. And they talked a lot about you."

My lower lip quivered as she said those words. "What did they say?"

"That you will destroy the world. . . But you're not going to do that, are you?" she asked me, her question giving me pause. Why would anyone think that? 

I shook my head vigorously. "N. . . No way. Of course not," I stammered as a thousand questions filled my mind.

She smiled at that and together, we walked out of the building, hand in hand. A little while later, Fleur and Dr. Grey met up with us as he ran to her and threw his arms around her. He hugged her as though there was no tomorrow, beaming at me with teary eyes. "Thank you so much," he mouthed to me.

Fleur glowed at the sight of them together, but then paused as she looked at me. "What's wrong?"

I struggled with whether I should say anything here for a while, watching as Dr. Grey stood and approached me with his hand reached out with a pile of coins. "Please, take it! It's the least I can do, since you saved my granddaughter."

Pursing my lips, I shook my head. "No, but thank you. Use it to buy her something nice," I told him softly. "Oh, and before I forget. . ." I leaned down and handed the sapphire necklace to her. "Keep this close. It was very clever leaving these for me to find, they helped lead me to you. Good thinking."

She looked at me with wide eyes as she took it from my hands. "But, I didn't drop it. They did," she said.

As they walked away, smiling back at us, I stood there, frozen. They left those for me to find? But why? I just could not understand. It was as though they set this whole thing up for me.

"Do you think they're sending you a message?" asked Fleur.

Shaking my head I stared at her. "I really don't know," I whispered, breathing a sigh. "But at least they're reunited and she's save and sound."

Turning, Fleur and I started for home, as more questions ran through  mind. What do they want? I thought to myself as I stared up at the darkening sky. Will my life ever get easier?