Traitor (Creepy Hollow, #3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

corridor. “Let’s talk in my office. At least I know we can’t be overheard in there.” I follow her inside and pull the door shut. The light in her office is a pale, unhealthy hue. I glance up at the glow-bug on the ceiling. Following my gaze, Tora says, “Oh, I think he may be sick. He’s been flickering on and off since yesterday. I need to get someone to take a look at him.”
    I drop into a chair in front of her desk. “So, what’s this ‘tragic case’?”
    Tora sighs. “Last week the sister of one of our Seers was found dead. The family has barely begun to deal with this loss, and now they’ve discovered the sister’s daughter is missing.”
    “ Since when?”
    “ Last night. She’s only six years old. Her father is in his third century, I think, but this is his first, and only, child. He’ll do anything to find her.” Tora opens the cabinet behind her desk and removes a small sock. It’s white with pink stripes. “My contact down at Missing Fae snuck this out of the evidence room for me. Would you mind doing your thing?”
    “ Of course not.” I reach for the sock. Holding it in both hands, I close my eyes and focus. I send my mind out, letting it skim across a vast ocean of consciousness. When I find her, it’s as though I see through her eyes. She’s sitting on a mattress in a small, bare room. Her knees are drawn up against her body. She’s watching the door, and I know without a doubt that it’s locked. I open my eyes, grab a blank scroll from Tora’s desk, and scribble down where I believe the girl to be. “She’s in a house. A human house, I think. She’s locked in, and people are arguing in the room next door.”
    “ Thank you.” Tora takes the scroll. “Please excuse me while I organize an anonymous message to the guy heading up this investigation.” She strides across the room and opens the door. “And don’t even think about going anywhere. We still have counseling to get through.”
    I’ve barely had time to consider an escape attempt from Tora’s office when she returns. She places a hand on my shoulder. “Thank you again, Vi. I understand your desire to keep your ability to yourself for now, but I applaud the fact that you can make good use of it, even in secret.”
    “Um, sure. Of course.”
    “ Now. Back to business.” Tora seats herself behind her desk once more. “Sorry I wasn’t around this morning; the Council is sending me to the London Guild for a few days, so I had to organize some things.” She holds her hand out. “Tracker band, please.” I unclip the strip of leather from my wrist and hand it over. I lean back in my chair while Tora checks the details of last night’s assignment and fills in the mandatory Assignment Report form.
    I run through the events in my head as she writes them down. How could I have done things differently? Surely I could have avoided killing the goblin. If I’d had more power I would have been confident to try stunning him when he first appeared, like Nate suggested. If I’d had the griffin disc with me I could have done that. I had thought about taking it with, but immediately dismissed the idea when I realized Tora would see all that power when checking my tracker band. She would certainly want to know where I got it from. Perhaps I should just tell her. I mean, I’ll have to tell her about Nate eventually, won’t I? I can’t keep him secret forever.
    “ Tora,” I say carefully. “Is it possible to store magic in an inanimate object?”
    She looks up from the page. “Are you trying to avoid the counseling part of this meeting?”
    “ Well, yes,” I admit, “but it’s a real question.”
    Tora signs the bottom of the assignment report and rolls its up. “If it is possible, I haven’t heard of it. Why do you ask?”
    “ I just . . . thought it would be a good idea for guardians to have an extra source of power on them while fighting. They wouldn’t have to worry about their magic being depleted.”
    “