I could hear Sorin's call. His voice sounded strained and scared. I excused myself from the group I was with and went in search of him. Luca followed.
"Is everything ok?" he asked just as Sorin called for me again.
For some reason I couldn't find him or scent him. He was no longer where I had seen him earlier. I saw Mac and the other members of his team.
"Where is Sorin?" I demanded.
"Sorin? Well he's …" Mac pointed but stopped.
They all looked to where I'd seen him before but he wasn't there anymore.
"He was just there," Mac said, confused.
I left them and headed for the security desk. I watched as a man approached Sorin. You could tell Sorin was uncomfortable but then he suddenly went with the man. Though, his posture was strange.
"Who is that man?" I demanded.
My top security guard checked his list but couldn't find his name.
"How was he let into the event if you don't even know his name?"
The guards hung their heads but I turned away. I headed outside and scanned the street.
"What's going on?" Luca asked.
'Sorin? Sorin, baby speak to me!'
'Dante?'
His voice sounded strange, like it did when he was sleepy.
'Where are you?' I insisted.
'I … I …'
'Sorin! Sorin!'
"Where is he?" Luca asked.
"I don't know, he sounds strange, I think he's been drugged."
Luca called Detective Rodgers as I started to pace back and forth. It took forever for him to arrive.
"The man in the CCTv matches the height and build of the man that let himself into Sorin's apartment," he said as soon as he watched the clip. "I'll have to send it to the lab techs to confirm it but I'll stake my badge on it."
I nodded though that information didn't help me at this moment.
"Excuse me!"
We all turned to see a young woman approaching us. I didn't recognise her but I could sense magic within her. It felt similar to Sorin's but not as strong.
"Yes?" I demanded.
"Are you … Dante Astello?" she asked and I nodded. "You don't know me but I know Sorin James. I know what's happened to him."
Detective Rodgers stepped forward, "speak!" he demanded.
"Not here," she looked around.
I could smell the fear coming from her. With a nod I motioned for her to follow me. We headed back inside to an empty event room. Once inside I nodded at her to continue.
"My name is Marine, Marine James," she started.
"James?" Luca asked and Marine nodded.
"Yes, Sorin is my older brother."
We all stared wide-eyed at her and she nodded.
"You're his sister? but why …" Luca started.
"Why am I here? or Why was he sent away?" she asked.
"Both!" I demanded.
"I am here because I overheard my family talking about Sorin. I've always known about him, my dad speaks of him often. Well, only when my mum isn't around. She's the reason he was sent away. My dad said that she wasn't happy to have a son but she kept him for my dad's sake. When Sorin was small he showed signs of magic and she was furious. Dad had no say, as she sent him away."
She looked sad as she pulled out a picture of a baby and an older looking man that looked like an aged Sorin.
"He isn't a witch and he said he had no clue as to why keeping Sorin would have been a bad idea. When they had me, she joined this coven called 'The Veilborn', which is strange since the leader is a male witch and he's bad news. Neither me nor dad like it there."
"Who is your leader?" Detective Rodgers asked.
"His name is Salazar Valteiri, he is a dark witch obsessed with power. He has the power to manipulate the people around him. There are so many powerful witches in our coven and they all do his bidding."
She shivered.
"One day, after my sixteenth birthday, he came to my mum and they both looked at me. That night I was sent to his room and … and …"
Luca moved to her side and held her as the memories shook through her.
"I had no choice, he used his powers to make me … do what he wanted. I became known as his, no one would speak to me. My friends left me, only my dad was there. I thought mum was as well but I learned he hadn't used his power on her. She had willingly given me to him but they used it on my dad."
"Anyway," she said, trying to shake the memories. "One night, a few weeks ago, after …. My mum came to Salazar. They thought I was asleep so they didn't leave the room to speak. I overheard her tell Salazar that she found Sorin, that he'd bonded with a vampire."
Luca looked at me, "That must have been when you discovered he was your soul."
I nodded gravely.
"Soul?" Detective Rodgers and Marine asked.
"It's like a wolf's mate. Vampires believe when they become vampires their human souls leave them and travel into the bodies of their mates," Luca explained.
Marine stared at me and then smiled.
"Really? That's amazing!"
"Do you know why they would want him or where they would take him?" Detective Rodgers asked.
"Well, when Salazar found out that mum had a son he wanted to know everything about him. He became desperate when he found out Sorin had powers. He was so obsessed that at least he left me alone for a bit. For some reason, though, they couldn't find him."
"Mum was doing everything she could to find him but the orphanage she sent him to had burned down and she couldn't track him that way. Her power is tracking, similar to how a wolf or dog tracks. However, it only works if what she used to track with was something recent the person touched."
"But then when you two bonded she must have felt the change. A witch is bound to their family until they bind themselves to another. Mum was able to briefly glimpse where he was from the connection breaking."
"Why would your leader want Sorin?" Luca asked.
"Sorin is a rare male witch, witches are typically female. Most male witches aren't very powerful and don't show signs of being witches until later on in their life. A female witch shows her magic when she is around six or seven, for a male they could be thirteen or older. Sorin showed the signs when he was only one or two. That means he is very powerful."
"But Sorin only has the power to learn about the people around him," I told her.
"That's only because he's not been taught to develop his powers. Once he does, they believe he will have the ability to compel those around him to reveal secrets and their hidden desires, it's called 'Truth-Forcing'. As well as the ability to read a person's soul and look into their memories. He could tether himself to them so that he can discover how they feel or where they are no matter how far they are, that's called 'Soul Reading and Tethering'. Salazar wants to use them for his own ends. He'll compel Sorin to do what he wants."
"If he does that then he'll be able to control anyone he wants, he'll be able to predict any future enemies and get to them before then," Luca added.
"Yeah, he's got a lot of enemies, he doesn't play fair and he takes what he wants. When I learned what he was going to do I knew I had to come. I hoped I would get here before him but I was too late."
"As for where, I don't know where he will take him but if you give me your hand Mr Astello, I can find him. I have the same power as my mother, only it's stronger than hers. With mine, it doesn't matter how much time has passed."