Page 2 of Unholy

The halfling shrugged. “You don’t. But you can investigate it for yourself, can’t you?”

“Where do I start, then?”

The halfling slipped his hands into his pockets, and Luke tried not to watch the way the muscles in his pale arms flexed at the movement. “Go to the local hospital. Ask around about kids who went missing there. If I’m lying, all I’ve done is waste a couple of hours of your time, and if I’m telling the truth, you have the chance to stop some kids from being eaten.”

Luke swallowed hard. That was why he did this, right? To protect people. This demon undoubtedly had his own motivations, but if his intel was good, Luke could stop a bad thing from happening.

“Fine. I’ll look into it. But if you’re playing me, you’re the one I’ll hunt down next.”

“Oh, sweetheart, I wouldnever.” He smirked, his red eyes raking down Luke’s body in a way that brought heat to his skin.

Luke turned away without another word, keeping his steps careful and measured. He wouldn’t let this demon see him rattled.

Showingup in the middle of the night in tactical gear to ask about missing kids would raise a host of red flags for the hospital staff, undoubtedly, so Luke went home to shower and get a few hours of shuteye. He didn’t know if that halfling’s intel was good, and he knew better than to run himself ragged on a possibility. It was more dangerous to hunt while he was tired, so he set an alarm and forced himself to rest.

With three hours of sleep under his belt, he woke, brewed a pot of coffee, and dressed in nice jeans and a polo. People responded to random questions best when someone clean-cut and personable was asking them. He couldn’t do anything about his intimidating size or the scars on his face and arms, but hopefully, they wouldn’t be too off-putting. He’d practiced disarming smiles and soothing tones of voice over the years, and he knew how best to present himself as a trustworthy person.

He gave himself one last once-over in the mirror before he left. Short brown hair, faded on the sides, a short beard. He was tall, and because of his physical job as a paladin, quite muscular. Pale scars peppered his sun-browned arms from his years fighting. Some were small and barely noticeable. Others were larger, ropy and criss-crossing his skin. Small slashes, deep punctures, oval bite marks. There was a burn on his elbow from a fire-breathing demon that had taken months to heal.

The worst was on his face: four slashes that ran from his left cheekbone to his jaw. Even the beard wasn’t enough to hide them, because hair no longer grew in the scar tissue, but it was better than shaving over them and having them bare. He could barely stand to look at himself in the mirror most days. They were a constant physical reminder ofeverything he’d sacrificed for the greater good. Most days that felt like a worthy cause, but that didn’t make it any easier to live with the grief. And it didn’t quiet the memory of their screams.

Blowing out a breath, he carded a hand through his hair—and then quickly fixed the mess he’d made of it—and walked out the door.

The hospital was bustling with activity when he arrived. It was easy enough to slip into an elevator as long as he looked like he belonged. Many of the staff—those not wearing scrubs or white coats—wore polos similar to his own, so most people’s eyes passed right over him.

When the elevator doors opened with a cheerfuldingon the pediatric floor, he came face to face with a bulletin board on the opposite wall. He stepped out absently, his eyes roaming the busy board. Most of the postings were positive things. Artwork drawn by kids during their stay on the floor. Thank-you notes from children and their families. Lost-and-found notes from the staff.

What caught his attention, however, was the ‘missing persons’ poster in the center of the board. A six-year-old girl stared back at him, smiling a gap-toothed smile. The poster said she’d gone missing six weeks ago.

A nurse in pink scrubs was walking in his direction, and he met her eyes, raising his hand in greeting.

“Hi, miss, excuse me. I was just wondering,” he pointed at the bulletin board, “is it normal for people to post about missing persons here in the hospital?”

The nurse’s face fell as she looked at the poster. “No, not exactly. She’s an exception because…” She trailed off, her expression conflicted.

“What?”

She glanced around. “She went missing fromhere.”

Luke shook his head. “What do you mean? She was abducted?”

She hugged her elbows. “That’s the weird thing. She wasn’t. We have cameras in every hallway. There’s zero evidence that somebody walked out with her. She just disappeared from her bed. Her parents filed a police report. They’re completely distraught.We’redistraught. It shouldn’t be possible for someone to leave with a child without at least being caught on camera. I was one of the nurses on-duty the night it happened. We do alternating rounds every hour. When I did my rounds at three AM, all the kids were in their beds. When the other nurse did her rounds at four, that little girl was missing—and the girl’s mom was in the room asleep when it happened.”

Luke gaped. “Mom didn’t even notice when the kid disappeared?”

She shook her head. “Stacy, the nurse that found the empty bed, woke her up thinking maybe the girl had gone to the bathroom. We searched the whole floor—the whole hospital, even. There are cameras everywhere. There’s no footage of the girl leaving that room. She just disappeared.”

That was mystifying, and it definitely sounded like something supernatural was involved. “And nothing like this has ever happened before?” Luke asked in disbelief.

She pursed her lips and shook her head. “No, nothing I’ve ever heard of. We had a police presence on the floor for a while after it happened, but it’s been six weeks. They’re calling it a cold case. People have been taking their kids out of the hospital. Can’t say I blame them. Imagine waking up in the middle of the night and your sick kid disappeared outfrom under not just your nose but the entire staff’s.” She sighed, hugging her elbows. “I hope they find her, but I know it’s a long shot. The police haven’t been able to find any sort of trail to follow. Honestly, sir, if you have family here? I’d move them to another hospital. At least until they figure out what’s going on.” She shuddered. “I don’t even want toworkhere anymore.”

“Right. Thanks for answering my questions. I’ll let you get back to it.” He backed away, letting her pass with a little wave.

When she was gone, he took a quick photo of the poster with his phone and tucked it away. He had another stop to make.

Guild HQ was justas busy as the hospital. The training yard was full of young recruits with wooden practice swords being instructed by their seasoned trainer. Kids from the orphanage were playing on the playground. Teens from the boarding school were eating bagged lunches out on the grass. The sound of their laughter reminded him of his purpose. He would do anything to protect their innocence.

Luke made his way to the library in the administrative building.

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