Page 24 of My Master
“Just making sure…”
They were silent again. Antonio cast a silent look at Ezzy. She was slumped against the wall, her hair covering her face. She was rubbing her stomach in a circular motion, her shoulders tight. He pressed a hand against her shoulder and she looked up at him, her eyes wide.
“Are you all right?” he asked. “You look sick…”
She managed a smile. “I’m fine.” The instant the words escaped her mouth; he knew that she was lying by the vibes emanating from her mind. He glanced at her curiously and squeezed her shoulder in comfort. She leaned into him and sighed. Her hands were still placed on her stomach, holding it in a gentle manner.
The elevator dinged and opened. Maria stepped out first; Antonio pulled Esmeralda with him, wrapping his arm around her waist protectively. “The files are locked away down this hall.”
They followed Maria past various closed doors, only nodding at the occasional vampire that passed by them.
A lone door was locked tight at the end of the hall. Maria stepped forward and punched in a combination on the panel next to it. There was a hiss and a click and she reached out, turning the doorknob open. She welcomed them inside.
The room was dark and nearly empty, save for metal file cases pushed up against each other all over the room, neatly coded alphabetically and some chronologically. Maria flipped a switch and a light came on, swinging back and forth on the ceiling, illuminating the darkness.
“Guess we should get started.” Maria made her way to the file cases, unlocking them with a key that she had retrieved from her pocket.
“How are these things sorted, anyway?” Esmeralda parted from Antonio’s side to look through the files.
“Alphabetically, by last name, some of them are organized by dates.”
“Okay, so what’s Isis’s last name?” Antonio asked, feeling rather stupid for doing so. He had known Isis for years and had no idea what her last name was. He looked to Ezzy for help.
She shook her head. “Don’t look at me, she never told me.”
Maria exhaled with exasperation and pulled out files at random, opening them and looking through them. “Well, she’s not in here under ‘Isis.’”
“Does this mean we have to look through every single file until we find her name?” Esmeralda sat on the floor and held her hands out. “We might as well get started. Hand me a stack.”
“There must be an easier way to do this.” Antonio stepped forward, taking the key from Maria and opening the ‘dates’ files. “Isis came here and entered the coven about sixteen years ago, correct?”
“Yeah,” Maria sat next to Ezzy, handing her a bunch of yellow folders to search through.
“Why don’t we just look back that far and see how many people were allowed into the coven in that year and we’ll find her name. It’s easier that way.” He dug into a drawer and pulled out some files himself. He set them on top of the cabinets and opened them, skimming through them at a slow pace, drawing in every detail. He began reading off names, “Antoine, Juliet; Antoine, Desdemona; sisters. Emilio, Borthos; Tristian, Natalia…what the hell?” He skimmed through more pages, swore, and then threw them to the floor. “Not a single document on Isis!”
“Are you guys sure it was sixteen years ago?” Ezzy crossed her legs and began opening the first folder, looking at the name, frowning, and then moved to the second one, repeating the process.
“No doubt,” Maria said.
“I remember it clearly—it was sixteen years ago.” Antonio nodded.
“Okay, so we don’t know Isis’s last name and we know that she positively came here sixteen years ago—well, if that’s the case then why the hell isn’t she in those files?” Esmeralda tossed the files to the side and looked up at the brother and sister.
“She should be in here, though.” Antonio scratched at his head. “Every member of the coven should be—unless—”
“Isis was never a part of the coven.” They turned to the doorway at the voice and gasped when Marco Santiago stepped through, the door closing with a click behind him.
Antonio tensed up at the sight of his father in his expensive tux, his thick curls combed to the side, his black eyes staring at his son. It was Esmeralda who spoke, “What do you mean Isis was never part of the coven? What are you talking about, Mr. Santiago?” She stood up and stared at him in disbelief.
“Let us talk about this somewhere else.”
“No,” Antonio said, standing up straighter, that old defiance returning to his voice. “You will tell us now. This is not a game, Isis is missing and we need to find her.”
Marco sighed and gripped the edge of his nose with two fingers. “I know that she is missing.”
“Well, do you know who took her?” Ezzy asked, rushing over to him and gripping his shirtfront. He pressed his hands to hers and pushed them away, gently, staring at her with sad eyes.
“It is all very complicated…” his voice was gruff.
