The beginning

Kallias had walked through the night with Anna trailing behind him. Exhausted to say the least, he looked out over the valley where Asterianna's temple stood. It was ancient looking in structure, but extremely clean and in good repair. The large window facing towards them had a huge dove stained into the glass in yellow and red. The dove was weathered, but vivid, even after centuries. He breathed in slowly and turned to Anna. "We will be arriving soon."

Soren smacked his hands on the table in frustration, leaning over a large bowl of water. "Dammit," he muttered calmly. No matter how many times he tried to look for her, Cala could not be found. "I am meant to put my unwavering trust into someone I was meant to keep from destroying this planet..." He ripped the tethers of blue wispy lights from the makeshift basin back to his fingertips and grabbed his coat. He decided he needed some fresh air to gather his thoughts and plan his next course of action.

William woke up under the pick up and sauntered out into the market slowly. He sniffed the air, smelling bread and ham, and tried to keep his head down and his eyes out of view. When he reached a small stand, he loitered before forcing himself to leave the hanging meat alone and looked for different clothes.

"Hey now, it's only a scratch," Zander said lightly, smiling at the little girl crying in front of him.
"I-it hurts," she whimpered, wiping tears from her face.
"Tell you what," he replied. "I can take you to the doc, and she'll have a look at you. How's that sound?"
"Okay..." She pouted and nodded.
"Great!" He stood and picked up the little girl. "Where's your family?"
The little girl shook her head. "I live with one of the teachers," she said. "Momma and Papa are gone."
Zander looked grimly towards the desolate horizon. "We'll make sure the teacher knows where you are then. From now on, no running around in the dark, okay?"
"Okay..." She nodded.
Zander walked up to the front steps of India's office and opened the door. "Hey doc? You awake?"

Five spotted Soren among the camp dwellers and maneuvered his way to his side. "Hey, buddy. You got a minute?" he asked quietly while boobing his head towards an alley.

Soren looked up from his deep thoughts. "Oh. Of course, of course," he said distractedly. He followed Five to the alley.

Five crossed his arms and leaned against the wall of an old bank. "I wanted to remind you not to go after Cala alone. Bion's one bad mamajama and he's already dead, so killing him isn't going to work. You're Cala's owner- or whatever you people call it- so you have an advantage he doesn't. Now that's her Miser side is awakening, you can communicate with her telepathically."

Soren frowned. He replied in an even tone, "I assume this is something you yourself recently discovered, yes?"

Five sniffed defensively and raised his chin slightly, ignoring Soren's question. "So anyway, in order to communicate with her, you need something of hers. Got anything?"

"I see. Thank you." Cala reached for the cup and sniffed the drink, recoiling with the strength of her new found senses. I long for my bed... my room. She took a deep breath before she sipped the liquid and curled her nose.

Soren sighed and reached into his pocket. "I have one of her daggers. She left one thoroughly embedded in one of our "guests" before she was taken."

"Hand it to me," Five said and took it without waiting. "Here. It just needs a medium." He dragged the blade across Soren's palm until a red line appeared. He slapped the blade into the pool that formed and did the same to himself, covering the blade with both men's blood. "Now it'll work with your fancy magic. Just cast something. You probably have something to open a channel."

Soren took a deep breath before closing his eyes. "If this does not work, I will be turning you into a rat," he muttered. He began chanting rhythmically until his hands began glowing. When he opened his eyes, he saw what Cala saw.
He took another breath before speaking. "Cala? Can you hear me?"

Cala jumped, spilling some of the brown liquid on the floor. She looked frantically around the room, expecting to see Soren in the door. I'm... hearing things... surely... She touched her heard and took in a slow breath.

"I will take that as a yes," He thought to her, relief flooding him. "I am speaking to you via telepathy. You are not losing your wits."
"It worked," he told Five.

"How is that possible?" Cala asked, looking up to the ceiling. "Soren, sir... I'm no longer with the man that kidnapped me. I'm sorry. I didn't recognize the spell this man used until it was too late. I've been sealed to him." She lowered her head again, embarrassed.

"Sealed?" Soren furrowed his brow. "What is this man's intentions?" He tried to get a good view of the man through Cala's eyes, but his inner vision could only go so far before it became blurry and distorted.

"Of course it did," Five mumbled with a cigarette between his lips. "You think I'm incompetent?" He lit the cigarette and breathed a cloud of smoke out.

"He wants payment... a ransom of sorts... His name is Aelius Elek." Cala looked at Aelius and the floor again. "He's done nothing to harm me."

Aelius watched Cala, amused. Does she know how obvious she is?
He walked over to Cala and knelt in front of her, their noses almost touching. "Can your friend see me?" he said in a husky voice and pushed her hair back from her forehead. "I know a spell that will give 'em a better look."

Soren ignored Five's remark once Aelius showed his face. "I see him," He thought to her gruffly. "What sort of ransom does he want?"

"I'm not sure..." Cala said, twisting the truth. "He said he knows a better spell to see him with."

Soren hesitated before obliging. "Very well," he replied.

"My master says 'very well," Cala said in a small voice.

"Excellent," Aelius mused and clapped his hands together. He went to the shelf and took a small piece of chalk from a little wooden box and began drawing a triangle on the wood floor. "Have you ever heard of spell circles, Cala? They're wonderful for channeling and much easier than remembering ancient languages when you're as old as I am." He smiled teasingly and guided her to the center, facing a corner. He stood in front of her and said three words while moving his hands slowly.
The triangle burst off the floor and disappeared, leaving a translucent image of Soren standing next to her. "How's that? You should be able to hear me, exorcist."