Upon returning to Xandra’s inn, Lila sprinted down the hall, up the stairs, and into the Count’s private quarters.
The Count was relaxing on his bed. Small furry balls in brown, gold, and white were clustered around him. They were surely a type of monster, but their mewling cries made them sound like a litter of kittens.
The Count sat up, but before he could speak, Lila yelled at him.
“You have to help Mr. Huber! Please!”
“What happened?”
“That thing we met in Paris was in Rotterdam. I escaped thanks to Mr. Huber, but he’s fighting it all by himself. Hurry and help him!”
“Did it seem he could handle it by himself?”
“Not at all! “What is that thing? It’s not like anything I’ve seen before!”
“You should let him be.”
“What?!”
“I thought you hated Mr. Huber. In which case, there’s no need for me to save him, is there?”
“What are you talking about? That was ages ago!”
“But he’s German. I thought you said you don’t want to help Germans.”
Lila grimaced. “I do still hate Germans. But Mr. Huber and Ms. Diana are different. They’re my friends!”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah. With real friends, it doesn’t matter what country you come from!”
The Count shooed the furry balls off the bed, then stepped down to the floor.
“Well then, show me the way.”
By the time Lila had taken the Count to Rotterdam, the canal was empty. Both Jörg and Nil were nowhere to be seen.
There were no irregularities with the portal home, either.
Considering the circumstances, there was no doubt in their minds that Nil had taken Jörg with him.
The Count crouched down on the street and ran a finger over the surface of the paving stones. When he lifted it up again, the pad was stained with a red liquid.
“Jörg’s blood.”
Lila paled. “He’s hurt?”
“He’s a monster. He might feel pain, but he won’t die. Even so, based on the amount of blood, he won’t be moving for a while. Do you have any idea where Nil might have taken him?”
“How should I know?!”
“He didn’t use any particular words or mention a specific place?”
Lila pressed her hands to her temples. “I don’t remember. I was too focused on getting away.”
“Then our only option is to follow the blood.”
“How do we do that?”
“Even if the body of an immortal is completely torn apart, it will attempt to return to its original shape. The same goes for their blood. Mr. Huber’s blood will lead us to him.”
The Count held a palm over the blood-soaked stone. A strange pattern appeared at his feet, absorbed all the blood, then stopped in midair. The Count swung his arm, clutching the pattern in his palm. When he opened his hand again, it had coalesced into a crystal of deep crimson.
“We’ll use this to find his precise location. For now, however, let’s return to the inn.”
Once they were back at Xandra’s inn, the Count placed the crimson crystal inside a glass jar, which he set down on the desk in his room. He cast some locating spells around it, then explained to Lila that it would take some time to pinpoint Jörg’s whereabouts.
“Nil can use incredibly powerful magic. He might have cast spells around Mr. Huber to prevent us from finding him. If so, then it will be difficult to locate him.”
“Is there any other way?”
“We could find Nil and try to get the information out of him, but that would be a last resort. Even if we found him, I doubt he’d tell us the truth.”
The Count sighed. “The issue we face now is what to do about the delays Jörg’s disappearance will bring about… The starvation in Berlin needs to be dealt with urgently. Everything is already in place, but it won’t happen if someone doesn’t take the lead.”
“I’ll do it.”
“Are you sure you can?”
“Teach me how. I met Ms. Diana in Berlin, and I was disguised as an adult then, so I’m pretty sure she’ll trust me. I’ll keep going to the Eiffel Tower to exchange information, as well as taking care of Mr. Huber’s jobs in his stead.”
“You’ll need help. You can’t carry the supplies all by yourself.”
“The monsters here at the inn can help me.”
“Sending monsters to a monastery storehouse? What a bold idea.”
“Plenty of the monsters here were human first, so they shouldn’t be scared of a monastery.”
“Hmm. You have a point there.”
“How can I convince them to help me, though?”
“It will all depend on how sincere you are.”
“I’ll try my best. First, I need to get everyone together somewhere.”
“That won’t be necessary. Curious monsters have already gathered around while we’ve been talking. You still can’t see them, can you?”
“Uh-uh.”
“I can make it so they’ll be visible to you. You’ve already talked to several of the less frightening monsters, correct?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll make it so you can talk to all of the monsters today. Are you brave enough to try some of Xandra’s medicine?”
“Of course.”
The Count removed a bottle from a shelf and passed it to Lila. “This isn’t a tonic you drink, but eye medicine. Put a drop in each eye.”
Lila did as instructed, wiping the liquid that overflowed from her eyes with her sleeve. She blinked repeatedly, and after a few moments, her vision came into focus.
As soon as she could see the monsters, Lila let out a scream.
“Wha—?! There are this many of them?!”
Monsters filled the room. They were crammed together so tightly that she couldn’t see the rug, and those without a place to stand floated in the air or clung to the ceiling.
“The monsters you have seen up until now are only the slightest fraction. Most of them aren’t even at the inn right now. The world is filled with monsters.”
“How am I supposed to ask them for help?”
“Simply talk to them like normal.”
Lila looked around at all the monsters. “Uh, I’m looking for some help carrying cargo on a regular basis. Anyone who knows how to drive a cart or automobile is especially welcome. The job is transporting food from west Germany to a monastery storehouse in Berlin. As for the payment, you can work that out with the Count.”
“Now, wait a minute,” the Count said with a wry smile. “You’re just going to offload that on me?”
“I don’t know what any of them want.”
“Then I’m sure you won’t mind if I decide on the payment myself.”
“That’s fine.”
“Then that is what I shall do. Now, if you’re going to have these monsters transport the goods, the best time to do that would be the middle of the night. Go to Kleinerbrunn in the evening and make your way to the destination from there. Even if it seems slightly eerie, no one will complain if it happens under the cover of darkness. Is that all right with everyone?”
They let out a roar that could shake treetops, and about sixteen monsters of all shapes and sizes came up to Lila. Some were adorable and as small as tiny birds, while others had massive bodies like boars or bears. Though they had different forms, their eyes all shone bright with the same curiosity.
“Thank you all for your help!” Lila said in a powerful voice.
The monsters seemed to settle on a good deal with the Count, and they worked hard, diligently following Lila’s instructions.
Anyone who caught a glimpse of their “night procession” likely froze to the spot, staring in fright at the throng of strange shadows.
Lila had adopted the visage of the merchant she used in Berlin and donned a man’s clothes. She drove the car in the lead herself, flying down the road at full speed, with the wagons loaded with goods following behind. They weren’t pulled by regular horses, however, but monsters that resembled stallions with fiery manes. These black monsters flickered like flames and ran at the same speed as a car, powerfully pulling their cargo along the muddy, pebble-ridden country roads. The cavalcade stretched out in a line, and no monster driving a cart looked the same as any other. Monsters also rode in the backs, their lively eyes scanning the horizon for any unfamiliar monsters or bandits who might attack the convoy.
They traveled so fast that they might as well have been flying in the sky. The monsters’ boisterous cries and excited squeals overlapped with the roar of the wind. The cacophony sounded lively and free, like a huge group of humans all playing music together, or a crowd drunk on wine and beer celebrating the harvest festival late into the night, merrily singing and dancing.