"I can't do that," said Patrick, Lorcan's father. "Why don't you fill a report at the station if you want the police to take the case?"

The young man heaved a sigh, his hand moved unconsciously and he took Agatha's bracelet out of his pocket. He let out his frustration as he played with it.

"As can be expected from you, always the politically correct answer," spat Lorcan.

He leaned back, resting his body against the chair he was sitting on. The member of the Protectors paid attention to the tension that appeared in his father's back after his answer, it lasted only a second before he went back to cook breakfast.

"What are you trying to say? I thought I had taught you to be clear and direct."

The man diverted his gaze from the scrambled egg towards the window in front of the kitchen counter, he seemed to be lost in the blue sky and the green of the backyard.

"I'm being direct, you're just pretending to not understand my words," said Lorcan before taking the first bite of his toast. "What I mean is that you worry more about being correct at work about your family. We've been here before, asking for a favor and always getting the correct procedure talk."

"The rules are made for a reason, it's not fair for the other villagers if I show preferences for you."

"I'm your son, you're supposed to prefer me over the others. I'm not asking you to abandon your current case, I just want you to ask if one of your coworkers saw something out of the ordinary."

Patrick put his plate on the table and sat in front of his son. His gaze met the young man's, Lorcan thought he saw sadness present in his brown eyes.

"I know Agatha is important for you, I can understand why you're so upset but I don't think I can do much."

"I never asked you for help for the Protectors, I had so many questions but still I didn't ask because I know you won't help. Can't you just make one exception?" The hand holding the bracelet couldn't stop shaking. "It's been days and I don't have any answers, the only thing I know is that the demons have her. And if they decide they no longer need her?"

Patrick finished eating his breakfast. Silently he got up from the table and began to wash his plate. Lorcan, sunk in grief, lost interest in his food, concentrating instead on following his father's precise movements. He knew the man was considering his petition, otherwise he would have already expressed his negative answer.

What could he say to convince the man? The young man didn't think there was anything else left to say, he presented his case, now it was up to the other to accept it or not.

The policeman dried his hand with the dish towel and walked away from the sink. He stopped next to his son.

"I'll see what I can do," he said, still looking at the door. "Just this once, it won't hurt anyone if I just ask my colleagues a few questions, but don't expect a detailed report. In exchange, do me a favor and look after your brother."

Then he left. Lorcan wanted to thank him, however he understood that his father preferred to continue his quiet morning before going to work, so he promised himself that he would thank him the next time he saw him.

Another little step closer to Agatha, that's how he felt. Every crumble of information he could gather held an immense value for him.

His visit within her dreams awakened a new conviction inside him. Feeling her presence for just a few minutes cast away his sorrows, even without using her powers she had a healing effect on him. On the other hand, it made him crave for her presence even more, and to confirm that she remained captive of the demons only increased his fear.

Lorcan's mind was filled with memories of the young woman. He escaped from reality towards the memories he kept about Agatha, at least there he could be happy.

"Hey, ugly face, I'm talking to you!"

A scream brought him back to his kitchen. Lorcan turned his head to the side and saw his brother with his hand raised about to hit him on my head.

"Oh, you're back from the astral experience," said Miles, bringing his arm down. "Such a shame, I wanted your big head."

"What do you need?" Asked Lorcan, standing from his seat.

"Demir is waiting for you at the door. I've been trying to tell you that for ten minutes." The youngest glanced at the untouched toast left on the table. "Aren't you going to eat that? Can I have it?"

"Sure, I'm full."

Just as Miles said, Demir was waiting at the door. The younger brother must have been right about the time it had taken him to react because he found his young friend sitting on the first step of the entrance.

"Sorry about the delay," Lorcan apologized. He offered his hand to his friend to help him up. "Miles didn't offer to let you in?"

Demir smiled at him and got up on his own.

"He did, but I prefer to stay here with the fresh air. Any advance with your father?"

"I'll tell you on the way."

They went to the Loewen house on foot, they had to cover a long distance, even so both preferred to delay the arrival as long as possible. Facing Agatha's parents made them feel shame, Lorcan didn't know how he was going to look them in the eye after he failed to protect her.

How was he going to tell them that her daughter had been captured by a demon? How was he going to confess that he had no idea where she could be?

No matter how hard they tried to escape, at the end, the small house with its wooden roof and circular windows appeared in their field of vision.

"Time for the show," said Demir as he rang the doorbell.

Cara Loewen opened the door. Her blue had lost their sparkle and the smile he gave them lacked sincerity.

"You're here already, I thought you'd be here by afternoon," she said. "we would have prepared something for you to eat, I hope you don't mind waiting for your coffee to brew."

"Don't worry about us, we already had breakfast," answered Lorcan.

"Nonsense, I'll prepare something for you. Come in, William is in the dining room."

The woman led them into the house. The young protector's heart stopped when he saw the large number of photos of Agatha hung on the dining room walls. All versions of her, from the little one with the pigtails to the young woman with her college diploma looked at him, and he averted their gazes.

"We like to have memories of her to look at every day," explained Cara. "Now more than ever, we need to see her face."

"Still nothing can compare to her real presence," whispered Lorcan, his eyes fixed on the most recent photo. 

"You look like you need a hug. Can I?" Asked Ms. Loewen.

The young man nodded and let the woman's embrace encircle his body. He could feel her vulnerability, it wasn't just about comforting him, she showed him that someone shared his pain. She needed that hug as much as him.

"Thank you," he said as they broke the embrace.

"No, thanks to you. It comforts me to know that someone cares so much about my daughter. Let's join the others, they must be waiting for us."

Behind them, seated at the table, Demir and William were waiting for them. Agatha's father seemed very focused on serving coffee for the guests, finishing filling the cups just as Cara and Lorcan sat across from them.

"I didn't add sugar so that you can add it to your liking," the man explained to Lorcan as he passed him the hot drink.

"Thanks."

"It's not that your presence bothers me, especially you Demir, you're part of the family, but what is the reason for your visit?" Asked William. He opened his mouth to continue speaking but his wife fixed her gaze on him before he could continue.

"We wanted to talk with you about Agatha," confessed Demir after finishing his coffee.

Mr. Loewen leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.

"Alright, go ahead."

"To be honest, we don't have much information. Whoever took her seems to have vanished. We questioned all the merchants and neighbors in the area, but most of them didn't want to talk or didn't know anything," continued Demir.

"Why won't they talk?" Asked Cara.

"They're afraid," commented Lorcan. "They don't know who's connected to the demons and they fear turning them against them by speaking, it doesn't help that I'm part of the Protectors."

"We wanted to ask you if you had any news from the police," said Demir, the tone of his voice sounded weak, as if he felt insecure.

"Isn't your father a cop?" Asked Mr. Loewen, looking at Lorcan.

"He doesn't like to talk about work."

"They haven't been contacting us, we wait for their call every day." Cara's hand found the tablecloth and began to wring it. "Every day is the same silence. It's like she's dead, what if she really was?"

"She's not dead, I can assure you that," Lorcan intervened. "One of the members of the Protectors connected me with Agatha's dreams. I couldn't see her but I could feel her presence. She is alive, but not all of it is good news, she confirmed that the demons have her captive."

Mrs. Loewen covered her face with her hands and began to cry, her husband walked towards her and held her in a hug.

"Do you know where she is?" He asked.

"No, but we won't stop until we find her," swear Lorcan

"Please do whatever it takes, we're going to help where we can. I don't want to end up like my neighbor, receiving my daughter's bloody clothes and not knowing if I'll ever find her," begged William.

"Did she inform the authorities? Your neighbor? We can ask the Protectors for help." Asked Demir.

"She did," answered the man. "I thought you knew about it, after all her daughter was one of yours, a member of the Protectors."