Nilo nodded. “Four infiltrated the house with four more in lookout positions and one securing the transport.”

That was an interesting split, but if they knew that Cien was alone and unprotected, it made sense to send a smaller team into the house. If four trained adults couldn’t subdue a child, then more wouldn’t necessarily help.

“How long was it before Cien’s disappearance was noticed?”

“Three hours,” Torran said, bitterness in his tone. “I found him missing upon my return.”

My heart winced in sympathy. A missing child was every caregiver’s nightmare. I touched Torran’s arm in comfort and he nodded, once, sharply, but didn’t say anything else.

When I didn’t ask another question, Nilo resumed his brief. “The kidnappers have been in contact twice. Both messages originated on Valovia but from different cities each time, and each message was one-time use, with no reply address supplied.”

“They don’t want to negotiate,” Kee murmured.

Nilo nodded. “I am not at liberty to discuss the content of the messages, but you are correct.”

“What’s their motivation?” Lexi asked. She sounded cool and professional, her mask firmly in place.

“I’m not at li—” Nilo began.

Lexi waved a hand. “I’m not asking you to detail exactly what they asked for. But, in general, what do they want? Money? Power? A trade?”

Nilo looked at Torran. After a few seconds of silent communication, Nilo said, “Power.”

“Are they zealots or mercenaries?” Lexi asked.

A small, pleased smile curved Nilo’s mouth. “Good question. We believe they are zealots.”

I blew out a breath. Zealots couldn’t be reasoned with. Mercenaries could be bought off with enough money, of which Torran seemingly had plenty. But zealots would fight to the end for their beliefs and money wouldn’t sway them.

“So where are they now?” Eli asked. “Or if you don’t know that, where are they not?”

“We believe they are still on Valovia, but likely not in any of the major cities. Cien is a strong telepath. Unless they are keeping him drugged constantly, he would be able to reach out to any nearby Valoffs for help.”

“Is there a way to block telepathic abilities without drugs?” I asked.

Nilo’s expression gave nothing away. I rolled my eyes. “You ruled out cities, but you could be making that decision on bad assumptions. Could a stronger Valoff prevent Cien from communicating telepathically?”

A disgruntled murmur rose from the Valoffs in the room, but surprisingly, it was Havil who spoke up. “It’s possible,” the soft-spoken medic said slowly. “But it would require at least a team of two to ensure coverage because it’s not possible to block while asleep.”