They walked through what had been the main street in a loose formation, weapons ready, with silence all around them.
Glacielle had a frost fan in each hand. Octavia's tentacles were partially out, spread out in a wide sensing array, feeling the ground and the foundations.
"Tunnels," Octavia said. "Or there were. Something moved underground after the attack, clearing traces."
Marshal was crouched next to a door frame. "The way the damage happened is consistent with creatures coming in from the outside and moving in a coordinated sweep."
"This wasn't random predation, but it was planned..."
"They took... everyone," Glacielle said.
She was holding a child's wooden toy, a small carved horse that had fallen by the road and not been picked up. "It seems like he doesn't care about anything that has happened."
She spoke in a calm and controlled way. "All of them are gone, even the kids."
