Immortals 10 - Demon From The Dark by Kresley Cole

oracle. Her baby-doll T-shirt said Carpe Noctem.
                The dozen or so other Valkyrie gathered with them in the great room watched the proceedings intently--they had a stake in Mariketa's quest to find Carrow as well. At least one of their own had been abducted mere miles away from where Carrow had been taken.
                So many stolen. Myriad creatures from all corners of the Lore had gone missing, including other witches, one as young as seven. They were rumored to have been captured by the henchmen of an unknown entity, and none of them could be found. The House of Witches, the fey trackers, the powerful Sorceri, none of them could locate their own.
                Inhaling for patience, Mari said, "You have to have seen something."
                Nix frowned over her shoulder. "Have to have I?" Spinning, spinning.
                "Nix, stop it!"
                The soothsayer slowed to a standstill, casting Mari a hurt look. Then she flounced to an easy chair.
                Extracting info from the soothsayer proved difficult at times. At all times. And Mari had heard that Nix hadn't even been lucid for the last two weeks. But Mari had to try--she was beside herself with worry about her best friend.
                To search for Carrow, Mari had used all the power she could draw on without risking a mystical backlash. Then she'd called on all thirty-seven covens of the Wiccae to scry. Even with so many talented witches searching, no one could find a trace of Carrow. All they could say was that she was in grave danger.
                Thanks for the tip, bitches.
                So Mari had gone to the most powerful and famous oracle in the Lore. Her Valkyrie friend. "I got a call that you had information. Nix? Valkyrie! "
                "Hmm?" She languidly gazed up. "Then tell me something about Carrow, something that no one else knows."
                Tests? Mari felt her heart sinking. Nix loved to play people. In a small voice, she said, "I thought we were friends."
                Nix's golden eyes flashed playfully. "You are indeed my favorite Wiccan-type person."
                "Then why are you making me jump through hoops like everyone else?"
                "Not hoops--scent."
                "What?"
                "Your revealing a secret about Carrow is like giving a scent to a bloodhound. I need something to point me in the right direction."
                Things no one knew? Where to start?
                Though Carrow was a daughter of Bacchus--not literally--and an impulsive hellion, she was also wicked smart. Folks never saw that coming. Also a shocker? There was a method, and a purpose, to her madness. She didn't raise hell for hell's sake.
                Carrow's most guarded secret? It breaks her heart every day that her parents don't return her calls.
                They hadn't called for years. Mari had once walked in on Carrow sobbing over the loss.
                Mari gazed around at the Valkyrie, uncomfortable divulging anything private about Carrow. For all these females knew, her best friend had an enviable life--friends, money, parties.
                Only Mari and their mentor, Elianna, knew the pain Carrow carried. The party-girl witch who always had a smile on her face was rarely happy. "Very well, Valkyrie. Carrow has an emotion-based power source. She feeds off happiness specifically, but she can't seem to, uh, generate it herself. She's always thinking about how to find more. Like someone on a diet will always think about food."
                Nix squinted at the ceiling. "Carrow is in an environment that she hates worse than anything."
                "The woods?" Mari cried. "She can't stand the outdoors!"
                "And yet personal preferences