"D-did something happen to Lei?"
Simons struggled to get the question out.
Even his voice trembled slightly.
"No, no!"
"How should we put this?"
Raul and his husband shook their heads repeatedly. They wanted to explain, but did not know where to begin.
In the end, they took out a photograph.
It was an enlarged color photograph.
A rainbow swept across the sky in its distinctive arc, looking beautiful against the blue sky and white clouds.
But no one paid any attention to that beauty. Their eyes were drawn to a blurry figure beside the rainbow.
Nikelei!
Although the photograph was blurry, the cat and the translucent figure beside her convinced everyone present that the indistinct figure was Nikelei.
"A photographer happened to take this while photographing a rainbow after the rain. He noticed it by chance, thought it was a botched shot, and tossed it aside. Later, he encountered a ghost and found someone from the mystery side to deal with it. That person happened to see the photograph."
"As it happens, she's a friend of mine and Sydney's, and she knew we were looking for Lady Nikelei."
"So she contacted us earlier."
Raul and his husband explained where the photograph had come from.
"Is she trustworthy?"
Qin Ran asked out of caution.
"Absolutely. Lucy is reliable and a loyal friend. She wouldn't deceive us about something like this!"
Raul and his husband assured him.
Out of trust in the two of them, Qin Ran chose to believe in Lucy, whom he had never met.
He picked up the photograph and examined it closely.
It appeared to show the missing Nikelei, Titch, and Friedel.
A dozen seconds later, Qin Ran confirmed it once more.
As for Nikelei, Titch, and Friedel being in the air?
Qin Ran believed that would