“No, I’m afraid not, Mum.” He looked at Echo, who stared stonily back. “Echo has someone in trouble too. I agreed to help her in exchange for aid. She knows other fae who might be able to help me.”
“Really?” His dad was visibly concerned. “And they can be trusted?”
“The fae I’m talking about uses her gifts to save human lives. She can be trusted,” Echo assured him.
“Who do you have in trouble?” his mum asked Echo.
“My little sister.”
“Oh dear. Oh, well, yes, of course, you must help if you can, Elijah.” His mum looked frazzled for the first time since they’d appeared at her doorstep. “I don’t know what we should tell our work.” She looked at his dad. “Do we tell them anything?”
“Yes,” Echo replied instead. “We don’t want the human authorities looking into this. A rock star and his parents missing … we don’t need that kind of heat. You’ll leave a message with your respective bosses that your son is missing and you’ve gone to stay with family during this difficult time. Do you have anyone else in your lives who will kick up a stink if they can’t contact you?”
“A few friends.”
“Family?”
“Not any we’re particularly close to.”
“When I was little, my parents moved a lot to protect me,” Elijah explained.
“Right. I knew that.” Echo nodded militantly. “Leave the same message with your friends. Pack only what you need. Traveling light is important. We leave at sunset.”
Usually Echo would be asleep at this time, and her eyelids were heavy with the urge. But she had to stay alert. Being stuck in the Webbs’ modest terraced house like sitting ducks made her antsy. So much so that when Nancy started tidying up, Echo helped as a distraction.
Elijah was in the sitting room with Bill going over how to get to the safe house. He didn’t want to write it down for fear of it landing in the wrong hands, so Bill memorized the directions.
“I don’t know if that’s smart,” Echo murmured as she dried the dishes Nancy washed. Surely, Elijah could have afforded to buy his parents a dishwasher. Then she remembered what he’d said in the car about his parents refusing his offer to buy them a new house. Clearly, Nancy and Bill Webb had a lot of pride not to even accept a time-saving kitchen appliance.
“Bill has an excellent memory,” Nancy said. “Don’t you worry.”
“Right.”
Hearing her disbelief, Elijah’s mom smiled at her. “You’re funny.”
“I’ve been getting that a lot lately.”
“And very beautiful.”
“Oh. Thanks.”
“So you were sent to hurt my boy, use your feminine wiles against him,” Nancy said bluntly, but there was no malice or anger in her voice. She really was the most unusual human Echo had ever encountered.
“Something like that.”
“Your father is the head of this Garm group?”
“Adopted father.”
Nancy raised an eyebrow. “I detect more than a hint of resentment there.”
“He’s not a good person.”
“I see.” She patted Echo’s arm. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
Something about her genuine sympathy made Echo’s heart race a little. “Thanks,” she mumbled.
“I appreciate what you’re doing for my son, I really do. I hope he can be just as helpful taking care of your little sister.”
