A shrug was his only response.
Clayton decided to take that as a yes and continued. “If there are missing children involved, as you suggested, then we need to solve this thing quickly.”
The Arm nodded.
Missing children… Hold on.
“Eira, you said most of the items missing revolved around Merry and Tommy’s part of town, yes?”
“That’s right.”
“Was it that part of town, or the children specifically, that the missing items centered around?”
Eira paused, thinking, then paled. “It’s the children.”
“Mr. Arm, please come with me.” Clayton turned, picking his way through the debris left by his little accident. The Arm was beside him in a flash, navigating the rocky terrain with ease while Clayton twisted one ankle and stubbed each big toe in succession before he managed to get clear.
“It’s Mal.”
“Oh, it’s not the work of evil, trust me. Anyway, I’ve seen far worse.” Clayton spoke many languages, so he often assumed everyone else did as well, and he thought the man beside him was talking about what Clayton had done to the tunnel.
“No, my name is Mal.”
“Oh, sorry. What a lovely name. I’m Clayton; a pleasure.” He nodded his snootiest nod and offered a hand to shake. Mal stared at it until Clayton let it drop awkwardly. “Can you tell me any details about your case?”
“The Benighted up north are missing some kids. It happened right after some of their stuff went missing. I heard this town had a similar problem, so I came.” Mal scowled as thoughcondescending to speak to Clayton for so long was a great effort on his part.
“That’s all you can tell me?”
Another shrug.
“You'd better be good in a fight.”
“Better than you.”
“I don’t think I like you very much.”
This time, Clayton was rewarded with what might have been a grin, but it held far too many teeth—all of which were pointed. It roused feelings that had no place in the situation he found himself in.
“Were any of the children found?” Clayton asked.
“None.”
Clayton picked up his pace.
Chapter
Five
CLAYTON
Their first stop was the tent.
Gelda hurried out as soon as she spotted him, undulating oddly as she came up to them. “Guardian Wood, I had a feeling I’d see you again. You missed me, didn’t you?” Her glowing eyes did a funny blinking thing that made her look ill. Perhaps she was developing conjunctivitis. Her ample chest was also heaving in an alarming manner that made Clayton concerned she could have respiratory issues.
“Are you feeling all right, Ms. Gelda?”
Mal snorted, and Gelda shot him an appraising glance before returning her attention to Clayton.
