Hailey followed and watched as he disappeared inside with her uncles. She tip-toed closer, listening through the door, picking up what she could through the thrum of the bodhrán.
“…at least two of ‘em…skulking around…couple’a wretches to do the dirty work…” Hailey leaned her ear closer.
“Betrayal!” one of her uncles shouted, and Hailey winced.
“First Katherine. Now Holly!” Hailey’s heart pounded at the mention of her mother.
“The line is broken,” said another. “Why would they do it? No, it’s not them at all, at all.”
“It makes no sense,” agreed another.
“One’s gone rogue, I tell yeh.”
“And taken our sight! We’re blind, all of us!”
“…could be a wretch, could be right under our nose—we wouldn’t know it.”
“And what can we do about it? Feckin nothing!” That voice belonged to Uncle Pix.
“We protect the ones that need protecting,” one of her uncles answered calmly, “like we always have.”
“We cannot protect against what we cannot see!”
“Maybe they’ve gone!”
The drumming stopped. All was silent, and a commotion of “ni hés’” and “bollocks’s” followed. The bodhrán resumed.
“We’re still here, aren’t we? We’re still here,they’restill here. That’s the way it is. We have a duty, and a charge to protect.”
“Any word from the University?”
Someone slammed their fist on the table, and the drumming picked up.
There was a long pause.
“Did you get a location, Billy?” someone asked. Billy was the man who’d just arrived, Hailey figured. He needed to talk louder. She could barely hear him over the high-pitched hag laughter coming from the bar.
“…on consecrated ground…still out there...”
She strained to hear more, but somebody grabbed her arm and yanked her away from the door.
“Ouch!”
“What are you doing?” Fin chastised, and Hailey wrenched her arm out of his grip.
“Eavesdropping,” she said unashamed. “Obviously.”
Just then a couple of chairs squeaked across the floor inside the room and footsteps approached the door.
“Shoot!” she whispered, grabbing Fin by the arm. “Go-go-go.” Fin let her turn him around and run him back to the bar.
“What did you hear?” he demanded.
She peeked over her shoulder. “Nothing.”
“Liar.”
Hailey shook her head. “Bits and pieces. It didn’t make any sense.”
