Fin relaxed his posture, looking curiously relieved.
Sometime around 2am the brothers emerged from the back. Uncle Pix pulled Hailey aside as Fin closed up.
“We’ll be out all night looking for your sister,” he told her. “Fin will walk you home and stay with you until we get back.”
All night? Hailey nodded, frowning. They couldn’t know where Holly was then, but still she had a feeling her uncle knew a lot more than he was telling her.
“I’m coming with you,” she said, her voice rising. Pix just sighed and shook his head. He hugged her tight, nodded to Fin, who nodded back, and he left the pub with his brothers. Hailey stared expressionless at the door as it closed behind them.
Fin grabbed his coat from behind the bar and met Hailey by the exit. “Where’s your coat?” he asked her.
“I didn’t wear one,” she said, still staring blankly at the door.
Throwing his leather jacket over Hailey’s shoulders, Fin led her outside, hitting the lights as they left.
Hailey stuck her arms through the sleeves, which were several inches too long. She let them swish at her side as she walked. It was a chilly night, and she shivered when the wind blew.
“Zip your coat,” Fin said with a smile.
Hailey lifted her arms repeatedly trying to get her hands out of the sleeves.
Fin watched, chuckling. “Come here, chowder-head.” He pulled on her arm to break her stride, shook his head, and zipped his coat for her.
“Do you think they’ll find her?” she asked him hopefully.
Fin seemed to be in cahoots with her uncles. So did Frog-the-bouncer. In fact everyone seemed to know more than they were saying. It was like they were intentionally keeping her in the dark about something, and it was scary.
“I’m sorry, Hailey,” he said softly. “I don’t know.”
It wasn’t what she wanted to hear, but it sounded honest.
He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her next to him as they walked.
“She’s coming home, I know it,” Hailey told him.
“I hope so too,” he said, hugging her closer.
Asher looked on from the shadows. Seeing a human—thathuman—touching his girl stirred within him a new uneasiness. Now she was leaning into him, and Asher’s hands tightened to fists. If she required comfort, Asher would provide it for her in the Aether—he’d instruct her to remember that.
As for Pádraig, though loyal and inherently good, he would do well to leave this place. His presence here was pointless. He could never protect the girl from an Envoy, he’d be shredded. And his interference with Asher’s interest was troublesome. He must’ve forgotten the punishment Asher could inflict for his insolence. Perhaps he needed a reminder.
And perhaps Hailey needed a demonstration of Envoy power. Here. On Earth.
He’d rid her of Pádraig. And she’d look to Asher for comfort.
Relaxing his fists, Asher disappeared into the night.
Chapter seven
Mistaken Identity
"Sorrow makes us all children again—destroys all differences of intellect. The wisest know nothing." – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Everything inside the townhouse sat exactly as Hailey had left it. Sadly, there was no sign Holly had come home.
Hailey curled up in the chair, eyes fixed on the door while Fin made himself at home on the couch. Within minutes, he was fast asleep. A few times, he stirred, mumbling words that sounded German. At around 4am, after tossing and whimpering for several seconds, he bolted upright and yelled, “HAILEY!”
Feigning sleep, Hailey never stirred, though he’d shouted loud enough to make her ears ring. She figured she’d allow him the dignity of nightmaring with privacy. It didn’t take long for him to settle back to sleep, and when his breathing fell into a regular rhythm, she got up to stretch her legs.
