“He has sonotgot this,” Corbin fumed. “He’s going to say something stupid and get us all in trouble. With Inspector Davies gone, they’re going to be out for our blood.”
Inspector Davies. My chest burned. I looked over at Jane, who bounced Connor on her shoulder, trying to keep him calm with all the commotion.
She’s such a good mother.Jane always put Connor’s needs before her own. Even though she’d been terrified when the fae had targeted her son for their vile sacrifice, she’d held it together so she could find a way to keep him safe. Not for the first time, I wondered if my mother would have been the same, and then hated myself for wondering because it felt like I was betraying the Crawfords.
Inspector Davies had instigated a witch hunt against Jane because her husband had partaken of Jane’s services. I hated her for that, but that didn’t mean I wanted her to suffer through whatever the fae were currently doing to her.
My stomach twisted again.All this death…and there’s no way to make it right again.
Blake came back a few minutes later and tapped me on the shoulder. “You’re next, Princess.”
My brain wasn’t registering instructions, but my body moved across the room of its own accord and sat down opposite DS Judge and a new Detective Inspector. I touched the bare skin of my arm, but I couldn’t feel the press of my fingers against my skin. I couldn’t even feel my magic anymore. Everything was numb and cold and dead, just the way I’d been when I first learned my parents had been killed.
My mouth felt as though it had been stuffed with cotton. I don’t know how I managed to push air past my vocal chords when all the air had been driven out of me. I heard myself running through a cleaned-up version of everything that happened, so I must have managed it somehow. Words flew out of my mouth in some semblance of order, but I didn’t remember any of them. I kept my gaze trained on the haunted look in DS Judge’s eyes. Her boss toppling down into that black abyss played in my head on a continuous loop.
“Your little group has been involved in another recent incident.” The new inspector – whose name was Wallace – glanced at his notes. “Only a few days ago, you found Ms. Forsythe’s baby in the bushes outside Briarwood Castle. Now, we find all the same parties have witnessed this unusual phenomenon.”
“We’re all friends, so we all came here for Connor’s baptism,” I said. “We were supposed to have it in a church in Crookshollow a few days ago, but Dora and her group of witch hunters kept us away. If it hadn’t been for Dora and Inspector Davies, we wouldn’t even have been in this church today.”
“Witch hunters?” DS Judge’s face twisted.
“It’s just an expression. They didn’t approve of Jane. They were harassing her, trying to prevent the baptism. Apparently the Middle Ages are alive and well around here.”
Inspector Wallace looked at his pad again. “You just returned from overseas?”
“Yes. I was in Arizona on a family matter. Arthur and I came here straight from Heathrow.”
“Tell us about the…creatures…that came out of the crack?” DS Judge asked, her mouth turning down at the edges.
“I didn’t actually see any creatures,” I heard myself saying. “There was definitely black, curling smoke pouring from the crack. I wondered if perhaps it was some kind of natural gas released when the earth moved. It could have been hallucinogenic. Some kind of sinkhole or thermal activity underneath the church, maybe?”
“We’ve got a geologist coming down from Oxford to survey the site,” she said. “Trust me, we’re taking thisveryseriously, Maeve. Please, don’t leave the country again without informing us first.”
Her gaze sizzled the last of my frayed nerves. I couldn’t move from the chair. DS Judge had to call Corbin to come and lead me away.
“We’re going home,” he whispered in my ear as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder.
I nodded, leaning into his chest, wishing I could sink right into his starched white shirt and disappear forever.
We trudged outside. Arthur’s stupid old car was parked diagonally across three spaces. We’d been so desperate to get there in time that he hadn’t even bothered to park it properly.And it was all for nothing.
“We’re going to have to make two trips,” Corbin sighed.
“No need.” Blake swiped Corbin’s phone from his pocket. “I discovered this fascinating thing called anapp. There’s one that calls an automobile to answer your beck and call, like a servant-on-demand.”
“You really need to grasp the concept of the sharing economy,” Corbin snapped, snatching his phone back and calling a ride share.
Flynn laughed. “It seems to me our friend Blake is getting the hang of being a human just fine and dandy.”
I thought of what he’d done today, leaping in front of that arrow.In more ways than one.
Arthur pulled open his door and folded his enormous frame into the driver’s seat. “This chauffeur is leaving right now, if anyone needs a lift.”
I grabbed for the passenger-side door just as a sharp finger tapped my shoulder.
I spun around. Clara stood behind me, holding her black shawl tight around her shoulders. Her expression was stern.
“I think I’d better come with you, dearie.”
