“Man, you’re getting on my nerves. She wasn’t in the barn, were you?” Remy directs the last part of the question to Aisling.
“I was confused,” she repeats, making me think she still is, or worse, she’s afraid to say anything else.
“I left another message for your dad.” Eugene makes it sound like an insult. “I still want to speak with him when he gets back. Any idea when he might turn up?”
“No,” I tell him flatly. “Aisling, do you want me to take you to the doctor?” Every one of my instincts is telling me something is off here.
“No.” She shakes her head quickly.
“What happened to you there?” I motion to the dried dirt on her fingers.
Eugene turns his body to face hers, and I watch him glare at the side of her face again. Aisling flips her hands over and looks at them as if it’s the first time she’s noticed the state of her fingers. “I must have forgotten to wash up,” she quietly admits while curling her hands into balls, as if that might hide what we have all seen at this point.
“Why don’t you go do that?” Eugene tells her with a jerk of his chin toward the house.
“I can help,” I offer and hop up the front steps quickly. Eugene moves as if he might try to block me from going into the house, but I just stare at his face, waiting to see if he’s really going to do anything.
While Eugene and I are having a stare down, Aisling is looking back and forth between her husband and me as if she’s not sure what he’s going to do either. Eventually, he shifts to the side just the tiniest bit, and I know he’s not going to put up too much of a fight.
Percy darts ahead of me, slinking into the house so quickly I’m not sure Eugene even notices because he’s still busy watching me.
Aisling turns and takes a step, but it’s slow and measured, as if she’s waiting for Eugene to stop her. When he doesn’t, she enters the house.
The moment I cross the threshold, the heavy feel of magic brushes against my skin, confirming my suspicions about what I felt outside. A spell has recently been evoked. I finger the ring on my thumb, grateful for the shield. What the hell kind of magic does Eugene cast that makes him ooze so much?
The living room or den is right off the front door. “Sorry about the mess.” Aisling picks up a few pillows that are on the floor and fluffs them before placing them back on the sofa. There are a few other items out of place—a lamp that’s been knocked over and papers strewn about. I glance around, noting everything else looks neat and orderly, other than what appears like it might have been from a recent event.
Aisling ignores the larger signs of disarray and heads through an archway to a bright, airy kitchen. I look behind me to see Eugene following us through the front door. I know I won’t have a lot of time to talk to her alone.
I hear Gray ask, “What the hell happened in here?” but I ignore Eugene’s response and move closer to Aisling, and hopefully out of earshot of the others.
Aisling reaches for the hot water tap, but before her hand can grasp the faucet, water starts pouring from the sink. She freezes with her hands outstretched as if she’s startled. “Is this old place haunted?” I’m only half joking. I know I saw something upstairs.
“It didn’t used to be,” she mumbles under her breath, then sets about washing her hands. As the dirt rinses free, some scrapes and cuts are exposed. Aisling scrubs as if she doesn’t even notice the small abrasions.
“Aisling.” She lifts her gaze to mine. Her eyes are heavy, as if she’s tired or sad, maybe both. “Are you safe here?” The words are just loud enough for her to hear.
Her dark eyes roam over my face for a moment. “Don’t tell your dad about this,” she tells me instead of answering.
“Does he know the situation here?” I counter.
“There is no situation here. I get confused sometimes and wander off. I’m seeing straight again. That’s all there is to it.” It’s the most confident I’ve seen her since I’ve been here, but something about it feels disingenuous.
“Then why don’t you want me to tell him?”
Aisling looks past me to the archway, and her features harden just a little before her eyes land back on mine. “It’s my business, and I don’t need anyone else getting involved.”
One of the kitchen chairs scoots a few inches across the floor, making a loud screeching sound. I take a quick step back. Ghosts make me uneasy, and there’s no doubt there’s one here with us now. There’s no other explanation for what just happened.
“Who’s slamming things around in here?” Eugene stalks through the door with a scowl on his face. He’s looking around as if there might be someone else besides Aisling and myself in the kitchen.
“I don’t know what you mean,” Aisling tells him in a dull tone. All the fire that was in her just moments ago is gone. She’s back to the submissive woman from the front porch, but now that I’ve seen the energy she can possess, I can also see that the way she’s looking at him isn’t just from fear. There’s something else in her gaze, anger maybe.
Eugene narrows his eyes. I think he noticed the shift in her demeanor too. “As you can see, she’s home, and I’ll be keeping a tight leash on her so she won’t wander off again.” Eugene directs his gaze toward me. “Let your father know I expect him to come around once he finally gets back to work.” Eugene means it as a clear dismissal.
I stare at him for a long moment. I really don’t have a reason to stay since Aisling won’t allow me to help her, but I don’t want to leave her here with him either.
“Thank you for helping look for me,” Aisling tells me as if she, too, wants us to leave.
