“Move out of the way!” a loud voice shouts. Drawn by the familiar timbre, I look toward the doorway and spot my dad shoving his way through the crowd of people who are still gathered in the kitchen. “Frances,” he bellows with his eyes darting around, spotting me before I can answer.
“Pop.” My voice is weak, more like a plea.
“What’s going on? Are you all right?” He barrels through the rest of the group to get to me. Gray steps to the side so Dad can run his eyes over me.
“I’m fine. He took Remy, we need to find him.”
“Bursa took Remy?” Dad’s brows furrow like he finds that hard to believe.
“He must have used an illusion,” I explain. We all know Remy wouldn’t have gone with Bursa any other way, and there’s no way he would be strong enough to overpower Remy.
Dad takes his eyes off me for the first time and looks around the kitchen. “Where are Eugene and Aisling? They know the area better than anyone.”
“Eugene is… I’m pretty sure he’s dead. I’m hoping Aisling is with Remy, but I don’t know. When I asked Bursa about her, he said she was hanging around and that she hadn’t made a peep in a while,” I caution just in case he hurt her.
“Fucking bastard,” Dad curses.
“We searched the house,” an agent I don’t know announces. “It’s empty.”
“What about the barns and outbuildings?” Dad prompts.
“Pop,” I call loudly to get his attention. I need to give him a rundown of what’s been happening and see if he has any insight. “Bursa was pretending to be Eugene. I think he stashed Aisling away somewhere to make it look like she was missing. The next day when she was home, her hands were all dirty and scratched up.” I rub my fingers together, wondering if it’s some sort of clue. “Do you have any idea where he would have put her?”
“Did you check the root cellar?” Dad snaps and looks around the room.
“I didn’t find a basement.” The man who originally spoke glances around to see if anyone else has anything to add.
“There isn’t a basement. It’s behind the house.” Dad turns and makes his way toward the door with Percy, Gray, Felix, and me all on his heels.
Dad stops abruptly when he reaches the bottom step of the front porch. “I need a light, give me a light.” A woman rushes over to his side, with no questions asked, and spreads open her hands, producing a glow brighter than any flashlight could. The orb stays lit when Dad accepts it into his own palm.
Walking slowly and moving the light from left to right, he canvasses the lawn behind the house. I scan the horizon, but I have no idea what I’m looking for.
“There we go,” Dad announces and hustles over to a small mound near some crumbling stones. It’s as if there was once a small building here, and this is all that remains of the foundation.
Dad hurries around the knoll, and I realize there’s a door built into the side of the hill that wasn’t visible from the other side—an old wooden door that is barely propped in place. My heart sinks. That door could never hold Remy, it’s falling apart. As if to prove my point, Dad pulls on the thing and it doesn’t swing open. Instead, it falls, scratching the side of his head and face as it comes down.
“Watch out!” I say much too late. Dad doesn’t even acknowledge the door hit him, let alone slow down, as he ducks his head and enters the space.
Gray grabs my arm, stopping me from going in after Dad, then positions himself in front of me to go next. The space is dark and musty, and even with the bright orb, I can’t see all the way to the back of the cave. Felix just stands in the doorway behind me, peering over my shoulder, while Dad stomps his foot around on the ground as he moves farther and farther back as if he’s looking for something. Over the noise, I hear a faint holler and drop to my knees.
“He’s down there.” I dig at the ground as Dad continues to test the floor with his shoe. My finger finally catches on something other than dirt and rocks, something metallic, a large ring. When I tug and nothing happens, Gray takes a step back so he’s right up against the damp dirt wall and tugs on the ring. The floor shifts, and dirt and pebbles rain down below as Gray opens the trap door.
The cavern is pitch black. “Remy!” I shout, and my voice echoes back to me.
“Hey, doll,” Remy croaks weakly.
THERE’S NO NEED TO REPEAT YOURSELF. I IGNORED YOU JUST FINE THE FIRST TIME.
Istart weeping and rambling incoherent words, thankful we found him. Dad thrusts his hand with the orb into the hole, illuminating the space, but Remy still can’t be seen.
Felix gently lays his hand on my shoulder. “Stand back, let me see.”
I hustle to get out of the way, and Felix drops to the ground, lying flat on his belly so his head is over the hole. “Describe the situation to me, Remy.”
“No fucking clue. It’s dark…and the ground is hard. That’s all…I’ve got.” He sounds exhausted.
“Why does he sound so far away?” I ask, not expecting an answer.
