“I need answers,” Roderick snarled.
“What if…” I said hesitantly, fully aware of how all three men’s attentions snapped onto me at once. I swallowed and tried again. “The wagon train robbery was sure to be reported. I could see Peter’s red hair from my window at the hospital and there aren’t many people with red hair around here. Marco probably had them start following us after that.”
“Who’s Marco?” Roderick asked.
“He was the merchant in charge of the shipment of pixie dust. About six feet tall and had curly brown hair. I’d assume he filed a report and launched an investigation.”
Roderick’s eyebrows contracted even more, and I realized I might’ve sounded too mature for a supposedly young boy. I cleared my throat and went on. “I mean, wouldn’t his boss get mad if he found out? He’d lose his job so he’s gonna try to pin it on someone else. None of us would ever sell each other out to the Nightsworn. Why would we?”
Lochlan nodded. “Gil’s right. None of us would throw away that much profit. Peter or another of us must have been noticed and followed, simple as that. It’s not anyone’s fault.”
Roderick threw a very ugly look at each of us in turn, finally settling on Peter, who matched his gaze with a scorching defiance.
“The best thing to do,” Lochlan went on, “is to move to a new location and get the second shipment. Here, I have information on it.” He withdrew the sealed envelope he’d been given at the market and tossed it to Roderick, but Peter snatched it from him first. Within a few seconds, he pulled off the large seal and dug his nails into the wax, picking it apart until a tightly folded paper fell out from where it had been concealed within the wax. He carefully flattened out the note and his eyes scanned back and forth, reading rapidly.
“There’s a problem,” Peter said, straightening and handing the paper over to Lochlan. “The slavers from Ebora intercepted the second shipment. They have it at one of their facilities over near Banebridge.”
Roderick let out a roar of fury and punched straight through the wall closest to him. I jumped slightly, but Lochlan remained wholly unfazed by his father’s childlike tantrum and leaned over to read the paper as well.
“Then we’ll need to go over to their facility and take it back before it’s resold. The note says they only received it yesterday. If we move fast, we can still make it.”
“I’ll kill them all,” Roderick fumed. “Nobody steals from me.”
“I’m sure you will,” Lochlan went on calmly. “But until we have the actual pixie blood in hand, let’s not be bothered with more injuries, all right?”
I knew it. I knew the second shipment had been pixie blood. I was right. And now, I might be able to collect the bounty and stop Roderick before he did whatever he was planning with the pixie blood. But even the thought of taking the blood made my stomach churn.
“How did they get the blood in the first place?” I asked nervously.
Peter looked up. “There are pixies who donate their blood. They know it’s helpful to humans. You saw how that one pixie I showed you is the same size as a human. It’s a way they can earn an income without having to work a typical job or start a business, and it helps humans.”
That didn’t sound right to me, but I didn’t press. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.
Lochlan glanced down at where my shirt concealed my injury. “Word is that pixie blood can heal any wound instantly.”
“That’s true,” Peter piped up. “Well, almost any wound on a human. It can heal cuts and injuries, but it can’t grow a hand back or anything if it’s cut off, and it won’t heal a siren.”
“I’d never help a siren anyway,” Roderick snarled.
I balled the hem of my shirt into my fist then released it. “So if the first was pixie dust and the second is pixie blood, what’s in the third?”
“Don’t tell him a single word,” Roderick barked. “I’m still not convinced that there wasn’t some inside plan that led to the robbery.”
Peter’s eyes sparkled. “Trust me, Gil, it’s something better than either of the first two. We have plans.”
Better than either of the first two? I couldn’t imagine anything better than that.
Lochlan had quietly begun gathering up the few items in the kitchen that hadn’t broken and gone outside to load them into the cart along with all the knitting supplies. Without a single word to anyone, he went back inside and began collecting more things from the other rooms. Two of the items he brought out the next time were the women’s dresses Peter and I had worn to the graveyard, and I realized with a pang that those might be all Lochlan had left of his mother. Silently, I went to go help him empty every drawer and closet he wanted and neatly organized everything in the cart outside. He looked so upset that part of me wanted to fold him into a hug, but the larger part of me paled at the thought.
“Are you okay?” I finally asked him while we crammed the last few items in. Peter was doing a final sweep of the house inside to make sure we hadn’t left anything, and Roderick had gone ahead. “How bad did he hurt you?”
“Not bad. Nothing compared to you.” He glanced at my concealed side again. “I was hoping we could use some of the blood to?—”
“No,” I said immediately. “You already helped.” My cheeks grew warm again and I added, “I might need you to check on it tomorrow though.”
He nodded. “Good plan. It will take all night to make it to the new place. I can check it when we get there.”
“So what is the new place like?”
