‘Was he watching over Bobby when someone tried to snatch the boy?’
‘That would be my conclusion. He was watching, saw someone slinking on the lands with foul intent, and decided to intercede. It got him killed and bought Bobby a few extra hours, but alas the child was taken at school instead.’
Why was this realm so damn secretive? Each species collected secrets like they were jewels, jealously guarding them from trespassers. That was fine but sometimes it made life damned confusing, especially for a newcomer like me.
‘Can I tell Sonia that Hamlet was the dead gargoyle on the lawn?’ I asked.
‘Hamlet wouldn’t have wanted her to know what he became, but I see no reason why you can’t confirm his death.’
I sighed. ‘What Iwantto do is tell her that Hamlet watched over them, that he kept Bobby safe. To say only that he’s dead doesn’t seem fair to his memory.’
‘Nothing in this realm is fair, Lucy Barrett.’ He wasn’t wrong.
Greg knocked briskly on the door and entered. ‘Whatever was in that tonic has knocked Sonia right out – I had to carry her the last few steps. Mrs Dawes has put her to bed.’ He glanced at Reynard before continuing. ‘I saw our other guest talking with Archie and Elena.’
With all that had been happening, I’d barely given Thea Beckett another thought but perhaps I should. The timing of her arrival was dicey. ‘That’s good. Let’s hope it’s a coincidence that she’s appeared at the same time Bobby was snatched,’ I said grimly.
Theaseemedinnocent enough, but what Elena had told me had set alarm bells ringing. Still, arranging a kidnapping right after you arrived somewhere would definitely be stupid, and I doubted that Thea was stupid. Unless it was a double bluff. Ugh.
I shook off the speculation; we had stuff to do. ‘I’ve got another lead. Apparently a fire elemental child has also been taken. Let’s go to Rosie’s,’ I suggested.
‘Let me know what they say. I’ll do some digging of my own,’ Reynard responded. As he headed out, his wings extended and I felt a breeze stir unnaturally in the room. I guessed he was about to fly. He left Greg and I without a backward glance, then soared through the huge living-room window. Huh: maybe that’s why the ground-floor windows are so large.
I sent Maxwell a text to let him know we were coming over, but not saying why. ‘You want to drive?’ I asked Greg.
‘Sure thing, sweetheart. Just let me sweep the car for bugs before we roll.’ Greg believed in learning from his mistakes and I liked that about him.
I waited patiently while he did his thing and climbed in when he gave me the all clear. ‘Definitely no bugs this time?’ I asked.
‘None I can detect,’ Greg confirmed.
‘Cool. The dead gargoyle… It was Sonia’s husband, Hamlet.’
Greg frowned. ‘How is that possible? Sonia’s husband was a werewolf.’
‘I don’t know. Reynard said that gargoyles are made, not born. Somehow Hamlet got turned into a gargoyle.’
‘Just when I think I know everything about the Other realm, I’m reminded that we know fuck-all about the Other species,’ he muttered.
‘Imagine how I feel!’
‘You’re smart and you have a wolf in your head. You’ve got the edge.’
‘It doesn’t always feel like that,’ I muttered, thinking of Esme’s sulk earlier.
We parked outside Rosie’s. The lights were on and the café was full. Under normal circumstances, I’d have thought it was doing a roaring trade, but all the occupants had flames dancing on their heads. That was alotof fire elementals.
Distractedly, I wondered what a bunch of fire elementals was called? A brazier? A forge?
We slid out of the car and opened the door, which rang to let them know someone else had walked in. The room fell deathly silent. Ok–ay.
Maxwell gave Greg and I a tight smile and jerked his head to the entrance to the portal that would take us to the Common realm. I cleared my throat. ‘Actually, we’re here about something else.’
Maxwell lost his smile. ‘Now is not a great time, Lucy.’
‘So I can see. Can we talk?’
Maxwell frowned but stood up and led me to a little office I’d never seen at the back of the property. It was small, with a desk, a computer and a solitary chair that Maxwell sat on. Usually he is a friendly, chatty guy, but impatience and stress were rolling off of him. He was visibly upset.