“Be careful. That’s what I’m saying.”
I crossed my arms. “Fine. But may I please express my opinion?”
He smiled, a smirk that didn’t touch his eyes. “I’m pretty sure you’d give it to me whether I asked for it or not.”
I rolled my eyes, although he was right. “I know you don’t believe in magic or Faythander, or pretty much anything I’ve devoted my entire life to, but this time, I think you ought to hear me out.
“There may be a dark creature that’s escaped and is wandering these fairgrounds. I’m not sure what it looks like, or even if it’s real, but there is a possibility that whatever has done this to Mr. Duncan is not of this world. If so, you can’t confront it. Faythander creatures are powerful in magic. Guns won’t have any effect on them.”
He gave me a condescending smile. “Let me get this straight. There is a monster here that may or may not be real, but you’ve never seen it, nor do you even know what it looks like. There is a possibility—although you have no evidence—that it may be attacking people. And all this doesn’t matter anyway because there isn’t a way to kill it. Do I have that about right?”
I was silent for a moment. “Yes. Sounds about right.”
“Sometimes you baffle me, Olive. How can you expect me to take you seriously?”
“Let me do some research,” I said. “I have some friends who will know more about this. They’re fairies, actually.”
“Fairies. You mean they’ve dressed as fairies for the Ren Fair?”
“No. I mean genuine fairies from Faythander.”
He rubbed his forehead. “Why did I skip my coffee this morning?”
“Brent, please! Let me go. Let me talk to my friends. If it turns out I’m wrong, you’ll have nothing to worry about. You know I’m not the killer. We were together for two years, for goodness’ sake—you know I’m not capable of doing anything like that. Let me go. Let me find out what’s happening. I promise I’ll help in any way I can.”
“Help? I’m not even sure I want your help.”
“Yes, you do. You know I can solve this.”
“You? Awfully bold words, don’t you think? Why do you think you can solve it?”
“Because I’ve dealt with mental patients for years now. If this really was one of my patients, then let me help you find them.”
He worked his jaw back and forth, debating. “Fine,” he said, “but only because you know these geeky freaks better than me—and that’s the only reason. Are we clear? I’m not granting you any favors, and you’re still not off the hook. Oh—and you’re not allowed to leave the fair until the investigation is over. Are we clear?”
“Crystal.”
“Good. Why don’t you come back when you’ve got something useful to tell me?”
“I will. I promise.”
“You’d better. Don’t think that because we were together once means I’m letting you off the hook. You’re number one on our suspect list right now. Help me, Olive, so I can help you.”
Chapter 5
I left the office without another word to Officer Sanchez. Outside, the wind picked up. Large thunderheads loomed and lighting sparked through the towering clouds.
Yellow police tape blocked the park’s entrances, and news crew vans waited amongst a gaggle of police vehicles in the parking lot. Other than that, the place was empty. Fairgoers had been turned away pending the investigation.
The Ren Fair was losing money because of this—I only hoped they didn’t blame me. I ducked under the police tape and made my way toward the campgrounds.
Gravel turned to grass as I left the parking area and passed campsites. Not many people were outside. Maybe they were dodging the approaching storm, or maybe they’d left altogether.
My insides knotted as I approached the yellow-and-white tent.
Voices came from inside, and I paused before entering. This all felt so surreal. My life had been dull and depressing for the last ten months, but at least it had been predictable. And easy. I hadn’t made any quests or felt the pressure of saving anyone. No one had begged me to save the world. I’d avoided both foreboding prophecies and tyrants trying to kill me.
But now it was changing again, and I didn’t like it. I needed to ask Prince Terminus what else he knew about the bloodthorn—whether it could have possibly killed Mr. Duncan—and if he knew about the strange purple flowers I’d found in Mr. Duncan’s eye sockets. If I didn’t find out soon, I could be sitting in jail in the near future.
Mustering my courage, I entered the tent.
The inside of the tent looked different. For one, it was filled with people. Prince Terminus and Esmelda stood in the center, surrounded by three Wults whom I recognized.
My heart gave a nervous flutter as Brodnik, Rolf, and Heidel turned to face me. All three wore silver leaf pendants. Memory charms, perhaps? Thankfully, I saw no sign of Kull.
Good.
Brodnik looked as I remembered, with his large belly and rust-colored beard. He was Viking in all sense of the word, and he didn’t have any trouble letting you know it.
Rolf had finally grown his beard and looked much older than when I’d seen him last. The boyishness was gone from his eyes. Instead, he stood tall as he held a spear at his side.
So, it had been actual Wults I’d seen yesterday and not just my imagination. Praise be! Perhaps I still had a little sanity left in me.
Heidel, Kull’s sister, had also changed, although I had trouble discerning how. Her appearance hadn’t changed. She still wore the silver breastplate and arm guards around her wrists and arms. Her dark hair was still long, and she still wore it in a braid slung over her shoulder. Her fair complexion, her dark gray eyes—all the same. But when I noticed her weapon, I finally discovered how she’d changed. She no longer carried the goblin blade. Instead, she held a short silver sword, crafted in the typical Viking way with a thick metal pommel and
