Page 96 of Crown of the Fae King

Wickham bit his lip, hard, and shook his head, like he was fighting his own thoughts.

“Thank you,” I said, trying to draw Sarah’s attention away from him.

The woman pursed her lips at me again but nodded. A begrudging acknowledgement that she’d heard me, at least.

The effects of the tea were waning. I no longer felt bulletproof, or monsterproof. But a little encouragement lingered.

“We must be going now,” Wickham said. “Bless ye, Sarah, for keepin’ the dolls all this time. Ye’ve been a great help.”

“That’s it then,” she said. “He said they’d be a great help to someone someday. And here they have!”

Wickham bit his lip again and led me out the door. He turned to wave, but the woman had already shut her door. If she would have had a welcome mat, I was sure she would have pulled it back in the house.

Reminded of the zap we’d gotten when we’d arrived, I lunged away from the wet mud and hustled to the truck. Wickham chuckled.

“You laugh,” I said, “but I noticed a little hustle in your giddyap too.”

“Auch, aye. Her discouragement might last a mite longer than her tea did.”

Once we were on the road, I asked what he’d been holding back, when she talked about the Grandfather.

“The bastard knew we’d be comin’. Knew we’d want those names. But we’re no closer to kennin’ the powers. And I suspect he was taunting us.”

“He knew—”

“Aye. He knew. He’s still toyin’ with me from the grave.” He cursed and struck the steering wheel with the heel of his hand. “Bastard!”

“Toying with you—teasing? Or was he trying to prove he’s cleverer than you?”

He shook his head. “He’s trying to give me no choice—yet again!”

“No choice about what?”

“No choice but to go back to the past…and face him.”

“I don’t understand. You told the Sorenson witch that it wouldn’t matter, that he wouldn’t know what you did to him.”

“Ah, no. He’ll ken it. If he knew we’d be visitin’ Sarah, asking about theThirds, he’ll know…”

“You mean the Sedaparts?” We laughed, then I pushed my luck. “Dare I ask what you did? Or is this one of those cryptic secrets you don’t plan to share?”

His exhaled, then nodded. “If you must know…I cut off his head.”

“So, you’ll go back in time?”

“Probably.”

“When?”

“After I’ve exhausted all other options.”

39

Falling Into Place

We returned home after reversing our path, which included walking back through rainy streets to the same alley. By the time we popped into Engineering, I was freezing, and headed to the kitchen to find something hot to drink, even if it had lavender blossoms floating in it.

I snagged a throw from the living room and headed to the study, following the sound of voices. Before I ever got to the door, I could tell something was terribly wrong. No one noticed when I slipped into the room and took a chair next to Persi, at the bar. She was hunched forward with her arms wrapped around her head like she was afraid her hair might blow away.

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