Dark clouds had obscured the sky. The roads had narrowed ahead of them and wound through Holden like a maze. Riley closed his window and Faith closed hers. It had gotten cold in the car. It had been hot when they left Silverfield that morning. Faith shivered and Riley turned the heat on. She caught a glimpse of the harbor, then another as Riley turned onto a road straight across from it. He parked out front a bed and breakfast.
“It’s more affordable than the hotels,” Riley said. “We have a room. I called before we left.”
They got out of the car and headed for the old two floor house that looked like it must have always stood on that spot. The outside was paneled with pale blue wood. The inside had the same pale blue wood paneling on the walls. The floor was gray wood. A faded brown rug led from the door to the desk on the right of the room. Stairs led up along the back wall.
Two women sat behind the desk. The one on the left was older. Her long dark gray hair was tied in a high bun. The woman next to her looked a lot like her, with the same dark blue eyes. Her hair was long and red and had been tied back loosely.
“Hello.” The gray haired woman smiled warmly. “Here for a room?”
“Yes.” Riley glanced at Faith. “One room. I called earlier.”
The gray haired woman smiled further. “Of course.” She took a small brown book from among the papers on the desk. “I’m Lynnet Irving and this is my daughter, Radella. If you need anything, call the desk and let us know.” She looked at the book for a moment, then at Riley. “Riley Gault?”
Riley nodded.
“She likes to guess,” Radella said. She held a key out to him and smiled, but not as far as her mother.
“Two beds?” Riley asked, taking the key.
Lynnet frowned. “Yes.”
Faith and Riley headed up the stairs. Faith realized Lynnet probably thought they were a couple. They couldn’t afford two rooms, and it would be safer if they stayed together. Faith had shared a room with Riley so many times by this point, it didn’t seem strange. The key had a number four stamped on the leather round hanging from it. Faith opened the door on the left at the end of the hall.
Cold, gloomy light poured in from the window on the other side of the room. Two wooden beds stood with a small table between them against the right wall. A small round table sat under the window, with two matching wooden chairs. Riley turned on the lamp between the beds. Faith glanced into the bathroom, across from the beds.
“Nice room,” Faith said.
Riley nodded, glancing around at it. He looked at the window. “We can see the harbor from here.”
Faith joined him at the window. The sea was calm, but it hadn’t been when they’d last seen it at night. Riley stared out at the docks. Was he thinking of what had happened when they’d been there? Hew had betrayed him.
“We should ask about disturbances,” Riley said, turning away from the window. “There were a lot of them when Ninivus was waking up.”
“And we’ll go to the harbor tonight?” Faith asked.
“Our best chance of putting Altunei to sleep is if he doesn’t wake up all the way,” Riley said, heading for the door.
The two of them went back downstairs.
“If you’re new to Holden, I know of a few nice places to eat,” Lynnet said.
Radella looked uncomfortable.
“We’ve been here before, but thanks,” Riley said. “I heard strange things have been happening at night.”
Lynnet frowned.
Radella brushed a stray red hair out of her face and sat up straighter. “A lot of things. Everyone’s been talking about it. Disturbances, noises, floors creaking that don’t usually creak. Things not being where they were left. Some say they’ve seen people in their houses, but when they turn on the light, no one’s there.”
Lynnet shivered. “Don’t scare the guests, Radella. Those are nothing more than stories.”
“You saw it too,” Radella said quietly. “Last night.”
Lynnet looked away. “There have been a few disturbances.” She frowned a little at Faith and Riley. “Why do you ask?”
“I just wondered if it was true,” Riley said. He looked at Faith and smiled, but it looked forced. “Let’s go see the harbor.”
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The two of them left the bed and breakfast, heading toward the docks. Riley frowned hard, watching the crowd. Faith knew he was looking for Hew. She watched the crowd too and didn’t see him anywhere. Riley touched the right side of his neck briefly, the blue mark from Ninivus.
“Does it hurt?” Faith asked.
Riley didn’t look away from the crowd. “It itches.” He looked at her. “I’m sure Hew expected us to come here.”
“He might be there when we try to put Altunei to sleep,” Faith said.
Riley nodded, looking back at the crowd. “We should look around the rest of Holden. He might not be at the docks.”
What would they do if they did find Hew? The two of them walked around Holden the rest of the day, but Faith didn’t see Hew. The sky was getting darker. By the time they headed back to the bed and breakfast, it was night and raining lightly. The rain was cold, and Faith and Riley were shivering. Lynnet and Radella weren’t at the desk. Faith and Riley went up to their room.
“You can have the bathroom first,” Riley said. “You look cold.”
Faith shivered again. “So do you.” But she didn’t protest further.
She put dry clothes on, then sat at the table. Riley joined her there after drying off. His short messy black hair was still damp. The rain was coming down hard outside, but it was warm in the room. Riley hadn’t brought his notes and folders with him. He had left them behind in Silverfield, had said he read through all of them enough. There was nothing more his notes could tell him.
“Are you hungry?” Riley asked.
“A little.” Even as she said it, her stomach rumbled loudly.
Riley smiled. “Lynnet or Radella might have an umbrella we can borrow.”
Back downstairs, Radella was at the desk. She had brought out a basket of umbrellas. Faith and Riley took one and stayed close to each other as they went back out into the rain. Riley seemed to know where he was going, to a small cafe not far from the bed and breakfast. Faith could see the sea through the windows of the cafe. Waves tossed against the docks relentlessly. Was it just the storm, or was it because Altunei was close to waking up?
Faith and Riley ate their sandwiches in silence, at a table near the front window. A sandwich had never tasted so good. In the silence, Faith’s thoughts wandered back to Suzie. Where was she? Was she somewhere warm, out of the rain? The rain came down harder, but the water of the harbor had calmed.
“We may have to wait until tomorrow night,” Riley said. “The rain is too hard.”
“Would it be suspicious to do it during the day?” Faith asked.
Riley frowned. “Someone might dive in after you.”
The pendant, with the wyvern blood inside, was the only way to put Altunei back to sleep. Faith shivered just thinking about the cold rain. The water of the harbor would be even colder. The two of them finished eating and went back to the bed and breakfast. Wind had joined the rain. It was strong enough it almost took the umbrella from Riley’s hand several times. Radella was still the only one at the desk.
Back in the room, Riley sat at the table and looked out the window. Faith sat across from him. His gaze moved to the table. He stared at it hard. Faith knew this was hard for him. Hew had been a friend, and Riley had trusted him.
Riley looked at Faith. “We’ll get Suzie back.”
Faith tried to keep that thought in her mind. She didn’t know what she would do if she could no longer believe that. “We’ll go to the harbor tomorrow.”
Soon the two of them went to bed. Faith took the bed closest to the window. Riley had set a knife on the table between them. The curtains were thin, letting in the light of the storm. Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed. It was so bright it seemed it was right outside the window. Something moved in the darkness of the bathroom doorway. Faith tensed. Had it been a trick of the lightning? The darkness moved again, then a wet shadowy figure pulled itself out of the darkness.
Faith and Riley were on their feet quickly. The messenger stood in the bathroom doorway, as though waiting for them to move first. Faith thought quickly. She was on the opposite side of the bed from the knife. Riley was right in front of the table between the beds. The messenger took a step toward Faith. Riley grabbed the knife and ran at the messenger.
The messenger reached toward Riley, but he plunged the knife into its chest. The messenger collapsed in on itself, becoming a puddle of water on the carpet. The puddle didn’t move. Faith heard Riley breathe out in the silence and tried to slow her pounding heart. He set the knife back on the table and turned the light on. The two of them went back to bed, but Faith didn’t close her eyes.
The storm continued to rage, not letting up until the first hints of morning. No other messengers came. Faith and Riley left the light on all night. When the sun was up, filtered through gray clouds, the two of them got up. Riley didn’t look like he’d slept either. Faith turned off the lamp and opened the drapes. It was another gloomy day, but the sea was calm.
Faith and Riley went downstairs. Lynnet and Radella were standing next to the desk, frowning at the floor. The window next to the desk was closed, but the floor in front of it was soaked. A puddle reached across the wood floor and had soaked into the edge of the rug.
“The window wasn’t open,” Radella said quietly. “I didn’t open it once yesterday.”
“Neither did I,” Lynnet said. She looked at Faith and Riley and smiled, but it was clearly forced. “Good morning. Did you sleep well?”
“We did,” Riley said. “Can we borrow an umbrella in case it rains?”
Radella laughed. “Of course. Lately it’s never in case it rains. It will rain.”
Lynnet looked at Radella with an unamused frown.
Riley took an umbrella, then he and Faith left the bed and breakfast. No one had opened that window.
“A messenger left that puddle,” Faith said.
Riley nodded.
They walked along the harbor, watching the crowd going to the shops and the smaller crowd at the docks. Faith caught sight of someone straight ahead. He wore a long tan coat and his light brown hair was short. This time the collar of the coat wasn’t hiding the blue mark on the side of Hew’s neck.