Mayor Devine speaks into the microphone. “The night is getting away from us. It’s time to vote. All in favor of ending the ordinance, raise your hands.”
Everyone but Alys and John vote yes.
“All opposed?” the mayor asks.
John and Alys raise their hands. Alys crosses her arms while John exhales in defeat. Courtney appears distraught, her face wrinkling with worry.
“The curfew is lifted,” Mayor Devine announces. “I want to be clear. If our town should experience an issue with severe crime in the future, we will revisit another ordinance like this one. Is there anything else?”
“I make a motion to adjourn,” Elijah says, his bass voice filling the chamber.
John mutters reluctantly. “I second it.”
Mayor Devine pounds the gavel. “We are adjourned. Have a safe and peaceful night.”
When the chamber empties, Courtney waits for her husband to finish talking with Alys, who is clearly furious about the results. Suddenly, my intuition grabs me like a vise grip.
“Archie, I’ll meet you outside. I want to ask Courtney a question. I’ll tell you why later.”
His eyebrows leap. “All right. The Fellowship is going to have a quick stand-up circle outside. Meet you there.”
As I approach Courtney, she’s putting on her winter coat.
“I wanted to say hello. I haven’t seen you since Thanksgiving at the shelter. You appear a little upset. Are you doing OK?”
She lowers her eyes to the floor. “Yeah. Upset by the vote tonight. That’s all.”
“Voting doesn’t always go the way we want it, unfortunately. Nice talking to you.”
She peers up at me. “Good chatting with you, too. And tell Ronnie I said congratulations on her newborn. I envy her.”
I wave goodbye and push through the bottleneck of residents to the sidewalk. The older witches have gathered away from the crowds on the paver sidewalk, huddled under a fusion of umbrellas.
“Well, that’s a worry behind us,” Trinity says. “With the ordinance in place, the police could have issued extra patrols anytime they saw fit. We don’t need the cops hampering our work.”
Leslie nods. “Indeed. We also must keep an eye on the Seelie Fae. They will contain their mischievous streak as long as we maintain regular visits to occupy them.”
“I believe it’s needed,” Archie says. “But at some point, we have to find another solution that doesn’t suck up so much of our time.”
“Agreed,” I add. “But for now, we gotta do it. We can’t have them wreaking havoc in the town. We’ve been lucky so far.”
“I’ll come up with a new schedule,” Shane says. “And share it online with everyone. I actually miss spending time with Shailagh and Aonghas. I’ve grown quite fond of them.”
Trinity chuckles. “Then you can take my shift.”
“Can we fucking go now?” Agnes rubs her arms. “My old joints are locking. I won’t be able to walk if we stand out here any longer. My ass is freezing.”
“Don’t be so dramatic,” Leslie says. “Mark your calendars for the next Fellowship meeting, and we will finalize the Winter Solstice Celebration plans.”
Agnes grabs the Elder’s hand. “Finally. Goodnight, all.”
On the stroll back through the Green to Archie’s house, I share what I read about the Tylwyth Teg, changelings, and my suspicions about Ashley.
“Gwyn, I find it difficult to believe she’s a Tylwyth Teg fairy. I work with her closely. So do Spence and Skye. Your theories are all based on coincidences, in my opinion.”
I frown at him. “You say all the time you don’t believe in coincidences.”
“Aye. But what evidence do you have? She dyes her hair brown. Her husband left her a special book on stories of the Tylwyth Teg and she acted weird about someone reading it without her permission. The kidnapped children are exhibiting poor behavior after a traumatic separation from their parents. You sensed unusual magic in an apartment where a fairy lived and died. And you ran into her on the trail coming from the bog in North Basin Creek Park because she needed a break from her stressful job. All things easily explained. But the most important item is missing from this list, no?”
“What did I leave out?”
“There have been no more kidnappings. Wouldn’t she have continued to steal children and replaced them with changelings if she was a Tylwyth Teg fairy?”
“I guess so. But Jeff has been acting strange, too.” I wipe my face with gloved hands. “Maybe I’m paranoid.”
He kisses me on the cheek. “I commend you for investigating, and I will take note of anything odd she does. However, she’s a wee bit busy for fairy shenanigans.”
“By the way, Seamus sent me a text. He wants to talk, and I think enough time has passed.”
“I’m glad to hear that. It’s been quite awkward in the department. No one has mentioned what happened, yet I think he knows we’re aware of what transpired in your wee training session.”
“Even though my witch’s intuition signals something wicked is afoot, I won’t ask him about step three in the cat sith training. My work with Agnes last time has built confidence in me. My inner feelings will direct me down the correct path, eventually.”
“Aye.” He stops and wraps his arms around my upper shoulders, chuckling. “If I’m lucky, it will tell you to pack up and move in with me.”
He kisses me on the mouth, stopping my usual rebuttal. But deep down, I know my sixth sense is pointing me toward something more sinister than becoming his roommate.
Chapter twenty-fourHindsight Sucks
