Page 79 of Down Comes the Night

Wren approached the window and pressed her hand to the glass. Outside, past the fog of her breath, she could see the pinkening sky uncovered by clouds, the breathtakingly blue peaks of the Dramlach Mountains. At last, the storm had broken. The town slept—all but the innkeeper. In the distance, at the end of a trench in the snow, the glow of a lantern illuminated him as he split logs with an echoingthunkof his ax.

Perfect.

Hal mentioned he’d found shipment records from here to Colwick Hall, but she wanted to confirm it herself. Taking a last surreptitious look around the room, Wren ducked behind the reception desk. At her back was a locked door, which likely led to an office orthe innkeeper’s living space, and a wooden board from which they hung the room keys. For now, she’d try the drawers.

She opened one, and as she began to rifle through the papers, an oddly familiar voice sent her stomach plummeting with fear. “Miss? What’re you doing?”

Stay calm,she told herself.Lie.

But when she lifted her head, she froze. Carrying an armful of firewood was a boy, no older than twelve, with sandy blond hair and a smattering of freckles. His apprehension snapped into recognition. Then she saw her own terror reflected in his eyes.

The boy with the broken arm. The boy who had cost hereverything.The missing evidence that connected Lowry to her comrades’ disappearances.

“It’syou.” It tore out of her, violent and unrestrained.

His hands went slack, and the wood clattered to the ground, loud as a roll of thunder. She hardly had a chance to blink before he bolted toward the door.

Not this time. She wouldn’t lose him again.

He stumbled over the firewood, buying her precious time. Wren slid out from beneath the counter and tore after him as he scrambled to his feet—and ran smack into Hal. They both staggered back from the force.

“Excuse me,” Hal said.

He glanced back and forth between them. As he registered the boy’s terror and her anger, his confusion became apparent. Wren seized the boy by the back of his collar before he could wriggle free. He opened his mouth to scream.

“Make a sound. I dare you. I’ll make that broken arm look like a joke.” It was an empty threat, but he went deathly still. She jerked her chin at Hal. “Do you know who that is?”

He glanced up at Hal—then gasped and dropped his gaze to the floor. “Y-yes.”

So this is what he endures,she thought.So much fear.

The boy was trembling, and Wren tried not to draw a vicious satisfaction from it. She understood now why Una had left him tosuffer. Byers was gone, and the only guarantee at justice she had was this. Hurt for hurt, blood for blood.

“Do you care to explain why you’re threatening children?” Hal was looking down at the cowering boy, his features softening with weariness.

“This child,” she said, “is the cause of my disgrace. Una and I caught him documenting patrol routes in Danu. And here he is, hiding away in a property owned by Alistair Lowry.”

Hal’s expression darkened.

“I can explain! Please!” As if he’d remembered her order not to make a sound, he slapped his hands over his mouth.

“I hope it’s a good one. If I find out you’re lying—”

Hal cut her a sharp look that soured her stomach with shame. “You’re frightening him.”

He crouched beside the boy, who shrank away from him with his eyes screwed shut. In this heavy, predawn silence, all Wren could hear was the anxious chatter of his teeth.

“I won’t hurt you.” Hal’s voice was mild, almost paternal. “I only want to talk.”

“And why should I trust you?”

“There’s no good reason to.” Hal reached out and retrieved a piece of firewood. “But you may find me surprisingly reasonable.”

The boy did not answer at first. Wren felt her patience come undone to theclackof wood as Hal gathered it into his arms. This boy held valuable information. In himself, he was enough to damn Lowry. But Hal was treating him sotenderly,it was almost frustrating. When he’d retrieved the last of the firewood, he pressed it into the boy’s hands. Slowly, hesitantly, the boy dared to meet Hal’s gaze. His lip quivered, but after the first experimental second, all the tension flooded out of him with a whimper.

“Alright?” Hal asked gently.

The boy nodded.