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Keely and Sky were standing beside him, looking sympathetic but ultimately as helpless as I felt. I couldn’t stand watching the scene any longer and returned to the graveyard, drawing to a halt beside a huge, stone, Celtic cross.
I studied it curiously. It was elaborately decorated. There were carvings of a harp at the foot of the tree of life, squirrels and birds in its branches, an apple tree, a dove, a rose, a multitude of symbols, elaborate knotwork, and figures. I peered at the four that were carved into one side of the cross and read the words engraved below each of them. Christ, David, Hild, Caedmon.
An inscription read, “To the glory of God, and in memory of Caedmon, Father of English sacred song. Fell asleep hard by AD 680.”
To my shame, I’d never heard of Caedmon, though clearly he was a big deal. I’d never heard of Hild either, but she was obviously of some standing, as the only woman among such important names. In the carving she was standing on what appeared to be ammonites. She carried a staff, and behind her were the faces of five men, while standing beside her were what looked like two seagulls.
Odd.
‘Lowen!’
I glanced up and smiled, seeing Killian hurrying towards me. He wasn’t alone, but had Aidan, his older brother, with him.
‘I wasn’t expecting to see you here,’ I said, addressing Aidan.
Aidan, who unlike Killian didn’t seem inclined to change his hair and eye colouring every time his mood altered, was dark haired and green-eyed. I had it on good authority (from Keely actually) that he was good looking. I tried not to take that personally.
‘I thought I’d give you a hand,’ he said with a shrug. ‘My parents have decided that working in a pub is no longer a suitable job for a man who’s about to be married off to one of the most important witches in the world.’ He gave a short laugh. ‘Not that they ever thought it was suitable, you understand, but now things are on a whole different level.’ He glanced around. ‘Where’s your man, Sirius?’
‘Inside the church, asking people if they’ve seen Trinity,’ I said with a sigh.
‘Any luck?’
I met his gaze steadily. ‘What do you think?’
‘We’ve been at the foot of the steps trying to get a scent,’ Killian told us. ‘I’d hoped Suibhne would come with us but he’s visiting his mammy, and I wouldn’t dare drag him away from her.’
‘His mammy?’ I couldn’t hide my surprise. Sweeney just didn’t seem the type to be anyone’s son, which was ridiculous, obviously. He was quite elderly himself, though, and besides, I couldn’t imagine leprechauns having a normal family life. It seemed absurd.
‘You’re doing it again,’ Killian warned me. ‘Making assumptions about the fair folk. Be careful, Lowen.’
‘Sorry.’ I shook my head. ‘Anyway, did you find anything?’
‘I sensed Trinity,’ he confirmed. ‘Not a strong trace, but she was certainly there. The bad news is, we sensed Malliss. Possibly the good news is that Aidan thinks he sensed something else, didn’t you, Aid?’
Aidan frowned, looking puzzled. ‘Something,’ he said. ‘But to be honest, it’s confusing. I sensed magic—fae magic—but I can’t quite pinpoint a scent of anyone else at the scene.’
‘If you sensed Malliss what does it matter?’ I said heavily. ‘The Pendragons have taken Trinity.’
‘Not necessarily,’ Aidan told him. ‘The fact that I can’t detect what this scent is might be a positive thing. Now, Havok, his henchmen, and his kin are easily tracked. The other scent was different, so maybe whoever took Trinity it wasn’t them.’
‘Which is great news, is it not?’ Killian said, smiling broadly.
‘I suppose that depends on who took her,’ I replied, finding it hard to feel optimistic.
His brow furrowed. ‘Are you okay, Lowen? You’ve got a look in your eyes that worries me.’
‘It’s this place,’ I said, glancing around the churchyard. ‘I don’t know. It just makes me feel so sad, as if there’s no hope left.’
‘Then let’s away from this place and go over to West Cliff,’ Killian suggested.
‘Sirius has already covered there,’ I told him dully.
‘So let’s cover it again,’ he said. ‘There are bound to be new people to ask. It’s a busy town. Sirius can’t possibly have spoken to everyone.’
He had a point, but I couldn’t help feeling we were wasting our time. Even Emrick had said as much. Then again, what else were we going to do? Go back to Castle Lodge and admit we’d given up before we’d even started?
‘Okay,’ I said. ‘What about Sirius, Keely, and Sky? They’re in the church.’
