“What on earth are you doing?”
“Going to have a look outside. I heard shouting.” Liss shivered and rubbed her arms, though the air in the house was mild. “If you want to come, be quiet. There’s no sense waking Grayse.”
As we neared the front of the house, the voices grew louder. Fynn stood in the doorway.
Over his shoulder, out in the night, a procession formed. Paraffin lanterns—twenty or thirty in all—bobbed like a parade of fireflies. But the sounds accompanying the light show would have better suited for a funeral.
“Alis!” a man shouted over a woman’s wailing. “Alistrina!”
A wave of dread coursed through me.
“Who’s Alis again?” Fynn turned, not bothering to close the door. He seemed to have been aware of our presence despite our silence. “That name sounds familiar.”
I shook my head and pressed my lips together, but Liss answered, “Catreena’s little sister. What’s happening?”
“She’s gone missing.” The faint glow of the search party’s lanterns painted Fynn in grim light. “They’re heading toward the cliffs.” He stepped aside to allow us a better view, and sure enough, the lights were drifting downhill.
Whatever was plaguing our town couldn’t be preying on yet another girl. Especially not one as small as Alis. She’d invited Grayse to play dolls just the other day, looking so bright and full of life as she demolished an entire bonnag at the market.
Pushing past Liss and Fynn, I rummaged for a cloak to cover my nightgown. I couldn’t help Alis if she had gone over the cliffs, but I could find Cat and hold her hand through the terrible ordeal.
“I’m coming with you.” Fynn handed me Mam’s cloak, evidently realizing what I was about to do.
“Me, too,” Liss said firmly.
“None of you,” Mam commanded from the hallway, “are going anywhere.” She shut the door firmly, then put her hands on her hips. Her eyes were owlishly wide, and she surveyed the three of us with a look that could have cut through steel.
I didn’t dare move when her temper was so near to boiling over.
“It has clearly escaped your notice, so I’ll inform you for your own good. It’s dangerous out there. Girls, back to bed. Your da will join the search. Fynn, you’re a grown man, so whether or not you go is your choice. But if you decide to risk your neck after I’ve just finished healing you, I’ll reopen every one of your wounds myself.”
We stared, openmouthed, at Mam.
“Now!” Her eyes flashed a warning.
Liss and I darted to our room and crawled back beneath the covers.
Though I was certain I wouldn’t be able to close my eyes for a moment, I lapsed into a restless sleep sometime before dawn.
CHAPTER TEN
The next morning, Grayse was the only person in the house who attacked her bread and jam with any enthusiasm. The rest of us sat around the table, drowsily picking at a stack of toast.
“When’s Da coming back?” Grayse pushed aside her empty plate and twisted the Bollan Cross around her neck, smearing it with blackberry goo from her sticky fingers. “He said he’d take me to the bakery today!”
Fynn, Liss, and I exchanged glances, waiting for Mam to break the silence.
Across the table, she rubbed her forehead and heaved a sigh. “I don’t think he’ll be able to take you anywhere today, little fish. I’m sorry.”
Grayse puffed out her lower lip, always a warning sign.
“Mally,” Mam said quickly. “Why don’t you and Grayse make shortbread? There’s a bag of caraway seeds in the top cupboard, behind last year’s preserves.”
Mally led a pouting Grayse over to the cupboards. Mam finished her tea and followed them.
“That’s her fourth cup.” Liss frowned. “Just watching her is giving me jitters.”
“It’s her fifth, actually,” I corrected, toying with my mug. I needed to occupy my restless hands. Thinking of chopping firewood, I slid out of my chair, but something warm grabbed my right hand and held tight. Fynn’s mouth curved in a faint smile.
The ache in my stomach was replaced by a hot, fluttering feeling. Still, I glanced at the door every few seconds. I imagined Da bursting in with news of Alis’s rescue—a story of how she’d only snuck out to look for shooting stars, or to build sand castles in the moonlight.
Perhaps, I thought as I watched Mam gulp more tea, I should encourage all the girls in town to wear Bollan Crosses like the one I’d given Grayse. I doubted Morag’s eerie fishbone charms could really prevent anyone from drowning, but at least then I’d be doing something, not just sitting here. Already Alis was likely out of the search party’s reach, lying among the coral where no one but crabs and fish would discover her. Like Eveleen and Nessa.