Chapter 32 Paranormal Hockey #3
“Wow, nobody’s ever given me a puck before,” she said, hugging it to her chest. That came out sounding sarcastic, but she felt genuinely honored. She couldn’t stop smiling.
“You’re welcome,” he said. He so enjoyed seeing her squirm and laughed out loud as the bus headed north.
“What did you think of the game?” he asked.
Hailey tapped the hockey puck as she formed her answer.
“Hockey looks like an angry ballet on ice.”
Fin’s smile widened, his eyes sparkling. “…an…angry…ballet…” he repeated with a chuckle.
“…on ice,” Hailey said defensively, “except there’s more fighting…”
“And more testosterone,” Fin pointed out.
“Less estrogen, for sure.”
“No estrogen,” he corrected.
“Fewer teeth,” Hailey chimed.
“No tights…” said Fin.
“…that you know of…”
“Sharper footwear,” Fin offered.
“Duller wits,” Hailey countered.
“More wood,” they both said in unison, and Hailey’s eyes went wide. She meant hockey sticks but was pretty sure he meant something else.
“Alexei made some pretty spectacular saves,” said Hailey, eager to change the subject.
“He’s not bad.”
She nodded, staring out the window into the darkness for several seconds before turning to him again.
“Did you really pull us out of the fire?”
“Mmmm… Yep,” he said coolly, and then he drummed his hands on the seat in front of them.
“Why…” Hailey shook her head. “…you never mentioned…” her mind raced wildly before she finally took hold of a thought. “What happened that night?”
“Well,” he sang, his eyes going far-off for a bit, “Cobon and Adalwolf were going to open the Aether. Cobon had your parents killed and sent Adalwolf to take care of you two. When I got to your room, he had you by the throat…”
Here Fin hesitated, seeming to choose his words.
“…and then he exploded.” He shrugged. “The house was on fire; I grabbed you and Holly and dragged you outside.”
Hailey shook her head. “Why were you there?”
“A lot of folks were there,” he said, “including your buddy Asher—just watching the murders, like it was a TV show…waiting to see what would happen,” he said bleakly. “When the other Envoys heard Adalwolf bought it, they hightailed it out of there. I stayed until the fire trucks showed up.”
“All this time I thought it was Asher.” Hailey dropped her brow.
“Asher can be very manipulative,” he said darkly, and Hailey bit her lip.
Asher had never actually said that he’d rescued her from the fire—she just assumed he did. And it had bolstered her trust in him. He'd only said he was there. Watching…standing by while Adalwolf—
She shuddered and pushed the unthinkable out of her mind.
“Why did your parents say you were a lad?”
“I was. I was nine years old,” he told her. “Well—I was four hundred and thirty-something, living as a nine-year old,” he said leaning into her.
Hailey frowned, unable to recall all the details from that night and unable to fathom his curse. She stared out the window for a long while before she suddenly remembered...
“Hey, what does your tattoo say?” She’d meant to ask him in the locker room.
“Which one?”
“You have more than one?”
“Yes,” he was using his instructor’s voice again.
“This one on your arm.” She pointed to his bicep.
“You mean this arm?” He flexed in three different ways, which made Hailey laugh again.
“Careful you don’t rip your shirt.” She feigned her best worried voice.
“That’s more like it,” he said with satisfaction. “It says, ‘Salva nos a maleficio’. It means—”
“Save us from evil.” Hailey smiled playfully. “Evil hockey pucks?”
“You of all people know what kind of evil is lurking at Bear Towne.”
“What do you mean?” She knew exactly what he meant.
“You shouldn’t be hanging around with Asher.”
“Why not?”
“That guy is serious bad news, Hailey. I heard you’re going to Seven Trumpets with him.”
“It’s not…none of your business who I’m going with.” Now he did it. He’d perturbed her into using bad grammar. That made her even angrier.
“It is my business. I promised Pix I’d look after you here.”
“You did what?”
“Look, Hailey—” He was using that dang teacher’s voice again.
“—he’s not human. That creature kills people.
” Hailey rolled her eyes. “Oh, but it’s ok if he murders people, because he picked you as the only girl he’ll talk to—don’t pretend he doesn’t scare you.
” He cocked his head at her and stared. Then he tried a different approach.
“I’m just worried about you.” He squeezed her knee. “I want you to hang around a little longer. Who would publicly shame me over my tiny manhood if he killed you?”
Now he was just trying to make her laugh.
“I’m really sorry about that,” she told him. “Do you want me to tell everyone I was talking about your gut?”
“Don’t you dare,” he said pointing his finger in her face, and Hailey laughed a genuine laugh.
But as she glanced out the window, her smile vanished. “You know, I’ve never heard Asher laugh.”
“Hey,” said Fin, and she turned.
He looked her square in the eyes, his face soft. “You can’t have love without laughter, Hailey.”