Chapter 54 Declan #3
“What does Seth wear? Does he have a uniform or some symbol of office? As a Priest, I mean.”
“He wears his robe,” he said.
“Long, brown, shimmers in the light?”
He sucked in a breath and nodded, then looked down.
Keelan waited.
“I . . . It can’t . . . He wouldn’t hurt anyone. I know Seth.”
Keelan tapped his finger on the table. Even I shifted in my seat before the silence was broken.
Liam whispered without raising his head. “I don’t know. I can’t believe Seth would do anything—would be that.”
“It might not be him, but we need to find out. No one in town will be safe until we do.” Keelan rose. “Thank you, Liam. I know this was difficult, but you’ve been very helpful.”
He shot to his feet. “What are you going to do? Please don’t hurt him.”
Keelan put up his palms again. “We’re just investigating. Hopefully, the facts rule him out, but we have to follow them, not decide what we want them to be.”
Liam’s head drooped again. “I know you’re right. This is all so terrible.”
I stepped forward. “It is, but we’re here to help.”
He nodded in thanks and gave me a weak smile.
“We need you to keep this conversation between us for now, okay. Whoever killed that man—and your father—wouldn’t take well to a witness walking around.”
Liam nodded and walked us to the door.
“We’ll check on you later tonight, all right?” Keelan said as we exited.
We stepped outside, and Keelan asked me to shield our conversation like I’d done in the constabulary.
I nodded once, then Keelan asked, “What do you think of his story?”
“Something was nagging at me about the victim’s conversation that night, but everything else lines up with what we already knew. I couldn’t feel anything false from Liam. He’s dating the Priest, but he didn’t rule out him being the bear-shifter-thing, whatever you call it.”
“Let’s go with bear for now. If we’re overheard somewhere, it’ll raise less suspicion in the community,” Keelan said.
“I agree with you on him being honest. He didn’t want to make his suspicions real by talking about them but opened up when pressed. I believe him. Now we need a way to rule Seth out.”
“We could just ask him,” I said.
Keelan laughed, then looked up. “You’re not joking, are you?”
I shook my head. “No joke. Remember, I have your Truthreading Gift now. If we ask him and he lies, I’ll know. Bam! Bear trap.”
Keelan groaned. “Now he jokes.”
I laughed and gave my brother a playful shove. “You missed me. Admit it.”
Keelan chuckled and shook his head. “Let’s go bear hunting, little brother.”
We found Seth playing with a group of children at the edge of the market square. I had a hard time picturing the man as a menacing bear as he ran in circles with three-year-olds dangling from his legs and laughing hysterically.
After a moment, the Priest noticed us watching and forced the children to set him free so he could greet the newcomers.
“Hello, gentlemen. Were you hoping to be the hunter or the prey today?” Seth asked with a broad smile.
Keelan stiffened, but I laughed.
“He means with the children, dummy,” I whispered in Keelan’s mind.
Keelan shook off the odd sensation of having me inside his head and nodded toward the Priest. “Forgive us for interrupting, Seth. Looks like you had a real fight on your hands. This is my brother, Declan. Mind if we ask you a few questions?”
“Of course not. How can I help?”
Keelan motioned for us to step out of earshot of the children and the woman tending them. I nodded, indicating the silencing shield had been erected once more. Seth looked at Keelan.
“Have you ever heard of a man who could turn into an animal?” Keelan asked without preamble.
Seth rocked back and barked a laugh. When we continued glaring, he sobered. “You’re serious?”
Keelan waited, his eyes never leaving Seth’s.
“Only in children’s tales.”
“What about within your Order? Are there tales of men with this ability?”
Seth’s brow furrowed. “I’ve never heard of such. Where is this coming from, Keelan? Why are you asking me these questions? And what would the Order have to do with something so horrific?”
Keelan watched him a moment, then sighed. “I’m sorry, Seth. We’re following leads found at the scene of the mauling. Some are disturbing and make little sense, but they’re all we have.”
I spoke. “I think we have everything we need. Thank you for your time.”
Keelan gave me a questioning look, but I motioned for us to leave.
“We may have more questions later, if that’s all right,” Keelan said.
“Of course,” Seth said. “You don’t think the people here are in any danger, do you?”
“We think the bear fled after the attack and hope that’s the last we see of him,” Keelan answered.
We had made it around the block when I turned to Keelan. “He’s telling the truth. He had no idea what you were talking about when you mentioned a man turning into an animal. The shock on his face was real.”
“I could tell that without magic. He would’ve been the best liar I’d ever met otherwise.”
“What now? That really was the best lead we had.”
Keelan rubbed his chin. “I guess we let Liam know his man is innocent, then head back to Fontaine.”