Page 25 of (Mostly) Human Resources

“Did you hear me?” She nudged him. “I’m worried for his safety.” Nic could tell it pained Alexys to admit it, and to him of all people. She frowned. “The only lead I have is Mercyhill, so I’m going to start there.” She ran a hand through her thick tawny hair.

Nic pursed his lips. So she’d figured out thewhere, but not thewhy.That could be problematic. She didn’t know about the Hollow Walker just yet, but when she found out, and he did suspect shewould find out, she’d be stupid enough to run out to Mercyhill just like Elliot. He needed to take control of the situation, and fast.

“I’ve come to help,” he said simply.

She clucked her tongue. “I don’tneedyour help. I can handle this myself.”

“Yes, I can see you’ve done an excellent job of that so far.” It came out a bit more biting than he’d meant. It wasn’t Alexys’s fault, it was his own. But she didn’t need to know that just yet. “I have a wealth of knowledge I can share.”

“I already haveyour wealth of knowledge.It’s all in your very detailed, very delayed report.”

He looked sidelong at her. “It’s a brief summary of everything stored in my brain, Keane.” Alexys groaned and rolled her eyes.

“What makes you so sure he’s gone to Mercyhill? There are a number of local towns on this wall. He could have gone to any number of them.”

She stood silently for a moment before shaking her head. “Well.” She looked back at the wall. “It seems like that’s the location mentioned most often, but it also appears to have the most red strings coming in and out of it. I’m also pretty sure Elliot mentioned it over the phone. I think.”

He nodded, eyes tracing over the various connections made by the threads. “Is the room exactly how you found it?”

“Yes,” Alexys replied, peeved by the question. “Look here: ‘mysteriously dead livestock, suspected cult activity,’ and then something about a blackberry winter—although I don’t see how that’s relevant.” She frowned.

Nic’s eyes widened but he didn’t say anything. He examined all of the things she mentioned and tried to follow Elliot’s threadwork to whatever connections he might have made before he left. The article on cult activity kept catching his eyes. He turned toward Alexys.

No time like the present.

“Have you heard about the Hollow Walker?”

“I don’t think so,” Alexys said, tilting her head. “It sounds vaguely familiar, though.”

“I’m not surprised. It was included in my report.”

A warm flush filled her cheeks with color. She looked down at her shoes, glaring at the floor like it was personally responsible for her negligence.

“I didn’t think the footnotes were relevant,” she grumbled.

Nic smiled a little at her embarrassment, but he wasn’t surprised that she’d skipped it. It was mostly written for Elliot.

“Normally, it wouldn’t be. The Hollow Walker is on its way to being classified as a Class E. The last sighting was nine years ago.” He gestured to the wall. “However, Mercyhill is known as the ‘hotbed,’ so to speak, of Hollow Walker sightings.”

Alexys looked up at him. Her blue eyes narrowed, her lips pursed together, and he could tell he’d already lost her.

“Elliot,” Nic said with slow enunciation, “is searching for the Hollow Walker.” Alexys laughed.

“Elliot? No,no.He’s not. I specifically told him not to chase any new leads, even if they weren’t an official case. Why would he even think …” Her voice trailed off. She tipped her head back, and closed her eyes.

“He is.” Nic nodded definitively.

“You,” Alexys spat.

Nic grinned. “Guilty.”

“I can’tbelieveyou!” She turned away from him.

“He called down last week about it, but in my defense, I didn’t advise he golookingfor it. In fact, quite the opposite.” It wasn’t Nic’s fault her Warden had little sense of self-preservation. But he also couldn’t deny that he’d inadvertently provided Elliot with all the tools he needed to go directly against Alexys’s instruction. He felt the smallest twinge of regret.

Alexys scrubbed a hand over her face and reluctantly asked, “And the dead livestock? The cult activity? It’s all connected with the Hollow Walker?”

“There’s no proof the Hollow Walker eats livestock, but it’s assumed that in the absence of people, livestock is a suitable alternative.” Nic ignored the dramatic gagging sound she made and added, “The cult activity is more lore than anything else, frankly. There’s barely any evidence to corroborate it, so it’s highly speculative.”