Page 74 of (Mostly) Human Resources

Waylan turned back to Alexys and said, “I can take you to my mama’s house if you’d like? She’s seen all sorts of folk and might know where your friend went.” His tone was light but anxiety twisted inside her at the idea.

There was no way inhellshe was returning to that house.

“Well—”

“Actually,” Alexys jumped in before Nic could answer, “I think it’s possibleyoumight have seen him, Waylan. You know, out here in the woods, just the other day. The same day I first met you.”

“You think?” Waylan tilted his head to the side like a curious puppy. “I might’ve done. What did you say he looks like?” Alexys felt the anxious beating of her heart slow. Crisis averted, for now.

“He’s about my height,” she said. “Short brown hair, probably looked a little silly out in the woods in whatever he was wearing.”

Waylan interrupted her, “Like you did yesterday?” She heard Nic snicker next to her and jabbed him with her elbow.

“Yeah, I guess I did look a little out of place, didn’t I?”

“Hmm.” Waylan’s face tightened with intense concentration. While he thought, Alexys shot Nic an unamused look, met only with an unapologetic shrug. “I think …” Waylan scratched the top of his head with his non-roly-poly-occupied hand. “I think I saw somebody like that. He was wearing a backpack like yours, maybe. A black one, with that fancy looking word on it?”

She pulled the backpack in question off one shoulder for him to see. The Entity logo was stitched into the front with silver thread: a bold font with half a compass across the top like a sunrise motif. She supposed it did look a little fancy.

“Yeah, that’s the one! He was asking weird questions, too.” Waylan shrugged. “He wanted to know how to get to where the Walker lives, so I sent him up Mill Creek.”

Alexys bit the inside of her cheek. That was theexact informationshe tried to get out of Waylan yesterday. The kind of information that could have saved her from a run-in with Waylan’s demonic side and long-fingered Silas. Not to mention she’d wasted precious time when really, she’d been on Elliot’s heels that day all along. It was fine. She’d find him now.

If he wasn’t dead already …

“Thank you, Waylan, that’s very helpful,” Nic cut in while Alexys catastrophized. He certainly spoke with more patience than she could have. “Can you give us the same directions you gave him? It’s very important that we find him, and soon.”

Waylan nodded, his woeful expression completely at odds with his youthful, freckled face. Only he wasn’t youthful at all, Alexys had to remind herself.

“I can take you to the same part of the creek I took him to!” Waylan exclaimed. “How ’bout that?”

“Perfect. Lead the way.” Nic stood up and looked over his shoulder, beckoning Alexys with the flick of his head. “Ready?”

She dragged a hand over her face and quickly collected herself. Exhaustion from days spent walking in the woods was setting in, and the weight of her frustration and guilt was heavy on her shoulders. She tried to convince herself that they were finally getting somewhere, that Waylan would lead them to Elliot, but Alexys wasn’t sure she believed it anymore. She was losing hope.

Nic tugged her forward by her backpack strap. He was smiling, but there was also concern in his eyes.

Maybe her spiraling was more apparent than she thought.

“Come on, Keane. You can’t give up just yet.”

Alexys tried to return his smile. “Me? Give up? It’s like you don’t even know me.”

He tugged her backpack strap again, and she nearly fell into him. “If you don’t get out of your head, Peter Pan over there will leave us behind.”

“Peter Pan?” She looked at him, his fingers still looped through the strap and warm against her shoulder. “Does that make you Tinkerbell?” She cocked her brow at him. Somehow the idea of Nic Dyre in a Tinkerbell costume was possibly the most hilarious thing she’d pictured in weeks.

“I’m not afraid of tights, Keane.” He grinned and she had to purse her lips to avoid smiling.

“Get moving then, Tink. You’re blocking my walking path,” she scolded him.

Nic let out an easy laugh, warm and contagious, and followed after Waylan. The boy led them through the trees, weaving and slinking through the ivy and dense trees with impressive ease. Alexys did her best to keep upright, one eye on her feet, the other on Nic and Waylan.

She knew daylight was on their side, and the old shack was somewhere in the other direction (or at least she hoped it was) so she wasn’t too worried about Waylan turning on them. Even still, it took her by surprise that Nic had very little regard for Waylan’sotherpersonality.

Nope.

Instead, he seized the opportunity to interview a ghost.