Page 92 of The Other Side

“Got a signal?” Osian asked.

“Yes. Maybe it’s only at night that things get strange here.”

“Maybe. I have a feeling if we sit here long enough, someone will come and talk to us.”

“I need another lemonade. Do you?”

“Yes please. Bring an extra bottle too.”

Drum had no clue that the man behind the counter was anything other than a pretty human. Clearly those ten years in Faeryland had not had any lasting effect. Though he could still do his trick with the coins. But it wasn’t magic. He paid for the drinks and took them back outside.

“I can’t help wondering if my birth parents are still alive,” Drum said quietly. “If they had any clue I was taken and another baby left in my place.”

“They could be alive. I doubt they’d know what was done.”

“Would the fae baby grow into his powers in his teens, even if he was on this side?”

“I’d guess to some extent he would. But it’s a guess. He’d have certain abilities before his magic matured. Maybe things that alarmed his parents.”

“I’d like to meet him.”

Osian took his hand. “It’s not likely to happen.”

“I know.”

“Good morning!”

They looked up to see a tall, dark-haired man smiling down at them.

Osian pushed one of the bottles across the table. “Do join us. I assumed you’d like lemonade.”

The man chuckled and sat down. Drum pegged him for his early forties. His hair was neatly clipped, but it was his eyes that caught Drum’s attention, the darkest brown Drum had ever seen, flecked with sharp chips of amber.

“I’m Mikkel Andersson.” He held out a hand.

Drum shook it. “PCSO Drummond.”

“Osian.”

Osian had not offered his hand.

“No last name?” Mikkel asked.

Osian offered nothing but a faint, unreadable smile.

“What brings you to Sparlow?” Mikkel asked.

“I’m the new PCSO. I’m visiting all the villages in my patch, though this one was a little harder to find than most.”

“I think you’re good at finding things. I heard you found Matthew Green. Where was he?”

“In the woods near Calver,” Drum said.

“Four months in the woods?” Mikkel raised his eyebrows.

“I have no idea where he was for all that time. The police are looking into it.”

“And the two murders?”