Dylan swore as a grenade exploded nearby and his health bar dropped almost to nothing. He ran for cover while flicking through his inventory for a first aid kit.
“Dylan!”
He started and a stray bullet caught him, killing his character. He swore again and looked up to see his mom. Dylan paused the game and pulled off his headphones. With the roar of battle suddenly gone, his ears rang a little. “What?” She usually knocked before coming in, but maybe he hadn’t heard her.
“There’s a warden here to see you.”
At first he assumed it was Mr. Johnson, but Mom always called him by name. So that meant it was someone else. Unease and a rising sense of anger heated him. Was it the bully? “Why?”
“He wants to talk to you about something. Please be polite.” She looked a little worried. That Dylan would be a jerk or that he would get in trouble for it?
“Talk about what?” Dylan stood and set down the controller. If it was Warden Bully, he definitely didn’t want to talk to that asshole.
“He didn’t say, but if I were going to guess, it might be about the strange lights in the sky.” Mom knew a lot about magic, but she hadn’t been sure what the weird rainbow light had been. She had guesses, but that was it.
Dylan had seen it while he was out at the pit. If it had happened a few years ago, he would have been curious but not much else. After being kidnapped and hunted and then attacked a few months later, anything unusual that happened made him nervous.
Being a little bit scared made him a whole lot angry. He hoped it was Warden Bully so he could yell at the asshole.
Mom went ahead of him down the stairs. “Please be polite, Dylan,” she repeated.
“Yeah, whatever.”
They stepped into the sitting room and yep, it was the same warden, the “liaison” at school. The man stood up. “Hello again, Mr. Galloway. I have a few questions for you.”
Dylan stopped near a chair, crossing his arms. “I didn’t do anything.”
“A protest often made by guilty people.” Warden Bully adjusted his tie and sat back down on the small couch.
Mom crossed the room and sat opposite Dylan.
“I’d prefer to talk to your son alone,” the warden said.
“As my son is still a minor, I’d prefer to stay and listen to any questions you might ask him.”
A flicker of warmth went through Dylan. Mom was always there to protect him.
The warden didn’t look pleased. “Very well.” He turned back to Dylan. “Where were you at approximately twelve thirty-five a.m. yesterday morning?”
“This about the lights?”
The lines around the warden’s mouth and eyes tightened a bit. “Please answer the question.”
Not quite such a jerk when Mom was around, huh? “I was at the gravel pit.”
“This is the pit approximately a mile away from here?”
“No, the one in Canada.” Dylan rolled his eyes. “There’s only one.”
The warden’s face tightened again. “What were you doing there?”
“Warden Bradley,” Mom interrupted. “Is this an official investigation?”
“No, Mrs. Galloway. This is just a few informal questions. For now.” He made the threat very clear.
Well, he was just as much an asshole when adults were around, he was just more polite about it.
“If you have an accusation against my son, please come out and say it.”
For a second Dylan thought Warden Bully was going to back down. “With recent incidents in Shadow Valley often revolving around your son, it’s logical to wonder if he might be involved in this as well. Also, we’ve isolated the area where the disturbance originated, and it’s at the edge of your property. Just as the kidnappings were near your property a year and a half ago.”
A flicker of green flashed in Mom’s eyes. “Yes, the kidnappings that wardens were responsible for.”
Real anger crossed Warden Bully’s face. “They were corrupt, Mrs. Galloway. They were disgraces to their badges and went against everything wardens stand for.”
“Nevertheless, that would make you just as much a likely suspect as my son. Who was one of the kidnapping victims, in case you forgot.”
Excitement rose in Dylan. Was Mom going to get in a fight with a warden right here in the sitting room? He pictured her shooting flames and the warden screaming as he burned. Dylan’s memory served up the exact smell of cooking human flesh, and the idea was suddenly less appealing. Okay, Mom kicking the guy’s ass then. That would be fun to watch.
“I haven’t forgotten. I said your son might be involved, not that he was responsible.”
Mom was so calm most of the time, it was nice to see her get pissed off. “I know what you said, and I also know what you implied.” The room smelled just a little like warm rocks. She stayed in the chair, hands folded in her lap, but her face was hard. “If the disturbance originated at the edge of my property and Dylan was at the pit, then he was a mile away when it happened, so he was neither the victim nor the perpetrator of whatever happened.”
Funny, after she’d warned him to be polite. Although she wasn’t yelling or calling him names, so maybe she considered this polite.
“Can anyone confirm you were there at the time?” the warden asked Dylan.
“I was alone.”
“How convenient.”
“Warden Bradley, I believe we’re done here.” Mom stood. “I’ll show you out.”
They glared at each other. Fight, fight, fight! Dylan bet his mom could lay the guy out with one punch. She wouldn’t even need to use a fraction of her strength.
The warden got up, smoothing his black tie. “I’ll be in touch.”
Dylan trailed behind them as they walked to the front door.
“Have a good night, Mrs. Galloway,” the warden said as he stepped outside.
“You as well, Warden Bradley.” She didn’t slam the door, but she closed it harder than she needed to.
Dylan smiled. “Mom, that was kinda awesome.”
* * *
The driveway was empty when Aiden got home, and that was odd. Whenever weird stuff happened, Mr. Johnson came by to talk to him. Or he pulled him aside at school. Or he at least called.
Aiden went inside just to be sure, but there was no sign of the warden. There were no missed calls or messages on Aiden’s phone, not even a text. Flopping back on his bed, he stared at the little screen for a moment before opening his contact list. He had to know what that weird light in the sky had been.
Mr. Johnson picked up on the third ring. “Hello, Aiden. Is something wrong?”
He hadn’t meant to worry the man, and now he felt guilty. “Um, no. I was just wondering if you knew anything about what happened last night.” The “authorities” mentioned in the article had to include the wardens.
“We’re still investigating the incident.”
“So you don’t know what that was? Some of the kids think—”
“Aiden, I’m not at liberty to discuss anything with you until we release information to the public.”
“But I thought—”
“If I thought this case was relevant to your situation, I would tell you.” He sounded a little annoyed. “There’s no trace of fae magic.”
“Well, that’s… good.” And no one had turned up dead, so that was good too. It wasn’t a repeat of last year.
“Aiden.” Mr. Johnson sighed. “I can’t share every case with you. Unless something is directly related to you or Dylan, you have to wait for information like everyone else.”
“Oh, sorry.” Aiden bit his lip. He desperately wanted to know if it was something dangerous, if he should be worried.
“I understand that you’re concerned, given the incidents that have happened to you. But I can’t give you confidential warden information. I’ve broken enough rules as it is.”
Mr. Johnson was hiding the fact that Dylan helped a dark fae escape from Faery. The warden was still keeping that a secret even though people had been killed. Aiden was extremely grateful for that, so as hard as it was, he decided to let this go.
“Okay.” Aiden swallowed.
“Have a good night, Aiden.”
“Good night.”
Aiden set his phone down. So much for that.