ARDEN WAS TOO far away to stop the punch from happening. Paddy stumbled to the side as Quinn stood there shaking his hand. Paddy stood straight again, his lips twisted into a sneer as he doubled back to take his shot at Quinn. Arden reached the man just before he could swing, however, and stopped him, grabbing his arm and spinning him around to face him. The cluricaun twirled in the air, his feet coming off the ground, as Arden’s much larger size also held a greater strength. “What’s the story horse?” Arden demanded to know. He turned to Quinn. “I thought you were at Thirst?”
Quinn didn’t even look at him, instead, just glaring at Paddy. “Obviously, I left.”
“Obviously,” Arden repeated with a sigh. “And by the looks of it, you’ve done set your mind on a course of action.”
Quinn pointed a finger at Paddy, his face scrunched up in an angry scowl. “This bugger’s done stuck his nose in where it doesn’t belong, and I intend to take his nose off his bloody face.”
Paddy just shrugged, grinning. “I think you can try, cousin dear, but you’ll find I’m not such an easy mark as you think. You just be a sore loser, that’s all.”
“Please,” Kerry said with a disgusted chortle. “If you think my sister dumped Quinn for you, you’re drunker than you smell.”
Quinn shot Arden a furious look. “You done told her now, did ya?”
Arden shook his head. “Nah. I didn’t spill a word. She told me.”
Quinn turned to Kerry, his eyes wide with surprise. “You knew about me and your sister?”
Kerry turned to face the surprised man. “Yeah, and I should have found out from you, and not some greedy little brownie. According to him, you were the last one to see Brandie in her room, so here’s the deal.” She pointed between Quinn and Paddy. “You’ve both been lying about your involvement with my sister and your motives. One of you did something to her, and I want to know who and what before I kick your tiny little asses.”
“Bah, I like to see you try,” Paddy snarled. “I don’t need to be your size to take you on and win.”
Arden felt his anger sizzle up his spine, reached down and grabbed Paddy by the shirt and hoisted him off the ground, the cluricaun’s feet kicking in the air. “You ever threaten her again, I’ll make sure you never make it back to the home country or anywhere else. Understand me?” He then shoved the man backward, making Paddy land on his tiny little ass.
“Wait? You think I did something to your sister?” Quinn stared at Kerry, and Arden could tell by his friend’s expression that the thought of bringing harm to Brandie Underwood pained him. “I would never do anything to hurt Brandie. I…” He ran his small hand through his thick red hair. “I loved her, damn it.” He then jerked his attention back to Kerry. “And she loved me. Or, at least, she told me she did right before I saw her leaving Fireside Grille with that maggot.”
Paddy laughed as he made it back to his feet. “Aye, we did have a nice dinner, we did. She be asking me all kinds of personal questions, getting to know me better.” He made a dramatic sigh. “Size matters, and Quinn, ol’ boy, you were a little short.”
“You son of a—” Quinn lunged for Paddy, but Arden stood between them, keeping Quinn from connecting again. He then turned to Paddy. “You’re not helping your case any by being a donkey’s ass, you know. Now, what the hell have you been up to in my bank, and what have you done with Brandie Underwood?” Out of the corner of his eye, Arden noticed Kerry unconsciously swatting at her ear again. The woman had an uncanny knack for attracting bugs. Then, Arden noticed Paddy grinned at Kerry as if the man had a secret he enjoyed. “Out with it,” he demanded of Paddy.
“I don’t know what you be going on about,” the cluricaun said. “I don’t have nothing to do with your bank but take the people’s money and deposit it. And as for Miss Brandie Underwood, well, she be asking all kinds of personal questions I found to be invasive.”
“Like what?” Kerry asked.
Paddy shrugged. “All sorts of rude things, like what’s it like to be small whenever I want, if it affects other parts of me body, if I miss my home country. Stuff like that. None of her business, you know. I’m not here to be her tour guide to the unusual.”
“Why were you in the back of the bank yesterday?” Arden asked, trying his best to ignore the look on Kerry’s face as she glared at the little man.
“I told you,” Paddy said. “I was giving money to Ruck.”
“Someone’s trying to get at the vault,” Arden continued. “And I think it’s you. Now, why would you be doing that, I wonder?”
“The vault?” Paddy feigned surprise. “You have a vault? Well, of course, you do. It is a bank, after all. Now, why would I be wanting in there? It’s not like you’re using the family’s pots of gold to fund this crazy town or anything.”
“You son of a bitch,” Quinn snarled as he lunged around Arden for Paddy. Paddy was quick to sidestep the other, ducking behind Kerry and out of Quinn’s reach. “You know damn well that gold belongs to everyone, not just the leprechauns and cluricauns. What are you trying to do? Start a financial crisis? Our families helped Seraphine start Black Hollow so we’d all have a safe haven to live. The gold was part of the deal.”
“And what give them the right to make such a deal and speak for the whole?” Paddy asked as he leaned around Kerry. “They didn’t ask me my opinion. Or compensate me for taking me gold to build this town. I only wanted what was mine to begin with.”
Arden felt the growl growing in the pit of his stomach rising to his throat. “The Elders made the call for all of us. Your gold is here, being put to good use, and you could have had your share if you but asked.”
“I shouldn’t have to ask for what’s mine,” Paddy snapped. “I take what’s mine.” He grinned, and Arden had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.
“What did you do with my sister?” Kerry demanded, turning and taking a step back from Paddy so she could face him.
Paddy just cackled. “I don’t know where your sister is, to be honest. She kind of…” He shrugged his shoulders, his hands out at his sides, palms up. “Kind of vanished. Like this!” He twirled, the air around him swirling in a blurry haze of colors and bright lights. A second later, he was gone.
“What the hell?” Kerry raced over to where the cluricaun stood only a moment ago, staring at the empty spot. “Where did he go?” She spun to face the others. “Where the hell did that little shit go?”
Quinn growled. “To his knoll more than likely.” He sighed as he shoved his fists onto his hips. “That’s a right bastard, that one is.”
“Did he make my sister disappear?” She turned to Arden, glaring. “Can he do that? Hell, can all of you do that?”
Arden shook his head as he scratched the stubble along his chin. “No, he can’t. None of us can make people disappear. Our magic is more about deception and the control of size. Paddy can make things big or small or hide them in something like you just saw. He hadn’t really vanished, just made it seem like he did. The distraction covered his escape.”
“He better leave town if he knows what’s good for him,” Quinn said, his tone clipped with anger.
Arden heard him, but his mind was already on something else. “Deception. Making you look elsewhere while he escapes.”
“What are you babbling about?” Quinn asked.
Arden turned to face his friend. “The lights at the bank yesterday. What if it was all a part of his slight of hand?” A knot twisted in his stomach as he turned and headed back the way he came. “We need to get to the bank.” He started to run, the others calling after him. He never slowed. He already feared what he would find.