Free Traveller by Abigail Drake Page B

sister, and he was sorry.”
    Mrs. Burke’s face crumbled. “Sorry. Such a simple little word. Denny said he hadn’t run away. He said his family had been holding him prisoner. They only let him out once they heard Joan was dead.
    “Can you imagine that? It’s so…monstrous.” Mrs. Burke shook her head. “I could tell it was the truth by the look on his face, and the way he looked at little Andy. He begged us to keep Andy safe, and we did. Not for him, mind you, but for Joan. We never saw Denny again, although I heard rumors a few years later he was killed in some sort of street fight.”
    I pictured the Moktar, and a flash of silver. Many Travellers probably died in similar ways. Knife fights. Bar brawls. Mysterious circumstances.
    “What happened to Andy?”
    “I wish I knew.” She took off her glasses and rubbed the bridge of her nose before replacing them. “Andy was…different.”
    “In what way?” I forced myself to take a sip of tea because my mouth was so dry. I almost couldn’t swallow it.
    “He wasn’t like the other little boys. He seemed to see things that weren’t there and sense things others couldn’t. And he was quick. Sometimes he ran so fast he almost disappeared.” Mrs. Burke gave me a wry smile. “I’m sure you think I’ve lost my mind, but that’s the truth. And there’s more.”
    “What?” I barely squeaked out the word.
    “Andy started getting in trouble at school. He hung around a rough crowd. One night, when he was a teenager, I was walking home late from the shop, and I saw something.” She shook her head, almost like telling herself it couldn’t be true. “Some sort of beast. It attacked me, and knocked me down. Andy came out of the shadows and fought it. That’s all I remember. I must have blacked out. When I woke up, Andy was gone, and I was back home. Alone. That was almost thirty years ago. He was fifteen at the time.”
    “Where is he now?”
    “I have no idea. We never saw him again. My mother died not knowing what happened to him.” She closed her eyes. “That’s why I hate them so much, Emerson. They took everything that mattered away from me. And I blame them for Andy. He wasn’t normal. None of them are normal. I don’t know if they are demons or just strange and wrong, but they aren’t the same as everyone else.”
    “Why do you even let them in your shop if you hate them so much?”
    She sighed, her shoulders slumping. “I keep hoping one of them might know what happened to Andy.”
    I bit my lip. “Why are you telling me this, Mrs. Burke?”
    She leaned forward across the table and grabbed my hand. “I wish I’d stopped my sister from falling for Denny. If I had, she might still be with me today.”
    Mrs. Burke’s eyes went to the front of the shop. Michael stood there, watching us from the sidewalk. Mrs. Burke grabbed my hand, her eyes locking with mine.
    “It’s not too late for you. Stay away from him, Emerson. Stay away from Michael Nightingale and all his kind.”

Chapter Ten
    She could start an argument in an empty house.
    ~Grandma Sugar
    “What did she say to you?” It took Michael all of five seconds to get to the point.I looked around the busy street. “Nothing we need to discuss right here.”
    He nodded, glancing at the crowds of people walking in The Shambles. The place was filled with tourists on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. We walked to the alley where the secret entrance to the gypsy camp was located. Michael made me close my eyes again. I nearly stamped my foot in frustration.
    “Really?”
    He folded his arms across his chest. I gave him one more look of extreme irritation and shut my eyes.
    “You and me are going to mix. You realize that, don’t you?”
    “Aye,” he said as he grabbed my hand and yanked me through the secret door. When I opened my eyes, Michael’s face was inches from mine.
    “Some secrets aren’t mine to share,” he whispered, his voice husky.
    A group of Travellers yelled at us from