The boy's voice trembled as he spoke, the words were clinging to the silence of the room.
"I was here with my dad. For his work." His accent was thick, sharp-edged and rolling, stretching out the vowels. Strange in Ruben's ears but familiar enough to jolt him back to the old world. Irish.
Corbin crouched a little, his tone blunt but not unkind. "Where is he now?"
The boy's small hands twisted into the hem of his navy jumper, pulling it tight against his stomach. His face screwed up as though the effort to answer might break something in him.
"He was… he was talking to someone. I was in the bathroom, and I heard them argue. Then I heard a fall. I heard my dad groan…" His throat hitched. "And then… I think I heard something drag. After that, nothing."
Ruben's chest clenched. A witness. That meant whoever had done this might return if they noticed what had been left behind. His gaze lingered on the boy's mouth, the vowels rolling with that strange lilt. Eirath, it was basically the Gaelic land across the sea to the west on the world map.
"You from Eirath?" Ruben asked carefully.
The boy lifted his chin just enough to nod. "Yes."
Corbin's voice softened a fraction. "What's your name, kid?"
"Fionn," he whispered. "Fionn Ó Briain."
"How old are you, Fionn?"
"Seven."
The world hung there, brittle as glass.
Corbin rubbed a hand over his face. "Is there anyone we can call for you? Like any other family?"
Silence. Fionn's fingers dug into the fabric of his jumper until his knuckles blanched. His lips pressed tight as his expression knotted with a fear too large for his frame. No one. No answer.
Ruben drew a slow breath, glancing sideways at Corbin. He leaned closer, his voice dropping. "We can't leave him here. Whoever did this will figure out he was left behind and may come back. We should take him to our room, get the rest of his story before anyone comes back."
Corbin exhaled hard through his nose, but he nodded. "Fine. Make sure to keep an eye on him."
Ruben turned back, steadying his tone. "Fionn. You can stay with us in our room. We'll help you figure this out alright?"
The boy's answer was a simple nod of his head. Too quick. Too trusting. Ruben felt a pang of unease. Stranger danger must have never been taught to this kid. Or maybe he just realized he was out of options.
They crossed the hall in silence, the storm rattling faintly against the windowpanes. Room 303 opened near mirror-image of the one they'd left behind, a neat space, brass bedframe, polished desk, thick drapes drawn against the rain. Clean and orderly, as though the violence across the corridor hadn't existed.
But they had no time to marvel.
Ruben eased Fionn toward the main bedroom but before he let him go he asked him, "Are you hungry, or thirsty?"
The boy shook his head. "I just want my dad."
Ruben's throat tightened. The certainty in the boy's words felt like a knife, because Ruben was almost sure that the man was gone. The blood in that rug was too heavy. Only the weapon and the wound were missing. Ruben assumed a shot to the stomach or maybe a long sword around the same area of the body.
He lowered his voice. "Fionn. Can you try tell us exactly what happened?"
The boy hesitated, words were stumbling from his mouth in a fragile rhythm of someone confessing something they did not want to remember.
"I only came 'cause I wanted to be with him. He… he said I shouldn't get in the way. Then guests came in, I had to stay quiet. Not be seen. So first I stayed in my room, and then when I went to the toilet I heard the door open so I stayed in the bathroom."
"I didn't hear much else, but Dad asked who it was. Then he asked if the man wanted tea."
Fionn's breathing faltered. "I stopped listening. But then there were loud thuds. A scream, I think from Dad. I tried to open the bathroom door but it made noise, so I stopped. I hid in the bathtub instead. Closed the curtain and stayed there. I heard something… heavy being dragged. Then silence. After some time you guys came in."
"How long do you think a while is?" Corbin asked.
"I don't know. Maybe two hours."
Ruben could hear the sigh of annoyance from Corbin but he ignored it.
Ruben and Corbin exchanged looks over his bowed head. One man, Ruben thought. Which meant, bold and confident in their capabilities. But he made a mistake in thinking on how to get out of the building, with the body?
That bit of information confused him. He didn't know why the body would be taken unless it was just to hide it.
The reason for it to be hidden could be because the person is not from here so they would not know of the torrential rain in this new environment. Meaning that they didn't want the body found until they could leave, and now if they figure out that the kid of his victim was here then the likelihood of them coming back for Fionn is high.
A wicked thought appeared in Ruben's mind.
Fionn could be used as bait.
Ruben placed a hand on Fionn's shoulder. "That's enough. Go lie down. We'll take care of the rest."
Fionn curled onto the mattress, small and still.
Ruben moved to the couch by the window. The rain streaked down the glass in crooked lines, blurring the world outside.
***
Ruben sat with his elbows on his knees, staring at the rain slicking across the windowpane until his reflection warped into something he hardly recognized. The silence between him and Corbin stretched until he finally broke it.
"We should've asked him his dad's name."
Corbin leaned back in the chair, arms folded, his expression shadowed by exhaustion. "Didn't have to. I think I know who it is."
Ruben turned, his brow furrowed. "Who?"
"Cormac Ó Briain," Corbin said flatly, like the name carried its own gravity. "Chief Justice of Supreme Bench of Eirath."
Ruben blinked. "That like the highest court in Eirath?"
Corbin gave a slow nod. "That man rewrote their entire constitution in practice and was said to be one of the brightest minds in law. If it really was him, then he didn't just have enemies in Eirath, he had them in many different places since some of his laws were only copied by other nations too."
"Maybe he was here for business, maybe he was here for goodwill. Usually allies send aid after big attacks of the First Children. But it still isn't making much sense as to why he would be here with no bodyguards."
The idea lodged in Ruben's gut like stone. "And someone thought it would be a good idea to go after him here?"
Corbin's laugh was bitter and thin. "This killer's got balls. Going after a man like that could spark something bigger than just another news story."
Ruben swallowed against the sour taste climbing his throat. "We're already tangled in enough shit. Dario's gone, and now this. We're walking through a web that's already snapping."
Corbin rubbed his eyes with the heel of his palm, sounding more drained than angry. "Doesn't matter what we think. We've gotta tell someone. Let's go to the desk. The sooner it's done, the sooner we can get this behind us."
Ruben straightened, an idea flickering through the fog of his nerves. "We don't need to vanish. Not yet. We came to this city with Paladins. We can just say that we're apprentices with them."
Corbin's mouth quirked in a mirthless grin. "Even apprentices carry IDs. And if we get caught lying,"
"Lea's known here, isn't she?" Ruben pressed. "Pretty sure she's close enough with the community. The clerk may know her, they could then call her and we can just hope that Lea goes along with it considering what they just found out about us."
Ruben got up and then finished off by saying. "It's better than seeming like strays that just appeared by a murder scene."
Corbin studied him. He knew Ruben well enough now to figure out that this was bullshit, that a major part of this idea was just for him, for how Corbin had been acting the entire day, no, even longer than that.
"Alright. Rookie Paladin we are." He sighed.
He was grateful.
They both got up, motioning for Fionn and getting him to follow. The boy trailed alongside them, small footsteps dampened by the hall's thick carpet, his jumper clutched like armour. The lobby spread out below as they descended, warm light pooling beneath the chandelier.
Annelise Croft stood behind the counter, her braid sharp against the crisp line of her blouse. She was speaking with a man Ruben had first noticed when he had first arrived at the hotel.
A man looking to be in his early thirties, dark hair combed neat but already falling loose, stubble shadowing his jaw. He leaned on the counter with a nervous air of someone itching for an exit.
Inside Ruben's head he wanted to believe that it was too early to come up with a suspects list, but another side told him that this man was still on that list like anyone else that isn't him or Corbin.
"Mr. Byrne," Annelise was saying, her tone patient but firm, "are you certain you want to head out in this weather?"
"I can manage," the older man said, his eyes flickered toward the rain lashed windows. "Just waiting for my colleague to come and collect me."
Then Annelise noticed them. Her brow lifted slightly as she saw the two boys with Fionn in tow. "Back again?"
Ruben drew himself straighter. "It'd be best if no one leaves the hotel tonight."
Annelise's laugh was light, but her eyes narrowed with curiosity. "Oh? And why's that?"
Ruben glanced at Mr. Byrne who was also waiting for an answer. An answer that Ruben didn't really want to give while he was watching and listening so intently.
"Well, I'm a rookie Paladin…"
He couldn't finish off what he planned on saying before seeing Annelise tilt her head and a smile tugging at her lips. "Are you serious?"
"Yes," Ruben said.
"Well then," she replied, mock-formal. "You should have said so earlier. All Paladin can stay at this lodge for free of charge." Her hand extended lightly. "Identification?"
Ruben faltered for half a second, then he pressed on. "We left them with our mentor earlier."
Her brows arched. "Of course you did." Her tone was dry, almost playful, as if she were indulging a child's story.
Ruben didn't flinch. "Lea Lantern. That's who we're with."
For the first time, something shifted in Annelise's expression. Recognition. "Lea?"
"Yes," Ruben pressed on. "You can call her and she'll confirm it."
Annelise slowly reached for her phone, dialing quickly. Ruben glanced sideways at Corbin, biting back a grin. If Lea answered, all they needed was for her to play along and he was almost certain she would, maybe thinking they had gotten in trouble and would be on her way to help them too.
Which could prove its worth to their current situation.
The line rang. And rang. Static crackled.
Ruben leaned closer, his voice a whisper. "There's been a murder in room 302."
Annelise froze, shock cutting across her features, just as the line sputtered. She cursed under her breath, shaking the phone. "Networks down. Storm's probably got to the towers."
Still, she disappeared into the back, her voice was faint through a muffled line as she fought for connection. When she returned, her expression was worse. "Roads have been blocked by a mudslide. No one's coming up the hill."
Byrne muttered a curse, his shoulders tightening, but Annelise pressed gently, "Sir, you'll need to wait in the lounge for now. The hotel is in lockdown."
He hesitated, then nodded stiffly and moved toward the corner chairs, his eyes still darted towards the door.
Annelise turned back to Ruben and Corbin. "I couldn't confirm with Lea that you were a Paladin since the phone cut off. But that's fine, because I do recall a pretty well known officer checked in yesterday. She can handle this."
She pressed a button beneath the desk. Within minutes, staff began ushering guests down the stairs. And then a tall woman came down with a presence different from the rest.
Annelise instantly pointed her out to the boys and called her Sera Weber.
Her hair was tied in a bun, her glasses hung ahead of her storm grey eyes. She moved without hurry, yet some seemed to lower their voice or at least their gaze as she walked.
Annelise greeted her with relief. "Detective Weber."
Sera's gaze slid to the two boys, a flicker of resignation crossing her face before smoothing again. Ruben caught it. She looked at them as someone recognizing some bad news that they never wanted to see.
"These two say there's been a murder." Annelise explained.
Ruben was a little annoyed that she just gave it up that easily. But she understood that people like her held quite a lot of power. Certainly more so than they did back in Ruben's old world.
Sera's eyes flickered to Fionn who was sitting a short ways away and couldn't hear their conversation. "Who's that one?"
Corbin stepped forward. "Fionn Ó Briain. He was in the room when the killing happened. It was most likely his dad."
For a heartbeat, something cracked in Sera's expression, grief darkening her gaze before she blinked it away. She turned to Annelise, her voice calm. "Lock the exits." Annelise quickly left to do that. And Sera turned back to the boys.
"You guys should go and wait with the others. I plan on going to tell my superiors and see what assistance may be available over here."
Ruben nodded, not thinking to tell her that the network and service is down. He wanted to find something on his own instead of letting this random person come in and do it all on their own.
But first, Ruben and Corbin led Fionn to the dining hall without another word. Skipping past the small crowd of people shuffling around in the lobby.
The lunchroom was neatly empty, the hum of refrigeration and the faint clink of cutlery was the only sounds. Ruben didn't ask, since he couldn't anymore. He went to the deli area.
He could have paid at the vending machine with some loose change, but he didn't want vending machine food. He made a few sandwiches, slid one to Corbin and another to Fionn.
"Thank you," the boy whispered.
Corbin frowned at his plate. "Wasn't hungry."
Ruben gave a faint shrug. "Then I'll eat it."
They ate in silence. Halfway through his sandwich, Ruben heard a small sniffle. Fionn's voice cracked. "I wish I was back home now."
Ruben placed a hand on his back, firm but gentle. "Once we figure this out, you'll go home. Don't worry."
It was a lie meant for the boy, not for himself, he and Corbin and no home anymore. He just still hoped that Fionn would be able to come out of this situation fine. .
He raised the next bite to his mouth…!
A scream cut through the building. High, raw and unbroken.
Ruben's head snapped up. Corbin's eyes met his, already wide. Fionn froze.
The scream grew louder, splitting the quiet into shards.
Ruben didn't think. He seized Fionn by the arm, rising as Corbin mirrored him. Together, they ran, the sound of them chasing the halls.