Mrs. Finnygood was sitting in the parlor of the Willow Harbor Inn when I threw open the door. Her husband and several other people were there, but I didn’t see any sign of Eva.

“Where is she?” I asked. “Did Eva come back here?”

Mrs. Finnygood slid off the velvet couch. “My goodness, young man, what on earth are you doing barging in here like this was a barn?” she asked. “Don’t you have any manners?”

“Of course, I apologize,” I said, trying to steady my heart. Gnomes could be very particular about manners, so I needed to watch myself, or I wouldn’t get one bit of information from her. “I didn’t mean to run in here like this, but I have reason to believe Eva is in danger. I would like to know if she came back here yet.”

“If she’s in danger, it’s no thanks to you, I’m sure,” she said, crossing her arms. “I trust you told her about your little arrangement with the siren?”

“It’s not Selena I’m worried about,” I said, trying to control my tone of voice. “I’m sure Eva didn’t tell you much about where she came from, but just a few days ago, she escaped from a powerful greed demon in Las Vegas. I have reason to believe he’s here.”

Mrs. Finnygood tapped her index finger against her lips. “Oh, dear,” she said. “That’s not good. Not good at all.”

“So, she isn’t here?” I asked. All hope was draining from my body as I watched the expressions on her face change from annoyance to true concern.

“No, I’m afraid I haven’t seen her since she left with you some hours ago,” she said. “I most certainly would have seen her if she’d come back tonight. We’ve been sitting here in the parlor all evening.”

“Dammit,” I muttered, running a nervous hand through my hair.

“Watch your language in this establishment, young man,” Mrs. Finnygood said, but I could see from the look in her eyes she was frightened. She was a curious woman, but she cared about the people who stayed in her Inn. She would never want anything to happen to them.

“Yes, ma’am. I’m sorry,” I said. “I’m just scared. I’ve tried looking for her everywhere I can think of. I’m not sure where to go next.”

“Well, if you’re smart, you’ll go to the police,” she said. “Those hunters, maybe. They’ll know how to deal with a greed demon, if anyone does.”

She was right about that. Cole and the others knew all about demons. Maybe I should have mentioned my concerns to him when I saw him at the antique shop, but I’d still been hoping to find Eva here.

A greed demon in town on Halloween night wasn’t going to be good for anyone, but if he’d already found Eva, they could be on their way back to Vegas already, well out of the jurisdiction of the local hunters.

I glanced around, looking for something to write with. I spotted a large, colorful feather quill on the desk in the foyer.

“Do you mind if I use your pen?” I asked.

“Oh, good gracious, be careful with it,” Mrs. Finnygood said. “That pen has been in my family for generations, I tell you.”

“I will, I promise.”

I dipped the pen in a nearby ink pot and jotted my phone number on a scrap of paper on the desk. I handed it to Mrs. Finnygood and set the pen down carefully on the desk.

“If Eva comes back here, would you please have her call me?” I asked. Then, remembering how angry she was when she stormed off, I added, “And if she refuses to speak to me, could you just call me and let me know she’s here and that she’s okay?”

Mrs. Finnygood pursed her lips. “Now, why on earth would she refuse to speak to you?” she asked. “You didn’t upset her, did you? I just knew you were trouble. You never should have been out with that girl while you still had that thing around your wrist. Just asking for trouble, I’ll tell you.”

“Yes, ma’am. I understand that now,” I said. “Would you please just let me know if you see her?”

She sighed. “Yes, yes of course,” she said. “Now, go find one of those hunters and let them know what’s going on before things get out of hand. We can’t have a bunch of out-of-town demons running around our peaceful little town on a night like tonight. There are innocent children out there.”

“I will,” I said. “And thank you.”

I gave her a quick little bow before I ran back out into the street and headed back toward the antique shop.

On the way, though, I spotted Brandon with his wife and two kids. I motioned for him to come over, not wanting the kids to hear the concern in my voice.

“Hey, sorry to break you away from the family, but have you seen Eva?” I asked.

“Not since this morning,” he said.

“This morning?” I asked.

“Yeah, she came by the shop asking about the car,” he said. “I told her it was lost cause, I’m afraid. She asked me to leave the car outside for her, anyway, though I still don’t understand why.”

Panic seized my muscles.

With her energy magic, she might be able to get the car started on her own. Had she decided to walk all the way to the shop alone in the dark? Was she really so angry she would just drive off like that? Without even saying goodbye?

“What did you tell her?” I asked. “Please tell me you said you wouldn’t do that.”

A blush crossed his cheeks, and my heart dropped to my stomach.

“Did I do something bad?” he asked. “I was just trying to help her out. What’s the harm in leaving the car outside?”

“No, you’re fine, Brandon,” I said, patting him on the shoulder. He was sensitive for a guy his size.

“I made her promise she wouldn’t walk out there alone,” he said. “She didn’t try to do that, did she? I figured you’d be with her tonight.”

“I was,” I said. “But I lost her in the crowd, and I can’t find her. I’m going to go check and see if the car is still there, okay?”

“You’ll let me know if you need help looking for her, though, right?”

“I will,” I said, but I had no intention of getting him mixed up in all of this. “Thanks, again.”

I glanced over toward the antique shop and noticed Cole and the others had already cleared out. I didn’t want to waste time looking for him if Eva was really out there alone.

I ran as fast as I could, crossing the square full of celebrating families, and out into the quieter streets beyond. I made it to the auto-repair shop in less than ten minutes, but I hadn’t seen any sign of Eva.

As the shop came into view, though, I noticed her car was still there, parked to the left of the shop. Frantic, I looked around, not knowing where to turn next. She couldn’t be gone, she just couldn’t. I never should have let her out of my sight.

I took a step toward the car, and something ground against the pavement under my boot.

Stepping back, I crouched low to take a look at whatever I had stepped on, but my heart nearly stopped as I caught sight of the object on the ground.

It was a single silver chain link with an all-too-familiar stamp etched on its surface.

A heron.

It wasn’t the greed demon who had taken Eva. It was Selena.