Page 115 of The Howl
“How were you wronged?”
“I wasn’t fed yesterday.”
Fenris snorted.
“You little liar. I fed you your oats and milk.”
“Oats on a plate and milk in a cup,” Elbner said with a scowl at me and a gesture at Fenris as if to say, “see what I have to deal with?”
“Elbner, I’m sincerely sorry,” I said. “I’m pretty sure Fenris slept through the caring for helpful creatures lecture and missed the part where the oats and milk were supposed to be mixed in a bowl and topped with honey.”
“Ignorance is no excuse.”
“I completely agree. I swear to properly educate him if he ever needs to fill in for me again. I have your oats ready for you inside if you want.”
Elbner considered me then Fenris.
“Fine. I will continue to serve Megan, but this is a black mark against her care for me. Don’t let it happen again.” He started for the house. “And the dog still can’t come in.”
The door slammed closed behind him, and I looked at Fenris. He was grinning from ear to ear.
“So, you’re going to educate me?”
“Try to educate you. How do you not know how to feed a goblin?”
“Oh, I know how. I just chose not to when he accused me of trespassing after hitting me in the head with his shoe.”
I groaned.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault he’s small and unstable.”
“It’s my fault for not warning you he likes throwing shoes at uninvited guests.”
Fenris’s smile vanished.
“Did he hit you with his shoe?”
“Calm down. It didn’t hurt me any more than it hurt you. We have bigger issues to deal with.”
“We do?”
“Ashlyn is missing.”
“How? When?”
I wasn’t yet ready to talk about how so I focused on when.
“I saw Ashlyn this morning before first session. But she wasn’t in second session and hasn’t answered any of my messages all day. She doesn’t do that.”
“Have you told Adira?” he asked, tucking his hands into his jeans.
“She’s with your dad now. They want him to try to track Ashlyn. But we both know how big this place is. It might take him longer than she has.”
“You have a different idea, don’t you?”
“Maybe. There were these three druids Ashlyn and I talked to the other night in the Roost. Meg, Anne, and Lauv. I think they can help find Ashlyn faster, but I don’t know where they live. Do you?”
