“And neither are you, Ida,” Grace said. “Gabriel has had enough. And he’s finally found the guts to stand up to you and say so. You’ll do well to remember who he is and listen.”

“Sluagh,” Patrick said. “Gabriel and Liv saw the sluagh, so let’s cut straight to that and leave the do-si-do’ing to the local square dance chapter.”

“We have a square dance chapter?” I said.

“No, but we should. Maybe I’ll start one.”

He shot me a smile for helping him break the tension. We moved to sit, Gabriel and I taking the davenport.

“Sluagh?” Ida stayed standing where she’d been.

“Yes, and don’t pretend you’re shocked, Ida,” Patrick said.

“If you’re suggesting—”

“That you knew they were here? Of course not. I’m suggesting that Grace saw enough to know what it was.”

“I’m surprised Olivia still runs to you for help, Patrick, after she learned who you really are, what you did.”

“Round and round we go, getting nowhere. Liv and Gabriel went to Rose for sluagh folklore. When I spoke to Rose, she told me about it. I sought them out to correct the folklore. Now, moving along…”

“The sluagh,” I said. “No matter how old they might be, I don’t think they warrant a room in Grace’s Home for Aged Fae.”

“Absolutely not,” Ida said.

“Then what the hell were they doing there?”

“That’s what Veronica is trying to find out. Walter is assisting. At this point, we don’t wish to involve the other elders, and we’ll ask you to respect that. For fae, sluagh are…”

“The bogeyman.” Patrick met Ida’s glower with a level look. “The darkness. The unforgiven. The thing we cannot name. What else is that if not the bogeyman? Unfortunately, in this case, it’s not an imaginary monster concocted by parents to frighten children. But yes, Liv, I’ll agree you should keep this quiet until we know more. And stay in Cainsville until we know more.”

“Even if the sluagh are here?” I said.

“Veronica has applied wards as a precautionary measure,” Ida said. “We’ll ask you not to return to Grace’s building, because we can’t use the wards there—they would affect the elderly fae.”

“So we need to stay in Cainsville?”

“Just don’t venture anyplace you might both fall asleep. Also, avoid intentionally triggering visions anywhere except in this house. The sluagh can’t simply swoop down Main Street, but they can attack through dreams and visions.”

“And possibly through Patrick’s books.” I summarized our experience and then looked at Patrick. “Yes, I know. You believe we caused the visions ourselves. I’m not disagreeing. I just think we need to consider the possibility that isn’t the explanation.”

“Tell us the full story,” Ida said.