The Forgotten Ones

to laugh. “Indeed.”
    “Have you seen Aodhan today?” I asked, pushing down my embarrassment at Niall’s amused expression. We were running out of time.
    Niall shook his head, still surveying me. “He usually stays inside during the day. He’ll be coming out once it gets dark. Give him a couple hours.”
    “This is the pub where the couple had last been seen Friday night,” Liam cut in, looking up at the sign.
    “Yeah, I know,” I nodded.
    Liam’s eyebrow quirked up. “Did you just say ‘I know’?”
    “Well, yes. I had a dream about a couple walking out of there,” I said, gesturing toward the doors to the pub. I looked back at Niall as I walked toward the three metal doors at the entrance.
    “Blá’s watching the back exit. We'll let you know when he comes out.” Niall said as he sat back down on the bench.
    “Blá?” I asked Liam.
    “Bláithín is Niall’s partner. There are always at least two guards assigned to watch Aodhan,” Liam said with a sardonic grin.
    I paused before opening the door. “What?” I asked.
    Niall now wore the same wry expression as Liam. “Nothing,” he said, trying to hide his grin. “It’s just that Niamh wouldn’t risk losing track of Aodhan.”
    I huffed in exasperation. “If Aodhan isn't out yet, we should get something to eat, maybe ask a few questions—let’s go.”

    Inside, the Black Pirate was quiet. There were a few employees setting up tables, and at the end of the long, polished bar was an easel holding a blown-up photo. I recognized them as the couple from my dream. A wreath of flowers hung on the corner, and several teddy bears and bouquets were placed nearby.
    Liam and I sat at the far end of the bar. As we opened our menus, a man with a white button-down shirt approached from the other side of the mahogany.
    “Good afternoon. My name’s Jack. What can I do for you?”
    “I’ll just have a BLT,” I said, picking the first thing I saw on the menu. Liam ordered the same.
    “Are you two here on vacation, or just passing through?” Jack asked as he took our menus.
    “We’re just passing through, actually. Seems like a rough time around here, eh?” Liam said, gesturing to the easel by the bar.
    Jack’s face fell. “Oh, yeah. Such a tragedy. Wes was the bartender here a couple nights a week.”
    “Wow. What really happened?” Liam asked, looking hard into Jack’s eyes.
    “They’re saying serial killer. Must be a real psycho,” Jack said, launching into the story of all the bodies being found drained, six altogether.
    After we ate, we walked back outside, and Niall was gone.
    “I guess Aodhan’s on the move.”
    Liam opened his phone and typed a message. We sat on the bench and waited for Niall to respond.
    Minutes passed and still nothing.
    “Can we take a walk down to the water, just to look around?” I said, itching to do something.
    Liam looked at me for a couple seconds, considering. “Right, let’s do that.”
    We crossed over to the park and down to the marina. A light breeze blew off Lake Superior, rustling the leaves above our heads as we walked down the path. The only other sound was the occasional faint whir of traffic up on the street.
    Liam walked close by my side, his eyes constantly roaming the area.
    “I feel like there’s something you’re not telling me about Aodhan,” I said.
    Liam coughed, looking uncomfortable. “The situation with Aodhan is...complicated.”
    “Did you know him?”
    “I knew him briefly. When I first arrived in Tír na n’Óg, he had just started asking about his family. He’d been there the equivalent of nearly three hundred years and had no idea. The time passes differently there, especially when you’re in thrall.”
    “In thrall?” I interrupted.
    “Well, yes. Aoife had me so deeply under her spell, I had no will of my own. All that mattered was her.”
    “Oh, okay. Go on.”
    He sighed but continued. “When I met him, he asked me about the war. As I told him, he looked at me like I was daft. The Ireland of 1602 was a far cry from the Ireland of 1888, I’m sure you can imagine.”
    The park was deserted, only the long shadows of the oak trees crisscrossed the path in front of us. “We should head back, see if we can find Niall.”
    I inhaled and we turned back up toward the street. “I wonder if—”
    Before I had the chance to finish, a shadow moved ahead of us.
    “Liam,” a tall figure said, pushing away from a tree just five yards away.
    I froze on the path