An Isle's Advocate

Chapter 7

It doesn't take long before Ben comes back down the stairs. They wait a second, expecting Mal to come down behind him, but then they see his face.

"Where's Mal?" Evie asks.

"She's not coming back," Ben says sadly as he walks past them.

"What? I'll talk to her," Evie says. She tries to do just that only for Mal to shut her down.

"Let's give her some time to cool off," Jay suggests.

"Guys," Carlos interrupts before Evie can respond, "where's Ben?"

"Ben?"

They start to look for him before they see a figure walking towards them through the smog and shadows normally found on the Isle.

"Ben, don't scare us like that," Evie says in relief, planting both hands on her hips.

"Don' scare yeh?" Harry Hook asks as he steps out of the shadows with his usual mad grin. "Tha's my specialty."

"Harry," Evie breathes, hands falling to her sides.

"What did you do with Ben?" Jay immediately demands.

"Oh, uh, we nicked him," Harry says simply with a dramatic point behind him in the direction they know the docks are located. "An' if yeh wan' to see him again, have Mal come to the chip shop tonigh'. Alone," he adds. "Uma wan's a lil visit."

Evie notices the way Harry's swaying as he speaks, and the smell of rum is unmistakable. It's stronger than she remembers. She also notices the way he keeps glancing around like he's looking for someone. "He's not here," she tells him.

Harry looks at her sharply. For a moment it looks like he might deny that he was looking for anyone before he apparently decides not to bother.

"Where is he then? Decided he didn' wan' to see me?" He's smiling as he asks but his eyes are hard, like he doesn't know if he really wants the answer to his question.

The three of them exchange glances, none of them wanting to be the one to tell the pirate. Harry, of course, notices.

His smile immediately falls. "Where's Hayden?" he snaps.

Jay sighs. "It's spring, Hook. It's also a Wednesday."

Harry only grows more furious. "Yer tellin' me they've still got him on tha' schedule?" he nearly growls. "He should be comin' and goin' from the Underworld as he pleases."

"Yeah, well, the Olympians apparently don't care about what should be happening," Carlos tells him, crossing his arms with an annoyed huff. For once, they're all in agreement with Harry.

"And the royal council's just glad there's three days a week that he's not scheduling meetings with them," Evie adds.

"Aye, the meetin's," Harry drawls with a smirk. "We've all seen how tha's been goin'. 'Course, I'm sure the three of yeh prob'y know all 'bout tha'. I'm sure yer all righ' there wit him."

He says it deliberately, obviously knowing the truth. Evie, Jay, and Carlos all trade glances, not wanting to admit to Harry Hook of all people that they've been leaving Hayden, their friend, to do everything on his own.

They don't have to.

"Oh, tha's righ'," Harry says, tapping the curve of his hook against his chin in mock thought. "Yeh've all abandoned my godling, left him to deal wit tha' council all on his lonesome." His bright blue eyes are cold as ice, the hand on his hook shifting to a far more threatening grip as he points it at them.

"We didn't abandon him!" Carlos denies.

Harry's lip curls in a threatening show of teeth. "Keep tellin' yerself tha'," he sneers. He turns on his heel and saunters off back down the alley, whistling what sounds like an old sea shanty as he goes.