Chapter 73
CLAIRE
The long road snakes on, towards the dot on the map. The campervan creeps along at five miles an hour, drawing near with absolute stealth. The mist rises off the loch and gloom surrounds us as we approach.
Soon we will come face to face. I think of Magnus standing at the edge of the cliff on Seeley Moor and the temptation to push coursing through me.
I was too afraid then but I’m not scared now.
I can’t live knowing he’s out there somewhere and now I’m no longer afraid to die.
Ending this is all I want. No matter the outcome.
I pull over and park the van just off the side of the road beside some trees and turn off the headlights. We sit quietly, fortifying ourselves for the next step.
“We’ll have to walk the rest of the way,” I say. “We don’t want him to know we’re coming.”
Faye is silent beside me.
“Are you okay?” I reach for my twin sister’s hand.
“As long as Penny’s all right, then I will be.”
I squeeze her fingers and she presses back. “Are you ready?” I ask.
She nods, her mouth set in a grim line, my determination mirrored in Faye’s shadowed eyes. I reach over her and take the knife from the glove box, then we climb out of the campervan and gently close the doors behind us. Hoods up, we walk silently towards our destination.
There’s no going back now.