Chapter 38
I tell Mom that I’m not feeling well, that I’m nauseous and tired and want to stay home another day. So she calls the school and tells them I’m still sick without making a big deal out of it.
I wonder if it’s Ms. Granberg who takes the call.
I wonder if she knows that I know the truth. She must.
To be on the safe side, I stay in bed until both Mom and Dad have left. Mom gets a ride to Djuro from another nurse named Iris, and Dad goes to Moja Island with a friend to do some repair work on a jetty there. He leaves his phone with me, just in case.
When Dad leaves and the door slams shut, I get out of bed and call Rasmus.
“They’re gone,” I say.
It feels like only a few minutes pass before I see his boat through the window. I put on a jacket and run down to the dock.
It’s sunny today, much brighter than last week. The crests of the waves glisten as they roll to shore.
Rasmus is mooring the last line at the stern of the boat. He’s wearing a thick black padded jacket that I haven’t seen before, and his fair hair is windswept. As soon as he sees me, he jumps onto the dock and gives me a tight hug.
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” he mumbles.
“Me too,” I say awkwardly and have to clear my throat. “What did you tell your mom?”
“I said you were in an accident, and I wanted to come and check on you. It’s cool. She’s chill about things like that.”
We go back to the house and settle down in the kitchen. I make tea and bring out milk and honey.
“So what really happened?” he says as I sit down.
By the time I’ve finished telling him everything I remember, Rasmus’s tea has gone cold. I describe the accident, every detail—except what my mother told me afterward. He doesn’t need to know that. Not yet, at least. Finally, I tell him about the shadow on my chest.
When I’ve finished, I look down into my teacup. The bag is still in it and has colored the water a dark brown. I’ve twisted the string so tightly around my index finger that the tip has gone blue.
“Are you sure? Like, a hundred percent sure?” he asks, tugging at the sleeve of his blue hoodie.
I don’t know what he’s asking.
“That it was her, I mean. That it was Ms. Granberg trying to kill you.”
I nod.
“How did she even get into your house?”
“No idea.”
In the harsh light of day, it sounds like nonsense.
“She was, like, a shadow,” I say. “Or a ghost. Completely black. But her nails, they were real claws. She dug them into my chest! She attacked me.”
“Yeah, you said.”
Rasmus looks at my chest. I fight the urge to cross my arms as my cheeks start to burn.
“Are there any marks? Blood?”
“No. But I saw her. I know it was her.”
I need him to understand. My voice goes into falsetto. “I swear, Rasmus. She was there in my room in the middle of the night.”
He sighs and rubs his forehead slightly.
“But how is that possible? I mean, what is she?”
“I don’t know. But I’m sure that she’s behind them. My nightmares.”
Rasmus pushes his chair back.
“And you’re saying that she’s the one who took Axel?”
He doesn’t use the word kill. Which is probably for the best.
“It must have been her,” I say. “If she can give me nightmares, grow talons, and move around as a shadow, then she must be the one controlling that thing that came after us in the boat . . .”
“The thing in the water, you mean?”
I nod and swallow. “I think she started with Axel. Now I’m next. You said there was a splash in the water when he ran toward the shore and disappeared into the mist.”
I’m thinking out loud.
“And Ms. Granberg was there just before we all set out, remember? With the whistles. What if that was just an excuse? Maybe she was following you two from the outset.”
“Why would she do that?”
I shrug. “Maybe she wanted to test her powers or find prey for whatever was chasing us in the water.”
The hairs on my arms stand up when I realize what I’m saying.
“What was it?” he says. “The thing that attacked you?”
“I don’t know,” I say slowly. “I didn’t see it. But it was a . . . monster. Whatever it was, it was incredibly strong. Strong enough to take down our boat.”
“When it disappeared,” he says, “what did you do? Why did it let you go?”
“It didn’t, really.”
I hesitate, searching for the right words.
“It was more like I . . . like I kind of sang it away.”
“You were singing? Underwater?”
The dubious look on Rasmus’s face makes me giggle. It comes out inappropriately loud and shrill. Soon he’s smiling too.
The tension dissipates slightly but I’m still upset, almost hysterical. I keep trying to explain but can’t stop stumbling over my words.
“I know it sounds crazy, but that’s what happened. Sorry. I’m aware of how ridiculous it sounds.”
Rasmus stops smiling. He frowns and stirs his tea where melted sugar has collected at the bottom.
“Why do you always do that?”
“Do what?”
Rasmus gives me a look. “You’re always apologizing and saying that you sound stupid. You just assume that I won’t believe you. Can you just cut it out? I’ve never suggested that you were lying. I’m on your side, so just stop it!”
His outburst leaves us both surprised.
Rasmus sighs, picks up his cup, and drains the last of his cold tea.
My cheeks flush red and hot.
“Sorry,” I say again and try to hide my embarrassment by bending down to pat Bellman, who is lying by my feet.
“It’s okay,” says Rasmus. “Even though that’s exactly what you were supposed to stop saying.”
I look up and see that he’s grinning. I burst into laughter and he joins in.
Something light and new flutters inside me, but I don’t dare think about it. Don’t dare think about what it might mean.
“So what do we do now?” says Rasmus once we’ve calmed down. “Man, what a mess.”
I stick two fingers in my jeans pocket and fish out a slip of paper. A scrap of lined paper with a telephone number clearly written out.
“We have to call the police,” I say.