Wraithsong (33 page)

The beast moves methodically toward Olaf,
his eyes fixed and angry. His jaws open, revealing layers of fangs.
I inch my way to the edge of the altar and roll off on the opposite
side of the beast. The fall hurts, knocking the breath out of me,
but I hope the beast hasn’t seen me or will forget about me if it
can’t see me anymore. My new position means that I’m unable to see
what’s happening between the beast and Olaf. The beast roars and I
hear Olaf screech. I feel sorry for him; the beast is probably
devouring him alive. Stifling a sob, I try to remain calm, though
I’m powerless to quiet my pounding heart. Olaf screams again and
again, but slowly his screams turn to moans. After what seems like
an eternity, I can’t hear Olaf anymore—only the heavy panting of
the beast. I’m next and I’m dead, I think, and squeeze my eyes
shut, barely daring to breathe. I curl up into a ball, clenching my
head, waiting for the beast to approach. But the beast never comes.
Instead, the air grows silent, and all I hear is the soft sway of
the trees and their leaves rustling in the wind.

I don’t know exactly how long it takes, but
finally I find the courage to sit up and peek over the altar. The
beast has vanished, and Olaf’s body lies prostrate on the ground
with blood on his clothes as well as blood pooling in the grass
below his lifeless figure.

“
Olaf?” I try and say
through the handkerchief that’s gagging me. He doesn’t respond.
“Olaf?” I say a little louder. Again, no response. I crawl toward
him all the while looking to see if the beast will return. Why
didn’t the beast eat Olaf? That seems like the only logical reason
why it killed him—for food. I sit down next to Olaf and pull out
the dagger secured around his thigh. With both hands, I cut the
cord around my ankles. Then by placing the dagger between my knees,
I manage to saw at the rope around my wrists. It finally loosens
and my hands are free to remove the handkerchief.

“
Olaf?” I say again,
nudging him this time with my index finger. When he doesn’t move, I
roll him over onto his back and look at his face. His eyes are open
and I can tell immediately that he’s dead.

I gasp and begin to cry, not because I’m sad
that he died, or died in such a cruel way, but because if he was
the one who kidnapped my mom, I might never find out where she is.
The secret may have died with him, unless Maureen or Layla
know.

Slowly, I pull myself together, knowing I
have to do something. I’m free now and can technically run away. If
it weren’t for that stupid detector that’s buried somewhere in my
body, I might have a fair shot at escaping this island. I weigh
another threat: if I run away, I also risk running into the beast
and if that happens, I’ll have no chance of surviving. I consider
my choices carefully again and come to the conclusion that the best
option is to further investigate the island. Layla and Maureen
won’t be expecting Olaf and me back for a few hours anyway, so I
must seize the opportunity to do some exploring now. What I find
might help me escape down the road, and now that I’ve almost given
up on Anthony rescuing me, I need to become completely
self-reliant.

Chapter 35

I head down the path that
continues on the other side of the grove, in the opposite direction
from where Olaf and I came. Moving slowly at first, I stop and
listen every time I hear the smallest of sounds. The beast could be
anywhere, and maybe it’s waiting for me to pass its hiding place in
the bushes so it can attack me. I convince myself that it wants to
eat me because it’s hungry. All beasts are hungry all the time,
aren’t they? Perhaps the beast didn’t eat Olaf because it really
wanted
my
flesh.
I am much younger, so I probably smell better and will taste much
better than an ancient…whatever Olaf was. I’m surprised that I
don’t feel bad about Olaf dying. I’d never have wished for him to
die, but I’m relieved that he’s dead. In reality, I just worry
about what Layla and Maureen will say. Maybe they won’t believe my
story of what happened and will accuse me of killing
him.

Dried branches and crunchy
gravel crack beneath my feet with each step. Even with all my
dancer grace, I can’t prevent the sounds, and with each step, I
grow increasingly nervous that the beast will hear me. Maybe I
should just turn back; at least I’d be safer at the
castle.

Suddenly, the beast jumps
out from the woods onto the path in the distance, making me nearly
have a heart attack where I stand. The beast has undoubtedly seen
me; it’s walking in my direction, snarling, eyes glued on me. Then
I remember what I learned in school in first or second grade. If a
dog is coming to attack you, you shouldn’t run, you should only
stand your ground and act confident, not afraid. This is not a dog,
though, I remind myself, but I decide to take heed to the advice
anyway. Either way, I’m dead.

The beast stands only a few
feet away from me now, and I prepare to meet my maker. I hope my
mom knows I love her, and that Anthony knows that I care for him,
too. My chest is pounding and my nails bite into the palms of my
hands as I wait for the assault, but the beast doesn’t charge.
Instead, the beast licks its fangs and sits down. I’m shocked, and
don’t quite know what to do. The beast rises to its feet again and
approaches me very slowly, acting calm now, not aggressive at all.
It treads around me, presses its snout up against my back and
pushes me gently off balance. I take a step forward. Bewildered, I
look back at it, and stare it in the eyes, feeling myself nearly
passing out, or vomiting, one of the two—I can’t tell. The beast
presses its snout against my back again, pushing me off balance and
I step forward again.

I point in the direction
with my trembling hand. “You want me to go this way?” I can’t
believe I am actually talking to it.

The beast’s head moves up
and down.

Shocked, I think: was that
a nod? I look at it again, thinking I must have imagined it. “Did
you just—nod?”

It nods again. I turn
around and comply by moving down the pathway and we continue for a
few minutes. When I slow my pace a little, the beast gives me a
shove so I have to continue to move forward.

After walking for about
fifteen minutes, we arrive at the shore. A small sandy beach with
large rocks on either side opens up before me. The beast runs past
me and leaps into the ocean, disappearing into its rushing waves.
Relief washes over me; it didn’t eat me after all. I wonder where
it went.

In the distance, I see what
I think is the mainland. I inhale the fresh ocean breeze, smelling
the freedom that might soon be mine, if I choose to try and escape.
Looking back into the blue ocean, I don’t see the beast anywhere.
Then, a man comes out of the water. I know him.

“
Anthony!” I yell. “Wait,
Anthony?” Shivers go through my spine. I’m excited to see him, but
also wary because of all the things Layla and Maureen told
me.

“
I’ve been looking
everywhere for you!” he exclaims, swimming toward me through the
salty waves. He rises to his feet and stands where the water
reaches his waist.

“
Did you see the beast?
Where did the beast go?” I ask.

He looks at me with wide
eyes.

“
Didn’t you see it?” I
ask.

His arms open wide and he
looks down at his abdomen.

“
Wait…you’re not trying to tell me that…?” Was this
yet
another
secret of his?

He nods. “I’m so glad to
see you.” His upper body is bare, his tan skin glistening in the
sun. “Come here.”

I take a step into the
water. “I’m really glad to see you, Anthony, but I thought we said
no more secrets.” This new secret gives me reason to doubt him. He
shape-shifted. Darkálfars shape-shift. Maybe Maureen and Layla are
telling the truth.

His eyes darken. “This
isn’t a secret. I didn’t know that this would happen to me when I
stepped onto Wraithsong Island. I morph into a…creature, and the
moment I step off the island, and into the ocean, I’m back to
normal.”

I squint my eyes, searching
for truth or lies in his blue eyes. “Do you realize that you just
killed Olaf?” I have mixed emotions about Olaf being killed now.
I’m relieved that he’s gone and that I don’t have to worry about
him anymore, but Anthony shouldn’t have killed him. Olaf’s
appalling behavior still didn’t warrant someone taking his
life.

“
Yes, I know. I feel
horrible about it, but it looked like he was going to do something
to harm you. I lost my temper and didn’t realize how strong I
was—how strong the beast was. I only wanted to frighten him, not
kill him.”

I take a few more steps in
his direction. Is he being honest? His eyes look sincere. I don’t
know what to believe; I’m so confused. “What are you going to do
about it?”

“
I don’t know that I can do
anything about it. If I step back onto the island, I’ll just turn
back into the beast.”

I see his point, but I’m
not content with his answer and lack of solution. “I’ll have to
notify Layla and she’ll be furious.”

“
I’ve never killed a man
before.” His eyebrows furrow deeply.

“
And you shouldn’t have
killed now.”

For a moment, he seems at a
loss for words.

“
Did you see me the other
night you were in the castle?” I ask.

“
Yes.”

“
Why didn’t you follow me
out the window?” I inch closer.

“
Because I thought I would
frighten you and that you’d scream so loudly that you would wake
everyone else in the castle,” Anthony explains.

He’s right; I would have
screamed.

“
Then they would know I was
there and they’d all chase after me. I just needed to know that you
were there. Please come here.” His arms open wide.

I wade through the cool
water to meet him. “I’m afraid.” I stop a few feet away from him.
“They say you’re a Darkálfar, and you shape-shifting into another
creature only verifies what they told me. Is it true that your
father was a Darkálfar?”

Anthony hesitates and then
he closes his eyes. “Yes, I’m half Huldu, half
Darkálfar.”

I bury my face in my hands
for I can’t muster the strength to look at him. A Darkálfar. He’s
evil. I remember him saying there are no good Darkálfars. None. My
heart crumbles into a million pieces, knowing we can never be
together. Not only because the Huldra code forbids it. We can never
be together because I don’t want to be with an inherently evil
being.

“
I know what you’re
thinking,” he whispers.

I let out a despairing
sigh. “You can’t possibly know what I’m thinking.”

“
That I’m malicious, and
that I lied to you and that you can never be with someone who
is—evil.” He stares at me for a moment, his eyes burning
intensely.

I nod. “You’re evil?” I
swallow again and again, trying to squash the tears.

“
I inherited my mother’s
Huldra character traits so once I turned eighteen, I no longer had
any Darkálfar in me. Like you no longer have human in you. I’m not
evil, Sonia. I want to do what’s right. I don’t want to be like my
father, or like my mother.”

Should I believe him? I
search his eyes, trying to find in them the answer to my question.
My search is impossible.

He touches my shoulder and
glides his finger down my arm all the way to my fingertips. His
touch leaves trails of goose bumps on my skin. He comes closer and
then caresses my cheek.

“
You don’t need to be
afraid anymore. I’m here—for you.”

I feel the sincerity of his
words deep in my core. He risked his life for me so I could find my
mom. He risked his life by coming here, searching for me. He can’t
be evil, like Maureen and Layla have tried to convince me. He must
be inherently good—even after all the evil things that have
happened to him. “Take me away from here,” I say, feeling like I’ve
just come home.

“
You’re not mad at me for
not telling you?” Anthony asks.

I look at him. “How can I
be mad at you? You came here and risked your life to rescue
me.”

He embraces me tightly and
all my fears evaporate. “I missed you, Sonia.” I hear the relief in
his voice; it’s the same relief that exists in my soul.

In that very moment, I know
without a shadow of a doubt that all Maureen has been feeding me
about Anthony are lies. I feel so safe back in his arms and know
he’d never purposely deceive me or hurt me in any way.

“
Where are the
Lightálfars?” I ask.

Drops of saltwater drip off
his blond hair. “They’re back in New Hampshire with the Huldras and
are ready to attack,” he says.

“
Let’s go there.” His
beautiful, blue eyes immediately unstitch me. Then, I notice him
resisting me. “What is it?” I ask.

“
Have you found your mother
yet?”

“
No.” I huff. The mention
of her nearly takes my breath away.

“
I’m not going to tell you
what to do, but I think the best thing you could do is stay on
Wraithsong Island until you’ve located her. Your mother has got to
be in the castle somewhere. Are you aware of any cellars or
underground dungeons?”