I stare. “I don’t—”
“Grandpa. I saw him.”
At my old school in London, there was this staircase. It was steeper than the others. I used to pretend to lose my footing at the very top, only to grab onto my friend, Sara. We would scream, she would chastise me, and I would laugh until my ribs hurt. Then, one day, she stepped away so I couldn’t grab onto her. I almost fell. The fear and sense of betrayal was intense. It was a moment where the selfish part of me was forced to realise that this other person was just that. A person with real feelings and emotions.
This feels like that.
“Marley,” I say. The conversation feels like broken glass. “That’s not possible.”
Something hardens in his face. “Yes, it is. Because that’s what I saw. It was him.”
“Marley—”
“No, don’t do that. I nod and say ‘okay’ when you say that you can see water horses or women with tails or vampires in the library. Now you have to believe me.”
“Ghosts aren’t real, the Stranger said so.”
“I saw him!”
I flinch. Marley never shouts. “Okay. Fine. You saw him. What was he doing?”
“Just staring at me. I wanted to go over, but I couldn’t move. Then he vanished.”
“Into thin air?”
“Yes, when the dragon landed. But it was him. Absolutely him.”
“Okay,” I say stiffly, eyeing my cousin with a contained expression. “So, we tell Aunt Opal.”
I expect him to waver, to look unsure. Instead, he nods. “Fine.”
I can’t believe what I’m hearing. “You really
saw him?”
“Yes!” he cries indignantly. “Why? Are you upset that I can finally see something you maybe can’t?”
I glower at him. “Don’t be like that.”
“I’ll tell Opal tomorrow. At dinner.”
“Fine.”
We sit in silence, looking at one another. There is a stiff, unfriendly feeling in the room with us now. He falls asleep before I do. I can still feel the soaring in my stomach, from the dragon ride, but it’s tempered with anxiety about what Marley has told me.
Ghosts aren’t real. I can see vampires, Fae, Trolls and all other kinds of Hidden Folk. I am immune to Sirens. But the one thing we both wanted when we began this quest, to see him again… we were told that would never be possible.
I refuse to let myself hope.
*
Opal rests all day long.
When I ask Aunt Leanna why, she distracts me with treats and mumbles something about spell preparation and avoiding overstimulation.
We eat dinner in the dining room and the phone rings as I’m about to bite into a bit of carrot. We all eye the landline, newly fixed by Opal. Leanna and Marley glance at me.
If it is a Siren calling, only Opal and I are safe over the phone.
I lift the receiver, saying nothing as a greeting.
“It’s polite to say ‘hello’ when you answer the phone.”
Every muscle relaxes and I roll my eyes. “Hi, Mum.”
“Are you having dinner?”
“Yes.”
“Are you eating everything Aunt Leanna has cooked for you?”
I glance towards the untouched broccoli and spinach on the side of my plate. “Yes.”
“Liar.”
I deliberately say nothing, using my silence as punishment. I can hear her sigh on the other end of the line.
“Where are you?” I finally ask, relenting slightly.
