Page 46

THE DAY BEFORE THE SOLSTICE

“I DON’T LIKE THIS.” DAN’S voice wobbles as we stare at the blood. “Nope. This is messed up.” Then he turns and sprints off into the trees before I can stop him.

I’m left in the clearing on my own. I could leg it out of here, too. But even though everything in me wants to it’s like I’m stuck to the spot, just staring at the scene. Then I spot something that looks like a black leather belt, with shiny buckles. But it’s not a belt, I realize, looking more closely. It’s Ivor the bull’s harness: the one that gets put on him when he’s going to be led somewhere. And there, a couple of feet away, is the big metal ring he wears through his nose. At the other end of the clearing I see now that someone has made a fire and there are charred bones in the ash, way too large to be any human’s.

I catch my breath. There’s been a killing, but not of a person. Someone’s killed Ivor.

IT’S GETTING PROPERLY dark as I try to pick my way back through the undergrowth. I couldn’t find the bikes we borrowed from The Manor anywhere—I guess Dan took his anyway. My hand holding the torch is shaking so much the beam is bouncing around all over the place. Lucky it’s nearly a full moon: I think that’s helping more than my torch is, to be honest. I’m pretty much jogging now—as fast as the trees will let me, anyway—pushing branches out of my face. I suppose I’m not really concentrating on where I’m going because all I can think about is that horrible mess back there in the clearing, about who might have done that to Ivor.

Next thing I know I’ve crashed into something—someone. There’s a horrible scream. Actually, come to think of it, it might have been me. The torch bounces to the ground.

“You!” I hear someone say, in a hoarse whisper. As I crouch to grab my torch and point it shakily upwards I see it’s that guest, Bella, from Hutch 11. She peers down at me, holding a light of her own, the one on her phone. I’m so relieved I could almost hug her. She frowns. “I thought you were—What are you doing here? It’s a long way from the path.”

“I’m—well, I got sent by the hotel.”

“To meet me?”

“Er, no. Why?” It seems like a pretty random thing to assume.

“Oh, no reason... I just, well, I just wondered.”

I want to ask her why she’s in the middle of the woods at night, but she’s a guest: they can do whatever they want.

“I thought I knew the way back but everything looks different in the dark,” she says. “You’re heading back to The Manor, right? Can I walk with you?”

“Sure, no problem.” I try not to sound as relieved as I actually feel.

We walk for a while in silence, just concentrating on not tripping over the undergrowth.

“I can’t work out if we’re getting closer to the path or farther away,” she says.

“Yeah, neither can I.”

“Shit—I was hoping you were going to say you knew exactly where we were.”

“Sorry.”

“Never mind. I’m glad to have some company, anyway.”

“Yeah.” So am I, but I don’t want to sound like too much of a melt.

“Eddie,” she hisses, suddenly, and grabs my arm. “Stop.”

My heart starts racing again. “What?” I whisper.

“Can you see that?” she whispers back. “Up ahead... there’s something—” She yanks at my sleeve. “Here, come here. Behind this tree. And turn that off. Your torch! Turn it off.”

I can hear something moving nearby but I can’t make out anything at first. I feel like I might pass out from adrenaline. I try to tell myself it could just be Dan wandering around, as lost as we are. Then I see what she’s seen, and I stop breathing.