‘I’m glad someone is looking out for you.’ She didn’t add, ‘At last you have friends,’ but it was what she meant.
‘I don’t need you to worry about me,’ I said, regaining my strength. Now my tone was more defiant. I looked around and spotted my bag on the floor by the trolley. I got up and opened it to take out my brush. Pulling it through my hair, I was careful not to look at anyone. I just wanted to get out of there, out of the suffocating atmosphere.
‘I’ve got the car,’ said my mum. ‘I’ll take you home.’ She turned to Polly. ‘Thank you, dear.’
Thank you, dear?
Mum picked up my jacket and started trying to put it on me.
‘It’s OK,’ I said gruffly. ‘I can put my own jacket on.’ I caught Polly’s eye. Now she looked triumphant.
‘Feel better soon,’ she said. ‘Ade is really worried about you.’
‘Why?’ I said sharply. ‘He hardly—’
‘We both are,’ she cut in quickly. ‘You’re a friend.’
Both Mrs Connelly and my mother were smiling now, oblivious to my bewilderment.
‘Come on then,’ said Mum, as though she was talking to a six-year-old. ‘Let’s get you back home.’
I allowed myself to be led out of the room but my eyes were rooted on Polly’s, which were unblinking. She was pulling her long red hair into a single plait.
‘I’ll call you later,’ she said sweetly. ‘See how you’re feeling.’
Once again I was rendered speechless.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
I t was only a small, faint noise, but Luca heard it just the same. He twitched, trying to locate the source, but he couldn’t see anything.
Probably a mouse , he thought, though not convinced. It was raining again and the hut was damp and misty, the smell of rotting wood getting under his skin. He was sick of this job, which seemed never-ending. Every time they removed another lot of rusting metal, a new lot seemed to appear. Luca had avoided looking too closely at anything, fearful that he would find something else bloody and sinister, like the necklace.
Luca had come ahead of Pete, who had some family emergency to deal with. He’d driven to the training ground at the crack of dawn, through the pot-holed lanes, ashamed of himself for feeling scared. The truth was that he was beginning to feel there was more danger on Mortal Earth than there was on Nissilum. Back home there were firm rules and a hefty price to pay for stepping out of line. And there was a spirit of cooperation, an iron-fast moral code that everyone who lived there had chosen in return for sanctuary. On Mortal Earth people lived by a different code: as long as they were not found out, they did as they pleased. Or so it seemed.
Through the hut’s entrance Luca saw the headlights of Pete’s van as it pulled into the grounds. He felt relieved. Pete’s pragmatism was reassuring. And despite the fact that his grandchildren were downright odd – if not dangerous – Luca felt an affinity with the old man.
And through Pete, maybe Luca could find out more about Polly and Ade, something that would put his mind at rest. He couldn’t believe that evil was related to Pete. He hoped that his fears were only the result of a lifetime spent distrusting alien species.
Pete shone his torch as he approached and Luca squinted in its glare.
‘Be light soon.’ Pete entered the hut and switched off his torch. ‘This place never seems to get any cleaner.’
‘Everything OK?’ Luca asked.
Pete scratched his head. ‘Yeah. My wife was anxious – our grandchildren didn’t come home all night.’ He shrugged. ‘I told her they’re teenagers. They’re probably out at some party somewhere and lost track of time. But she worries …’
‘Ade and Polly, right?’
Pete blinked, looking surprised. ‘That’s right. You know them?’
‘I’ve met Ade through Jane. Polly’s at her college.’
‘Uh huh.’ Pete yawned. ‘She’s a handful.’
So is her brother , Luca thought, but did not say.
‘You know they’re
‘I don’t need you to worry about me,’ I said, regaining my strength. Now my tone was more defiant. I looked around and spotted my bag on the floor by the trolley. I got up and opened it to take out my brush. Pulling it through my hair, I was careful not to look at anyone. I just wanted to get out of there, out of the suffocating atmosphere.
‘I’ve got the car,’ said my mum. ‘I’ll take you home.’ She turned to Polly. ‘Thank you, dear.’
Thank you, dear?
Mum picked up my jacket and started trying to put it on me.
‘It’s OK,’ I said gruffly. ‘I can put my own jacket on.’ I caught Polly’s eye. Now she looked triumphant.
‘Feel better soon,’ she said. ‘Ade is really worried about you.’
‘Why?’ I said sharply. ‘He hardly—’
‘We both are,’ she cut in quickly. ‘You’re a friend.’
Both Mrs Connelly and my mother were smiling now, oblivious to my bewilderment.
‘Come on then,’ said Mum, as though she was talking to a six-year-old. ‘Let’s get you back home.’
I allowed myself to be led out of the room but my eyes were rooted on Polly’s, which were unblinking. She was pulling her long red hair into a single plait.
‘I’ll call you later,’ she said sweetly. ‘See how you’re feeling.’
Once again I was rendered speechless.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
I t was only a small, faint noise, but Luca heard it just the same. He twitched, trying to locate the source, but he couldn’t see anything.
Probably a mouse , he thought, though not convinced. It was raining again and the hut was damp and misty, the smell of rotting wood getting under his skin. He was sick of this job, which seemed never-ending. Every time they removed another lot of rusting metal, a new lot seemed to appear. Luca had avoided looking too closely at anything, fearful that he would find something else bloody and sinister, like the necklace.
Luca had come ahead of Pete, who had some family emergency to deal with. He’d driven to the training ground at the crack of dawn, through the pot-holed lanes, ashamed of himself for feeling scared. The truth was that he was beginning to feel there was more danger on Mortal Earth than there was on Nissilum. Back home there were firm rules and a hefty price to pay for stepping out of line. And there was a spirit of cooperation, an iron-fast moral code that everyone who lived there had chosen in return for sanctuary. On Mortal Earth people lived by a different code: as long as they were not found out, they did as they pleased. Or so it seemed.
Through the hut’s entrance Luca saw the headlights of Pete’s van as it pulled into the grounds. He felt relieved. Pete’s pragmatism was reassuring. And despite the fact that his grandchildren were downright odd – if not dangerous – Luca felt an affinity with the old man.
And through Pete, maybe Luca could find out more about Polly and Ade, something that would put his mind at rest. He couldn’t believe that evil was related to Pete. He hoped that his fears were only the result of a lifetime spent distrusting alien species.
Pete shone his torch as he approached and Luca squinted in its glare.
‘Be light soon.’ Pete entered the hut and switched off his torch. ‘This place never seems to get any cleaner.’
‘Everything OK?’ Luca asked.
Pete scratched his head. ‘Yeah. My wife was anxious – our grandchildren didn’t come home all night.’ He shrugged. ‘I told her they’re teenagers. They’re probably out at some party somewhere and lost track of time. But she worries …’
‘Ade and Polly, right?’
Pete blinked, looking surprised. ‘That’s right. You know them?’
‘I’ve met Ade through Jane. Polly’s at her college.’
‘Uh huh.’ Pete yawned. ‘She’s a handful.’
So is her brother , Luca thought, but did not say.
‘You know they’re
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