Rosa and the Veil of Gold by Kim Wilkins Page A

Between those trees. Maybe it’s a service station.” She was already pulling her coat off the back seat.
    “Wait. What are you doing?”
    “I’m going to walk up there and see if somebody will come take a look at the car. Or maybe let us use their phone.”
    “You can’t go alone.”
    “That’s right. Pull your coat on.”
    “Shouldn’t we just wait here for somebody to come by?”
    “They might not.”
    Daniel reluctantly pulled his coat on. “Em, I don’t know if this is wise. There could be wolves out there.”
    “It’s not far. And there’s safety in numbers. We can’t just sit here and do nothing.”
    Em could see Daniel struggling with her decision and fought down a burst of impatience. “Come on, Daniel. We’ve done this on your terms so far—”
    “My terms? Driving at night in a car considered mechanically unsafe?”
    “We could have flown,” she said irritably. “We would have been there twelve hours ago.”
    He buttoned his coat in silence. “Okay, let’s go then.”
    They were two steps beyond the car when they realised how cold it was and came back for hats, scarves and extra layers. Daniel also grabbed the bag with the bear in it.
    “We should bring her,” he said. “Just in case somebody breaks into the car while we’re gone.”
    “Fine,” Em said, locking the car and pocketing the keys. “Let’s go.”
    They walked off the road, down a shallow gully, and into the trees. The undergrowth was tough and moist, the trees very close together. Em led the way, ducking spider webs and hoping they wouldn’t tumble off the top of a ridge.
    “Shit,” Em said, kicking her toe on a jutting rock.
    “You okay?”
    “Yeah, just kicked my toe.” She carefully made her way forward, eyes on the woodland floor for other hazards. Not that she could see much in the dark. If only the sky wasn’t clouded over. Even the palest wash of starlight would help her see. All around was the tang of pine and a slightly sour smell of old puddles and rotting layers.
    When they had been walking for a few minutes, she lifted her eyes to look for the light. It had been extinguished.
    “Oh no,” she groaned. “It’s gone out.”
    Daniel looked up. “Oh no,” he echoed.
    Em leaned against a tree. “What do we do now?”
    “I think we should go back to the car.”
    “But the light…I mean, presumably there’s somebody home still…”
    “Em,” Daniel said forcefully, and she found herself paying attention. “This is nuts. We’re not sure where the light was, or what it was. We could get lost and wander all night. We could wander off a drop, or into a bear, or any number of things. What we know for sure is that the car is five hundred feet that way.” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “It may not start, but it’s warm and we can lock it until daylight comes.”
    “But the interview.”
    “Em, we’re not going to make the interview,” he said, and she knew he was right.
    Em sighed. “All right, back to the car. You lead the way.”
    She followed him in the dark, nearly kicked her toe on the same rock again, and told herself that Professor Gergiev could be rescheduled. They broke from the trees, trudged up the gully to the road.
    The car was gone.
    Daniel spun in a slow circle. “Have we come out somewhere else?”
    Em was momentarily so confused that she couldn’t speak.
    “Em?”
    “Where’s the fucking car?”
    “We must have come out in a different spot.”
    She pointed to the two posts. “This is where we left it. This turn-off. That old sign.”
    Daniel dropped the bag with the bear in it and lowered himself to the ground. He put his head in his hands. “I can’t believe this. Our car’s been stolen.”
    “How could someone steal it? It wasn’t even running.”
    “This is a nightmare.”
    Em put her hand out and pulled him to his feet. “Come on.”
    “I’m not going anywhere,” Daniel said. “I’m waiting here until daylight.”
    “Yeah, I know. Let’s get