Fallen Thief Page 15

  “What happened to you?”

  “Collin Streck,” Kay said.

  Peter scrunched his nose as if he smelled something foul. Mira nodded, sitting on the side of the bed.

  “The Strecks and their devoted followers wouldn’t miss a chance to tell us how much the town hates us,” Mira said with a sigh.

  “Did they corner you or something?”

  “Something like that.” Mira looked at Kay. “They tried to, but we showed them what they were dealing with.”

  “They were the ones running away in the end,” Kay said.

  “I hope they’re too scared to ever talk to us again,” Peter said, straightening his back against his pillows.

  “Never mind them,” Mira said. “How’s your arm?”

  Peter looked down at his bandaged arm in its sling and wiggled his fingers gingerly.

  “Not too bad. The worst part is that I won’t be able to paint for a few weeks. Who knew puppeteering could be such a dangerous activity?” he said, raising his eyebrows and wincing when it pulled at the wound above his right eye.

  “Well, when you’ve got the right people in the audience…” Mira joked but trailed off, thinking she sounded stupid. She held out the box of muffins. “I’m glad you’re all right, anyway.”

  “Me too,” Kay said.

  “Thanks.” Peter opened the box awkwardly with his left hand and smiled as he took out one of the muffins.

  “We have something else to give you, too,” Mira said, grinning with excitement. She pulled out the small, battered notebook from her pocket and handed it to Peter, who had just bitten into his muffin. “It’s from the Fabler. She wanted us to give it to you, to thank you.”

  Peter’s eyes sparkled the way they always did when he held a new book in his hands. He dropped his unfinished muffin into the box and pushed aside the book in his lap. Then he swung his legs over the side of the bed to sit next to Mira and gently opened the Fabler’s notebook.

  “They’re notes on fairy stories,” he said.

  “I think there’s something about the Grimmir in there,” Mira said as she inched closer to see. “The Fabler guessed what we’re up to and wanted to help us.”

  Peter squinted at each page intently, flipping them with a bit of difficulty since he could only use one hand. “Stars, these could be Merrish symbols with the way they’re scribbled.”

  “And I thought I had bad handwriting,” Kay said, leaning over to look.

  “Here’s a page on ‘The Falconer’s Treasure,’ I know that one. And the giant sea turtles, and—here it is! The Grimmir!”

  Mira held her breath and shuffled closer while Kay hurried over to Peter’s other side. They read the Fabler’s scribbled notes together:

  The Grimmir: the undying monster that haunts the Ebb Sea

  Always hungry

  Merchant ships that sail over the Myrkness Trench never return

  Shipwrecks litter the ocean floor like gravestones, according to the merrows

  Fear calls to it but cannot escape it

  “‘Always hungry,’” Kay said, taking one of Peter’s muffins. “Sounds like me.”

  “‘Fear calls to it…’” Mira read, ignoring Kay’s remark. “What could that mean?”

  Peter shook his head. “I don’t know, but read the lines between those two.”

  “The Myrkness Trench,” Kay said through a mouthful of muffin.

  “Shipwrecks at the bottom of the ocean,” Mira said slowly, turning to Peter.

  “It’s a map to the Grimmir,” Peter said, beaming at her. “We just have to find out where that trench is and we—”

  He hesitated, and Mira knew why. If they ever discovered exactly where to find the Grimmir, Peter wouldn’t be getting anywhere near it.

  Peter shrugged and said, “I’ll have to see what I can read about it. I just can’t believe the Fabler would give me her notebook.”

  “She was happy to give it away,” Mira said. “You saved her, you know. That sign would’ve fallen right onto her.”

  “You saved her, more like,” Peter said. Mira made a face, but he pressed on. “No, really! If you hadn’t tapped into that Shadowveil’s thoughts, we wouldn’t have known what was going on until it was too late. Mama told me everything. How come you’ve never mentioned you could do that?”

  “I didn’t know I could,” Mira said, scratching her wrist absently. “I’m not really sure if I could ever do it again.”

  Peter shook his head. “It’s amazing. No merrow’s ever done that before, you know. There’s never been a merrow in history who could take another person’s thoughts, even by accident.”

  “We know that, Peter,” Kay said, rolling his eyes. “We happen to know some things about merrows.”

  “Well, you both seem rather cool about it—like it’s nothing,” Peter retorted.

  “I just don’t know how it happened,” Mira said. “All I know is that I wasn’t meant to hear what I did.”

  Peter ran his fingers along the pages of the notebook, deep in thought.

  “I think you should try it out,” he said after a moment, standing up.

  Mira frowned. “Try to read someone’s thoughts?”

  “Mine. I’m the only one here who can’t throw my thoughts. If you can hear them, you’ll know for sure that you have this power that’s unique to you.”

  “You want me to get into your head?” Mira asked.

  “Yes,” Peter said firmly, but the look on his face made Mira think he was trying to convince himself, too. He sat on the chair across from Mira and Kay. “You should try it, too, Kay. See if you can do it.”

  “Wouldn’t know how,” Kay said.

  “Just try,” Peter urged him. “This is the only time I’m going to let you do this.”

  Mira chuckled nervously and said, “All right. Give me a moment.”

  She stared at her friend, who looked back at her with such determination that it made her heart beat faster. Heat rose to her cheeks, and she closed her eyes to try and concentrate.

  Now, how to step into his head? She wanted to laugh at the ridiculousness of it. But even as she mocked it, she felt the edges of her mind tugging outward, just as she had learned to do with the invisible “bubble” she had once used to protect a room full of people’s thoughts from intruders. Only this time, she was the intruder.

  She realized she was holding her breath and let it go. Her mind was utterly blank, even as she strained to hear her friend’s voice in the pressing silence. As she willed the bubble of her thoughts to push out towards Peter, a headache began to bloom just underneath her temples.

  “Are you all right?” said Peter’s voice.

  The sound of it startled Mira, and her eyes snapped open.

  “You weren’t supposed to speak out loud!” she whined.

  “Well, you looked like you were in pain!”

  “Yeah, you don’t look so good,” Kay said.

  Mira rolled her eyes at him, but just as she did so, her head gave a painful throb. She rubbed her temples as she said, “I tried, all right? I couldn’t hear a single thing you were thinking, Peter.”

  Peter frowned in disappointment. “There’s got to be a way for you to get into people’s minds whenever you want, and not just at random…”

  Mira raised her eyebrows and teased, “Are you sure you want to help me find a way to spy on your thoughts?”

  The look on Peter’s face made her headache worth it. Still, Mira couldn’t help wondering what it would be like to hear her friend’s thoughts. She found that she quite wanted to and was disappointed that she couldn’t figure out how to use her newfound power.

  Lynette and Red were waiting for them outside the townhouse the next morning before school, pacing back and forth. When Mira noticed them through the window and opened the door, Lynette squeaked and ran inside to give her and Kay a bone-crushing hug.

  “I’m sorry,” she blurted out as Red stepped ins
ide after her.

  “About what?” Mira asked shakily.

  “We’re both sorry,” Red said, scratching the back of his head. “We shouldn’t have gone off like that about you keeping secrets.”

  “We don’t mean to keep things secret, but—” Mira began before Lynette cut in.

  “I know. At first, I thought you three were leaving the rest of us out because we weren’t interesting to you anymore. We’ve barely ever stepped outside of Crispin, and you’ve gone and traveled the whole kingdom on a winged horse and even battled a dragon!” Mira made to protest, but Lynette continued, “I know I was wrong. Red does, too. If you and Kay say that it’s not safe to talk about what you’ve been up to, we believe you.” She turned to Kay. “But yesterday Red and I overheard Collin boasting about what he did to you after school. I’m such a fool—I didn’t even notice your eye before!”

  “I suppose he didn’t mention that the Strecks and their friends lost their wits at a couple of raindrops,” Kay said with a smirk. “Or that they nearly wet themselves when they saw Mira summon water.”

  “What?” Lynette said, turning to Mira with a look of delight.

  “Serves them right,” Red said with a smile.

  “Don’t listen to a word they say about what the rest of us think,” Lynette continued seriously. “Crispin is your home, and you belong here just as much as me or Red or the Strecks. If anyone has anything else to say about it, I’ll have something to say to them. I sure had a few words for Collin yesterday.”

  Mira smiled at her friend and linked arms with her as Red and Kay followed them out the door.

  “All right,” Red said from behind the group, “now tell us exactly what you did to scare the Strecks so much. Don’t spare any details. I might actually take notes.”

  School was quite enjoyable now that Mira and Kay were on speaking terms with Lynette and Red again. They played games at lunch, helped each other with their assignments, and rolled their eyes whenever Collin said something particularly annoying in class. On most afternoons, Mira and Kay visited Peter, often doing their homework as he read by their side, which he did much more often now that he couldn’t work in the workshop. It wasn’t long before he started meeting them at the library steps after school, eagerly showing off the stack of books he borrowed from the librarian inside.

  One crisp, sunny day after school, when the bruises on both boys’ eyes had completely faded, Mira decided it was high time for Peter to play a proper game outdoors. Kay stayed in the town square to round up some kids to go to the Mosswoods as Mira hurried to get Peter. She was surprised to find the puppet shop closed and couldn’t see anyone inside.

  Noticing the workshop window had been slid open a few inches, she called up tentatively: “Peter?”

  He appeared at the window and yelled, “I’ll come down—the door’s locked.”

  A moment later, the door to the shop gave a click, and Peter emerged.

  “The shop’s closed?” Mira asked curiously.

  “Yeah, my parents have gone to buy more paints and materials,” Peter said, adjusting the sling around his neck. With the bandage off his forehead, Mira could see the distinct pink line of the scar that cut through his right eyebrow.

  “Are you back to doing things in the workshop, then?”

  “I can’t do much with my left hand,” Peter said. “But I told Papa I could try to mix some new paints. Reading and homeschooling lessons are fun and all, but I can’t keep doing just those all day.”

  Mira nodded absently as a thought occurred to her. “So your parents will bring back the materials they bought and put them on the shelves in the workshop…”

  Peter stopped her. “I know what you’re thinking. Papa never touches the box I keep the conch shell in. It’s an old, striped one he thinks is filled with all the tiny parts that only I know what to do with. The conch is safe.”

  “All right, then,” Mira said, satisfied. “You’re coming with me to play a game in the Mosswoods.”

  Peter didn’t even hesitate. He locked the door in a hurry, and they ran through the streets together.

  The Mosswoods in the fall was Mira’s favorite place to be. The colorful leaves that sprinkled onto the ground stood out against the bright green of the moss, making it look like they were inside a rainbow.

  At the sight of Mira and Peter walking down the path, the small group of friends already in the woods jumped up and cheered. Kay had gathered Lynette, Red, Elyse, and Thomas, and every one of them hurried over to pat Peter on the back. All the attention made Peter blush, but Mira could see the happy gleam in her friend’s eyes.

  They chose to play blind man’s bluff, the safest of their Mosswoods games, to make sure Peter’s arm didn’t get hurt.

  “Are we sure it’s safe to play in the woods when there’s a…you know…Shadowveil around?” Elyse said shyly.

  “There’s a watchman right there,” Red offered, pointing down the dirt path to where a watchman was, indeed, glancing back at them from the edge of the woods.

  “But he’s far away,” Elyse said. “What if he doesn’t see—”

  “We could always ask him to join our game.” Kay held back a smile.

  “Oh, never mind.”

  “Come on, Elyse, you’ll be It first,” Mira said. “That way, we’ll make a circle around you, and if the Shadowveil wants to get to you, he’ll have to go through us first.”

  Elyse chuckled and agreed. They played until it started to get dark, and then even Mira agreed that the woods were too spooky to linger in, despite the watchman that patrolled the street nearby. As they waved at each other and parted ways at the edge of the Mosswoods, Peter pulled Mira and Kay aside.

  “Before you go home, I wanted to tell you about something I found out from those library books,” Peter said quietly. “I can show you the map at the workshop. I think I found where the Myrkness Trench is—the place where the Grimmir hunts its prey, according to the Fabler.”

  Mira stared at him, nearly tripping over a rock as they walked.

  “Where?” she whispered.

  “It’s a treacherous area of the ocean that’s avoided by merchant ships since the ones that go through it disappear. One book says exactly what that path is.”

  “Show us on the map!” Kay picked up speed to lead the way to Peter’s house.

  They were nearly there when Peter stopped dead in his tracks and grabbed the back of Kay’s shirt to stop him from going any further.

  “What’re you—”

  “Shh!”

  Peter pressed a finger to his lips and then pointed up at his house, his face losing its color.

  The window to the workshop was slightly open, but Mira was still confused. That’s how it was when they had left it earlier. At first, Mira couldn’t tell what Peter was getting at. Then she saw a dark figure move across the room.

  She gasped.

  “One of your parents?” Kay whispered.

  Peter shook his head quickly. “There isn’t a single lamp that’s lit in there. Something’s wrong.”

  Kay inched closer to the door and tried the doorknob. “It’s locked,” he whispered over his shoulder.

  Peter stood rooted to the spot for just another moment. Then he squared his jaw and hurried to the door. He carefully unlocked it and swung it open. Mira watched the window tensely. Nothing moved.

  She hurried inside after the others. They tiptoed their way to the staircase. Peter led the way up, measuring each step before he took it. On one of the middle steps, the floorboard gave a little creak under the weight of Peter’s foot.

  He froze.

  They cringed against the sound, but the clatter that came from the other side of the closed door to the workshop a moment later startled them into running the rest of the way up.

  As Peter swung the door open, Mira held her breath, expecting them to be face-to-face with a Shadowveil. Instead, they found the room deserted.

  Peter r
an around the table to the cluttered shelves on the wall. He picked up a box that was striped with cracked and peeling paint and swung the lid open. When he pulled out the white-and-red conch shell, he gave a sigh of relief and said, “I thought it would be gone.” Then he spun around and swept the room with his eyes. “I could have sworn I saw someone in here.”

  “I did, too!” Mira breathed, still nervous. “And what was that sound we heard just now?”

  “Maybe he left through here, whoever it was,” Kay said, walking across the room to the window.

  “Through that little opening?” Peter said incredulously. “I couldn’t even fit my head through there!”

  Kay shrugged. “Then maybe it was a ghost.” He gave a weak chuckle, but Mira could see the worry in his eyes as he glanced at the corners of the room, no doubt checking whether there was someone hidden in plain sight.

  “Nonsense,” Mira said with a shudder. “Maybe it was a trick of the light. Besides, at least we know the conch shell’s still safe.”

  Peter sealed the conch back inside the old box and returned it to its shelf. “I could have sworn…” he repeated but trailed off and shook his head. “Yeah, you’re probably right. Nothing’s out of place. That sound could have been a bird hitting the window—it’s happened before.” He didn’t sound convinced, but he lit a candle on the table and continued, “At least Mama and Papa will be back home from the market soon.”

  Mira and Kay returned home soon after their little scare. They had been so shaken that they had forgotten all about the map that Peter was supposed to show them until after they reached the townhouse. But Appoline was already home and put them to work to help prepare dinner so that they silently agreed to visit Peter first thing in the morning to learn the whereabouts of the Grimmir.

  It was about an hour later, when they had finished dinner and were lounging about in the living room when they heard a knock on the door. Appoline opened it to find Mr. and Mrs. Waylor standing outside.

  “Hello, Appoline, dear,” Mrs. Waylor said. “Peter isn’t with you, is he? We only just returned home, and he wasn’t there.”

  “We figured he’d be with your children,” Mr. Waylor said, peering around Appoline at Mira and Kay, who had jumped to their feet from the couch.