Hollow Earth (23 page)

‘He’s heading back to Main Street,’ said Em. ‘Now what?’

‘We let the caladrius keep following until I lose the connection.’

Swooping the caladrius over Largs, Matt lifted it up into the clouds. Zach followed with the binoculars until the biker and the bird vanished towards the Haylie Brae.

‘I guess he’s going back to Glasgow … Oh no … please … No … don’t …’

‘Matt, what’s wrong?’ Em asked urgently. ‘What are you seeing?’

Matt gripped his hands to his head and rolled into a foetal position on the sand.

‘Matt! Can you hear me? Mattie!!’

Em knelt in the sand next to her brother, not sure whether to take his hands or support his head, not sure what to do to stop his obvious suffering.

‘Eyes burning … chest hurts. I can’t breathe, Em, and I can’t see anything.’

‘It’s the bird. Zach, get the drawing!’

A man and a woman broke from the busy promenade and rushed down on to the beach. Quickly, the man removed his jacket, rolling it up and tucking it under Matt’s neck. The ring on his little finger flashed in the sunlight, making Em blink. These two were the same couple that had tried to get them to perform one of their tourist shows.

‘Has he had seizures before?’ the man asked.

‘Never.’ Em watched helplessly as Matt continued writhing in the sand.

The man pressed his hands on Matt’s shoulders, restraining him, nodding pointedly at the woman.

Em noticed the odd look. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘I need to keep him from hurting himself,’ said the man, while the woman was digging in her shoulder bag.

A small crowd was gathering, Matt’s convulsions beginning to cause concern. Em was feeling very strange in her own head. Something disturbing was emanating from this couple attempting to help Matt.

‘I’m calling 999,’ said a woman at the front of the crowd, taking a mobile from her pocket.

‘I’m a doctor,’ said the man restraining Matt. He glanced at the woman with him. ‘And my wife’s a nurse. We can get him across the street to the hospital more quickly than an ambulance.’

Zach, this man isn’t who he says he is. Something’s weird about these two. I can feel it. They were hanging about the other day too – remember?

Finally reaching the drawing of the caladrius in the sketchpad, Zach tore out the page, ripping the drawing into pieces. Matt’s eyes rolled up into his head, and his body became perfectly still. Terrified, Em threw herself on top of her brother, not feeling any relief until his breath brushed against her cheek.

Can you hear me?

‘I’m calling an ambulance whether you like it or not,’ said the worried woman.

The man who’d said he was a doctor grasped Em’s arm, lifting her off Matt and setting her behind him in the sand. ‘He’ll be fine in a minute. His seizure’s passed. But we’ll take him across to the hospital anyway.’

Zach, we need to get Matt away from here. These two are trouble
.

Matt’s sight was returning. He was startled to discover a strange man pinning him against the sand. ‘Hey! Get off me!’ He began to squirm, attempting to get himself out from under the man’s grip.

‘Son, I’m a doctor …’

Matt, he’s lying
.

No sooner had Em articulated her bad feeling to Matt than Zach spotted the doctor’s wife pulling a syringe from her shoulder bag, slipping it underhand to her partner, whose knees were now pressing hard on Matt’s chest.

Struggling frantically to get up, Matt saw the transfer of the syringe, too. With as much momentum as he could muster, he kneed the man in the groin. It wasn’t a very graceful or even a seriously debilitating move, but it was good enough to give Matt the few seconds he needed to roll free and give Em a chance to toss a handful of sand in the woman’s face.

Run!

FORTY-FIVE

Z
ach, Em and Matt raced off down the beach. As Matt blinked in the bright sunshine, he was just grateful that he was able to see again. And by the time the first police car skidded up to the pier, the only person left who had witnessed what had happened was the concerned woman with the phone. The so-called doctor and his wife were long gone.

Zach guided the twins away from the beach front, eventually ducking inside an empty bus shelter in the centre of town.

‘What happened there?’ Em asked, gasping. ‘Who were they?’

‘I’ve got a horrible feeling they were the people Simon told us about yesterday – the ones the police are looking for,’ answered Matt. His voice was hoarse, he had a pounding headache, and every time he took a breath, his chest hurt.

Hands on hips, Em stood in front of her brother. ‘And what about that fit you had?’ she demanded. She punched Matt in the arm, and he yelped. ‘I thought you were having a stroke or something. What happened with the caladrius?’

‘You won’t believe it,’ said Matt, rubbing his arm.

‘Try me.’

‘The stranger shot me – or rather, shot the caladrius.’ Matt’s heart quickened as he thought about the incident. ‘After he got to the top of the Haylie Brae, he pulled his motorbike into a lay-by, and … and he looked up, grinned and took a shot.’

‘With what?’

Matt glanced at Zach’s questioning hands. ‘I don’t know … some kind of gun. The kind hunters use.’

‘Is that why you had a fit?’

‘When the caladrius was hit, all I could see was this explosion of colours and light, and then it felt as if I’d been shot, too.’ Matt brushed his hair from his eyes, as if he could sweep away the memory. ‘The pain was terrible. My chest was on fire.’

Em stared at her brother for a minute. His eyes were bloodshot and rimmed in red, his skin the colour of chalk. She sat next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. ‘Why do you think he took a shot at the bird? Did he work out it was following him?’

‘He’d have to be pretty clever to know that,’ Zach shrugged. ‘Unless he was an Animare or a Guardian? Look, I’m glad you’re okay, but I think we may have an even bigger problem right now.’

Across the road from the bus shelter, two police cars had pulled in alongside each other, the policemen chatting through their open windows.

‘Do you think they’re looking for us?’ asked Matt, standing too quickly and feeling light-headed again.

‘Surely they’d be more likely to be looking for the couple who tried to kidnap Matt?’ said Em.

‘I can’t see their lips clearly enough to find out,’ Zach told them. ‘But either way, I don’t think we should hang around. If we hurry, we should be able to make the half-three ferry. We can pick up our bikes on the way back to the dock.’

They dodged out of the bus shelter and cut through a nearby garden, using the winding lanes behind the town centre to make their way back to the beach where they had left their bikes, eventually reaching the ferry with ten minutes to spare.

On the other side of the Haylie Brae, the stranger lay sleeping. He had pulled into a lay-by and watched Matt’s caladrius circling overheard. After he’d taken his shot, he’d climbed from his motorcycle, stretched out on the grass, and, with the warmth of the sun on his face, he had fallen asleep.

Now, as he woke, it was dusk, the sun an orange ball setting behind the peaks of Kintyre. Climbing on to his Harley, the stranger headed back into Largs.

FORTY-SIX

‘O
h dear God, what happened to ye?’

Jeannie enveloped Matt in her ample bosom the moment the three of them stepped into the Abbey’s kitchen.

‘Is it an eye infection?’ she asked, tilting Matt’s head, scrutinizing his bloodshot eyes. ‘Do ye have a fever?’ She placed the back of her hand against his forehead. ‘Or is this something I’m better off not knowin’?’

‘Probably better not knowing.’ Matt stepped away from her embrace. ‘But if it’s any consolation, I’m okay and I learned a lesson.’

‘Yeah, right,’ signed Zach behind Jeannie’s back. ‘Not to be such an easy target next time.’

Discreetly, Matt gestured a response to Zach.

‘Is there any news on Grandpa?’ asked Em.

‘He’s still critical,’ said Jeannie. ‘Still in the coma. Are ye going to go and see him later?’

‘Yes,’ said Matt. ‘I just need to lie down for a few minutes.’

I’m wiped. Plus I need to sleep off this headache. Do not do or say anything about what happened today to anyone until we see what’s inside Mum’s satchel
.

Em nodded in agreement.

Without Matt and Renard, dinner was a quieter affair than usual. After updating everyone on Renard’s slow but steady progress, Mara said very little. Em and Jeannie blethered about a show on the telly that they both liked, and Zach signed with his dad about the storm, about how high the tide had come in, about how many downed trees the three of them had spotted when they’d biked through the woods earlier, their hands an animated blur.

‘I’m glad you’re visiting your Grandpa this evening,’ Simon told Em. ‘I think hearing your voices will help him immensely.’

‘Will he know we’re there?’ asked Em.

‘I’m sure of it,’ Simon smiled.

‘Do the police have any more news about who may have hurt Renard and broken into the Abbey?’ asked Mara, helping Jeannie clear the dishes.

Simon relayed various details from the Chief Constable about the search for Sandie. According to the police, Sandie had completely disappeared. No trace of her whereabouts had been found anywhere.

‘The more time that passes without a ransom note,’ added Mara, ‘the less likely it is that she’s been kidnapped, surely?’

‘That doesn’t mean she just up and left for no reason,’ Em said frantically.

‘Of course not,’ consoled Mara, ‘but we can’t rule out the possibility that she left for a reason we don’t yet understand.’

‘Like what?’

Simon sent a scorching glance across the table.

‘I guess it’s not my place to say,’ said Mara, after an awkward moment.

Clearly the adults were keeping information back. Em felt awash with frustration. She was about to speak up when Zach intruded on her thoughts.

Don’t forget we’re holding out on them, too. Don’t say anything you’ll regret.

Simon topped off his and Mara’s coffee. ‘The Chief Constable has traced every plane, train, car and ferry from John O’Groats to the Isle of Wight,’ he said. ‘If Sandie’s left the UK, she has not done so by any … ah … normal method.’

‘You mean she could have animated something to get herself out of the country?’ asked Em, getting more juice from the refrigerator and pouring herself another glass. ‘Wouldn’t the Guardians know if she’d done that?’

‘Not necessarily,’ said Simon. ‘Remember, since your dad left, your mum no longer has her own Guardian. Renard had stepped into that role, but he won’t be any help until he’s well enough for us to talk to him.’

‘Maybe we should try to find our dad after all?’ Em said hopefully. ‘If nothing else, he might be able to tell us if Mum’s … okay.’ She couldn’t bring herself to say out loud the words ‘dead or alive’.

Mara nodded. ‘That’s a great idea—’

Simon slammed the pudding bowl down on the table. ‘Why do you keep going on about finding Malcolm, Mara? For one thing, no one’s heard from him in years. We can hardly afford to divert all our resources – to say nothing of the police resources – to start a wild-goose chase. For another, don’t you think if he was anywhere close – and, of course, if he gave a damn – he’d have sensed something was wrong and shown up by now?’

‘I’m sorry, Simon,’ Mara said calmly, ‘but I can’t help wondering if Malcolm leaving them years ago and Sandie leaving them now – well, perhaps the two events are related.’

Em almost choked on her juice. Zach thumped her back, passing her his water. Furious, Simon stood up.

‘I don’t think it’s fair of you to put stupid notions like that into their heads, Mara.’ He gathered up his dishes. ‘I’m sorry, Em, but what Mara’s suggesting is really not the case. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to check on a couple of things before we head to the hospital. Give me half an hour, then rouse Matt and we’ll head out.’

Em cleaned up her place at the table more quickly than she’d ever cleaned up after dinner before. Mara’s theory didn’t seem nearly as stupid as Simon suggested. Not because it hurt her feelings that her dad might not care about her – because it did – but because she and Matt had considered the very same thing the night their mum had disappeared.