* * *
“Sonia, wake up.” I hear Anthony’s voice in the back of my dream. I wake and sit up immediately, eager to share the news of my frightening night. It’s still murky outside, but from the deep pinkish hue in the sky, dawn seems to be right around the corner. I’m sore all over, and as I move, the stabbing pain from where the beast’s claws dug into my skin engulfs me. Rushing toward Anthony, I knock him over. We both fall into the sea with a splash and I laugh hysterically for a moment, but it’s only to cover up my pain and hysteria. I become vulnerable around him and can’t hold back my tears. Crying and laughing at the same time, I stagger to my feet, the salt water stinging my bleeding flesh.
“What’s wrong? What happened to you? You’re bleeding!” Anthony exclaims, examining my wounds.
I sob uncontrollably. “There was…another beast…like you in the castle. I thought it was you, but it wasn’t. It dragged…me down the stairs and...well, first I saw the portal that looks like a mural…and then…” I can’t even think straight, the fear has come rushing back now, filling my body with panic.
“Whoa, calm down, you’re safe now. Just breathe,” he coaches me as he draws me near, careful to avoid my injuries. “Slowly, now tell me everything that happened.”
I tell him what happened and then sigh at length, feeling much better now that I’ve shared it with him.
“Maureen,” he says, his eyes hateful. “I’m going to kill her!”
“Wait, Maureen’s the beast?” That thought had never occurred to me. Now I see what Layla was trying to do when I first mentioned the beast. She was trying to protect Maureen, because Maureen transforms into the same beast as Anthony, and Layla knows about it. I wonder if Layla knows that Anthony’s also one of the beasts. Probably not.
“Most likely. Although she’s a Huldra, she has killed so many Darkálfars and appropriated their character traits that she must have gained the ability to shape-shift along the way.”
“But if she’s on the Darkálfars’ side, why would she kill them?”
“She’s only on their side when it suits her,” Anthony says.
“Oh.” Maureen’s words come back to me; life is unjust—only the fittest survive. “Do you know about Layla?” I say.
“Who?”
“Layla says she’s Maureen’s ex-husband’s daughter.”
“Never heard of her,” Anthony says, shaking his head.
It has probably never occurred to him that he might have a sister, and I don’t think I should bring it up right now. I study my wounds. They are deep. “Maureen knows now, Anthony—she knows that I know about you and that you’re the beast, and…and that you’ve been on the island to visit me. I said your name when she was hurting me.” I wish I hadn’t.
“You can’t stay here another minute. You need to come with me. Let’s get you back onto the mainland and then...” He pulls me gently with him, but I resist.
I release his hand. “What about my mom? I can’t leave her—I won’t.”
“If you go back there, Maureen will imprison you,” Anthony says.
“No, she won’t. If that was her intent, she would have done that last night.”
“She could have…”
Out from the bushes Maureen, Layla and seven other Darkálfars emerge. The Darkálfars’ skin is as black as coal, but their hair is scintillating silver.
“Thank you for leading us here, Sonia. Seize them!” Maureen commands.
The Darkálfars storm toward us at once, grabbing our arms and aiming their machine guns at our backs. My arms hurt; they’re squeezing my wounds, but I clench my mouth shut. I will not let out a cry.
Doesn’t Maureen remember that Anthony will turn into a giant beast once his feet hit the shore? I’m not about to remind her. Layla is the one who has her machine gun pointed into Anthony’s back. Maybe I still have time to try and convince Layla that she’s fighting on the wrong side.
“Layla, Maureen isn’t who you think she is! She’s trying to steal my gift and…Anthony’s your brother!” It’s a desperate attempt, but it is one.
Layla’s eyes remain as cold as steel. “Nice try, Sonia. Even I wouldn’t fall for a stupid lie like that.”
“Why else would she be imprisoning Anthony and me? We’re no threat to her. We’re just trying to get my mom back. Why else do you think Maureen is so interested in having me here on the island, and why am I not allowed to leave?” Before I’m able to tell Maureen that Olaf tried to steal my fifth Huldra gift, I feel a hard knock on the back of my head and blackness steals my consciousness away.