message. Itâs a dog . If itâs saying anything at all, itâs, âLet me out, Iâm busting for a wee.ââ
Without waiting for a response, he got off the sofa, pushed past Charlie and Amelia, and opened the French doors. Grawk stopped barking and sped out into the night. Being entirely black, he disappeared almost instantly.
âYou ⦠you ⦠moron! â Amelia screeched. âWhy did you do that?â
And to her total embarrassment, she burst into tears.
âOh, grow up, Amelia,â said James. âNot everyone around here wants to keep indulging you in your stupid make-believe. Itâs about time you started living in the real ââ
But Amelia had had more than enough of Jamesâs stupidity. Sheâd already lost two parents tonight â she wasnât about to lose Grawk as well. Without another thought, Amelia ran through the open door and into the dark.
âAmelia, wait!â Charlie yelled from close behind. He must have run into the garden after her.
âGo back!â she shouted. âI donât want you to get caught too!â
âToo late,â said Charlie, zeroing in on the sound of her voice. âAnyway, I owe you.â
âFor what?â Amelia was impatient, but couldnât deny it felt better to have Charlie out here with her.
âFor being kind of a massive suck-head before. You know, with the holo-emitter and stuff.â
âAnd stuff ,â Amelia repeated. âThat covers a lot.â
âYeah.â
There was a silence, and then Charlie said, âWell?â
âWell what?â
âDo you forgive me? Can we get on with being friends, or what?â
Amelia laughed bitterly. âThat was an apology? â
Charlie sighed. âLook, Amelia, Iâm only going to say this once, and Iâm only saying it at all because weâre totally in the dark and I canât see you and weâre probably both going to die any minute anyway, but ââ He drew in a deep breath. âThe fact is, youâre my best friend, and you would be even if I had other friends. Your family is practically the only good thing that has happened to me since I was three years old and my dad took me to Uluru, and I never, ever want to do anything to make any of you hate me and not want me around. Ever.â
Amelia felt very quiet. âOh.â
âRight,â said Charlie. âSo can we get a move on and find Grawk before Krskn catches us?â
That was a terrific idea, but Amelia hadnât a clue where to start. Now the rain had stopped, the clouds were thinning and there was the slightest haze of moonlight in the air. It wasnât nearly enough to see by, but Amelia could just make out the rough shape of the grounds around her. She looked back at the hotel, at the light gleaming through the libraryâs French doors, and tried to figure out the rough direction Grawk had been staring in before James let him out. Amelia turned to get her bearings.
âThis way,â she said.
They bumped along through the sodden grass, and Amelia stumbled on the edge of a garden bed.
âAre you OK?â Charlie whispered.
âYes,â she whispered back, wondering if Krskn were sitting in the bushes beside them right that very moment. How did he do it? The kidnapping or murdering or whatever it was he did? Would he hit them over the head and shove them into a bag, or did he have spring-loaded traps hidden under leaves? Or perhaps he had a ray gun and would freeze them before they even knew he was there. She hoped it was the ray gun.
âWhere to now?â asked Charlie.
Amelia hesitated. Ahead of them and off a bit to one side, she saw something. It was faintly yellow, and coming closer. She clutched Charlieâs arm. âLook!â
It was Grawk, silent and nearly invisible except for those luminous eyes.
Amelia bent down to him. âWhere did you go?â She scratched