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“It’s just…I have a friend,” I said. “He’s becoming…” I couldn’t drag my eyes from the new Draug at his back.
“Your friend?” He slashed the first rope free. “Ah, you mean the Chinaman. ”
“He’s Japanese,” I snapped. “Japanese American. ”
“Whatever you say. ” He began to saw the rope at my hip. “Don’t matter what he is. He’ll be Draug by month’s end. ” At my shocked look, he clarified. “Yeah, I seen him. He’s mighty close now. They don’t usually turn so soon. Musta had a hard time of it. He’ll be coming to my side any day. You’ll be keeping your distance, if you know what’s right. ”
“Don’t worry. ” I couldn’t bear to get close to Yasuo. I’d had my suspicions about his fate, but hearing it from Tom’s lips made it real.
Despite what I’d said to Rob, I did blame myself. If I’d figured out a way to save Emma, she’d be here now, and I had no doubt that Yasuo would be right there with her, his arm slung across her shoulders. Tears stung at the thought. “So there’s no way to help him?”
Tom glared. “Don’t go weak on me now. ” He worked the other ropes free. “You know as good as I, there’s naught to be done for that boy but mourn. ”
As I eased to sitting, he pulled a handkerchief from his inside coat pocket. He shoved it toward me, looking more unsettled than I’d have thought him able. “Take it. ” I gave both him and the rag a skeptical look, and he simply foisted the thing into my hands. “It’s clean,” he scolded. He nodded to my belly. “You stop up that cut now, and I’ll walk you back to the path. Them Draug aren’t the only ones who’ll catch this scent. Vamps’ll come soon, sure enough. Best get yourself back in your world now and out of mine. ”
I was feeling uncharacteristically fragile. I didn’t know whether it was due to my near death, the run-in with Rob, Yasuo’s fate, or the simple fact that I needed to feed, and I shoved every bit of it back into an increasingly precarious compartment in my mind. Time was short. I had questions, and I suspected Tom had answers.
As we walked back, I glanced uneasily at the Draug. They shuffled behind us, reminding me of confused sheep. “They won’t bother me?”
“Not when there’s this. ” He held up his prod. “They’re beasts of habit, anyhow. This ain’t their normal feeding spot. ”
I didn’t want to ask what was. Instead, I peppered Tom with questions, a steady stream of things like, “Do you know the villagers? Do they have a celebration? Is it soon? Some fire thing, right?”
He’d given vague nods to each, but at that last, he gave me a sidelong look. “You always talk this much, girl?”
“I thought you knew that already. ”
He chuckled to himself. “So I do. But you have a care. ” He glanced around. “This island has ears. ”
“So will you answer the question?”
He waited but eventually gave a curt nod. “Aye. But that’s the last one. ”
I asked it again, more specifically this time, just in case he really would answer only one more question. “Do the vampires celebrate Up Helly Aa?”
He gave me a baffled look. “That there’s a strange choice of question. ”
I was silent, waiting—hoping—he’d continue. Or at least finish before I bled out…The slash in my belly throbbed with each step. The lack of Carden’s blood was taking its toll, and I was afraid what I might find when I went back to the dorm to survey my injuries. “Please?” I whispered, hunching in to my pain, hoping a bit of pathos might help my cause.
“Fine,” he finally growled. “The vamps, they celebrate something that night. I don’t know what, but there’s always lots of comings and goings. Sometimes there’s boats—maybe day before, maybe day after—but boats come. ”
“Boats?” I pictured the keep in my mind. It was close to the co
ast, but it was just land on one side and a sharp drop into the sea on the other. Even if the surf wasn’t a roiling, rocky mess, there wasn’t a single dock in sight. “What do boats have to do with it? I wanted to know what they do in the castle. ”
He shot me a glare. “Is that a question? Because I told you. You get just the one. ”
“Please?”
He mimicked, “Please, please, she says. ” He shook his head, looking very put-upon. “All right, girl. But you keep this to yourself. ” He shot me a pointed look. “And I didn’t tell you nohow. ”
We stopped walking as we reached the path. “Tell me what?” I asked impatiently.
“The boats—”
“Not the boats,” I interrupted. We were running out of time. I was bleeding. It was getting dark. The Draug were groaning now, their thirst palpable. Other beasties were out there, too, and they’d be just as eager to snack on a morsel like me. “You were going to tell me about the castle. ”
He stared at me like I was an imbecile. “I am telling about the castle. Get that? The boats come…to the castle. ”
