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“Relax,” Morrie grumbled. “Everything is fi—”
His words cut off with a yell as the car plowed into a raging river.
CHAPTERTWO
“It’s deeper than I thought.” Morrie yanked the steering wheel, but the car didn’t pay any attention. It rolled and bumped over the river stones as it floated deeper into the water. My ears rang with the roar of rushing water as the force of the river battered the car. The current turned it in a half circle and sent a wave of icy water over the windshield and through Morrie’s open window.
“Argh!” Morrie jerked back as the water soaked him and splashed through the vehicle. Oscar howled and climbed onto my lap. I yanked my legs out of the footwell as icy water poured in.
The front of the car dipped forward, and more water cascaded through the window. The car made a sickening groaning sound, and a disconcerting fizzing noise rose from beneath the bonnet.
Morrie said, “I don’t think batteries are supposed to get wet…”
“I always assumed I was going to drink myself to death after one too many customers asks me if Nigella Lawson’s books are shelved under cookery or erotica,” Heathcliff said drolly from the back. “I’m so grateful Morrie proved me wrong.”
No. This is not going to be how I die.
“I think,” Morrie said in a small voice, “we’re going to have to abandon ship.”
“Nobody panic. I’ll save the whisky.” I heard the clink of a bottle as Heathcliff shoved his 16-year Fettercairn down his trousers. He slammed his weight against his door. “It won’t budge. The water pressure on the other side is too great.”
“I read that you have to open the door a little at a time and allow the water to flow into the car,” Quoth said as he flung my backpack and his paints over his shoulder and reached for his own door. “Once the pressure is equalized, the door should push open easier.”
“Got it.” Heathcliff shoved his door again, and managed to open it an inch. Freezing water poured in, filling his footwell and sending the car lurching.
“You read up on how to save yourself from a drowning vehicle?” I shoved Oscar onto Morrie’s lap so I could find my seatbelt.
“Well, Morrie was driving us, so I thought it would be wise.”
Morrie, meanwhile, had managed to squeeze his lanky frame out of his open window. The fizzing sound got worse, and was now accentuated by some loud POPs. Morrie knelt on top of the car and extended a hand down. “I’ve got you, gorgeous.”
I gave Oscar a shove toward the window as the water started to lap at the bottom of the seats. “Go on, boy. Go to Morrie. You like swimming, don’t you?”
Oscar didn’t need to be told twice. He leaped through the window and hit the water, paddling in a determined circle as he turned back to help me. I winced as I put my foot down into the footwell and the ice-cold water stabbed at the bare skin of my ankle. I’d worn a peasant dress covered in skulls for the drive, and a new pair of soft suede boots that were now probably ruined.
“Argh!” I jolted forward as water splashed through Heathcliff’s door and trickled down my back. More water poured in through the window, soaking my clothes as I clambered across the seats and grabbed Morrie’s hand. He pulled me through the window. I stood on the window as water splashed around my feet, and the car lurched horribly, my heart hammering. We were going to flip over or sink at any moment.
But we didn’t. Morrie pulled me up onto the roof of the car. My teeth chattered as I bunched up my soaking skirt. A moment later, Heathcliff hauled himself up alongside us.
“What do we do now?” Even with my poor vision, I could see that we were out in the middle of the raging river, with both banks impossibly far away.
One of my suitcases bobbed past, followed by Heathcliff, who had slid off the roof and was frantically swimming after it, his rucksack and Morrie’s fancy leather satchel strapped to his back.
“Honestly, I hadn’t thought that far ahead.” Morrie whipped his head around. “Quoth, did your book have any advice on what to do now that we’re out of the car?”
“Croak?” A raven cried as it soared overhead.
Wait there,Quoth’s voice landed in my ears.The current is too strong to swim against. I’m going to try and find a rope.
“Great. That’s just great,” Morrie pulled me into his chest, rubbing my shivering shoulders as the car dropped another few inches in the water. “We’re trapped on a sinking vessel and the bird has just flown away on a wild raven chase—”
“Hullo there!” a bright, deep voice called out. “You seem to be in a spot of bother. Do you need some help?”
CHAPTERTHREE
Ilooked over at the bank where the voice had come from, but I couldn’t see what was going on. Steam was now rising from the car’s bonnet, and the fizzing and popping sounds were so loud they nearly drowned out the other voice.
“There’s a fellow over there with a big bushy beard,” Morrie said. “He’s helping Heathcliff out of the water. And he has a four-wheel-drive vehicle and…is that a…”
