Spirit’s Key (18 page)

I'm almost completely horizontal, inches from the ground, when the door gives way and my face smacks hard into the sand.

 

26

S
HOWDOWN

“Spirit?” Dad pulls me up.

I brush the sand from my mouth and throw my arms around Dad. Any pain I was feeling melts away.

I untie myself from the rope, and Mr. Selnick comes over. There's a healthy flush in his face. He looks so much better than he did when I last saw him. Dad does, too.

Inside the whale station, I see cots and bedpans. “Were you cared for?” I wish we had something to offer, water or food, but when I look more closely, I see they have both.

“We're fine, honey.” Dad holds me by the shoulders. “
I'm
not sick anymore, which means…” He looks at me, proud. “I think you've learned to use your gift?”

I nod and show him the great rope.

“How is it suspended like that?” Dad asks.

The others stare in wonder.

Mrs. Fishborne moves toward the rope, her hands outstretched, like she needs to feel what she's seeing to understand.

“These are good people,” I tell the baldies. But I guess they know, because they seem okay with Mrs. Fishborne near.

“Who are you talking to?” Dad's eyes are filled with curiosity. Mrs. Fishborne's and Mr. Selnick's, too.

I'm wondering how to explain it to them when Mrs. Fishborne grabs my arm. “Look.” She points at the ocean. A big boat heads toward us. The only person who owns a boat that big is Eder Mint.

“Maybe he'll take us home,” Mrs. Fishborne says.

“I doubt it,” I say.

Dad looks surprised.

“Eder put poisonous meat in the woods for the baldies to eat. Nector and I found some of the steaks. And part of my gift is that I can see the ghosts of the murdered baldies.”

“Really?” Dad's voice is filled with awe.

I nod.

His eyes glisten. “I'm so sorry I didn't believe you. No one in our family has ever had a gift for animals. I should have realized this would be
your
gift. You have such a talent. The Greats wouldn't waste it. Is Sky here with us?”

I nod.

Dad claps his hands to his knees. “Sky? Comehere, buddy!” he calls to the wrong end of the rope.

I laugh.

“Sky? Here, boy!”

Sky leaps on Dad, licking his face.

“He's jumping on you, and you're getting kisses.”

Dad smiles. “Am I touching him?”

I nod.

“This is amazing! I'm really sorry I didn't believe you.” Dad hugs me.

“It's okay.” I know Dad didn't believe me because he thought I was floundering—not dealing with Sky's death. He wasn't exactly wrong.

Mr. Selnick looks horrified. “You can see devil spirits?” His voice shakes.

“They aren't devil spirits,” I say. “They're regular spirits.”

“How do you know?” Mrs. Fishborne holds up her hands like she's trying to fend them off. “They could be here to harm us.”

“They helped us break the lock, didn't they?” I ask.

Mr. Selnick and Mrs. Fishborne consider this.

“It's fortunate you can control them,” Dad says. “Ghosts can be belligerent and uncooperative.”

“The baldies are special,” I say.

“Devils, all of them.” Mr. Selnick shivers. “You can't convince me otherwise. You keep them away from me, honey, you hear?” Despite calling me honey, Mr. Selnick gives me a hard look.

Mr. Selnick and Mrs. Fishborne still aren't convinced the baldies are nice, despite being rescued by them. It's like Mrs. Hatterask being scared of Dad even though he rescued her kids. Why do people fear things they don't understand?

“I told you, they won't hurt you. They rescued you. You should be grateful,” I say.

“We're not rescued yet.” Mr. Selnick points to the ocean.

Bobbing in the waves behind Eder's ship is another boat.

“It's Dr. Wade,” Mrs. Fishborne cowers. “We're doomed! He'll lock us back up.”

We watch Eder and Dr. Wade anchor their boats. Eder gets to the beach first and heads in my direction. “Did you let these sick people loose?”

“Yes, because they aren't sick,” I say.

Dr. Wade hits the sand and looks around in confusion. “What's going on? What are you all doing out here?”

Eder nods in my direction. “I was boating around the island, bird-watching, and I saw these kids causing trouble.”

My fury makes me bold. “Eder's the one causing trouble. You poisoned these baldies.”

“What baldies?” Eder's head swings around looking for animals.

“Five baldies are dead. One of them is my dog, Sky, the best dog a girl could ask for. Did you kill my dog?”

“I killed the devil's creatures. Unnatural beasts,” Eder says, and spits like he hopes he hits one.

There isn't enough yaupon tea in the world to cure my rage.

Dr. Wade's surprised eyes turn to Eder. “
You
killed them?”

“It's no worse than they deserve. Don't tell me you won't be the first to erect a statue in my honor when the island is free of them.”

The baldies growl, low and deep from their bellies.

“You're surrounded,” I tell Eder. “The baldies don't think you can be trusted. These dogs aren't the devil, but they won't allow anyone else to get hurt.”

“I had to get rid of them. With your dad not seeing anymore,
you
couldn't be trusted to protect us from them.”

I had no idea Eder was Dad's best client because he was afraid of the baldies. Eder counted on Dad. I counted on Sky. It's not an excuse, but it's hard when you count on something and then it's gone.

“It's only a matter of time before someone else gets hurt. The island will be a better place without them. They have to go.”

The baldies don't like the sound of that. They move in toward Eder with the rope.

“Who's doing that?” Eder asks.

But the rope keeps coming for him. The baldies circle Eder, and I realize the potential. “Get the other side!” I motion to Nector.

I move into position and direct Sky to pull tight the loop in the rope.

“Sky, come,” I command. He does.

Nector calls the baldie on the other side. “Come, baldie ghost buddy! Come toward me!”

The great rope tightens around Eder. Eder thrashes against it, but the rope is thick and secure with baldies pulling in either direction.

I untie a few of the baldies, then loop the extra rope around Eder's feet for good measure.

“Ought to tie up the doctor, too,” Mr. Selnick says. “Lock the both of them up in the whale station and throw away the key.”

“Please,” Dr. Wade says. “I made a mistake. I misdiagnosed. What's a few days of caution to save the island? I was taking care of you. As soon as I was sure you weren't contagious, I planned to let you go. Let's all go home now, and we can sort this out.”

“I'm not going anywhere with you,” Mrs. Fishborne says. “And the only sorting out I'm planning is making sure you lose your license. Locking you up might not be a bad idea either. See how you like it.”

“No one deserves to be locked up and left here,” Dad insists. “Not for crime or sickness.”

Eder and Dr. Wade are lucky Dad has such a kind heart. I don't know if I can be as forgiving.

Mr. Selnick wades into the ocean toward the doctor's boat. He raises an arm at Dad. “You were wrong about one thing, Holden. I'll never leave Bald Island. Not ever again. That must be what I said in your vision.”

“Maybe,” Dad says, but he's got a deep worry wrinkle between his eyes. “I think it's best Eder stay tied up until we get him back to the island. Then I'll call the mainland. Let them decide what to do with him.”

I move to pet the space near Sky's head. But his fur flickers like a firefly. The other baldies flicker, too. Their murderer is captured. Sky and his friends will have to go soon.

I'll have to face my today.

I don't take my eyes off my good dog. I watch him as he swims into the waves, and together we climb into Eder's ship. Soon something I love will be gone again. Until then, I don't want to miss a second.

 

27

A F
AMILIAR
S
MELL

We're all on board Eder's ship. It's so packed with Dad's stolen supplies that we're a tight fit. Eder is tied on the deck. There's nowhere for him to run. But Sky and his buddies guard him close anyway, and Nector holds the whalebone ready like a sword.

“Why'd you take our stuff?” I ask Eder.

“I figured your dad saw something he wasn't telling the rest of us. Wasn't sure what I might need for protection.”

I look around at all the boxes. I'm not sure Dad knew either.

“I was going to give it all back. Replace what I used. As soon as the island was safe and free of baldies.” Eder's eyes plead. “I was. Really.”

“Maybe it's my fault,” Dad says. “I wanted to be prepared for things I couldn't see, but I didn't mean to scare people.”

Every time I look at the baldies, my vision seems like it's going wonky. They fade in and out. It makes me question if they're there at all. Without Sky I'm not sure how I'll survive. I could be like the pier, washed away never to be rebuilt.

It's hard to wrap my mind around the fact that I'm riding in a boat with the man who took my dog from me. The man who might make the ocean wave of remembering destroy me forever.

“Sky is watching you. He's going to make sure you don't kill any more baldies.”

“Keep those devil spirits away from me.” Eder shakes his head wildly as if he's trying to shoo flies.

“Stop that nonsense,” Mrs. Fishborne cries. “It's ridiculous.”

I nod. “Yes, fearing the baldies
is
ridiculous.”

“She's right,” Nector says. “Spirit can see the baldie spirits. They aren't devils. They helped us.”

Mrs. Fishborne doesn't disagree. It's a small victory, and it comforts me.

I want to convince her and everyone else the baldies deserve to live on Bald Island same as anyone. They've lived here as long as folks can remember, but they're still outsiders. We have that in common. I don't care what Gomez says, Bald Island is my home—and Sky's and the rest of the baldies' home, too. No one has the right to take that away.

I watch Sky closely. These could be our last minutes. He faithfully guards Eder. Everyone here already knows I see the ghost of my dead dog. I might not have another chance, so I speak aloud to him.

“I love you, Sky. Nothing will be the same without you. Please don't go.” I put my arms around the space where he wavers like a lit candle about to blow out.

Dad gets choked up watching me. His voice is wobbly and soft. “Maybe Mom can look after him now.”

I nod, because I
know
she will.

Sky gets spotty. It reminds me of the spots I see behind my eyes after I've been staring too long at a fire. Then he starts to smell like smoke, as if he's going to disappear by bursting into flames. “Please, Sky. Stay. Just a little longer. Until we get home?”

His head tries to snuggle my shoulder.

I get the distinct feeling I've been in this moment before. It's so familiar I get goose bumps.

Sky's nose juts into the air, and mine does, too. He barks like he did in life at an unfamiliar smell. I look to the approaching island.

I've smelled this smoke. In my vision that wasn't so much a
seeing
as a
smelling.
If someone had turned on the light, I'd have seen what I see now: the island burning. Like we've been sailing toward a mirage that with a little sleight of hand has transformed into a giant swirl of gray clouds.

“My God,” breathes Mrs. Fishborne.

It looks like it's coming from near our house.

“What have you done?” Mr. Selnick demands of Eder and Dr. Wade.

“Nothing. I've been sitting right here,” Eder says.

Mr. Selnick shakes his thick finger at them but doesn't come up with any words. It's easy to see how he's speechless. We all are.

We sail toward a smoke-filled island. But no one asks to go back to Whales' Cove. We want to be home no matter the cost.

 

28

O
UT
T
HERE

The second we hit the sand, we all scramble toward our houses. All of us except Eder. We leave Sky's murderer tied on board the ship.

Dad wants to follow Mr. Selnick to help with little Poppi. He predicted her life. She's his responsibility. “I want you kids to stay here on the beach where it's safe.”

Nector and I nod.

But as soon as Dad's gone, I realize I have someone to go after, too. “I have to get Mrs. Borse. She'd rather burn than leave her house.”

I don't give Nector time to object. “Sky, take me to Mrs. Borse.” Sky and his flickering team take the lead. I pull my T-shirt up over my nose and run into the gray swirl after my dogs.

As I get near Mrs. Borse's house, the smoke is so thick, I can barely see. Next door, the Fishbornes' house is completely ablaze. It looks like the Selnicks' house is, too.

Mr. Alberton, our volunteer firefighter, runs at me, screaming, “Get to the beach!” He dashes back down the street, and in the distance I see Mrs. Selnick trying to put out the fire with her garden hose.

My eyes water and burn, but I force them to stay trained on my dogs. The ghosts aren't affected by the smoke. It doesn't slow them down. I try not to let it slow me down either.

The trees in the Fishbornes' backyard crackle and break. The flames leap from the rooftop. The wind is strong. The fire will be onto Mrs. Borse's house any minute.

“Mrs. Borse!” I bang on the door. I can't stop coughing, and my throat feels like it's crawling with fire ants.