Everlost (Skinjacker 1)

“Careful,” he said. “You’ll put out an eye with that thing.”

Allie gave him a weak little chuckle.

“If you’re trying to steal something, I wouldn’t if I were you,” he said.

“Anything you steal I will make you eat. It might not hurt but you’ll feel it sitting heavy in your stomach forever.”

“I’m not stealing,” Allie told him. “I’m just exploring.”

The McGill turned to look toward the door leading to the chiming chamber. “I’m surprised you’re not visiting your friends.’ “I don’t need to visit them,” she said. “You’ll free them soon enough.”

“Are you so sure of that? How do you know I’ll keep my word?”

“I don’t. But what choice do I have but to trust you?”

The McGill pulled his lips back in a smile, and reached a hand toward her. She grimaced, not wanting to feel his dry bloated touch, but instead her cheek was met by something soft. She looked down to see that his right hand was no longer covered in peeling scales, but instead in soft, mink-like fur. The fingertips still had sharpened yellow nails, but the hand itself was soft.

“As I said, I’ve been working on giving myself a soft touch.”

Allie still pulled away. “Don’t change yourself for me.”

“I’ll change myself anyway I like.”

“It’s still monstrous.”

“Good. That’s how I like it.”

The McGill looked around proudly at his treasure trove. “There are girls’ clothes in here. You could find something nicer to wear.”

“I can’t take off what I’m wearing. It’s what I died in.”

“You can wear something over it.”

Then the McGill spotted a big oak cabinet. “I think there might be something in here,” and with both hands he grabbed the handles and pulled it open ·wide.

Nick had heard the whole conversation between Allie and the McGill, and through it all he counted the seconds until the McGill would leave. When he heard the McGill mention the cabinet, his heart sank. It was just his luck wasn’t it? If the McGill opened the cabinet and saw him, he’d probably hurl the entire thing over the side with Nick still in it. Nick pulled his knees to his chest, tried desperately to hide behind a wedding dress that was hanging there, and closed his eyes.

The cabinet creaked open, and Allie, who was standing a few feet back, saw Nick immediately. She gasped. She couldn’t help it. The McGill, however, standing right in front of the cabinet, had a view of the wedding dress, and not the boy behind it. The McGill turned to Allie, obviously thinking her gasp was about the gown.

Allie forced her eyes away from Nick, so the McGill couldn’t follow her gaze.

The tip of Nick’s shoe was sticking out from under the dress, so Allie approached it, and fluffed the petticoat out a bit, pretending to admire the lacy fabric. It hid the tip of the shoe from view. Thankfully the dress was thick enough to hide Nick’s glow, and the cabinet had a strong camphor stench of mothballs, which overpowered any hint of chocolate in the air.

“I won’t be a monster’s bride,” Allie said, then she grabbed the doors of the cabinet and forced them closed, nearly catching the McGill’s hand in the process. The McGill glared at her. “Who said I’d ask you?” Then he stormed away.

Allie waited until she was sure he was gone, then waited twice that long again before she returned to the cabinet and pulled it open.

“What are you doing in here! Do you know how dangerous it is? If they find out you escaped—”

“They won’t find out. There are hundreds of kids in there—it’s not like they count us all the time.”

“If you’re caught, you’re history.”

“So I won’t get caught.”

Allie looked around. “Did Lief come with you? Is he hiding somewhere else?”

Nick shook his head. “He’s still in there with the others.” Then he smiled.