Aerenden: The Child Returns (Ærenden) Read Online Free PDF Page B

do.”
    “You
can’t be serious,” he said, then sighed when she moved to a tree stump and sat
down. “We’ll freeze to death if we stay here.”
    “I’ll
run the car.”
    “If
you do, you’ll draw attention. We have to worry about the Mardróch finding us.”
    “You
said we lost them.”
    He
threw another branch on top of the car, and then turned to frown at her.
“There’s nothing wrong with being cautious, but even if they’re gone, we still
have the police to worry about.”
    “I
don’t have to worry about the police. You do,” she pointed out, crossing her
arms over her chest when he continued to collect branches without looking at
her. “And why do you? Why would they assume you had something to do with this?”
    “Because,”
he started, then hesitated and faced her. “Because I didn’t exist until a year
ago. The police are bound to realize that when they start investigating.”
    Meaghan
dropped her arms. “That’s not possible.”
    “It
is when I’m not from here. To them, I don’t exist.”
    “Of
course you do,” she protested. “If you changed your name, there’s a record. If
you didn’t and you left another life, there’s still a record somewhere. A birth
certificate, a school record, something . You exist, Nick.”
    “Not
here,” he said, returning to his task. “Please help. I don’t want to be doing
this all night.”
    She
gave in and helped him stack branches along the base of the SUV though the
effort seemed pointless. A strong gust of wind would reveal the car in seconds.
    Wandering
away from him, she returned a few minutes later with heavy tree limbs to stack
on top, and picked up the conversation where they had left off. “Unless you
were born in the Antarctic to polar bears, you have a birth certificate.”
    “I
don’t,” he replied. “And neither do you.”
    “Of
course I do. I’ve seen it.”
    He
stopped his task to look at her. “So have I. Vivian and James did a good job on
the counterfeit. It would fool an expert, but it’s still fake. So is their
marriage certificate. It’s all fake, Meg, and the police will figure that out
once they realize Vivian and James had no real history either.”
    The
thought tightened Meaghan’s throat again, but she shook her head to chase it
away. “That’s ridiculous.”
    “It’s
not. None of us are from here.” Nick turned to stack the last of the branches, and
then faced her again. “I told you it was too much to explain right now. We have
to go.”
    “Not
a chance. Not until I know more, anyway. You sound insane.”
    Nick
shook his head. “Come on, Meg. You know better than that.”
    When
Meaghan met his plea with silence, weariness drew lines over his face, then
seemed to emanate from him, turning the air heavy.  She felt stifled by
the sensation, but ignored it and shoved her hands into her pockets.
    “How
do I know you’re not crazy?” she demanded. “I’m not sure I’m still sane after,”
she swallowed the rest of her words. Tears burned her eyes, but remembering
Nick’s guilt from earlier, she backed away from him when he reached for her.
    Then
her thoughts turned more sinister. She scanned the forest for an escape as her
tears dissolved and panic set her muscles in preparation for flight.
    “Do
the Mardróch even exist?” she asked. “How do I know you didn’t slip me something
to make me hallucinate and then kill my parents? How do I know I’m not next?”
    Nick’s
eyes widened and pain rolled from him in waves. She felt it as raw as she had
his weariness. It drowned her, robbing the air from her lungs and returned
tears to her eyes. Sorrow washed over her next, then guilt again. This time the
emotion came through clear enough for her to understand it. He had not killed
her parents. He felt responsible for failing to stop their deaths, just as she
did.
    The
regret that came last was hers alone. But before she could apologize, he turned
his back on her.
    “We
have a lot of traveling to do