Free Thornghost by Tone Almhjell Page B

“Mom?”
    â€œCareful.” Secret shifted uneasily on the ladder.
    But other than the arms, Niklas could see no change. He stepped just within reach of the statue, leaned forward and touched her cheek. It felt hard and unalive. Now he noticed the lines where her arms met her shoulders. They were hinged. The water had probably loosened them. “It’s okay,” he said. “She’s not alive, she just . . .”
    Wait.
    On the statue’s chest, which had been hidden in the shadows between her arms, something blinked in the lantern light. A medallion. It was carved with the same thorn that had marked the loose flagstone in the nightmare castle, and like the flagstone, it could be twisted. With a click, wood sprang back against his hand to reveal a dog under the lid. Niklas pressed it. To the left and below the medallion a concealed door swung open where the statue’s heart should be.
    â€œThere is something wedged inside,” he said.
    Didn’t the Thornghost song say something about a key locked inside a heart?
    But it wasn’t a key. Instead his fingers found a long, thin object. He eased it out.
    A twig.
    He held it up to the lantern. The twig was still flexible, or he wouldn’t have been able to pry it out, but it seemedshrunken like cured meat. Three curved thorns stuck out from the black bark. “It’s a briar.”
    Secret’s nose wrinkled. “It smells like old blood.”
    â€œOh?” Niklas tested the thorn with the tip of his finger. Sharp enough to draw blood without even pushing. “I guess that explains it.”
    â€œWhy go through all this trouble to hide a twig?”
    â€œI don’t think it was meant to be found. Remember, she wanted everything about her to be forgotten.”
    â€œThat’s what I mean. Why put it down here?”
    â€œI don’t know.” Niklas put the twig in his satchel along with the notebook and the acorn flask. “But she must have hidden the twig extra well for a reason.”
    A desperate, high-pitched screech cut the air. It came from the direction of the yard, and for a moment, Niklas thought the border had been breached. He turned to Secret. “Is it the trolls?”
    Secret shook her head. “It’s the little fat cat. He’s in trouble.”

C HAPTER S IXTEEN

    T obis had scratched his way into the elm tree and clung to a high branch. His entire fur stood on end, but from the hard swishes of his tail, he didn’t look too injured.
    Niklas and Secret huddled below the barn bridge. While they were in the crypt, night had come to the farm. A fat moon hung between the mountain peaks. “Tobis,” Niklas called softly, but as soon as he spoke, the cat gave a loud, warning yowl.
    â€œHe won’t come down as long as I’m around,” Secret said. “But I don’t think I’m the reason he’s up there. Something is going on here. I hear the horse inside the barn, too. She’s scared.”
    She nodded at the main house. There were no lamps lit, and the front door yawned wide. “Does your uncle usually leave the door open like that?”
    â€œNever,” Niklas said. “It lets in flies.” He looked around,found a milk churn sitting on the bridge. “I have to make sure he’s okay. You keep watch. If you need to warn me, knock down the milk churn.”
    â€¢Â â€¢Â â€¢
    T he door to the bird room stood ajar, letting out a slim wedge of blue. Niklas walked slowly to the doorway. Moonlight shimmered across the walls. Outside the east window, the tower of his mother’s castle poked up like a tusk. “Hello?” Niklas took a step into the room so he could see all the corners. “Is someone here?”
    At first he thought there was no reply. But then he heard it, behind the desk. No words, just strange little tinkles. The hairs rose on his arms. He pulled the long-handled spade he used for the bird