The Moscow Meeting. James Frey

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СКАЧАТЬ But the worry that began when I first saw my sister in the museum has slowly grown into a feeling of dread. During the train trip, Cassandra acted as if everything was fine, catching me up on the news from home. Never once did she ask about Boone, or for details about what occurred in Berlin. Rather than being comforting, this lack of questioning has only made me more wary. It’s as if she is trying too hard to make me feel at ease, which has had the opposite result. Equally distressing is that when I asked her why and how the council had decided to send her to assist me, she said only that she didn’t know their reasons, and that I would have to ask them myself.

      “How was the journey from Berlin?” Ianthe asks.

      “Uneventful,” I tell her.

      She laughs. “You mean boring,” she says. “I imagine it was, after everything.”

      She’s watching me. She knows something. I wonder how much. I decide I might as well find out. “What have you heard?”

      She takes a drag on her cigarette before replying. “Four dead,” she says.

      I nod. What is there to say to this? Again I wonder how everyone knows what happened, when I’ve made no report myself. But I don’t want to appear anxious, and so I say, “I hope what’s in that box is worth it. Can you tell anything?”

      Ianthe is a scientist, like Sauer. Her specialty is ancient civilizations. She shakes her head. “No,” she admits. “But there are items in our collection that might be of some assistance. Things we’ve found over the years. We’ll see.”

      She’s being evasive. I can tell by the way she turns away from me and pretends to be looking at something in the water. I don’t know if she really doesn’t know anything, or if for some reason she doesn’t trust me enough to tell me what she thinks. I stand beside her and look at the water too. It flashes in the sunlight, and the smell of salt and fish tangs the air around us.

      “There’s going to be an inquiry,” Ianthe says, her voice almost a whisper. She doesn’t look at me. “I thought you should know.”

      So that’s it. Now I know why Cassandra was sent to Berlin. Someone thinks I’ve done something wrong, made mistakes. That I’ve failed as the Player. I’m not surprised. It’s what I’ve been most afraid of. Having it confirmed doesn’t make me feel better, but at least now I know what’s waiting for me when we reach the island.

      There’s no point in asking Ianthe any questions. She’s most likely told me everything she knows. She’s not part of the council, and therefore not privy to their discussions. Probably she’s heard the rumor from someone else. She’s only told me now because of our friendship.

      Now she turns to me and smiles. “I wouldn’t worry,” she says. “It’s routine when there are deaths.”

      I nod. She’s right. However, the knot in my chest isn’t loosening. There’s something more going on. What it is, I won’t know until I’m standing before the council. I expect that will happen shortly after our arrival in Heraklion. They will want to talk to me while the details of the past week are fresh in my mind. Not that I’m likely to forget them.

      “If you two stare at that water much longer, Poseidon himself will rise up and claim you as his brides.”

      I turn to see Cassandra watching us. I wonder how long she’s been there, and if she’s somehow heard any of our conversation. I don’t think so. Now she comes and joins us at the railing. She’s right beside me, our shoulders touching.

      “Remember the time the trainers took us out on a boat to practice deep diving, and when we came up, the boat was gone?”

      “We had to swim twenty kilometers back to land,” I say. “In the dark. When I said I couldn’t swim any farther, you told me that if I didn’t keep going, a sea monster would reach up and drag me down to eat me.”

      “And it might have,” Cassandra says. “Who knows?” She laughs. “Speaking of sea monsters, I bet Theia Astraea is making kalamarakia krasata for your welcome-home dinner.”

      Again, my sister’s cheerfulness is unnerving. If she knew that the council was unhappy with me, she would normally not miss the opportunity to make me feel bad about their displeasure. Acting as if this is an ordinary return from a successful mission is not normal. I catch Ianthe’s eye for a moment. The look on her face is one of pity, which worries me as much as Cassandra’s behavior.

      “I’m going to sit in the bow for a while,” I say. “I’m a little tired.”

      I feel Ianthe and Cassandra watching my back as I walk away. Will they talk about me? It annoys me that I’m now suspicious, that I’m letting the fact that the council is holding an inquiry bother me. It’s not unexpected, but Ianthe’s warning has made me uneasy.

      When I reach the bow, I settle into a nest of fishing nets, curling up with my head resting on a buoy. I stare up at the sky, watching the clouds move slowly across the blue expanse like sheep on a hillside. The sun warms my face and makes me drowsy, and soon, despite my worries, I fall asleep.

      I dream about Boone.

      I’m in the flooded underground chamber. I’ve gone there to try to rescue him. It’s dark and cold, and the water is filled with debris: papers and pieces of things that were hidden behind the cabinet doors before the grenade explosion ripped them open. I swim through the room, feeling my way with my hands. I touch a body, but it’s not Boone. It’s Sauer. His dead eyes stare at me, his mouth open and his tongue swollen from the poison he took. I push away from him and turn. Boone is behind me. When I see him, I’m filled with joy.

      Then I realize that he’s dead too. His body hangs in the water, his limbs limp as a marionette’s. His eyes are closed. I reach out for him, and his eyes blink open. They’re white, as if they’ve frozen. His hands grasp my wrists, the bloated fingers like manacles of ice. I fight him, but he doesn’t let go. I scream, and the air in my lungs bubbles out. I try to breathe, but there’s only water. It fills my mouth, and I choke. Boone opens his mouth, and even underwater I can hear him laugh as he watches me drown.

      I’m awakened by the bumping of the caïque against a dock. For a moment I’m confused about where I am. Then I remember, and I realize that we’ve arrived. We’re on Crete. Home. I climb out of my makeshift bed, stretch to rid myself of the lingering bad feelings from my dream, and try not to think about whether what I saw was prophetic or just a nightmare. I very much hope Boone is still alive, but I can’t think about him at the moment.

      I go and help Ianthe and Cassandra moor the boat, tying the bow and stern lines to the cleats anchored on the dock. Once the caïque is secured, Ianthe gathers up the box with the pieces of the weapon in it and we begin the walk to my parents’ house. When we’re halfway there, Ianthe and Manos break off to go their own ways. I hate to see the box leave my sight, but I know that it’s safe with Ianthe, and it’s one less thing I have to worry about. For the moment, anyway.

      Cassandra and I don’t talk, but she hums a tune as we walk. It takes me a moment to place the song. It’s one we made up when we were children, about a girl who goes into the forest to find and kill a monster.

      “You’re singing the hunting song,” I say.

      “Am I?” she says. “That’s odd. I haven’t thought about that in years.”

      She sounds happy, as if she’s the one coming home with a trophy. Which I suppose СКАЧАТЬ