Page 23 of Only a Monster

SIX

Joan walked out under the leafy archway, past the cheerful You escaped the maze! sign. She found herself in darkness, in a field at the edge of the grounds. Dandelion heads brushed her ankles in the long grass. She couldn’t see any sign of Nick or his people.

From here, Holland House was the size of her palm. The windows glowed like candles. The house looked welcoming, even homey.

Aaron came to stand beside her, just a shape in the darkness. He looked at the house. He’d said it had been his childhood home.

It was too dark to see his face.

Joan touched his elbow. He didn’t react. But when she headed for the road, he followed.

Kensington High Street was all lights and cars and people, the cheerful bustle surreal after the silent grey of the maze. Joan stood at the curb, staring at the ordinariness of it all: kebabs and burgers and black cabs.

A car started nearby, making her jump. It crawled along the road, as though the occupants were lost—or looking for someone. Joan glanced at Aaron, and by unspoken agreement they both slid into the shadows of a doorway.

They made it to Kensington Gardens by a ragged route of back streets, avoiding any slow-rolling cars and vans. Kensington Gardens was closed for the night. Aaron gave Joan a boost over the fence, and she landed with a thud that flared the sword wound into sharp pain. She bent over and breathed.

A moment later, Aaron landed beside her, and she made herself straighten. ‘Do you think we were followed?’ Aaron whispered.

‘I don’t know,’ Joan whispered back. The gardens were very dark. The streetlights penetrated a little, but beyond their sphere, Joan could hardly even see trees.

‘Keep an eye out,’ Aaron said. ‘At night, police patrol the park with dogs.’

‘How do you know that?’

He scowled. ‘Do you actually require the amusing anecdote now? Or can we continue to run for our lives?’

I don’t want to be running with you at all, Joan wanted to tell him. You left me to die. But he was right that they couldn’t just stand here, talking, where anyone could stumble on them.

‘Let’s head for the Serpentine,’ Joan said. The moonlight on the lake might give them enough light to navigate across the uneven ground without having to rely on phones for light.

‘Dogs can track across water.’

‘That’s not why—’ Joan started, and then cut herself off. He had a way of talking that made her want to argue with him. ‘Let’s just go,’ she said shortly.

They walked in silence. Joan’s socks quickly became soaked with dew. She welcomed the discomfort. It kept her mind here, in the park, in the present. Her feet were wet and cold. Better to think about that than to think about Gran’s slack mouth. About the people lying dead among the flowers. About the sound Ruth had made when the knife had punched into her. About Nick’s face when he’d said: If you ever steal time from a human again, I will kill you myself.

They followed the dull shine of the Serpentine as it wound through the park. Eventually, Aaron touched Joan’s arm to stop her.

‘What is it?’ Joan whispered. The brush was thick here, almost wild. Joan could hear the lap of the water in the darkness. She was shivering in spite of the exercise. Had Aaron heard something nearby? She hadn’t. She folded her arms around herself and felt sticky warmth at her side. She was still bleeding. It seemed like a bad idea to get themselves wet and even colder.

‘You’re injured,’ Aaron whispered.

‘What?’ Joan wished she could see him better. It was so dark.

‘The way you’re walking. Did the attackers do it?’

Joan was incredulous. ‘Your uncle did it.’

Aaron’s pause was barely perceptible. ‘How bad is it?’

‘Can we please just keep walking.’

‘Don’t be a fool. How bad is it?’

Joan looked up at the dark sky, wishing she were here with anyone else. God, if only Bertie or Ruth— She bit the inside of her cheek hard to stop the thought. She grabbed the base of her tank top and peeled it up.

Aaron thumbed his phone on, shielding the light with his body. There was a cut on Joan’s side. It had bled—a lot. So much that it was difficult to see how deep it was.

---