Page 1 of In Her Own Rite

1

EMERSON

We’re in the water.

It’s the start of summer, and even at 8 p.m. the sun is only just starting to make its way down the sky. The lake water is rich and warm, and the surface sparkles with light so bright it’s almost blinding. Seb, Kieran, and Gabe are swimming around the shallow end, laughing and jumping at each other while I tread water a little farther from the shore.

I look up at the forest across the lake and notice a gray shadow through the trees. It fades in and out of view, but the shape feels familiar. I start to swim towards it to get a better view, even as my mind realizes:it’s a dream. It’s a memory. Come back.

“Mom,” I hear myself say, quietly enough that the guys won’t hear. The bottom of the lake drops off as I get to deeper waters. My hair is floating around me, long and golden, and it brushes against my shoulders the same way the weeds do against my feet.

Don’t go,my mind says. This is a memory I’ve dreamed through a hundred times. I know how it plays out, and still, each time I try to wrestle myself to a different ending. A different story. It never works.

The shadow disappears behind a tree. I swim farther, faster. The guys are far enough behind me that they can’t hear me now.

“Mom!” I call out to her. “Mom, come back!”

For a moment I think that she’s gone for good, but as I come closer, she emerges from behind the trees slowly, like a mirage. She’s wearing the dress I last saw her in, dark blonde hair spilling over her shoulder. She tilts her head, looking at me tenderly.

“Emerson,” she whispers. “Oh, baby.” She kneels down to crouch by the water’s edge, as if to be closer to me.

I know it can’t be real. I know she’s dead. But Aunt Saga always talks about the spirits of the ancestors staying on the islands, and for a moment I believe—

Something in the air shifts. I look up and see thick, dark clouds gathering ahead where there was sun and clear skies just a moment ago. The shadow of the cloud falls over me, and the water around me grows cool. A low wind rustles over the edge of the water.

“Mom…?” I say. But as I turn to look back at her, it’s as though my body already knows.

In the place where she knelt is a wolf, head low, bearing its fangs at me. His sinewy frame and matted fur gives the appearance of something sick, but even the hunger pangs visible in his thin body can’t mask its muscle and sheer power.

I knowexactlywhat he’s capable of.

The air escapes my lungs. I try to swim back, but it’s like I can’t get enough air. I thrash as the wolf steps to the water’s edge, his golden eyes taunting me.

“Help!” I try to call, but the sound comes out like a whisper. The wolf snarls and comes closer, and for a moment I think this is it, and he’s going to kill me. But suddenly I feel a pair of strong arms wrap around my waist, pulling me back.

“Hey,” says Kieran’s voice, low and warm in my ear. “Hey, you’re okay. You’re okay, I got you.”

I gasp and turn to him, climbing onto his body, my legs wrapping around his waist and my arms round his neck. “Kieran,” I say, feeling the adrenaline pounding through me. “Kieran, help, get me away—”

“You’re okay. You’re okay,” he says, his voice rich and reassuring. “What happened? I saw you swim out and then you just froze. Did your leg get caught?”

“No, my dad—”

I turn around and point to the clearing in the trees, but it’s empty now. I look around and realize the clouds are gone. It’s warm and sunny again.

“He’s gone, Em. He can’t hurt you anymore.”

“No. It was real, I swear.”

“Okay,” he says gently, nodding.

I look up at Kieran’s face: broad jaw, for the first time in our lives sporting a brush of stubble. He’s a year or two older than me, and his golden skin is glowing with the first hints of this year’s tan. His body is so warm. I can practically feel his heartbeat through his skin, soft and steady, bringing me back down to earth.

I meet his eyes, hazel and gold.

“Sorry,” I say. “I shouldn’t be like this anymore. It’s so embarrassing.”

“Nah, no worries. When I’m here, you’re always safe, okay? I’ll always keep you safe.”

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