Felix helped her carry him up to the bedrooms. Their bystanders stared after them in disappointment, clearly wishing they could carry on watching the drama. It was probably the most exciting thing they’d seen in years.
They propped Kasper up in the corner of Rima’s room. He groaned again.
“Where’s Leah?” Felix asked. He hadn’t seen her down in the foyer.
“I’m here. Unfortunately,” Leah said, coming in from where she’d been sleeping on the fire escape with Claudia. When she saw Kasper, and noticed Harriet’s bone-white hair, she raised her eyebrows. “What did I miss?”
As Rima brought her up to date, Felix stood at the window watching the police cars pull away. Kasper was starting to come around. He leant forwards, his head falling heavily between his knees. There was sweat on the back of his neck. Felix could hardly stand to look at him, knowing that he was hurting but unable to offer any comfort.
Right after Lisa had disintegrated, Kasper had retreated to his room in grief and guilt, convinced it was his fault because she’d asked him to help her stop the Tricksters. Felix had sat with him in the dark and the light and dark again. He’d wrapped his arms around Kasper, who hadn’t said a word through all the long days. Finally, in a voice rusty with disuse, he’d told Felix, “If you hum any more Christmas songs, I’m going to scream. It’s August, you monster.”
Afterwards, Kasper had acted like his long grieving period hadn’t happened. Felix had never been able to work out what to say to bring back the peaceful, trusting companionship that Kasper had allowed for such a brief time. Eventually, he’d given up trying. It was easier to return to the old bickering dynamic their relationship had always had.
“How do we know you did anything to Kasper at all?” Rima asked Harriet. “Maybe the possession was just too much for him and he passed out on his own. Two powers is impossible, it’s—”
“No. I did it.” Harriet’s expression was vacant, like she wasn’t seeing them at all. “I thought he had gone crazy and was going to hurt that human. When I tried to pull him away, something clicked in my head, like a sense I hadn’t known I had. I realized that if I touched him, I could push a feeling of fear over him and immobilize him.”
No. Felix felt sick. It couldn’t be true. She couldn’t possibly have two powers.
“Prove it,” Leah said, voice tense. “Show us your powers.”
Harriet held out one hand to Rima, palm upwards. “Can I?”
Rima looked from the hand to Felix, tilting her head questioningly. He nodded once. He had to know for sure whether Harriet could do this. Surely she wouldn’t risk doing anything to hurt Rima, not while the four of them were here to stop her? Well, three of them. Judging by Kasper’s still vacant expression, he wouldn’t be much use in a fight.
Rima swallowed tightly and took Harriet’s hand. Her brow furrowed as she focused on where they touched. Almost immediately, tears welled in the corners of Rima’s eyes. She wrenched her hand away.
“Stop!” she gasped, as tears flooded her cheeks. “Oh, make it stop, plea—”
Rima clutched at her stomach, bent double, then shivered and transformed into a silvery grey wolf. It tipped its head back and howled, the sound as painfully mournful as anything Felix had ever heard.
Kasper watched from the corner, looking queasy and confused. Harriet looked astonished, mouth half open.
“Harriet!” Felix yelled, horrified. “Stop it!”
Jolted into action, Harriet touched the tip of the wolf’s ear. It stopped mid-howl, throat billowing.
The wolf tilted its head to one side, curious and confused. Then it twisted around and began happily licking its rear end as if nothing had happened.
This is actually the first time I saw Rima. This moment, a flash of the future – Rima twisting into a wolf, while Harriet watches. I saw it during the Jacobite risings. Just like this.
For me, Harriet was there from the very start. I assumed she would arrive along with Rima and the others. That’s why it was such a surprise that Harriet came later. There was always an empty space waiting for her. Her shadow was standing among us, and only I could see it.
Then, one night, I was sleeping in the corner of Rima’s room while she watched VHS tapes of The X-Files. A bright flash woke me up, but before I realized what was happening, it was already over. There was no time to react. Something had happened, and Rima was dead.
I still don’t know what caused it.
FELIX
“Well. That worked.” Felix licked his suddenly dry lips. It had worked. It had worked.
“Can you turn back, Rima?” Leah asked, stroking one hand down the wolf’s back. The wolf twisted back into Rima, who sat on her haunches and glared at Harriet.
“You couldn’t have picked joy instead of sorrow? That was the most depressing thing I’ve ever felt in my entire life!”
Harriet shrugged. “You’re a very cheerful person. I had to make you do something out of character.”
“It was still shitty. And how have you got two powers?”
Felix swallowed. “Did you accidentally take some energy from the police officer while Kasper was inside?”
Kasper made a pained, cut-off noise, and buried his head in his hands.
“Er, no. I don’t think I took anything from her. Can you even take powers from living people? Is that a thing?” Harriet asked.
“I have no idea. But how else could you have two powers?”
“Right,” Harriet said. “About that…”
Felix jerked his head up. She knew why this was happening. “Harriet?”
She folded her arms, already on the defensive. “I wanted a power. I couldn’t wait. So … I sped up the process a bit.”
“What did you do, Harriet?” Leah asked. She hadn’t seemed bothered by Harriet’s drama until Rima had been hurt. Now she was watching Harriet with a wary, preparatory expression. Felix was pleased that
