Fire, page 46
‘It is true that Anna-Karin Nieminen has shown poor judgement,’ the judge continues. ‘However, we do not hold her responsible for her rebelliousness and law-breaking activities, since she at no time received appropriate guidance. In this most distressing case, only one person is guilty. That person is Adriana Lopez.’
The judge points her bony finger at Adriana.
‘Your treachery and acts of conspiracy have finally come to light. You have systematically falsified evidence in order to deceive your superiors. Your aim has been to induce them to believe in your ludicrous notions about exceptional, chosen witches, demons and apocalyptic events.’
If Anna-Karin had been empowered just then, if she had been able to use her power in this courtroom, she would have made them stop the entire trial and save Adriana. And to hell with the consequences. Now, all she can do is sit and watch. Helpless, worthless, passive while everything is collapsing around them.
‘The proposition that there are “Chosen Ones” in Engelsfors is a deceit from beginning to end. What we are dealing with here is a group of powerful natural witches, who have been duped by a ruthless swindler. She has persuaded them that they are being hunted by an enemy who has been “blessed by the demons”. Tragic cases of suicide have been presented as murders in attempts to corroborate her absurd tales. We even suspect that her fire magic is the cause of the blaze that burned down Anna-Karin Nieminen’s family barn.’
Anna-Karin glances at the other Chosen Ones. Like her, they are all silent. Like her, they are powerless.
‘Adriana Lopez showed her true self already as a young woman, when she broke her oath of allegiance to the Council. She succeeded in manipulating her judges into showing mercy. Since then, she has coolly bided her time and planned her next act of sabotage.’
‘This is untrue!’ Linnéa says. She stands up. ‘Adriana is right. We are the Chosen Ones. And, whatever you’d prefer to believe, the apocalypse will come.’
Looking terrified, Viktor stares at her. But the judge only smiles haughtily.
‘This young lady, Vanessa Dahl, has just provided another proof of the corrupting effect that Adriana Lopez has exerted on young minds. Although we do not need any further evidence to reassure us that our decision is right.’
She fixes her gaze on Adriana and gestures for her to stand.
Adriana tries to get up, but staggers. Alexander goes to her and offers her his arm to lean on, but she waves it away. Leaning on the chair, she stands.
‘Adriana Lopez,’ the judge says. ‘It is time for you to atone for your crime. You are sentenced to the most severe punishment laid down by the Council.’
Adriana’s face is still. But Alexander’s goes pale.
‘The execution will take place one week from today.’
63
A wind is blowing straight into Ida’s face, roaring in her ears. She screws her eyes up even tighter. This, she supposes, is what it must be like to be thrown out of a plane 10,000 metres up in the air.
Suddenly, the wind dies down. The world seems unnaturally silent until someone clears her throat.
Ida cautiously opens her eyes. Now she is standing at the opposite position in the circle. She looks at Minoo. Time was, she was inside that body.
Ida lets go of the hand that holds hers. She looks down on her own body. Now that she has lived for three days inside someone else’s body, she realises how familiar her own is. It’s so much … hers. There is no good way of describing what she feels, but why should there be? It’s only in her creepy life that it’s needed.
‘It worked,’ Minoo says and sounds just as relieved as Ida feels. ‘Is everybody herself again?’
The others nod. Ida watches them in the faint light of the torch they have placed on the stage. Linnéa pulls a packet of cigarettes from the top of her boot and lights up. Vanessa teases out her hair. Anna-Karin buttons her duffel coat over the black suit, presumably longing for her tracksuit.
No question about it, they are all back where they belong.
Can you hear me now? It’s working again, right?
Linnéa looks hopefully at them.
Vanessa responds by becoming invisible and then reappearing.
‘Our powers are back, too,’ she says. ‘If anything, it feels easier to use them now.’
‘We’ll need them,’ Minoo says. ‘We’ve got to help Adriana.’
Ida remembers the scene when the guards led Adriana out of the courtroom, how she was shaking so hard she could hardly walk.
Before, Ida has far from liked the Council, but now she hates the whole crew. Repulsive Alexander, who sold his own sister out and killed that poor raven. Repulsive Viktor. Repulsive old bag of a judge.
No fucking way is it up to the Council to decide whether Ida is Chosen or not.
‘But how?’ she says. ‘I can’t work out anything we can do. Besides, they’re likely to expect us to try something and be prepared.’
‘That doesn’t matter. We’ve just got to think of something,’ Anna-Karin says. ‘She’s sacrificed herself for us.’
‘I agree,’ Linnéa says. ‘We have to do something. But we have a week to work it out. There’s something more urgent on just now. I think I know which two names are next in line on the Malmgren killing list.’ She turns to Vanessa. ‘Wille and Jonte.’
Vanessa looks as if someone has slapped her face.
‘Why should they want them dead?’ Anna-Karin asks.
Vanessa’s voice sounds frail.
‘They sold junk to Elias.’
‘Okay,’ Minoo says. ‘We must warn them. But first of all, let’s go through everything that has happened these last few days. So that we can work out what to expect in our own lives.’
‘My grandpa told me about this dream he had,’ Anna-Karin says suddenly. ‘In the dream, he met a girl who had lived hundreds of years ago. She had become stuck between worlds. You can guess who she is, can’t you? She told him that it was important for us to trust each other. That we had to learn all about each other’s secrets if we are to confront the demons’ Blessed One.’
Anna-Karin is speaking so quietly that Ida has to lean forward to hear her at all.
‘And maybe that was another reason for the body exchange,’ she continues. ‘That we should get to know each other even better than before. Remember, Matilda talked about this when we met her here in Kärrgruvan for the first time. You know, that it was important. So I think we’ve really got to tell each other about what happened. About everything.’
Ida remembers the evening hours with Gustaf in Minoo’s house.
She doesn’t want to share them with anyone.
Linnéa turns to Vanessa with her summary.
‘And on Friday, Wille sent you a text,’ she finally says. ‘He wrote that he couldn’t stop thinking about when you kissed.’
She sounds so bitter when she says this. Vanessa doesn’t reply, just avoids looking at her. And Ida understands. Vanessa’s old junkie boyfriend is Linnéa’s ex as well. Linnéa must still be in love with him.
‘We’ve been hanging out together round the clock, so you know practically everything,’ Minoo says to Linnéa. ‘But I guess your art teacher didn’t make much of your drawings.’
‘Speaking of school, I don’t think your physics teacher will be especially impressed by your and Anna-Karin’s results in the unprepared test,’ Vanessa says.
Alarmed, Minoo stares at them.
‘I didn’t even understand the questions,’ Ida says.
It is Vanessa’s turn to tell Anna-Karin about what has happened in her life. Ida feels depressed just listening to what Anna-Karin’s mother is like. Maybe it’s not so strange that Anna-Karin has become the person she is.
Anna-Karin looks nervously at her, knowing that she’s got to be honest.
‘Well, you know most of it,’ she says. ‘But I picked up a call from Julia last night …’
She seems embarrassed, looks away and doesn’t say anything more.
‘And, what?’ Ida asks.
‘She and Erik,’ Anna-Karin says. ‘They have sort of … like … I mean, I don’t know how far they went but they’ve—’
‘Good luck to them!’ Ida interrupts.
‘I’m sorry …’
‘They so deserve each other. Do you think I care?’
Actually, she does. Not about Erik, but Julia … How could Julia do this to her?
Ida longs for Troja so much it might kill her.
‘Now it’s your turn, Ida,’ Minoo says.
Reluctantly, Ida starts. She holds out as long as she can before mentioning the talk with Gustaf. But in the end, she has to say something.
‘You and Gustaf are friends again, thanks to me,’ she says. ‘It would have helped if you’d let me know what you two had been arguing about.’
‘I didn’t think it was necessary,’ Minoo says. ‘We haven’t talked for absolutely ages.’
‘Now you have. He’s grasped that PE is, like, evil. But he plans to hang on in there anyway and gather info to pass on to your father.’
‘He mustn’t!’ Minoo exclaims. ‘It’s far too dangerous!’
She truly is in love with Gustaf. Ida doesn’t doubt it any more.
‘Don’t you think I tried to convince him of that? But G is so stubborn,’ she says. ‘Afterwards, we talked about me for a bit,’ she adds quickly. ‘It wasn’t my fault. I just felt I had to defend myself.’
‘Against what?’ Minoo says.
‘He seemed to think that I was, you know, a bitch. And he seemed pretty sure that you thought so, too. I had to make him see I’m not quite as awful as everyone seems to think. And later on, I suppose I got a bit emotional. Okay? Just don’t be surprised if G assumes that you’re rather unbalanced right now.’
‘What do you mean? What did you do?’ Minoo asks, looking terrified.
‘Oh my God, don’t look like that. I just … cried a bit. And he kind of … comforted me. No big deal.’
An eerie silence falls over the dance pavilion.
‘What?’ Ida says. ‘What’s the matter now?’
‘Ida, we know,’ Linnéa says. ‘We know why you talked to Gustaf about yourself.’
Ida fumbles for the silver heart, glad that it is there for her again.
‘Since we’re talking about secrets anyway …’ Linnéa continues. ‘Do you remember the time, way back, when you took the truth serum?’
‘Of course I do,’ Ida says and twists the silver chain so tightly around her index finger it hurts.
‘But you can’t remember what you said,’ Anna-Karin says.
‘No, I can’t. And?’
‘You said that you were in love with Gustaf,’ Vanessa says. ‘And that you’d loved him for a long time.’
It feels just the same as when Felicia blurted it out during the autumn party. The same feeling of being stripped in front of everyone. Except this time is worse. It is as if she has just realised that for a whole year she’s been walking about naked.
‘Why haven’t you said anything?’ Ida says. ‘Have you been sniggering behind my back ever since?’
‘I’m sorry,’ Minoo says. ‘I truly mean that.’
The others mumble agreement.
‘Yes, yes. Whatever,’ Ida says.
She’s still standing, unbelievable but true. Her secret is exposed and she can’t do anything about it. They are free to think what they bloody well like. She knows that she and Gustaf will be together in the end.
‘Anyone else got anything to say?’ Minoo asks.
Ida looks down at her boots. She does have one secret left. The book’s promises to her. That she’ll get rid of her power if she collaborates with the others until the apocalypse has been stopped. That if only she does her duty, she and Gustaf will become a pair.
But she has promised the book not to tell anyone. Surely that promise is worth more than some dream that Anna-Karin’s grandpa had?
‘We must leave now,’ Vanessa says and speaks to Linnéa. ‘I’ll talk to Wille if you talk to Jonte.’
‘What can we tell them?’ Linnéa asks.
‘We have to tell them that they’re in danger.’
‘You oughtn’t to go alone,’ Minoo says.
‘Maybe I can help?’ Anna-Karin says.
Linnéa nods.
‘Sure, if you like. It would be good if you could come with me. If only we can convince Jonte, we’ll get Wille thrown in for free. He always does what Jonte says.’
Ida sighs under her breath. She could so easily opt out. This isn’t her problem.
But that isn’t strictly true. Even though Ida is Ida once more, she doesn’t quite recognise herself. Something has changed in her. For the first time ever, she feels that she belongs with the Chosen Ones.
Not that she is keen or anything. But she has accepted her fate. From now on, this is her life. Or at least until they’ve saved the world.
‘I can come with you,’ she says to Vanessa. ‘It seems I’m able to give people electric shocks now. And, besides, we could use my mum’s car.’
Vanessa looks surprised.
‘And I’ll speak to Gustaf,’ Minoo says. ‘Check out anything he might have found out about PE during the weekend. I might show him the amulet and ask if he recognises it. Though, above all, we should show it to Mona and get her to tell us if she sold it to Helena and Krister.’
‘The Crystal Cave opens at midday tomorrow,’ Vanessa says.
‘Good,’ Minoo says.
‘How much will you tell Gustaf?’ asks Anna-Karin.
‘As little as possible. But I’ve got to persuade him to get out of PE.’
‘I hope you’ll do better than I did when I was you,’ Ida says.
64
They can make out Jonte’s house behind the bare trees. There is a faint light showing in some of the windows on the ground floor. Linnéa tries to see if anyone is moving in there. She has called several times, but Jonte hasn’t answered.
How many nights has she been coming here? And how many times has she left in the morning, hating herself? In this house, she has made some of the biggest mistakes in her life.
Linnéa stays in the shadows, close to the lawn. She listens hard, but the only sounds are Anna-Karin’s footsteps coming closer.
Linnéa shuts her eyes, grateful that her magic is there for her again. And Vanessa was right. It is easier to use now. Easier to call up the power, easier to control it.
At first, she is only aware of Anna-Karin’s thoughts. Her memories of seeing this house for the first time, how the garden was covered in snow, the moment Jari kissed her in front of everyone and then, later on, when Linnéa and Vanessa pushed her into a corner. Next, Anna-Karin’s mind touches on the memory of herself in Jari’s bed and the wave of shame is so overwhelming that Linnéa has to make a real effort to refocus. But she can do it. And almost picks something up from inside the house.
‘Try not to think of anything,’ she whispers to Anna-Karin, who naturally starts thinking hard about how she mustn’t think.
Linnéa concentrates. She blocks Anna-Karin and directs all her power towards the house. She manages to capture the thoughts. They are straying, incoherent, stumbling over each other, pervaded by terror.
… how can I what can I do how did it happen what if someone thinks it was me who should I who can I call I will call granny I must get out of here should I leave what can I…
She can’t sense who it is or if there are any others in the house.
‘Someone’s in there,’ she whispers to Anna-Karin. ‘And something has happened to that person. Are you ready to use your magic if it’s needed?’
Anna-Karin nods.
Linnéa starts walking across the garden. The wet, muddy lawn is sloshy under her boots.
When they reach the small outside set of steps, Linnéa sees that the door is ajar. Her fingers grasp the chilly metal handle and she pulls the door wide open.
She steals quietly into the hall with Anna-Karin close behind. Now the thoughts come to her as a hysterical babble, a rushing stream of words.
… I promise to be better good I promise I’ll never take hard stuff again never lie again never drink again if only it stops now I promise I promise I promise that if this only stops I will start over again from the beginning and then I will never do anything bad again I will do just everything you want dear God if only you do something so I get through this make it so it hasn’t happened …
It is impossible to work out where in the house the thoughts are coming from. Linnéa shuts her power down. The silence seems impenetrable.
They go into the kitchen. The worktop is cluttered with dirty dishes. A plate with scraps of food on it is still on the pine table. The pitted tabletop is covered in burn marks and small dents.
Linnéa eyes the closed door to the cleaning cupboard, then the worn curtains that reach the floor. So many places where someone might hide and jump out from any second now.
They move silently towards the living room and Linnéa peeps through the open door.
The room looks almost exactly the same as always. Only the gigantic TV screen is new. When Linnéa sees the orange-brown fluffy rug, one of the evenings she spent here comes back to her. She and Elias had shared a bottle of stolen booze and that rug had felt like the world’s softest carpet. They were rolling around on it, laughing like maniacs, trying to snog and instead laughing even harder. Olivia was sitting on the sofa, watching them while she smoked a cigarette right down to the filter. When she’d finished smoking, she’d turned to Lucky, who sat next to her, and groped him hard, as if it was some kind of competition she had to win. Elias and Linnéa laughed even more.
A thump from somewhere upstairs makes Linnéa and Anna-Karin stiffen.
Linnéa senses Anna-Karin’s fear and it makes her more courageous, just because she has to be. She pulls Anna-Karin along to the bottom of the staircase and stands still for a moment, scanning the total blackness above the top tread, listening.
The thoughts are coming from up there. Someone is there in the dark.
