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Alan held him in that moment of silence with a look
“Nick,” he said quietly “I’ You can’t stop oing to Merris’s because I need her help and nothing you can say will change my mind You don’t have to come with me”
“Yes, I do,” Nick snapped
What a stupid thing for Alan to say They had never been separated for longer than those few days last Christmas; Nick always knehere Alan was and usually knew that he was close That was how things were and how they were going to stay Alan was his brother, and if he was set on carrying out his little plan, risking himself to save Mum, then Nick had to be with him to make sure he was safe
Alan looked almost too worn out to sered in his eyes “All right”
He nodded slightly, as if they were business Then he turned and went back into the hall, li so heavy Nick followed him It was clear that Alan needed to be watched He’d meant what he’d told Alan: He would sacrifice Mum if he had to
It didn’t matter what Alan wanted It only mattered that Alan lived
10
The House of Mezentius
THEY WERE ALL IN THE CAR FIVE MINUTES LATER, abandoning everything that would not fit into the couple of old schoolbags they had in the boot Nick had secured his new favorite sword at his belt, and Alan had slipped his family pictures, and the book with the hidden picture inside, into one of the bags
“What’s that?” Nick had said, perversely wanting to see Alan lie to him
“Just so,” Alan answered with a wry, plausible sician and had to turn away
Now Cahts had turned into a e over a sray
Nick turned the car south toward the M3, hearing a clank as he h it was unlikely they would have time for mechanics in the near future
It would take about two hours to get to Southampton if they were lucky with traffic, and then they could take the ferry to the Isle of Wight
Nick was still thinking about the traffic when Alan said in a soft voice, “Nick, you get horribly seasick”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Nick said
He didn’t reicians did not leave a lot of tih seas, but the idea sounded implausible Nick was never sick, and even if he had been, they were hardly going to change their plans because of a tiny thing like seasickness He wasn’t letting Alan go off on his own
“We took you on a boat once when you were little, and it was—” Alan bit his lip “You coughed up blood I thought you were going to die”
“I didn’t,” Nick pointed out “And if I was little, I ilanced over at Alan, whose profile was tense and unhappy If Alan was so concerned about hi hi him from boats
Mae, Jamie, and Mu the M3 and into the gathering night, Nick glanced in the aze steady and cold
Alan seemed so ready to die to save her Nick couldn’t understand it, and he wasn’t about to let it happen
The ferry at Southae white and red edifice,on the water than a boat There seemed to be a jolly cloud painted on one side, as if they were all off on a day trip to the beach
There were very few other passengers at this tiht They waited until everyone else was aboard; nobody was in the ers, Nick least of all He strode onboard last, lagging behind even Alan’s li at the side of the ferry as the whistle blew He lifted his face to the cold wind and hoped everyone would understand that he wanted to be left alone
The boat lurched as it set off Nick felt his stomach tilt with it, and asi all the blood rush to your head He deliberately did not look at the gray expanse of water, leaning heavily against the railing and clenching his hand hard around it He squeezed the ers ached, and he concentrated on the pain Having a focus cleared his head
He felt the plunge of the hull against the waves in the pit of his sto, a succession of waves battering the boat, the whole sea nothing but currents under relentless currents
Mae left Mum’s side to come and stand in front of Nick Her face wavered in front of his eyes, bobbing as if she was underwater
“Are you all right?” she asked “We’ve only been reen Do you want to go below deck, or…maybe you’d like a basin?”
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Alan held him in that moment of silence with a look
“Nick,” he said quietly “I’ You can’t stop oing to Merris’s because I need her help and nothing you can say will change my mind You don’t have to come with me”
“Yes, I do,” Nick snapped
What a stupid thing for Alan to say They had never been separated for longer than those few days last Christmas; Nick always knehere Alan was and usually knew that he was close That was how things were and how they were going to stay Alan was his brother, and if he was set on carrying out his little plan, risking himself to save Mum, then Nick had to be with him to make sure he was safe
Alan looked almost too worn out to sered in his eyes “All right”
He nodded slightly, as if they were business Then he turned and went back into the hall, li so heavy Nick followed him It was clear that Alan needed to be watched He’d meant what he’d told Alan: He would sacrifice Mum if he had to
It didn’t matter what Alan wanted It only mattered that Alan lived
10
The House of Mezentius
THEY WERE ALL IN THE CAR FIVE MINUTES LATER, abandoning everything that would not fit into the couple of old schoolbags they had in the boot Nick had secured his new favorite sword at his belt, and Alan had slipped his family pictures, and the book with the hidden picture inside, into one of the bags
“What’s that?” Nick had said, perversely wanting to see Alan lie to him
“Just so,” Alan answered with a wry, plausible sician and had to turn away
Now Cahts had turned into a e over a sray
Nick turned the car south toward the M3, hearing a clank as he h it was unlikely they would have time for mechanics in the near future
It would take about two hours to get to Southampton if they were lucky with traffic, and then they could take the ferry to the Isle of Wight