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The first cold, fat drop hit her face

She would have to wait it out in the barn

The splatters caed to the old structure The door opened with a drawn-out creak, the hinges rusted frolect and the salty moisture of the sea air She stepped inside, her heart pounding in the darkness Pinpoints of di dust motes Hay had been left here at some point, the scent old and musty

She ju co and flitting about before settling in its nest on one of the high rafters, waiting out the storm just like her

She walked farther inside, the sound of the rain ainst the old roof It was bound to leak so she kept her eyes open for holes and tried to avoid the drips The pinpricks of light were gone now, leaving the space in dark shadow as the black clouds completely blocked out the sun The wind howled around the e, a mournful cry that Abby felt clear to the soles of her feet

Soht For the space of a second her body froze and she couldn’t breathe She knew instinctively she wasn’t alone

She re the blackberries … surely one wouldn’t come into the barn, would it? Her body was paralyzed with fear even as her pulse leaped, thru so loudly it pounded in her ears She turned her head to see atching her Poised to run if she had to …

It was a who, not a what, that stood in the back corner She recognized Kristian fro suit, very ordinary, much the same quality as Edith’s plain blue dress, and a suitcase sat beside hi to blend in, not stand out, hadn’t they?

She shouldn’t be surprised to find him here If she’d seen Edith, why not Kristian, too? Her pulse steadied She wasn’t frightened of hi sadness washed over her as she sed thickly It felt like the end of a dream The death of hope

“I’ely in the open space “Edith isn’t co, Kristian”

The light in the barn changed, lighting up like a camera flash Abby’s eyes widened as she stared out the open door Hail druainst the barn, hard pellets of ice that bounced off the ground like white ht and a resounding crack that filled her ears like a gunshot

Abby dropped to the floor, covering her head with her hands as splinters of wood fell all around her, the vision of Kristian te and snapping as everything surrounding her tilted She scra toward the only open space she could see—the door

She was nearly there when the weight of the roof shifted in a gust of wind and the walls beneath it treh, it all leaned until the wall buckled—and the barn ca down around her

CHAPTER 19