“Well, remember how I said I thought I saw something in the water last night?”
“Yeah. Yep. Hard to forget that.”
“Soooo, it’s back. And it’s kind of got its tentacles wrapped around the lighthouse right now. Anyway, we’re baking that bread.”
“What do you mean it has its tentacles wrapped around the lighthouse?” Posey’s voice crackles over the speaker and I wince at the sheer volume of it.
“Yeah, you’re on speakerphone,” Rose says. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t know how else to explain it,” I say. “It’s got tentacles, it’s wrapped around the lighthouse, its eye is glowing. It’s freaking us out. Well?—”
Caleb shakes his head.
“Not Caleb. It’s freaking me out a little bit,” I say and Gunner barks. “It’s not freaking Gunner out either.”
“I’m not freaked out at all,” Gunner yells.
The phone goes quiet.
“Did Gunner just talk?”
“Is Caleb there?” Rose whispers, sounding absolutely scandalized.
“OK, so the thing is?—”
“Uh, you told him?” Hazel interrupts. “Good for you, Ivy. I didn’t think you had it in you.”
“A bit rude,” I tell her. “Can we concentrate?”
“There’s a kraken. Or is it an octopus?” Posey says, the voice of reason as always.
“It’s a kraken,” I tell her. “Right, there’s a kraken around the lighthouse and y’all are worried about Gunner talking? Priorities, ladies.”
“You’re right, you’re right,” Hazel says.
“We baked the bread,” I say, hoping they understand it. “Well, let me clarify. The bread is in the oven baking.”
“You think that the kraken wants bread?” Hazel says. “They eat fish.”
“Did you guys not tell her anything?” I ask.
“Well, excuse us for being very concerned about the fact that her ankle is swollen up like a purple grapefruit and that you didn’t return any of our phone calls during a massive surprise storm and flood,” Posey snips.
“What does the bread have to do with anything?” Hazel asks, sounding both perplexed and let down.
“We found a scrapbook in the attic late last night, Hazel, and we were going to ask you about it and show it to you when you got home, and then this whole mess happened. OK? Honestly, please take a look at it and see if you can find anything about what’s going on in the town. Everything’s been weird. Can y’all catch her up… please,” I tack on the politeness, trying and failing to hide how exasperated I am with both Posey and Rose. “The three of you could have figured something out by now.”
“Be nice,” Gunner snaps at me. “Turn up the volume so I can hear them!”
I give Gunner a warning look, push the speakerphone button, then pinch the bridge of my nose, frustrated and trying to ignore the fact that there’s a sucker-lined tentacle sliding across the window and that Caleb seems torn between laughter and complete exasperation.
“Fine,” I tell them, trying to modulate my tone and ending up sounding as perky as a Muppets character. “I’m just slightly concerned about the fact that there is a kraken with tentacles around the lighthouse. We have flooded streets and apparently there’s some sort of magical ward that we need to repair.”
The sound of a scuffle comes over the speakerphone, and I hear my sisters squabbling before Hazel’s voice comes over the phone.
“If you would have listened to me then, you would have heard me say that I picked up a book on runes. And most of those runes are guess what for? Wards. Huh. Maybe you should actually listen to your baby sister for once instead of ignoring her.”
Posey’s voice comes over the speakerphone, but it sounds further away. “You need to get off your ankle, Hazel,” she shouts.
