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My tears don’t slow. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Say thank you and let it be done. But if that’s really not enough for you”—his mouth curves cheekily—“and you genuinely want to repay us, there is one thing . . .”
“Anything.”
“There is a hole behind the east fence that won’t dig itself, and I have been told my company is intolerable.”
A laugh breaks out of me—that is not where I thought this was going. “You want me to dig a hole?”
“I want you to dig a hole with me. It will be so much fun.”
“Deal.”
The sound that comes out of Noa has me in fits of giggles as he punches the air and slides off the bed. “You guys all heard it here first: we are digging a hole. I’m getting my good shovel—stay here and don’t move.” Then he’s gone.
Cipher hands me a clean rag to wipe my face, and Cave’s hand settles on the back of my neck.
Two days ago, I stood in a house full of ghosts and felt nothing but panic about how I was going to make ends meet. Today my worries have faded, and I am going to dig a hole with a zombie, and I have never felt like this before in my life.
Chapter Seven
Cave
What cannot be stolen, only surrendered?
What turns mercy into punishment and love into a cage?
What belongs to her, even when she does not know it?
Valli gets ready for work as I sit on the edge of the new bed and watch her. She got up before the sun and has changed her shirt twice. She keeps talking to herself, mumbling under her breath. Noa made her breakfast, and Cipher gave her a staff radio.
Now she stands in front of the mirror and fixes her hair. She is anxious, but has no reason to be; I know she will do great. Nobody has ever told her she does well simply by existing. I would tell her, but so many words would come out wrong. Instead, I take the small thing I made out of my pocket and hand it to her.
She smiles at the star woven from corn husks, small enough to hide in her fist. It took me four tries to get it right; my hands are better at breaking things than creating.
“Is this so I can take a part of you with me?” I nod and she smiles. “Walk with me.”
She never needs to ask; I was always going to go with her. But I think she asks because it’s always nice to be chosen.
The morning is the best part of the day on the island, when staff are getting everything ready but the gates are not yet open to guests. Not that I think Nixie will let me take part for a while.
That man shouldn’t have come into the cornfield. But he didn’t heed the warnings; no one is allowed in my field again until she is ready to come back in.
Gerald crosses the path ahead of us with a rabbit under each arm. Valli rushes to him, crooning as she takes one of the rabbits and pulls it to her chest. I don’t understand why people use baby talk with pets—it makes no sense. I’m sure they probably don’t even understand us; they simply see a huge person who looks ridiculous and sounds worse.
“Good luck today,” Gerald says as she passes him back the bunny. Its name is Stew, which I actually think is funny. Then Gerald continues on his way.
Staff watch us as we walk through each zone, probably because no one has ever seen me this much. Though I hate it when they stare, I want them to know she is mine, and if anyone as much as breathes wrong in her direction, they will have to face me.
Valli’s fingers are laced in mine. They’re small but fit perfectly.
“Okay,” she mutters as Nixie’s office comes into view. “She has a four-part coffee order, don’t write on the pink clipboard, listen because she won’t repeat herself. Did I miss anything?”
The office door opens before we reach it. “Right on time,” Nixie says. “I love punctuality in an employee. It’s the bare minimum, but you would be surprised how rare the bare minimum is.”
Valli lets go of my hand to step forward, but I don’t like letting her go. I never want to let her go, so I scowl at Nixie and glare. She narrows her eyes and then laughs.
“Oh, sweetheart,” she says, wiping under one eye. “That’s adorable. Are you threatening me?”
