Nightfall by Jake Halpern Read Free Book Online Page A

father’s oldest sister, in a small bedroom in the attic. As a very little boy, he was terrified to be near her.
    He’d voiced these worries to his mother as she was cleaning up his bloodied face, but she’d dismissed his concerns. “Kana, my love, it’s impossible.”
    â€œIs it?” Kana had replied. “Malony threw herself down the stairs, didn’t she? And they locked her in her bedroom afterward, right?”
    Tarae had shaken her head. “You’re fine,” she’d told him. “It’s the coming of the Night—it’s upsetting all of us.”
    Now Kana continued to stare at the old rocking chair until he heard a wooden board creak in the hallway. He listened for a moment. “Marin—are you just going to stand there?”
    There was no reply.
    He turned and faced the doorway. “You’re not very good at spying,” said Kana. “If you want to come in, then do it.”
    â€œSorry,” she said. “Mother asked me to bring your clock downstairs.” Marin stepped out of the hallway and entered his room. “What are you doing?” she asked. Marin absentmindedly rubbed her hands together and looked around Kana’s bedroom.
    â€œSlowly losing my mind,” said Kana. He glanced at Marin. “What’s that box you’re carrying?” Recognition dawned on his face. “
Oh.
That’s the box Mother’s always chattering about. I’m a little jealous—my going-away gift was a set of bolted windows.” He smiled. “Did you two have your talk? How did that go?”
    Marin opened her mouth in amazement. It was uncanny how he was able to hone in on what had happened.
    â€œThe talk didn’t go that well,” she replied with a sigh. There was no point in elaborating. Kana clearly didn’t want to have an actual conversation about this. “I just came to get the clock. That’s all.”
    Marin took the clock off the wall and left the room.
    Alone again, Kana felt drained, as if his brief back-and-forth with Marin had been more taxing than he realized. He eased himself down on the rocking chair. It groaned predictably every time Kana pushed back. It was one of the noises he remembered most from his childhood. He listened for sounds coming from Marin’s room but heard nothing.
    Marin. My twin sister, Marin.
He missed her. That was the truth of it. He missed being closer with her—talking, joking,even just walking to school together. The constant bickering was tiresome. And yet he couldn’t stop himself. He was angry—deeply angry—and this emotion had a will of its own.
    Kana closed his eyes and envisioned the forest. He could smell the pine, and even with the window bolted shut, he knew a gentle breeze was making the needles shudder ever so slightly. It’d be good to get out.
    He stood up and was about to leave, when he heard voices from outside. Kana pressed an ear against the window. Before he knew who it was, he could hear their agitated tone. After listening for several seconds, he called out to Marin.
    She appeared at the doorway with a tired smile. Kana studied her face. Even in the poor light, he could see her with startling clarity. Her bronze skin seemed to glow, adding color to her eyes and lips. It was no wonder Line was so taken with her.
    â€œWhat is it?” asked Marin.
    â€œYou have visitors coming,” said Kana.
    â€œWhat are you talking about?” she asked. Her eyes flicked to the window next to Kana. After years of being nearly blind, Kana’s hearing was incredibly acute.
    â€œThe okrana are heading toward our house,” he said. “They’re coming from the woods and they want to talk to you.”
    In addition to monitoring the coastline, the okrana were the only ones in Bliss allowed to range in the woods. And as far as Kana and Marin knew, the okrana never made house calls.
    â€œAre you joking?” asked Marin,