Nightfall by Jake Halpern Read Free Book Online Page B

narrowing her eyes.
    â€œDo I look like I’m joking?” he replied, face stoic.
    Suddenly nervous, Marin stalked out of Kana’s room and headed downstairs. As she went, she heard voices in the foyer,followed by her mother calling for her. At the foot of the stairs she met Tarae, who had wrapped a long black shawl tightly around her bare shoulders.
    â€œOh, Marin,” said her mother. “What have you done, child?”
    â€œI did what you told me to do,” she protested. “I put the clock away.”
    â€œNo, something else,” said her mother. “The okrana want to speak with you.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œI don’t know,” said Tarae. Her anger was subsumed by a thick layer of motherly worry. Her lips and cheeks were pinched from frowning. “They wouldn’t say.”

CHAPTER 10
    The leader of the okrana, a man named Ivo, stood in the doorway. Or, more accurately, he dominated the doorway. His shoulders were so wide that they left only a few inches of space on either side. Marin recoiled. She’d always found him menacing. As a little girl, she remembered staring at the pockmarks along his chin and throat, wondering why his face was so badly scarred.
    At the moment, Ivo was deep in conversation with Anton, who was a full head shorter. It took several seconds before Ivo realized that Marin was there. When he did, he stared at her probingly.
    â€œIs this her?” Ivo asked. His black wool sweater was caked with mud and torn at the elbows.
    â€œYes,” replied Anton, placing an arm protectively around his daughter’s shoulders. “This is my daughter, Marin.”
    â€œI will ask her a few questions.”
    â€œOf course.” Anton sounded amenable enough, but he was studying Ivo intensely.
    Ivo cleared his throat. “Alone—if you please.”
    Marin’s father frowned, but he clearly couldn’t think of a suitable reason to object. He glanced inside and saw Tarae waiting in the foyer, biting a fingernail.
    â€œIt won’t take long,” said Ivo.
    Marin walked past her father, shrugged at him as if this were a perfectly normal situation, and then closed the front door behind her. She stood alone on the doorstep with Ivo. In the distance, more okrana with wick torches waited by the edge of the woods.
    â€œYou know that the ships have arrived?” asked Ivo.
    â€œYes, I saw them.” Marin shivered. It was no longer possible to be outside without a sweater, and she had left hers inside.
    â€œSo you know that we are pressed for time,” he said.
    Marin nodded.
    Ivo stared flatly into her eyes. “I am glad you understand.” He paused. “There is a problem. Quite serious.”
    â€œWhat is it?”
    â€œA boy has gone missing,” said Ivo. “He disappeared, probably within the last twelve hours.”
    â€œDisappeared?”
    â€œYes,” said Ivo. He looked at her expectantly.
    â€œI’m sorry,” said Marin. “But I don’t see how . . . I mean what does this have to do with me?”
    â€œYou know the boy.”
    â€œWho is he?”
    â€œLine.”
    Marin took a step back. She felt a cry building in her chest, but quickly suppressed it.
Where could he be?
    â€œYou do know him—correct?” asked Ivo.
    Marin nodded.
    â€œHow?”
    â€œHe’s my friend,” she replied. Her voice felt pinched, as if someone were taking her vocal cords and squeezing them.
    â€œMore than a friend, yes?” pressed Ivo.
    Blood rushed to her cheeks. “Does it matter?”
    â€œIf I am asking, it matters.”
    â€œM-more than a friend,” she stammered.
    Ivo nodded with satisfaction. “When did you see him last?”
    â€œYesterday,” she quickly replied, thinking that the speed of her response might prevent follow-up questions.
    Ivo leaned closer. He had a strong, almost animal-like scent. “When yesterday—what