The Shiver Stone by Sharon Tregenza Read Free Book Online Page A

geology words I’d never heard of.
    I lay on my towel on a flat boulder to dry off and doze in the sun. I closed my eyes. I was tired from lack of sleep the night before and the gentle drag and pull of pebbles and sea was such a relaxing sound.
    â€˜Did you know it was my dad?’
    â€˜What?’
    Jago’s shadow blocked out the sun. I flicked my hand at him to tell him to move aside.
    â€˜The sculptures on the beach thing?’
    I sat up. ‘Oh that. No, not at first. He was my first guess obviously, being a sculptor – he was everyone’s first guess. But he said it was nothing to do with him and he had better things to do than play silly pranks. He’s a good liar. Oh, no offence.’
    Jago shrugged.
    â€˜So you just decided you’d sneak out in the middle of the night and catch The Stone Man. Is that what they called him?
    â€˜That’s what the papers called him. I preferred The Phantom Sculptor.’ I laughed, lay back down and closed my eyes.
    â€˜So, what, it started off in the local newspapers…?’
    I sighed and sat up. I wasn’t going to get a nap, that was obvious.
    â€˜It started one morning when someone noticed a pile of stones arranged like a tower on the beach. It started simple but got more complicated and more amazing. All sorts of things made out of stones and pebbles and bits of driftwood. They were awesome. Look. I’ve got pictures on my phone.’
    I passed my mobile and showed him how to scroll through.
    He shielded the screen and took his time looking at every one.
    I rubbed more sunscreen on and lay down again.
    Eventually Jago handed the phone back to me. ‘It was a pretty cool thing to do, wasn’t it?’ he said.
    â€˜Yes. And your mum saw my video? And the bit on telly where they identified him?’
    â€˜Yes.’
    I thought for a minute. ‘Do you think that’s where this Kemble Sykes saw him too?’
    â€˜Maybe.’
    Something else had been going around in my mind. ‘Do you know what Vulpes Vulpes means?’
    He shook his head and the shell in his hair swung round and hit him in the teeth. It must have hurt but he pretended not to notice.
    â€˜It’s tattooed on your dad’s arm. The weird thing is it’s tattooed on Kemble Sykes’ arm too. It must be a secret club or something. Your dad wouldn’t tell me what it meant when I asked him.’
    Jago shook his head again. This time he’d grabbed hold of the shell in his hair so it wouldn’t swing round and hit him in the face.
    â€˜Okay, one more dive,’ I said.
    Jago sighed. ‘Do you want me to video you again?’
    â€˜Course.’
    He held my phone up towards the cliff, squinting through the viewer.
    â€˜She’s still there,’ he said.
    â€˜Who?’
    â€˜Some woman. She’s behind that boulder. She’s been watching us with binoculars.’
    I had no objections to an audience.
    â€˜This dive will be the best one yet,’ I said.
    The breeze was stronger and it stole the heat out of the day. A cloud passed across the sun and I shivered. I took a deep breath and stood still and tall, my feet inching off the ledge.
    I stared out at the sea, focused and went through the motions in my head.
    Bend your knees.
    Extend your arms...
    But this time, as I jumped, I felt my ankle twist beneath me. I struggled in mid-air, trying to straighten my body, but the water came up too fast.
    I felt my legs arch to the left and then the hard smack and sting of pain as I entered the water. Instead of a neat splash the water crashed around me.
    When I surfaced this time I wasn’t smiling.
    Jago was.
    â€˜That was rubbish,’ he said, handing me my towel.
    â€˜I slipped.’
    â€˜Yeah, well, still rubbish.’
    My ankle hurt where it had twisted and my legs were red and burning. It was a rubbish dive and I was angry with myself.
    â€˜Like to see you do better.’ I pushed him once,