The cop took one look at the mayhem and sighed.

‘Who’s gonna tel me what this is al about?’ He took out his notebook. ‘I know you, Zed Benedict, and these are the Gordano twins, yes? And this little …

er … lady skeleton?’

‘Her name’s Sky, Sky Bright, my daughter,’ Simon said stiffly. ‘She wasn’t fighting.’

‘You’re the English family, right?’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘I know these boys—they’re good boys,’ he said, looking at the twins. ‘Never had no trouble from them. Who started this?’

The policeman’s gaze turned to Zed and me. He thought he knew who was to blame.

‘He attacked Sky.’ Zed wiped blood from a split lip.

‘Wel , duh! I was just playing, man: it’s Hal-oh-een, remember? Zed went bal istic, Officer Hussein.’ The axeman hugged his ribs.

‘Let’s take this down to the station, boys. I’l get the duty doctor to take a look at you and phone your parents.’

‘Aw, officer!’ groaned the twins.

‘In the car.’

Zed shot me a desperate look. Our secret date was about to get exposed big time.

‘And you, young lady, I think we’l need your side of this too. Perhaps your parents can bring you down. I seem to have my hands ful of psycho kil ers and werewolves.’

‘I’l bring her,’ said Simon in clipped tones.

Great. Date number two ends in the police station.

Officer Hussein would

n’t let us talk to each other

until he’d had a chance to get our own version of events. I didn’t dare risk telepathy, though the temptation was huge. But there was so much angry emotion rippling off Simon that I doubted any message would be able to penetrate the storm cloud.

‘I’m not going to ask what you were doing with him until we get back home,’ Simon fumed, as he gripped the steering wheel, driving me down to the station.

Now there was something to look forward to.

‘But you are in trouble, Sky. You broke our trust.

We asked you to keep away from him for your own safety.’

He was right. Of course, he was right. But it wasn’t as if I’d planned it al . I’d just got carried away by the moment. We thought we’d taken enough precautions to make a simple date in a café a reasonable thing to do.

‘And I did not expect to have to spend my evening ferrying you to the town lockup!’

I hugged my knees, my head buzzing.

‘We’re trying to make a good name for ourselves in Wrickenridge, Sky. Your antics aren’t helping. Mr Rodenheim might send us packing if we reflect badly on his centre.’

I dropped my forehead to my knees. I’d been bad.

Simon looked across at me, alerted by my silence that al was not wel .

‘Oh, bloody hel , darling, don’t do that.’ He pul ed the car over and caressed the top of my head. ‘I’m just scared for you.’

‘Sorry.’

‘You make me feel like a monster. I’m cross, but it’s more at those idiotic boys than at you. I know you didn’t have anything to do with that. Please.’

I looked up at him. He must have seen the tears in my eyes. ‘I just wanted to be with him.’

‘I know, love.’

‘Is that wrong?’

‘Not in the normal course of things, no.’

‘We just went to the café. We kept our masks on almost al the time when we were on the streets.’

Simon heaved a sigh. ‘Oh, to be sixteen again.

Just a coffee and it’s become a police matter.’

‘Zed’s on edge because of what happened in the woods. The axe boy was real y convincing—and I screamed—I couldn’t help myself. Zed thought I was in danger.’

‘So, he over-reacted. I can understand that seeing how it’s my fatal flaw. Let’s go and find out what we can do for him then.’

Zed was sitting in the waiting area but the officer on duty ushered me through without letting us talk. I was taken into Officer Hussein’s office as the Gordano twins were leaving in the custody of their mother. I wished I’d had time to change out of my skeleton suit.

‘Not her fault,’ mumbled the bigger twin.

‘Looks like trash to me,’ said Mrs Gordano, her nose in the air.

‘Sky, take a seat.’ Officer Hussein pushed a bottle of water towards me. ‘I think I’ve got the ful picture now, but why don’t you tel me your story.’

I briefly ran through the events from leaving the café.

‘What I can’t understand,’ said the officer, scratching his chest wearily—it had been a long night and it was only midnight, ‘is why Zed couldn’t see that it was a joke? He’s a big guy, taking on a boy a head shorter than him. It just don’t click for me.’

‘Zed Benedict was looking out for his girl, officer,’

said Simon, surprising me when he came to Zed’s defence. ‘He may be a head tal er than that young man, but Sky is smal er than either of them. He would have seen a boy going for her with a knife.

Sometimes you can’t think straight when you are scared for someone.’

‘Was anyone hurt?’ I asked.

Officer Hussein tapped his pad. ‘Not seriously.

Ben Gordano has a couple of loose teeth but the dentist should be able to sort those out. It’l cost though.’

‘Perhaps Zed could split the bil ? It seems a suitable punishment,’ Simon suggested.

Officer Hussein rose to his feet.

‘Yeah, I guess that’s right. No one need go away with a record for this.’

He led the way back to the waiting room. Zed’s family had pitched up in the meantime—parents, Xav, Yves, and Victor al were there—and he was having to sit through a lecture on sneaking out and brawling in the streets. He looked frustrated rather than repentant, back to the sul en Wolfman of the first days of our acquaintance.

Officer Hussein clapped his hands to gain their attention. ‘Al right, al right, people, let’s move this along. I want a word with Zed, then you can al go.’

He took Zed into the back room, leaving me with the Benedicts.

Victor came forward. ‘Mom, Dad, this is Mr Bright, Sky’s father.’

Our parents exchanged stiff nods. I don’t think Saul thought I was sweet any more. It looked more as if I left a sour taste in their mouths. Only Xav and Yves gave me a friendly smile.

‘Like the suit,’ whispered Xav. ‘You and your dad thinking of starting a new fashion?’

Yves scratched his chin. ‘Fascinating. Do you know, every bone is anatomical y correct? Whoever made this has the mind of a medic.’

It only then struck me that Simon hadn’t changed either. He’d thrown on a coat but there was unmistakable evidence peeking out that he too was wearing luminescent bones.

I groaned. ‘Kil me now and bury me.’

‘I thought the idea of the skeleton was that someone had already done that,’ teased Xav.

‘Word’s going to get around, you know.’ Yves’s eyes twinkled behind his glasses.

‘Wel , isn’t that a comforting thought.’

Xav rubbed his hands. ‘Yeah, everyone’s going to be talking about how Zed got cuffed and stuffed.’

‘He wasn’t cuffed.’

‘But he was stuffed in the back of the police car.

Besides the handcuffs make for a better story.

You’re both going to be quite infamous. I think Zed’l like the new edge to his rep.’ He tweaked the unravel ing end of my French plait. ‘Don’t worry, Sky, I’l stil talk to you.’

‘Thanks. You’re a hero.’

Our parting from the Benedicts reminded me of an exchange of hostile prisoners in one of those old war films. Zed and I were kept apart then frogmarched to our separate vehicles. He was looking ashen.

I feel like I’ve been suckerpunched. He risked the thought even though we might be heard. I can’t leave without saying sorry. Again.

What happened?

I lost it, flipped out—all thanks to my freaking gift.

I’d seen what was going to happen, you see, months back. Saw you being attacked with a knife. I hadn’t realized it was a fake.