“Do you want to have a nap?” Luna said. “My bed’s really comfy.”
“You mean my bed, silly,” the imposter said. She went to say something else but it was stifled by a yawn. “Maybe just a little nap. Oh! I just remembered where I put it!”
“Put what?” Luna asked.
The imposter jumped up and pulled one of the armchairs forward, then reached down and held something in the air. “I found it! Look, Mummy!”
“You found T-Rex!” Luna shouted.
“I was playing with him here yesterday,” the imposter said. Then, “Do you mind if I take him for a little nap?”
Luna nodded, and I watched, hollowed out with horror, as the imposter went into Luna’s bedroom and climbed into bed, the T-Rex clutched to her chest.
Luna came back into the living room and sat next to me. “Who is that girl, Mummy?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “Have you ever seen her before?”
Luna shook her head. “She looks just like me. She talks like me, too.”
* * *
—
“And that’s when I came here,” I now told Isla. “I took Luna, put her in the car, and drove her here.”
Isla nodded. Then she smiled warmly at Luna in the kitchen. “Darling, why don’t you go next door and watch TV? There’ll be cartoons on now. I’ll bring you a nice hot chocolate if you hasten. Off ye go.”
Luna looked at me for assurance and I nodded. When Isla was sure Luna was out of the room, she leaned forward.
“Where’s the other one? The other girl?”
“I left her at the bothy,” I said weakly. “I didn’t know what to do . . .”
Isla looked frustrated. “You need to go back. It might already have left . . .”
I nodded, reluctantly. I felt like I wanted to be sick.
“You know it’s a wildling.”
I squeezed my eyes shut and clasped my hands to my head. I didn’t want to agree with her. I wanted to curl into a ball and disappear.
Isla leaned forward and took my hands.
“If you don’t act now, you’ll never see any of your daughters again. Luna included.”
Her voice and eyes were hard.
“What do you mean?”
“You think it’s a coincidence that Saffy and Clover are missing, and now this?” She rose from her chair and pulled a long, thin knife off the chimney mantel, weighing it in her hands. “You have to act. If you do what I tell you, you’ll be safe.”
I squeezed my eyes shut. “OK.”
“You’ll need rope. And something to light a fire. And you’ll need this.” She handed me the knife.
“I can’t,” I whispered, putting down the blade.
“Mummy?” Luna called from the other room. “Rowan says she can make me hot chocolate. Am I allowed?”
I must have visibly weakened at the sound of Luna’s voice—identical to the imposter’s voice—because just then Isla took my hand. “It’s best that you do it. Correct?”
It felt as though the room was underwater. Nothing felt real anymore. I managed to nod.
“I’ll come with you,” Isla said with a smile. “Now, you don’t have a moment to waste.”
IV
I went back to the bothy, as Isla instructed. To my relief, the other Luna—the one with the mark—was inside, puzzled and upset at my leaving her behind.