Mārama moans, her fingernails nearly breaking the skin of Penny’s forearm. “No…” she breathes.
“Get a move on, Pen,” Matiu calls over his shoulder. “Get Mārama back to the car. And whatever you do, lock the f*****g doors.”
Her heart galloping, Penny hustles her aunt down the path to the car and settles her into the back seat. Then she snatches up her shoes from beside the path, gets into the passenger seat, locks the doors, and they wait.
The car is airless and hot, the moon outside bathing the asphalt in silvery sweat. Penny holds her breath, while Mārama rocks in place, humming something Penny doesn’t recognise.
“Matiu said he’d be back in a second, just as soon as he catches up with Cerberus,” Penny says to fill the silence.
Mārama’s humming goes up a half note.
The minutes tick b
