Skellig by David Almond Page A

felt the feathers and delicate bones rising from my own shoulders, and I was lifted from the floor with Skellig and Mina. We turned circles together through the empty air of that empty room high in an old house in Crow Road.
    Then it was over. I found myself crumpled on the floorboards alongside Mina. Skellig crouched beside us. He touched our heads.
    “Go home now,” he squeaked.
    “But how are you like this now?” I asked.
    He pressed his finger to his lips.
    “The owls and the angels,” he whispered.
    He raised his finger when we began to speak again.
    “Remember this night,” he whispered.
    We tottered from the room. We descended the stairs. We went out through the DANGER door into the night. We hesitated for a moment.
    “Did it happen to you as well?” I whispered.
    “Yes. It happened to all of us.”
    We laughed. I closed my eyes. I tried to feel again the feathers and bones of wings on my shoulders. I opened my eyes, tried to recall the ghostly wings rising at Mina’s back.
    “It will happen again,” said Mina. “Won’t it?”
    “Yes.”
    We hurried homeward. At the entrance to the back lane, we paused again to catch our breath. It was then that we heard Dad’s voice, calling.
    “Michael! Michael!”
    As we stood there, we saw him come out from the backyard into the lane. His voice was filled with fear.
    “Michael! Oh, Michael!”
    Then he saw us standing there, hand in hand.
    “Michael! Oh, Michael!”
    He ran and grabbed me in his arms.
    “We were sleepwalking,” said Mina.
    “Yes,” I said, as he held me tight to keep me safe. “I didn’t know what I was doing. I was dreaming. I was sleepwalking.”

DR. DEATH FACED ME ACROSS THE kitchen table. He touched my hand with his long curved fingers. I caught the scent of tobacco that surrounded him. I saw the black spots on his skin. Dad was telling him the story: my disappearance in the night, my sleepwalking. I heard in his voice how scared he still was, how he thought he’d lost me. I wanted to tell him again that I was all right, everything was all right.
    “I woke up and knew he was gone. Straight away I knew he was gone. When you love somebody you know these things. It’s right, Dan. Isn’t it?”
    Dr. Death tried to smile but his eyes stayed stupid and cold.
    “And there was this girl with you?” he said.
    “Mina,” said Dad. “She saw him from her window, sleepwalking in the night. She went to help him. That’s true, isn’t it, Michael?”
    I nodded.
    Dr. Death licked his lips.
    “Mina. She isn’t one of mine,” he said. “I wouldn’t know her.”
    He tried to smile again.
    “Sleepwalking?” he said. He raised his eyebrows. “And this is true?”
    I stared at him.
    “Yes. This is true.”
    He watched me. He was cold, dry, pale as death. Wings would never rise at his back.
    “Let me look at you.”
    I stood in front of him. He shined a tiny bright light into my eyes and peered into me. He shined it into my ears. I felt his breath and his scent all over me. He lifted my shirt and pressed his stethoscope against my chest and listened to me. I felt his clammy hands on my skin.
    “What day is it?” he asked me. “What month is it? What’s the name of the Prime Minister?”
    Dad chewed his lips as he watched and listened.
    “Good lad,” he murmured as I answered.
    Dr. Death touched my cheek.
    “Is there anything you’d like to tell me?” he asked.
    I shook my head.
    “Don’t be shy,” he said. “Me and your dad have been through everything you’re going through.”
    I shook my head again.
    “He’s a fit and healthy lad,” he said. “Just keep an eye on him.” His mouth grinned as he looked at me. “And make sure he stays in bed at night.”
    He kept me close to him.
    “It’s a difficult time,” he said. “Everything inside you’s changing. The world can seem a wild and weird place. But you’ll get through it.”
    “Did you treat Ernie?” I asked.
    He raised his eyebrows.
    “Ernie Myers. The man