“This is my fault,” I said.
Ari gave my hand a quick squeeze. “Not only yours. Come on, let’s see if we can find a bus schedule.” He started toward the gas station door.
The boy on the bicycle headed the same way, not seeing us. We quickly stepped out of his path, but then the bicycle hit a rock, and he tumbled to the ground.
Ari and I ran to his side, even as the girl stopped pedaling. I reached for the boy to help him up. He flinched as if burned, burst into tears, and ran wailing to the woman. She flipped her phone closed and stroked his hair.
The girl sat on her bicycle, balanced on her toes. She looked right at us. I smiled, even though she couldn’t see us.
She smiled back. “Are you ghosts?” she asked solemnly.
I started. “I—I don’t know.” Was the spell broken? No, the boy hadn’t seen me, though he’d felt my touch.
The girl nodded, still solemn. “I see ghosts. My grandma says some people can.” She reached into her pocket and offered me a piece of black licorice.
I took it. “Thank you,” I said.
“You’re welcome!” She turned and pedaled away, winding through the parking lot toward the woman and boy.
I tore the licorice in half, gave a piece to Ari, and popped the other into my mouth. It was salty. My lips scrunched up, but then I decided I liked it. “A gift,” I whispered. Unlike with Muninn or Svan or the fire spirits, there’d been no price—it was just a gift.
A pair of backpackers headed down the road and into the parking lot. They walked over to the woman. “Do you know—is there a bus today?” one of them asked in English.
The woman answered in English, more stilted than the Icelandic she’d spoken on the phone. “The bus is canceled. Because of the earthquake.”
Ari and I looked at each other. The woman asked the backpackers where they were headed; Akureyri, they said, and she opened her phone, saying she knew someone who might be able to give them a ride.
We could hitch a ride, too, sneak into someone’s backseat, only how would we know where they were going? Up above a gray falcon circled around, reminding me of the kids on their bicycles. Could we borrow bicycles and head south that way?
Ari took his jacket from his shoulders and stared at it thoughtfully. Wind pulled at the sleeves and at his hair. “Ah, well,” he said at last. He pulled the jacket back on and zipped it up. “There’s enough time to be human later.”
I gave him a puzzled look. Ari held out a hand and bowed slightly.
“Haley,” he said, “may I offer you a ride?”
Chapter 14 
It took me a moment to realize what Ari meant. “As a bear?”
“I may not be much as a human, but as a bear I make pretty good time.” He grinned. “Or if you prefer, we could hotwire a car. Not that I’ve ever done that before, but they do it in movies all the time, so how hard can it be?”
“No, no, I’d love a ride. That’d be amazing, actually.” How many wildlife biologists get to ride a polar bear? Jared would be jealous—I cut the thought off. If he’s jealous, it won’t be because of the bear. “Are you sure?” I asked Ari. “I mean, it’s awfully far.”
“Of course. It’ll be just like shooting womp rats back home.” At my blank look, Ari said, “Another Star Wars joke. I’m a bit of a geek, if you hadn’t noticed. Yes, I’m sure. I have lots more energy as a bear. More than I know what to do with, actually. I can get us to Hlidarendi.”
“Thanks,” I said. We really are in this together, I thought.
We loaded up on sandwiches and Cokes and maps at the abandoned gas station. We tried to call Jared on the pay phone there, too, but like at the hotel, we didn’t get a dial tone. Ari left a few bills on the counter to pay for all we took—though we still had no idea whether anyone could see our money—and then we headed down to the harbor to wait for the sun to set and Ari to change. We stretched out on a patch of grass. Ari studied the map. I took out Thorgerd’s spellbook and studied the spell for returning the coin. There were words I had to speak—after my third pathetic attempt to sound them out, Ari took pity and read them for me. I repeated the words until I had them memorized.
Ari folded up the maps. “I know the way. I won’t screw this up.”
“You didn’t screw anything up.” I stopped reciting the spell under my breath and looked at him. “Seriously.”
Ari looked back. For a moment we stared at each other, frozen in place. More than anything, I wanted to take his face in my hands, to convince him without words that he hadn’t messed up after all. Did he have any idea how much harder this all would be without him?
“I didn’t kiss you when I had the chance. If that isn’t screwing up, I don’t know what is.” Ari turned abruptly toward the harbor. The water was bright beneath the afternoon sun.
I wanted to tell him—what? That he still had a chance? That he didn’t, but I wished he did? I bit down hard on my inner lip, drawing blood. It tasted coppery and hotter than blood should have.
I pulled a sandwich from my pack and bit fiercely into it. The taste of blood mixed with the taste of tuna salad and a yellow sauce that was more like mayo than mustard. I read through the spell once more.
The mead has to work. “Ari, your mom was going to cast this spell. She wouldn’t have killed a fox—would she?”
Still looking at the water, Ari pulled a Coke from my pack and popped it open. “You’re asking me? I didn’t think Mom would sleep with a married man.” Ari picked up a flat rock and skipped it over the blue water. “You know, when I invited myself to lunch at Thingvellir, I had this idea that maybe you’d figured things out—about my mom and your dad, I mean—better than me. Stupid, really. I don’t know why I thought they’d have even told you when they didn’t want me to know, either.”
I tried to skip a stone, too, but it sank right into the water. I watched the ripples circle out. Maybe I was the stupid one, for not having figured out what was going on sooner.
We finished the sandwiches as twilight settled in. Ari stood and handed me the flashlight. I stood as well. He stretched and took a few steps back. “Ready?” A small smile crossed his face. He’s looking forward to this.
As the sun dipped behind the hills, the smile faded. Ari’s eyes took on a wide, startled look. “You’d think I’d get used to this—” His voice turned hoarse as his jacket began to flow, his face to twist and change, his skin to sprout white fur. Within moments a white bear stood roaring before me. The sound sent shivers down to my bones. Somewhere deep inside I knew I ought to run.
Ari whirled and ran from me instead, loping away along side the harbor. I raced after him, calling his name. He disappeared into the distance as the sky grew dimmer. I stopped and took a deep breath. He’ll come back. Just like last night. Did he need to remember that he wouldn’t hurt me? Or to wait until it was true?
“Get back here,” I whispered. I heard a distant roar.
A streak of white loped toward me through the dimness. Ari stopped just an arm’s length away, sides heaving. He hunkered down and rested his head in his paws, looking sheepish.
I laughed. “You just had to get that out of your system, didn’t you?”
Ari lifted his head and tilted it to one side. I could almost see his quirked smile in the gesture. I reached out and rubbed his nose.