Read Online Voices in Stone by Emily Diamand - Free Book Online Page A

thought they were doing , with his daughter only in the next room? Then he and Isis would leave, and he’d take her for an ice cream.
    She sighed and reached for her mp3 player, pushing the earphones firmly into her ears. Dad wasn’t coming to take her for ice cream; he’d never even been to this flat. He was thousands of miles away, sailing around the holiday resorts and entertaining the tourists, like always.
    “I want to play with dollies,” Angel announced, her voice piercing straight through the headphones. She was pointing up at Isis’s old dolls, lined up on a high shelf.
    Isis looked up from her book, unplugging one earphone. She shook her head. “Not now.”
    Angel put little fists on transparent hips. “But I can’t by my own .”
    Which was true – Angel couldn’t lift or move any of the dolls. So Isis had to do the actual playing, with Angel directing.
    Isis shook her head again and went back to reading, but Angel clambered up onto the bed, then onto Isis’s back. She started jumping, each jump accompanied by the word “Dollies!” Angel had no weight, and Isis tried to ignore her for a minute or two, but it was hard to carry on reading throughout Angel’s jumping – every time she landed, her feet sent two cold shocks through Isis’s back.
    Isis put her book down. “All right then.”
    And so she found herself arranging the dolls into a tea party, while Angel shouted orders. “No tea for her. She naughty!”
    As the day wore on, Isis waited desperately for the sound of the front door closing to tell her Gil had gone. But instead, at about five in the evening, Cally tapped on her door and poked her head around. She was smiling, her cheeks a little flushed.
    “Isis, do you mind if Gil… stays the night?” There was a lightness to her voice, as if she’d just finished laughing.
    Isis felt herself cringe, even at the thought of it. Plus that would mean he’d be in the flat tomorrow as well, and then who knew when he’d leave?
    “Does he have to?” Isis asked, her voice flat.
    The smile dropped off Cally’s face. “Well, I suppose he doesn’t. It’s just I haven’t seen him for such a long time…”
    “You didn’t want to see him,” Isis pointed out. “You told me you never wanted to again.”
    Cally flinched. “Yes, I know. But now we’ve talked, and I can see that what happened in August wasn’t his fault.”
    “A monster do-ed it,” said Angel, from her place by the dolls.
    Isis didn’t answer Angel, or her mum either. Surely Cally could work out what this was like for Isis?
    “Please,” said Cally. “I didn’t realise how much I’ve missed him.”
    “Mummy been sad,” Angel said, nodding wisely. “Now Mummy happy.”
    Isis sighed. “All right then.”
    And there was always the chance of…
    “Will Gray come over tomorrow?” she asked, trying to sound casual.
    Cally shook her head. “His mum’s being careful. She’s keeping him at home, so Gil’s going to pop over there in the afternoon.”
    Isis’s feelings must have been obvious on her face.
    “I’m sorry, darling,” said Cally, “but I’d be the same if you’d been ill.”
    Cally came into the room a little further then, stepping carefully around the dolls. Angel squeaked out of the way.
    “Are you sure you feel all right? You’ve been in here all day.” Cally glanced at the floor. “Haven’t you grown out of these?”
    Isis blushed. “I was just… checking them. I’m fine.”
    Cally peered at her. “Well if you’re sure… I’m just concerned because of you going on that school trip. The school says it’s nothing to worry about, but why did they call the ambulances then? Gray told Gil that the woman from the mining company really flew off the handle when someone asked if they were mining radioactive rocks.”
    “I don’t think they’d have let us go on a school trip there if the quarry was radioactive,” said Isis uncertainly.
    “Well, Gil says you shouldn’t be surprised at