“Yeah, so no backing out now,” she added.

Vik sighed and released my hands, but he hardly looked relieved. “I almost hope you’re right.”

I nodded, and lifted the cover, opening to the first page. But before I could take in the words on the brittle vellum, Vik took the book from me.

“But I’ll do the reading, thank you,” he said.

I shrugged and folded my arms. “Go for it, archeologist boy wonder.”

Vik’s eyes remained on me for a moment, but then he shook his head with a faint smile and looked down. He turned to the center of the book with reverent fingers and found a place to begin. “ ‘In his house at R’lyeh,’ ” Vik read, his voice low, “ ‘Dead Cthulhu—’ ”

“Bless you,” Bree interrupted.

Okay, maybe I didn’t know what a Thalooloo was, but at least I could tell it wasn’t a sneeze. Sometimes I felt sorry for Bree. Despite how smart she was, she was always so awkward and quirky. I loved her for it, but it must have been embarrassing for her when she was around other people. Maybe it was a good thing I was her only friend.

“What? No,” Vik rolled his eyes. “Cthulhu is a mythical monster, a sort of giant octopus-dragon-thing that some ancient cult once worshipped.”

An octopus-dragon-thing? I was immediately reminded of the sea monster from my dream. I glanced to Bree to see if she drew the connection as well, but she was focused on Vik. No… It had to have been a coincidence.

“Oh, sorry,” came Bree’s apology.

“Go on, then,” I prodded, partially to distract Vik from poor Bree’s misguidedness, and partially because I was even more intrigued by the mysterious book. “Keep reading.”

Vik looked back to the page, and began again:

“ ‘In his house at R’lyeh, Dead Cthulhu lies dreaming. Yes, Great Cthulhu is dead, as much as he can be. But there is a hideous, unutterable gloom to this death. I was reminded of the inscription on the tomb in that terrible cyclopean city…

“ ‘That is not dead which can eternal lie, yet with strange aeons even death may die.’ ”

Suddenly, a thunderclap shook the sky, and Vik jumped, dropping the book.

“Oh, great,” I teased, “you didn’t lose your place because you were scared of a little thunder, did you?” Honestly, I was a bit unnerved too. But I didn’t dare show it.

Vik picked the book back up and pushed it onto my lap. “Alright, you read it then,” he half-shouted as another roll of thunder pealed over us. “I still say it’s cursed.”

“Fine,” I answered. I turned the book over and gave Vik a look. He could be such a baby sometimes.

I opened it up and came to a page that seemed near to where he was before.