The Thief Of Always

Harvey falls screaming toward the ground, and Wendell flees in terror. A breeze lifts Harvey, and he flies after Wendell and lands next to him. Convinced that he’s in the presence of a vampire, Wendell begs for mercy and wails, “Take Harvey! Take Harvey!” (76). Harvey feels betrayed. From his hiding place in the bushes, Jive tells Harvey to suck some of Wendell’s blood. Harvey hesitates, then roars, “Never!” Wendell runs away screaming, and Jive claims that Harvey disappoints him; he’d thought the boy had a “killer instinct.” Embarrassed, Harvey admits that he’s not a killer and knows that he made the right choice.

Marr appears holding giant mushrooms. She rebukes Harvey for his failure to use her magic. Jive wants the boy to remain a vampire on the chance that he might begin finally to act like one, but Marr doesn’t want to waste the magic. She returns Harvey to human form and waddles away. Harvey insists it was just a game, but Jive calls it an “education” (77) and warns the boy, “All the great powers in the world are bloodsuckers and soul-stealers at heart. And we must serve them. All of us” (79). In the kitchen, Wendell tells Mrs. Griffin what he saw and is overjoyed to find that Harvey is still alive. Although he calls Harvey his best friend “for always,” Harvey privately remembers Wendell’s earlier eagerness to sacrifice him to a vampire. 

The next day, Wendell and Lulu are absent. Harvey mulls over the previous evening’s vampire adventure. He ponders what Jive meant by calling the incident an “education” and wonders whether Mr. Hood is the great power that Jive and Marr serve. In the afternoon, Harvey sees Wendell stomping around angrily in boots and a windbreaker. Wendell explains that he’s trying to go home—he has decided that Holiday House is “dangerous”—but the foggy brick wall keeps returning him to the property. He fears the place will kill him, and mentions the discarded clothing in the costume room as evidence that other children have also perished on the property. Harvey is equally unsuccessful at penetrating the wall and suggests they act as if they’ve given up while continuing to search for answers.

Harvey tries to locate Lulu. When he asks Mrs. Griffin about her, she warns him not to be too inquisitive, or Mr. Hood will be displeased, begging him to enjoy himself because his time is short. She confirms that all the children are prisoners there and warns him that if he tries to escape, Carna will come for him. Carna is the fourth creature, after Rictus, Jive, and Marr, who lives on the roof. Harvey demands to meet Mr. Hood. Mrs. Griffin swears that he is dead and warns him not to mention the owner of Holiday House again. 

Wendell asks Harvey if he’s learned anything new. While Harvey states aloud that everything is fine, and that the House is better than the outside world, he passes a wadded-up piece of paper to Wendell. The note tells his friend to meet him at midnight for an escape attempt. That evening, the boys go through the motions of Halloween and Christmas, pretending that all is well. Near midnight, Harvey sneaks outside and hears Lulu calling his name. He tells her to follow him, but she says it’s too late for her and gives him three toy figurines from the ark. Lulu retrieved them from the bottom of the lake.

Harvey realizes that Lulu is turning into a fishlike creature. He insists that she come with him, but she refuses and runs toward the lake. Harvey follows and catches up with her at the shore. She has scales and a fin and has lost her hair and nose. As he watches, her legs fuse together. Lulu thanks him for being a friend, then dives into the water and disappears.

Harvey meets Wendell and together they head for the wall. They decide that Wendell will lead, and Harvey will hold his hand as Wendell tries to walk as straight as possible through the wall. Wendell enters the wall; his voice fades quickly. Harvey hears a noise behind him. He sees Mrs. Griffin standing in the doorway as something rises up from the roof with a terrible screech. It’s the rotted, bony figure of Carna, flying toward Harvey with its huge jaws filled with hundreds of sharp teeth and dozens of tongues. When Wendell cries out that he’s lost, Mrs. Griffin’s arms reach into the foggy wall and deposit Blue Cat in front of the boys. The feline leads them to the street beyond.

The boys escape, but Carna follows, climbing into the sky and wheeling to dive at Wendell. However, its wings disintegrate, and it falls to the street, badly wounded. The monster picks itself up and, snarling at the boys, limps back through the wall. Blue Cat stares out at them from the wall, seems to sigh with longing for the outer world, then heeds Mrs. Griffin’s call and disappears. The boys stare at the wall, and Wendell wonders if they’ll remember the place. Harvey assures him that they will and pulls out his souvenirs: the three figurines that Lulu returned to him. In his hands, though, they quickly crumble to dust and blow away. 

The boys walk for an hour until they reach midtown, then trade addresses and promise to talk in a couple of days. Wendell thanks Harvey for saving his life; Harvey says they saved each other. They part and head for their respective homes. Near dawn, Harvey arrives at his house and knocks on the door.

An elderly man answers. Harvey begins to apologize for waking the wrong people, but the man’s aging wife appears behind her, and Harvey recognizes her as his own mother, but much older. She knows Harvey on sight. The old man insists it’s just a prank, but she makes him look closer. He protests, “It’s thirty-one years ago” (111), but finally he, too, recognizes his son. Harvey falls into his mother’s arms. She strokes his hair, saying she prayed for his return. Harvey realizes that his month at Holiday House cost his parents three decades of sorrow. Had he stayed at the mansion, he would have become a fish like Lulu.