Secret of Light by K. C. Dyer Page B

of your flashlight.”
    â€œGuys, we really should get out of here now.” Kate’s voice had taken on a panicky edge. “I don’t want to get caught in here, especially when someone has had a gun here recently.”
    â€œOne minute.” Brodie thundered up the tiny staircase and was back down again before Kate or Darrell could protest. “It’s okay. The reflector was pointing out to the water. It doesn’t rotate anymore, so I don’t think anyone on the land could have seen it.” He paused. “All the same, I think Kate is right. It’s time for us to get out of here.”

    Delaney brushed against Darrell’s knee and headed up the staircase.
    â€œTime to go, boy,” called Darrell, but Delaney stood on the step and barked again. Darrell followed him up through the heavy wooden door at the top of the stairs. “I’m just going to have a quick look from the top,” she yelled.
    â€œLet’s go, Darrell,” called Kate, her voice a tremulous mix of nerves and exasperation. No answer. Brodie shrugged and the two raced up the stairs behind Darrell and Delaney.
    â€œIt’s too dark outside to see anything much now,” complained Kate, her nose pressed against the glass of the lantern room. “We’d better be getting back to the school before it’s too hard to find our way along the beach.”
    The last light of day formed a red line above the mountains to the west and the trio gazed out at it in silence. Delaney pushed his head under Darrell’s hand and whined.
    â€œWhat’s bothering you, boy?” Darrell asked. The wind had picked up outside, and the waves were smashing white foam against the base of the lighthouse. Water seemed to be lifting from the surface of the sea and mixing with the rain that had finally started to fall. The glass of the lantern chamber became a haze of tiny droplets.
    â€œThe storm has moved in pretty fast,” said Brodie. “I can’t see a thing out there.”
    â€œLook you two, we’ve got the dog — let’s go, okay?” pleaded Kate.
    â€œOkay, but let’s keep the flashlights off, just in case,” said Darrell.

    â€œYou’d better grab my hand then, Darrell,” said Kate, clutching Brodie’s jacket as he started down.
    Darrell nodded. Curling her fingers in Delaney’s collar, she followed Brodie and Kate down the twisting staircase. A sudden gust tore up through the stairwell, causing the door above them to slam shut. Kate clung to Darrell’s hand tightly. “Where’s this wind coming from?” she gasped. Darrell opened her mouth to reply, but her words were blown back down her throat as a maelstrom swept her away.

C HAPTER F IVE
    I’ve been here before.
Darrell tried to lift her head to look around, but groaned quietly and rolled into a ball instead. Her body was wracked with nausea, her head felt as though it had been split like a piece of firewood, and even her eyeballs hurt. Sure knowledge crept around the edges of her misery, but she pushed all thought away and focused on what little light she could see. The darkness was cut by thin, golden threads in the shape of a tall rectangle hovering like a halo at some indeterminate distance. A door? She heard a scuffling beside her and straightened her neck to try to see the source.
    I’
ve felt like this before
. A large rat scuttled over and peered into her face.
    â€œAgh!” Headache or not, she wasn’t prepared to face down a rat under any circumstances. At the sound of her voice, the rat scampered across the straw-covered floor, and as Darrell leapt up, understanding swept through her like a flood.

    Delaney gave a low growl as he scrambled to chase the rat. Darrell grabbed the dog as he ran past and dropped to one knee. Holding his large head in both hands, she searched his face in the gloom.
    â€œDoes he look the same?” Brodie’s voice croaked