Page 9 of Curse of the Stag's Eye
I thought Nikesh’s eyes were going to pop out of his head. “You've really seen that?”
“That and more.”
That didn't bring me much comfort. I was going to spend the evening traipsing around in the dark with someone who at best could see the dead and at worst… What? Has weird hallucinations?
“Listen.” Rhys held his finger to his lips.
At first, all I noticed was the faint howl of the wind outside but underneath it came something else, something rhythmic, falling. “Footsteps.”
Far below us, a door slammed. Nikesh all but jumped out of his skin. He clamped his hands over his mouth.
Dawn’s mouth dropped open. “Don’t go out there.”
Rhys ignored her and slowly crept out to the staircase. He called out a greeting. The footsteps stopped. After a moment’s hesitation, we all rushed down to the ground floor but found no one. We were alone.
“That’s a promising start.” Rhys’ eyes had lit up.
“Isn’t it just.” I stared at him.
“What does that mean?”
“Come on, what do you take me for?” I flicked on the light switch. Florescent bulbs popped, hummed, and flickered to life overhead in the little foyer of the lighthouse. “Footsteps on the stairs? A bit obvious, isn’t it?”
He lowered his lantern.
“What is it, hidden speakers? Bluetooth connected to your phone?” I searched around the ground floor. I opened the door to the cellar, bracing myself against the bone-chilling blast of cold air, and fumbled in vain on the wall for a light switch.
“There are no speakers and my phone is in my bag. And it’s switched off.”
I slammed the cellar door closed, making a different sound to the one we’d heard.
Rhys’ eyebrows knitted. “Do you think I’m having you on?”
My face grew redder. “Then what was it?” I pointed to Nikesh. “Are you in on it? Friend of his, are you? Or is there someone else here with us?”
Rhys held his hands out. “What the bloody hell do you think it was, mun? It was a ghost, wasn’t it? That’s the whole reason we’re here, isn’t it? You said you were into this, didn’t you? In your email, like? You said you had an open mind about this sort of thing.”
I had emailed Rhys a few weeks back, claiming to be interested in the paranormal and hoping to learn more about it. After some chatting, he told me he’d managed to get access to Stag’s Head Lighthouse and had decided to run a little ghost hunt, which I said I would come along to.
I carefully checked the closed door to the cellar, making sure it wouldn’t rattle as soon as my back was turned. “I did. I am. It’s just…” I swallowed hard. “Seeing it on telly is one thing, but having it actually happen is—”
“Exciting!” Rhys flicked off the lights.
Chapter 6
7.01 p.m. Museum. Again.
Sixteen minutes behind schedule.
Before going any farther up the lighthouse, Gaz suggested we go back to the museum. I admit I pouted about it because I thought things were just starting to pick up but Dawn needed a break and some water.
I didn’t want to ruin the atmosphere but I also didn’t want to keep going up and down those bloody stairs. I’d read about how keepers had trouble walking on flat ground when they went back to land because they’d been so used to just using stairs all the time. There’s people who would pay good money for a workout like that nowadays. I’m not one of them, mind. I don’t do gyms. I never have. All those people sweating and grunting with each other but never touching, running on treadmills but never getting anywhere — seems like torture to me.
While Dawn and Nikesh canoodled in a corner, Gaz and I found a little bench out of sight, by a shiny brass telescope. I took my pen and scribbled down the time.
“Do you write everything down?”
I clicked the pen and put my notepad away. “Most things. It helps me stay focused and keeps everything straight in my head. Especially for afterwards. Once adrenaline and excitement kick in, things can get a bit hazy, you know? It helps to have a solid record of events.” I offered him some of my Scotch egg which he politely refused. He called them horrid things. How could a cold boiled egg wrapped in meat and breadcrumbs be horrid? The man was mad.
