Page 13 of Curse of the Stag's Eye
Nikesh grabbed Dawn’s hand, making her yelp. I couldn’t move my feet. I wanted to but I physically couldn’t. I’d never experienced anything like it before.
Rhys stood open-mouthed. I swear he was enjoying himself. When the cold passed, he giggled.
Nikesh shook his head violently. “No, I don’t like it. I’ve changed my mind. Let’s go, babes.”
He went to walk back into the museum but Dawn took his hand. “Hang on, hang on. Please. Don’t go yet. I have to stay. And look, you wanted to see a ghost, didn’t you? That’s the whole reason you came with me.”
“I know, but… I didn’t think I’d feel like this.” He shoved his hands into the pockets of his puffy jacket. He turned on the spot and threw his head back. I think he was trying to stop himself from crying. He even stamped his feet, a little. “I don’t want to give up yet, I don’t. I need to… Oh, God, I don’t know.”
“You need proof.” Rhys spoke so softly I barely heard him. “You need to see it with your own two eyes.”
Nikesh dabbed his finger under one eye, then the other. “I really want to believe in something bigger than myself. When I was a kid, Mum and Dad brought me to church every week but it never clicked with me. Dad’s Hindu, Mum’s Catholic. After I was born, there was some disagreement over which religion to raise me in. Mum won. Anyway, I’ve tried praying. I’ve tried yoga, meditation. I’ve wandered around a forest, talking to the trees, but none of it works for me. I just… I need to believe that there’s more to this life than just getting up and going to work every morning, and queuing to get into some sweaty club every Friday night.”
Dawn frowned. “You never told me you felt like this.”
“Because we haven’t been together that long, and I want to keep being the bubbly, happy bloke you met in the chip shop after the pub one night. That’s what you expect. That’s what everyone expects.”
“I didn’t know you thought so deeply about things.”
He sniffed. “I was afraid you wouldn’t like me as much if you knew.”
“Silly moo.” She threw her arms around his waist and kissed him on the cheek. “I’m scared too, if it helps.”
Nikesh’s back straightened and he fixed a loose strand of his hair. “Right. No more. This is what I came here for. So if we’re going to do this, let’s do it properly. Rhys? It’s time.” He opened the cellar door. “Shall we?”
Something slammed behind us. The hairs on my neck stood on end.
“Hello?”
Rhys beamed and his voice turned an octave higher. “Yes, hello, Michael! We’re in here!” He walked out to meet the newcomer.
“Who the hell is Michael?” Nikesh still gripped the handle of the cellar door.
There was someone else on the island. I bloody knew it. My face grew hotter, my ears burned, and I clamped my jaw shut.
Rhys returned with a tall, bearded man wearing large, square, designer glasses. He was older than any of us, mid-forties, I’d say. Receding salt-and-pepper hair shaved down tightly. An ex-rugby player, from the look of him, with a large head, broad chest, and thick midriff. A crop of hair dusted with silver poked up from the open neck of his pale blue linen shirt. A long, camel-coloured overcoat kept the crisp evening at bay.
Nikesh caught sight of him and immediately straightened his posture and lifted his chin. Dawn tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
“Everyone, this is Michael Price. He works for the Lighthouse Trust.” Rhys introduced each of us, one by one. Michael smiled and shook hands, though he stood close to Rhys. “Gaz, this is the man I was telling you about. I thought you couldn’t make it?”
Michael eyeballed me from the tip of my toes to the top of my head. “I was just passing and wanted to make sure you got in without any trouble.”
“Just passing?” I squinted at him. “We’re miles from anywhere.”
Nikesh nudged him. “Come to keep an eye on us, have you?” He kept his chest puffed out like a horny pigeon.
Michael adjusted his glasses. “Hah, not at all, not all.” He smiled at Rhys.
“Michael is another believer, aren’t you Michael? You were telling me last night.”
“Ah, yes, yes.” Michael crossed his arms. “I am. Are you nearly finished, or…?”
“Finished? We’ve only just started, mun!” Rhys scribbled something on his notepad. “We’ve had some good resultsalready and we’re just about to head down to the cellar, if you want to join us?”
Michael checked his watch. Something on the face sparkled in the lantern light. Diamonds, I realised. “I suppose I can stay for a bit.”
Aye, I bet he could. I bet this was all planned out last night, over dinner. Him and Rhys, drinking wine and laying out the schedule for the evening. Maybe it had even been all Michael’s idea. Flash git. Well, I was no fool and I wasn’t going to be taken for one by the likes of him.
