Flopping down into one of them, Emma sighed. ‘So what happens now?’
Nobody answered, they all just shrugged.
‘There must be something we can do. I hate just sitting around, doing nothing.’
‘I know, babe,’ Diarmuid said, handing her a small bottle of water.
‘Thanks.’
‘Maybe we should sneak out and try to find them ourselves?’ suggested Lana.
‘Eleanor and Declan would go mad if we did that again,’ Emma half-smiled.
‘Do you have a better idea?’ Lana asked.
‘Not really.’
‘Exactly.’
‘How about trying to have a vision?’ Liam suggested from across the room.
‘I need something that belongs to them to do that, or at least touch something that they’ve touched.’
‘Unless we’re under water, together,’ Emma whispered.
‘Where do we go for that? I’m not going into the Thames again. No way… that’s so gross.’
A few of the others sniggered.
‘Public swimming pool?’
‘Too many people around,’ Diarmuid replied.
‘And just as gross,’ Lana added.
‘I wish there was a Praxos pool,’ sighed Emma.
‘Actually, there is,’ said a voice from the doorway.
Everybody’s head turned to find Wilbur, standing holding a large tray full of snacks and drinks.
‘Wilbur, you’re the coolest,’ Liam said, hopping up and rushing over to grab a chocolate bar.
‘What do you mean there’s a Praxos pool, Wilbur?’ Emma asked.
After placing the tray on one of the large tables next to the wall, he turned and smiled. ‘We’ve got our own swimming pool you could use to try and, erm, have a vision.’
‘Where is it? Is it here? Why didn’t we know about it before?’
Wilbur chuckled. ‘Because it didn’t exist before. Eleanor had it built during your Christmas holidays, not that you had much of one and…’
‘And it was meant to be a surprise,’ said another voice as Eleanor appeared. ‘Your last treasure hunt clue today was going to lead you to it. Unfortunately, certain Skulls prevented that from happening. So, why don’t you all follow me and I’ll show you where it is.’
Delighted voices filled the great hall as they walked through it and headed down into one of the darker tunnels past the archives. Soon they came to a large oval wooden door. Eleanor turned the handle and pushed it open to reveal a room that looked like something from an aquarium. Directly in front and above was a massive glass pool, illuminated from beneath. It was stunning.
‘How do we get in?’ squealed Emma.
‘There are steps at the far end, over there,’ Eleanor stated. ‘And changing rooms down there,’ she pointed to the right. ‘You’ll find all the necessary swimwear and towels in there, too.’
‘Eleanor, this is just magical,’ Lana grinned.
‘It is, isn’t it? I wanted it to be special for you all. I hope you enjoy it. However,’ she added before anyone could disappear. ‘This wasn’t built purely for fun, we will be using this room for training too, and sometimes it may have to be utilised for alternative practises. But more on that later. I understand you and Lana wish to attempt further visions, Emma?’
Emma nodded. ‘We just want to help find Madge and Stan so we can all stop worrying.’
Eleanor smiled. ‘Thank you. We want the same thing, so please use the pool, but be careful. I’ll have one of the Mentors come down to keep an eye on you. Good luck,’ she said as she disappeared out the door.
Lana and Emma both squealed with delight as they followed the others towards the changing rooms.
oOo
Aria sat beneath the large pool of water, watching as some of the teenagers swam by, waving at her. She waved back, smiling, before she noticed the two sisters slowly descend into the depths. Intrigued by their close bond, she thought of her brother Luis and smiled.
The girls turned to face her and gave her a thumbs up before they held hands and closed their eyes.
‘It’s pretty cool, isn’t it?’ said a shy voice to her side.
‘It certainly is. You’re, erm, Nisha, right?’
Nisha nodded and sat down.
‘You’re not swimming?’
‘I’m not much of a swimmer, really.’
‘You’ll be safe in there with the rest of them.’
‘What I meant to say is, I can’t really swim.’
‘Oh.’ Aria smiled. ‘Well now that there is a pool here, you can be taught. It’s not too difficult, you know.’
‘I guess so.’
They sat in silence for a couple of minutes before Nisha opened her mouth to speak, then bit her lip and closed it again, shaking her head.
‘Is everything alright, Nisha?’
‘Erm, do you know what my ability is?’
Aria shook her head.
‘I can see and speak to dead people.’
‘Oh?’ It took a moment for Nisha’s meaning to sink in and Aria slowly turned to face the teenager. ‘Is there something you need to tell me?’
Nisha dropped her head and looked sad.
Taking a large breath, Aria’s eyes grew large. ‘Is it… is it… John?’
Nisha nodded.
‘Oh God,’ she gulped. ‘Is he… here?’
Nisha shook her head, ‘He came to me last night, and the night before, while I was sleeping.’
Tears began to fall down Aria’s cheeks. ‘When? How?’ she cried.
‘Well, that’s kind of the confusing bit. I’m not sure exactly. He doesn’t seem like the other ghosts I’ve seen before.’
‘In what way?’
‘I’m not sure, I’m still pretty new to this. I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you, but he wanted me to tell you…’
‘What, Nisha? What did he want to tell me?’
‘He said something about being trapped, that he can’t get out, he can’t let go.’
‘I don’t understand.’
‘I’m sorry, I don’t either.’
‘Oh Nisha, don’t be upset. Thank you for telling me. Is there any way you can reach out to him?’
Nisha shook her head. ‘I’ve tried since this morning, but nothing happens. It’s like he can only reach out to me, and maybe only at night. I don’t know what to do.’
‘Maybe I should be with you tonight and you can try again then. Is that okay with you?’
Nisha nodded.
oOo
After their third failed attempt, Emma opened her eyes and pulled Lana’s hand, gesturing that they should get some air. Lana nodded and they swam to the surface. All their classmates were sitting on the edge of the pool with their feet dangling in the water.
‘Well? Anything?’ asked Diarmuid.
Shaking their heads, Lana and Emma pulled themselves out of the water and began drying themselves with oversized towels.
‘I don’t get it. Why did it work in Portugal and not here?’ she said, flopping down on a chair beside the pool.
Emma sighed. ‘I wish I knew. Maybe we were closer then? I dunno. I’ve no idea how this works.’
‘This sucks,’ groaned Lana.
Aria and Nisha walked round and up the steps so they stood in front of the class. ‘No luck?’
Everyone shook their heads.
‘I wonder… Why didn’t I think of this earlier? I wonder if this would help?’ she said, taking off her wristwatch and walking over to Emma. ‘This was a gift from, from Sthenelaus. I’ve no idea why I’m still wearing it.’ Aria cringed.
Lana’s eyes widened. ‘That’s gotta work,’ she said, jumping back into the water and splashing everyone.
‘But, it’ll get ruined,’ Emma said, without thinking.
‘I really, seriously, don’t care.’ Aria smiled. ‘I should have thrown it away before now, anyway.’
Scrutinising the watch carefully, Emma’s brow furrowed. ‘What’s this?’ she sa
id.
Diarmuid leaned forward and gasped. ‘No freaking way!’ he yelled and grabbed the watch, throwing it into the water.
‘Diarmuid! What are you doing?’ asked Emma.
Nobody said a word for a few seconds. They just watched the wristwatch sink to the bottom of the deep end.
‘Diarmuid?’ asked Lana.
‘That’s how they knew everything. She obviously suspected you, Aria.’
‘What are you talking about, babe?’ asked Emma.
‘That wasn’t just a watch. It was a listening device.’
Aria’s hands flew to her mouth. ‘Oh my goodness. I must tell Eleanor immediately.’ She turned and ran down the stairs, opening the door and disappearing. The others listened to her footsteps growing further away.
‘Oh man… this is bad. This is real bad,’ Liam said. ‘You girls need to use that watch and have a vision like… pronto.’
Emma nodded her head, turned and kissed Diarmuid on the lips, and dived back into the water. Lana took a deep breath and followed her sister to the bottom of the pool.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Emma looked at Lana and nodded. Her sister did the same and they both closed their eyes, gripping each other’s hands tightly around Aria’s watch.
They could hear the vague sound of voices coming from outside the pool, the sound was almost mesmerizing and they soon found themselves drifting slowly into another vision.
Lana’s eyes opened wide. ‘Emma? You here? Can you hear me?’
Suddenly Emma was standing beside her.
‘We’re on the capsule again?’
Lana nodded, searching for the ugly woman.
‘There, look. It’s us. That’s like… too weird.’ Lana gasped at the sight of themselves.
‘I know, right? Isn’t that her there?’ Emma whispered walking closer. ‘She’s just brushed up against me. Did she just put something in my pocket? Oh my god. It’s not just the watch. We need to get out of this vision now and tell them.’
Lana agreed.
‘We can come back to it straight away, okay?’
Lana nodded. ‘How do we get back, though? I’ve never managed to figure that out.’
‘I’m not sure. Let’s just close our eyes and concentrate on the water. The sounds of the guys talking outside, yeah?’
‘Uh huh.’
Soon, the girls found themselves back in the pool. Lana immediately released her sister’s hand and pushed herself up from the bottom. ‘Guys? Guys! You need to go tell Eleanor immediately—’ Lana paused. ‘Huh? Where is everyone? Why is it so dark?’
Emma appeared beside her and swam towards the edge of the pool. ‘What’s going on?’ she whispered.
‘I… I don’t know, but I don’t like it.’
The sound of laughter erupted from all around them, echoing off of every surface.
‘Oh God, sis. I know that laugh. I’ve heard it before.’
‘It’s Madge, isn’t it?’ Lana whispered.
Emma nodded. ‘What should we do?’
‘I spy with my little eye, something beginning with s…’ Madge sang.
‘Where is she?’ asked Lana.
‘I don’t know. But it sounds like she’s everywhere.’
‘What do you want?’ shouted Lana.
‘Answer my question and I will tell you…’
‘What question?’
‘I spy with my little eye, something beginning with s…’ she repeated.
‘S? What begins with S in here?’ whispered Emma.
‘You can’t seriously be willing to play her game?’
‘We have to, or we’ll never get out of here.’
Lana nodded. ‘Swim,’ she yelled.
‘Wrong,’ Madge’s voice sang, and then a scream echoed throughout the room.
Emma gasped. ‘Who was that? What is she doing?’
‘It sounded like Aria. I think she’s hurting her.’
‘Get it wrong again and I’ll slice her again,’ sang the voice.
‘S, think of something beginning with S, sis,’ whispered Emma.
‘I can’t see anything, it’s too dark with all the lights out.’
Emma closed her eyes and concentrated hard until her body began to glow, a light slowly emanating from her core.
‘That’s better,’ whispered Lana.
‘Oh my, the girl glows,’ sang the voice. ‘What a pretty picture.’ She cackled again and the quiet was pierced by another scream.
‘Diarmuid!’ cried Emma. ‘Leave him alone, you witch,’ she shouted.
‘Now, now, there’s no need for that, little girl.’
‘S think of something beginning with S, Lana! What is it?’
‘Swimming pool!’
‘That was too easy,’ Madge sang. ‘But I’ll give it to you. But first, here’s a little gift.’
A loud splash made both girls jump.
‘What is it?’ Emma yelled.
‘Not what, who. It’s Sammy. She’s bleeding. I think she’s unconscious.’
Emma and Lana pushed themselves away from the side of the pool and swam down to Sammy’s side, pulling her up.
‘Is she breathing?’ Emma asked.
‘Yeah. She’s got a deep cut on her arm. Emma, you’ve got to try and heal her, like Diarmuid does.’
‘What? But I can’t?’
‘Emma you can, babe. You can.’
Diarmuid cried out in agony, and as the sound echoed between the walls, the smell of burning flesh filled the air.
‘No!’ cried Emma.
‘Just help Sammy, now. Just do what she says, okay, but for now focus on Sammy. Em, you can do this,’ Lana whispered.
Emma sobbed loudly before she tried to push Sammy’s body out of the water.
‘He’ll be okay, hon. Diarmuid can look after himself. Just concentrate on Sammy right now. Just focus.’
Closing her eyes, Emma concentrated on her core warmth, forcing it upwards. She breathed deeply and let the light and the warmth seep up through her chest and down her arms.
Lana watched, barely breathing, as eventually, the energy filtered out through her fingertips. The warmth of her healing touch brought Sammy back round.
‘What’s happening?’ Sammy whispered. ‘Awww, my arm.’
‘Shhhhh, Sammy, you’re gonna be fine,’ Lana whispered.
‘Holy Hell… we were jumped. There’s quite a few of them.’
‘Shhhhhhhh now, child, that’s enough of that,’ sang Madge. ‘No more telling lies.’
‘Oh no,’ Emma cried.
‘What?’ Sammy asked.
‘She’s going to hurt someone again,’ Emma cried.
The sound of cackling laughter filled the air again, followed by groans of pain.
‘Who was that?’ whispered Lana.
‘Maybe Ava?’ Sammy said, biting her lip.
‘Oh God, Ava,’ Emma cried.
‘Tell us what you want, you old crone,’ yelled Lana.
‘What do I want? Well, have you got all day, love?’
‘My god, she’s totally insane,’ whispered Sammy.
‘Sthenelaus isn’t here, you witch,’ Lana shouted.
‘Sthenelaus? You think I want him? Oh, goodness me, have you still not managed to identify his illness?’ She sighed audibly. ‘I thought you Watchers were meant to be smart.’
‘What are you talking about?’ Lana asked.
‘I don’t want my useless husband. Aria can have him, for all I care. He should have been dead by now. The poison should have killed him months ago, but no, he keeps fighting and fighting and fighting. I was very close to getting rid of him in Seville, until you turned up.’
‘But you screamed for him in Seville?’
The echoes of laughter were followed by her screaming out his name, just like Emma had heard in Spain. ‘I studied theatre, you know, as a child. I was rather good.’
‘If you don’t want him, what do you want from us?’ asked Sammy.
‘I want you to su
ffer,’ Madge said simply.
‘But why?’
‘You’re Watchers. We’re Skulls. It’s what we do.’
‘But that can’t be it?’ Emma shouted. ‘Why go to all this effort? Just to hurt us?’
‘Well, of course there’s more to it, stupid little girl. I had plans, you know. Big plans – to rule. And he took it away from me. That stupid, incompetent ugly, despicable man. A sorry excuse for a man.’
‘She can talk,’ whispered Lana under her breath.
‘He wanted you all to himself. To be the big tamale, that’s what he used to say. Pathetic. He couldn’t even keep his own son in check. Sorry, Stan, darling, but it’s true.’
‘That’s okay, Mother,’ said another voice in the darkness. ‘When can we kill them?’
The three girls in the pool gasped.
‘All in good time, my boy. All in good time. Are you enjoying yourself, son?’
The younger Skull laughed. ‘Of course, Mother,’ he said, before they heard the sounds of him choking one of their friends.
‘Please stop, please,’ begged Emma.
‘We need a plan,’ Lana whispered. ‘We have to do something.’
‘I know. But what? We’re stuck in a swimming pool. We could be surrounded, for all we know.’
Laughter surrounded them again. ‘Oh dear, girls. You really should just come out of that water. We can hear everything that you say. And you are quite right. You are surrounded.’
‘We’re not coming out until we know what you’re going to do to us?’
‘If you don’t come out, we’ll just have to send someone in to get you. It won’t be difficult. You’re not the only one who can swim like a fish, Emma Jane Morgan. In fact, I have a rather special Skull with me who is more akin to a… shark.’
Suddenly there was a huge splash and the girls screamed.
‘Get out! Get out now, sis!’ Lana yelled.
Both girls struggled to climb out of the water, pulling Sammy at the same time. But it was too late, the Skull had already reached them.
Lana screamed as she felt something brush against her hand as she pulled it out of the water.
‘Emma, that’s a real shark, there’s a real shark in the water,’ Lana cried, hyperventilating.
‘Sammy!’ screamed Emma as their friend disappeared below the water.
Both girls cried.