A bright-eyed young man appeared from within the house with a grin on his face.
‘What you grinning at, son?’ she asked in a high pitched squeaky voice, her face flushed from the cold breeze.
‘I just bought a new car.’ He grinned, almost jumping up and down with excitement.
‘I didn’t think there was anything wrong with the old one,’ she said, pegging the last pair of oversized knickers to the line before turning to look at him.
‘There wasn’t, but I got an amazing deal on a Hummer,’ he practically squealed.
Shaking her head, she picked up the basket and called to the kids to follow them back indoors.
‘Do you fancy a ride in it, Mum? And how about you, kids? Want to come for a ride in Daddy’s new jeep?’
‘It’s a jeep? What on Earth do you need a jeep for?’ tutted his mum as they disappeared inside the house.
‘So he just bought the jeep?’ Scott said. ‘So whoever owned itbefore nearly ran you over? We need to find out who owned it.’
‘Why don’t we just ask him?’ asked Emma sensibly.
Lana shrugged as they walked back to the front of the house where the family was just climbing into the massive vehicle.
‘Wow, what a car,’ Scott said loudly.
‘It is, isn’t it?’ said the young man.
‘It’s amazing. I’ve never seen one in the flesh before. Is it new?’
‘Yup. Just bought it this morning.’
‘Sweet,’ Scott said. ‘Can I come and check it out?’ he asked as he stood at the front gate.
‘Course, come and have a look,’ the man said proudly.
The girls followed Scott as the middle aged woman at the front door shook her head.
‘Why on Earth would you spend all your hard earned money on such a beast?’
‘I think it’s a boy thing,’ Lana smiled.
‘You’re right there, love,’ she said before nodding and going back inside, closing the door behind her.
‘The guy I bought it off wanted to sell it quick, so I got a really good deal.’
‘Amazing. You’ll be the envy of everyone on the island,’ Scott said.
‘Well, maybe all the men,’ Emma smiled.
‘So you just bought it this morning?’ asked Lana.
He nodded.
‘Who was the previous owner?’
‘Nobody local.’
‘What, just someone passing through?’
‘I guess.’
‘Do you know his name?’
The man knitted his eyebrows together, ‘Yeah, it’s right here. Let me have a look,’ he climbed into the driver’s seat and leaned forward, going through some papers in the front passenger seat. He didn’t seem at all bothered about giving out the information.
‘Stan something or other, I think. Yup. Stanley Sophokles.’
Lana’s face dropped and she turned to Emma. ‘We’ve got to go now.’
‘Huh?’
‘We need to get home, likenow, sis.’
Pulling her back towards their bikes, Scott had barely even noticed when he turned and the girls were no longer there.
‘Oh, wait up, I’m coming,’ he yelled after them.
‘Sorry,’ he said to the new owner of the Hummer. ‘Nice car.’
The man nodded his head, before strapping his children into the vehicle.
‘What’s going on?’ Emma asked as they cycled quicker than ever before, leaving Scott in their wake.
‘Didn’t you recognise the name?’
‘No, I don’t know anyone named Stan.’
‘The surname, Emma, the surname.’
Emma looked puzzled as she puffed over the hill, letting herself free wheel for a few minutes to get her breath back.
‘Sophokles? You really don’t remember?’
Emma shook her head.
‘That’s Sthenelaus’s surname.’
oOo
Telling Scott that they weren’t feeling very well and needed to go and lie down, the sisters left him standing at the gate. He watched them disappear indoors, shrugged, and went home.
‘Declan!’ yelled Lana the second the door was closed. ‘Declan!’
Both he and Patrick appeared from the kitchen, where they’d been poring over a map of the island. ‘What is it?’ he asked.
‘We know who took Lucy Jo,’ Emma gulped.
Lana glanced at her before blurting out, ‘Sthenelaus.’
Declan’s face dropped and he sighed heavily.
‘Who’s Sthenelaus? Who is the man who has my daughter?’
‘Sorry, mate, but you’d better sit down.’
Patrick shook his head. ‘You’re always telling me to sit down. I just want to know the truth.’
‘And we’re going to tell you. Please, have a seat, mate.’
Holding up his hands in surrender, Patrick walked back into the kitchen and sat down on a stool. ‘Okay, I’m sitting down. Now, can you enlighten me?’
‘Sthenelaus Sophokles is a very dangerous Skull.’
‘What’s a Skull?’
‘They’re like Watchers, but bad guys,’ answered Lana.
‘Yeah, they have a similar tattoo on their backs but instead of a winged-eye, they have a skull with broken wings.’
‘What do you mean by bad guys?’
‘They fight for evil, not good.’
‘But they have the same capabilities as the Watchers do?’
‘Many of them have special abilities, yes,’ Declan answered before continuing, ‘and Sthenelaus is one of the worst. We recently came up against him in London and it wasn’t nice, mate.’
‘We thought he’d killed Lana’s boyfriend,’ Emma whispered.
‘But Barber managed to escape, and we think Sthenelaus might have been injured in the process.’
‘So you think he’s taken Lucy Jo to get back at Barber?’ Patrick said, confused.
‘Something like that,’ Declan replied. ‘But we can’t be sure.’
‘How bad is he?’ Patrick whispered.
‘Honestly?’ Declan asked, and Patrick noded. ‘We’re not really sure about the extent of his powers because he always uses other Skulls to do his dirty work, but he must be pretty evil for them all to look up to him. Girls, why do you think it’s him?’
Lana explained how they’d come to the conclusion and Declan nodded, rubbing his forehead.
‘But it wasn’t Sthenelaus that broke into the house,’ Lana suddenly whispered. ‘I would have known if it was him. I’d have recognised him for sure.’
‘So maybe this Stan is a relative?’
‘I reckon that’s quite likely,’ Declan said as he pulled out his mobile phone and dialled Praxos.
‘Hey, Wilbur, Dec here. Can I have a quick word with Ellie? Thanks.’ He waited a few moments before continuing. ‘Hey, Ellie. Everything okay over there? Great. No, but we think we’re on to something. Can you do some digging on a Stan Sophokles? Uh huh, yeah. We think so too. Okay, I’ll wait to hear from you. Thanks. Yeah, they’re fine. Sure, hang on a sec,’ he said, handing the phone to Patrick. ‘Audrey wants a word.’
The girls and Declan left Patrick alone in the kitchen to speak to his wife.
‘Eleanor is going to see what she can find out, but in the meantime we need to find out where on the island this guy has been staying.’
‘Oh, I just thought of something,’ Emma said. ‘Remember Mum told us someone had bought the old Grimshaw farm? She said that it was a mystery who’d bought it. What’s the bet it’s the same guy who sold the Hummer?’
‘Where’s the farm?’ Declan asked.
‘I’ll drive,’ Patrick said, sneaking up behind them. ‘Come on.’
oOo
With little traffic on the road, they arrived in no time at all.
Climbing out of the car, Lana and Declan raced round to the farmhouse’s back door and Emma and Patrick ran towards the front. With his hand on the knob, Patrick twisted it. The door opened easily.
??
?Unlocked,’ he whispered, pushing her behind him as they tiptoed in.
The house was completely devoid of all contents.
‘I don’t think there’s anyone here, nor has there been for a while.’
‘Then why was the door unlocked?’ Emma whispered.
‘Downstairs is empty,’ Declan said as they all met up in the kitchen.
A thud from above silenced them.
Declan took the lead, with Patrick closely behind. ‘Girls, wait down here,’ their father said protectively.
‘Dad, you’re forgetting what we are,’ Lana tutted.
‘You’re still my girls, and I want to keep you out of danger, okay? Got that?’
Emma nodded, pulling Lana by the hand so that they stood leaning against the worktop.
Nodding, Patrick disappeared upstairs.
‘It’s weird, isn’t it?’ Emma whispered.
‘What?’
‘The house being all empty, this guy Stan and the Hummer, Dad knowing the truth about us… shall I go on?’
‘Yeah, I know what you mean. I think we should go upstairs. You coming?’
Emma rolled her eyes but followed as they gingerly crept up the stairs, two at a time. Peering round the first door, they found nothing but an empty room. The second door was the same, the third just the bathroom and then, there behind the fifth door was Declan, standing beside Patrick who was sobbing.
‘What?’ Lana asked as she pushed open the door.
‘What is it, Dad?’ Emma cried. She hated seeing him cry.
In his hands was Lucy Jo’s favourite Monster High doll, and on the floor was a large dead blackbird.
CHAPTER SIX
Stan Sophokles was a twenty year old punk with an attitude. He was also the son of Sthenelaus Sophokles.
Eleanor had managed to track down all there was to know about him. What she couldn’t find out though, was his current whereabouts.
‘I’m sorry, Declan, but that’s all we know. We’re still searching. I’ll let you know the moment we have more details. What I can tell you is that nobody resembling Stan or Sthenelaus has arrived back on the mainland since Lucy Jo went missing. What have you discovered?’
‘Very little, I’m afraid. Only that the old Grimshaw farm was purchased by Stan some time ago. It looks like he’d been hiding out there for the past two months. We’re heading back up there shortly. Lana’s hoping she’ll have a vision. Keep your fingers crossed it’ll work.’
After finishing his conversation with Eleanor, Declan turned to face the others.
‘Eleanor’s going to email all the details to us. We can study it tonight. I think you guys ought to have something to eat before we go anywhere though. Audrey will do her nut if she finds out you’re not looking after yourselves.’
Patrick nodded. He was tired too, but he didn’t care; sleep was the last thing on his mind.
oOo
They’d been walking around the farm for what seemed like hours but Lana had yet to experience one of her visions.
‘I don’t understand. Usually they happen quicker than this.’ She sighed as she plonked herself down on the floor of the room where they’d found Lucy Jo’s doll. Emma sat down carefully beside her.
‘Don’t worry, sis. It’ll happen, I’m sure it will.’
When the door flew open, Emma gasped in fright.
‘Sorry,’ Declan said. ‘The front door’s open and it’s a bit windy out there. Anything?’
Lana shook her head.
‘Don’t worry, we’re going to find her.’
‘Dec?’ shouted Patrick, who had been scouring the farmland for clues and now stood at the bottom of the stairs.
The three of them walked to the top, peering down at him.
‘I think I’ve found something,’ he said quietly.
Rushing down as quickly as they could, they followed him back outdoors. Lana and Emma wrapped their scarves around their necks and put their gloves back on. The wind was biting cold.
‘Down here, I think it’s where old Mr Grimshaw used to keep his pigs,’ he said, almost sliding down a slippery bank of ice and mud.
As they approached the old stone shelter, Lana looked across at her sister and physically heaved at the horrendous stench.
‘What is that?’
Patrick shook his head. ‘What?’
‘That smell?’
‘I don’t smell anything,’ Declan answered looking at her with a weird expression.
‘You don’t?’
Patrick, Declan and Emma all shook their heads.
‘That’s weird,’ she said, almost choking, ‘It’s disgusting,’ she said, and began coughing, leaning forward with her hands on her knees.
‘Are you alright, sis?’
‘I… I think so.’
Two seconds later, Lana collapsed on the dirt.
Rushing to her side, both men carefully lifted her off the ground and were about to carry her back towards the house when Emma spoke.
‘No, I think she’s having a vision, Dad. She should stay here until it’s over.’
Nodding, they looked around, before Declan’s eyes settled on the little stone building.
As if reading Declan’s mind for a change, Patrick nodded and they carried her inside. Emma followed, her eyes adjusting to the dark.
‘There – put her down there,’ she suggested, pointing to a bed of fresh hay.
‘That’s odd,’ Patrick whispered.
‘What?’ Emma asked as she sat on the hay beside her sister, holding her hand.
‘The hay,’ Declan answered. ‘This place should be empty. It hasn’t been used for a long time.’
‘I think that’s where you’re wrong,’ Emma whispered. ‘I have a feeling this might have been where they kept Lucy Jo.’
Patrick clenched his fists and let out an angry sigh.
oOo
The smell was nauseating. Lana could barely breathe. Looking around, she shrieked. She was surrounded by pigs.
‘O-M-G, I’ve died and gone to hell,’ she muttered. ‘This isn’t the vision I wanted.’
Climbing up from the floor, Lana ran outside into the fresh air. Breathing deeply, the warmth of the sun enveloped her freezing cold body and she sighed. Thousands of beautiful yellow buttercups covered the fields surrounding her. Mr Grimshaw’s farm stood proudly at the top of the hill, just a few hundred metres away.
Squinting, she shielded her eyes with her hand and watched as a young man walked towards her. He was dressed a little strangely, but Lana did nothing as he walked right past her and into the pig pen, where he fed and watered them, before returning back up the hill.
‘What’s going on?’ she whispered under her breath as the sound of something unfamiliar filled her ears. Hooves?
Following him, she noticed a couple of horses in the field and then, just beyond the house, a horse and cart driven by a pretty red-haired woman covered in freckles appeared. The man grinned and hurried forward, helping her down.
They then walked back into the house.
Lana sighed. ‘I need to get back to our time.’
Suddenly, another more familiar sound filled the air and she looked towards the sky. It sounded like a propeller, a helicopter.
‘But they didn’t exist in this time,’ she whispered to herself as she came over all dizzy, stumbling backwards onto the wall behind her where she fell.
‘Lana, Lana?’
‘Just give her a minute, Dad. She’ll be okay.’
‘What is that?’ Lana whispered. ‘It sounds like a chopper,’ she said as she came out of the vision, opening her eyes to see three sets of worried eyes looking at her.
‘A what?’ Patrick asked.
‘A helicopter. She thinks she can hear a helicopter,’ Declan added.
The others quietened down, all listening in the distance.
Emma shook her head, ‘No, there’s nothing. It must’ve been in your vision.’
Lana shook her head as she lifted herself up off the
floor, with the help of the others, ‘No, it can’t have been, because I wasn’t in the right vision. I went back in time to… I dunno, maybe a couple of hundred years ago.’
‘What did you see?’ asked her sister.
‘Nothing, really. Just one of the old owners of the farm, some pigs, a horse and cart and a pretty redhead. That was about it.’
‘But the helicopter?’ asked her dad.
Shrugging, Lana brushed the back of her coat, ‘I definitely heard it.’
‘Perhaps you were about to go into another vision?’ Emma suggested.
‘Maybe, but then why didn’t I?’
Declan rubbed his chin, ‘It doesn’t matter. You might have given us the info we needed anyway. If you heard a helicopter, perhaps that’s how Stan took Lucy Jo away.’
‘Good point,’ Patrick said as he took his mobile phone out of his pocket. ‘I’ll see if there’s been any registered helicopter flights around the island over the past few days.’
Shivering as they exited the pig sty, Emma linked arms with Lana and smiled. ‘You did good.’
‘You think? But it was useless.’
Emma shook her head. ‘Not quite. If he was using a helicopter, then that’s a huge clue. We wouldn’t have thought about it without you.’
‘Thanks, sis, you always seem to make me feel better.’
Emma squeezed her arm and they walked back towards the car and waited for Patrick to finish on the phone.
‘There’s been no registered activity, but a couple of locals did report a lot of noise on the night of the 25th, around here. One of them said it sounded like a helicopter.’
‘So she was taken off the island by helicopter?’ Emma whispered, tears falling down her cheeks.
‘It certainly seems that way,’ Declan answered, as Patrick pulled his girls towards him and hugged them tight.
‘Where would he have taken her, Dad? And why? Why did he take Lucy Jo and not me?’ sobbed Lana.
‘I don’t know, sweetheart, I don’t know.’
‘It’s all my fault,’ she cried.
‘No, Lana,’ he whispered. ‘It’s not your fault, not at all. Don’t think that, sweetheart. We’ll get him, we’ll get him for this.’
CHAPTER SEVEN
That night the wind blasted against the walls of the property and howled through the rest of the house, even though all the windows were closed. It was a haunting sound that made Lana shiver as she and Emma sat in front of the fire, drinking hot chocolate to warm themselves.