‘He played truant.’
‘But for the afternoon.’ Kyla bit her lip. ‘I bet he was planning to home before the end of school so his mother wouldn’t even know he was missing. Don’t you remember that day on the beach when he came to get me? He didn’t want his mum to know. He really cares about her. He thinks about her.’
‘You’re suggesting that he’s injured.’
‘Yes.’ Kyla nodded slowly and forced herself to take a deep breath. ‘Yes, that’s what I think has happened. So he might not see the torchlight, Ethan.’
Ethan’s mouth hardened and he gave a nod. ‘So we need to look carefully.’
‘For goodness’ sake, be careful walking along the ramparts. There’s a sheer drop on the far side. There is a fence but the wind is fierce.’ And she desperately hoped that Fraser hadn’t gone in that direction.
Zipping up her coat to give her protection against the rising wind, Kyla moved through the ruins methodically, making the most of her local knowledge to search.
But she saw nothing. Found nothing. And by the time she met up with Ethan again, she was finding it hard not to panic.
‘Nothing. No sign of anyone. It was a stupid idea. He obviously isn’t here.’
‘Well, he’s not home either because I just called Nick Hillier to check. I didn’t want to worry Aisla, so I called him direct.’ The wind howled angrily at them and Ethan caught her arm and drew her behind the comparative shelter of a wall. ‘Earlier on, you said something about the guides telling stories about the dungeons.’
‘Yes, but you can’t go into the dungeons any more because they aren’t safe. They’ve been closed off to the public for years and—’ She broke off and shook her head in horror. ‘No. No, he wouldn’t have done that.’
Ethan closed his hands over the top of her arms and gave her a gentle shake. ‘Where’s the entrance? Where?’
‘You go into the keep and there’s a tunnel, but it’s blocked off. At the end of the tunnel there’s a door, but that’s kept locked. There’s no way he could—’
‘And how do you know about the door, Kyla MacNeil?’ He tightened his grip and then released her and started to run towards the keep.
‘Because I did the same thing at his age,’ Kyla whispered, as she followed him.
CHAPTER EIGHT
THE tunnel was dark and smelt dank and musty.
‘At least we can hear ourselves think in here,’ Ethan murmured, as he flashed the torch downwards to illuminate their feet. ‘I’m beginning to see what you mean about Glenmore and storms.’ His feet made a splashing noise and he shone the torch down. ‘It’s very wet.’
‘The rain pours in here. The whole dungeon floods in the winter. Ouch.’ She’d lost her footing and clutched at his arm, feeling his muscles bunch under her fingers as he took her weight and steadied her.
‘Go slowly. It’s treacherous underfoot.’
‘Let’s try shouting.’ She stopped dead. ‘Fraser? Fraser!’
Her voice bounced and echoed off the walls and then there was nothing except an eerie silence, punctuated by the sound of water trickling and dripping in the darkness around them.
‘This could be a wild-goose chase,’ Kyla said, as they picked and slithered their way further down into the tunnel. ‘He could be sitting at home and—’
‘Be quiet.’ Ethan put a hand on her arm. ‘I heard something.’
Kyla froze. And then she heard something, too.
‘What was that?’
‘I don’t know. But it wasn’t wind and it wasn’t dripping water so it’s worth investigating. How far is the gate that covers the entrance of the dungeons?’
‘I can’t remember. It’s years since I came down here, but I don’t think it can be far now.’ Kyla flashed the torch and nodded. ‘There. Can you see?’
‘Yes. But the gate’s shut. It hasn’t been opened. Hold the torch while I check.’
Kyla shone both torches onto the gate and Ethan ran his fingers over the rusted bars. ‘There’s no way he could have got through here.’
‘No, but he could have got through there.’ Kyla shone the torch to the side and Ethan turned, his eyes on the crack in the wall.
‘It’s not wide enough.’
‘Yes, it is,’ Kyla said wearily, and he lifted an eyebrow.
‘Are you seriously telling me that you once wriggled through that gap?’
‘I was twelve at the time,’ she muttered. ‘I’ve eaten thousands of Evanna’s dinners since then.’
And then they both heard the noise at the same time. And this time it was recognisable.
‘Fraser?’ Kyla yelled his name and moved closer to the gate. ‘Fraser, is that you? Are you down there?’
‘I’m stuck.’ His voice was thin and reedy and Kyla felt her heart turn over.
‘All right. Don’t panic, Fraser. You’re going to be fine. We’re going to get you out.’ She almost laughed as she listened to herself. How? That was the question that flew into her mind. How were they going to get him out? There was a storm brewing, Fraser was trapped underground in an unstable place and no one else knew where they were.
‘We need to—we need to—’ For once her ingenuity failed her and she looked helplessly at Ethan. ‘I don’t know what on earth we need. There’s a drop, Ethan. He must have fallen in. I mean, there are no stairs or anything. Just a drop and then a small cramped room. It’s a bit like being at the bottom of a well. How are we going to get him out of there?’
‘A stage at a time.’ Ethan was calm. ‘First we find a way to get in. Then we find a way to get him out. But we’re going to need help. I’m going to go back up to the top and call Nick. We need a team of people up here and some rope. And we need to call the people who run this place to see if there’s an official way through this gate.’ His quiet confidence gave her courage.
‘Yes, of course you’re right. Nick will arrange everything if you just call him. I’ll stay here and see if I can work anything out.’
‘I’ll be back in a minute.’
‘Kyla?’ Fraser’s voice came from far below her, weak and shaky. ‘Are you still there?’
‘I’m still here and I’m not going anywhere. You’ve chosen a good place to shelter, Fraser, on such a stormy night.’
‘It’s very dark down here.’ She heard the quiver in his voice and her heart twisted with sympathy for him. He must be so scared. For a moment she contemplated dropping the torch down to him but then she realised that the fall would probably just break it and then they’d both be in the dark.
‘How did you get down there, Fraser?’ She slid a hand across the gate, shuddering when she encountered the softness of a spider’s web. She didn’t mind the storm or the dark but she hated spiders.
‘I opened the gate. I only meant to look. And then I fell. I don’t remember anything after that.’
He’d knocked himself out. ‘Do you hurt anywhere, Fraser?’
‘My