By the time the other volunteer firefighters and a bunch of village residents had answered Mr. Lee’s call for help, we had the flashlights working. He and Dad divided the volunteers into groups and sent us off to search the grounds and then the woods. They assigned Coop and me to the group led by Mr. Lee.
As soon as I stepped outside of the castle to gather with my group, that weird impression got stronger.
Stay.
I told myself it was just the stress. Yet, with every step I took toward the east woods, my lungs struggled to take in air, the muscles in my legs cramping. It got harder to walk, and I lagged behind. Was I going crazy? I bent over, my hands on my knees, trying to breathe.
“Are you all right?” Coop put a hand on my back.
“I have to go back,” I managed to gasp. I straightened and took a backward step, toward the castle. As soon as I did, the stiffness in my legs and the tightness in my chest eased. I took a deep breath. “Sir Hugh has her.”
“You already said that.” Coop glanced at the others in our group who had reached the woods. He seemed conflicted.
“I saw him snatch her, Coop. If he’s tied to the castle, why would he take her into the woods?” As soon as I said the words aloud, the need to return to the citadel hit me again, this time almost like a physical punch. I staggered back a step, away from him.
“You two need to keep with the group,” Mr. Lee shouted from the edge of the dark forest. “The last thing we need is to have to search for you guys too.”
“All right,” Coop called to the fire captain but said to me, “We already searched the castle.”
“We missed something.” I took another step backward, firm in my decision now. “You can go with them if you want.”
“No way.” Together, we turned around and broke into a run.
The kitchen door stood open, and we ran through to the Great Hall, where we slowed. I paused to catch my breath. Coop watched me, waiting. Confident that I knew what to do.
Something soft and warm, with a smell that reminded me of the plumeria fragrance in Mellie’s favorite shampoo, swirled around me, drawing me toward the west wing.
“To the library.” I took his hand, and we ran again.
Once there, Coop flipped the switch, and the large room flooded with soft lighting. Following that sense of gentle pressure, I moved to the fireplace.
My hair swirled around me like it had our first day here. I gasped, and Coop’s mouth dropped open.
“Can you feel it?” I whispered.
“Yeah.” Coop stood still as though afraid movement would scare our ghostly helper away.
But I knew for sure that something or someonewas trying to help us. And it didn’t feel like it had when I’d seen Hugh. I took a deep breath. It smelled so much like my sister— But, if it was her, did that mean.... My entire body trembled. Not that, please.
“Mellie?” I whispered against a lump in my throat.
A slight rustling, almost like fabric, came from behind us, and we whirled around. The room stood empty except for Coop and me. I tried to calm my racing heart. I would not believe that the presence could be a dead Mellie.
“What do you want me to see?” I kept my voice soft, calm.
Something soft brushed by my cheek, almost like a finger pointing toward the portrait. I stepped closer.
The last time I’d examined the picture, I’d focused on the little family. This time my attention was drawn to one of the beautifully carved stones in the fireplace behind them. Almost all the rooms in the citadel had fireplaces, but the ones in the west wing guest rooms had mantels with intricately carved stones and artistic patterns in many of the other stones. Like the one Mellie had admired our first day here.
“What are we looking for?” Coop whispered.
“The stonework, I think.”
I examined the mantel in the picture. It looked to be the same as the one before us.
“Ahh,” Coop breathed. “Something behind the stones? Wouldn’t the construction workers have found anything hidden?” Something ruffled his hair, and he snapped his mouth shut.
I searched between the painted stones in the portrait and the real ones in the fireplace. The back and forth motion made me feel a little sick. I closed my eyes for a few seconds. As soon as I opened them again, I saw it.
