EXCERPT
He saw her. The dalwight was some way up the road, and once again she had
stopped and was standing back in the shadows.
She was outside the Rileys’ house. The moon shone brightly from above the
bungalow behind her, lighting up the front of the houses across the road but
leaving her in almost total darkness. From where she was she could see
everything without being seen. If Michael had moved out from the end of the
lane she would have been sure to have spotted him.
What was she doing? Michael had no idea. He hoped that she would be no more
able to force her way into the Rileys’ house than she had been able to get into
his. So why was she there? Surely she already knew everything she could want
to know about the five Riley children’s abilities? She had attacked them twice
on the beach, so there was no doubt she knew what they were and what they could
do. Why was she waiting here?
“Michael!”
His name echoed around his head as if it had been shouted at him in a small
empty room. For a moment he thought it was Lucy, and then he knew it was not.
In a moment of panic, he thought it was the dalwight.
“Michael, what on earth are you doing here at this time of night?”
“I wish you girls would stop jumping into my head and scaring me out of my
skin!”
“Sorry,” Myra’s thought-voice sounded very apologetic. “I didn’t know I could
talk to you like this until now. Does Lucy do it often?”
“First time tonight. I’m not sure I like it. I don’t think I like it.”
“I won’t do it if you don’t want me to. I’ve never done it with anyone who
isn’t an eruin too. I didn’t know I could. It doesn’t always work even with my
brothers and sisters. But you haven’t answered me. What are you doing
here?”
“I’m following the dalwight. She’s outside your house. I hope she can’t hear
you too.”
“You’re following the dalwight! WHY? It’s too dangerous. Go home.” There
was deep concern in the thoughts that Myra sent him.
“Don’t worry. She can’t sense me, we’re quite sure she can’t and it’s too dark
for her to see me if I’m careful. She’ll hear you if you’re not careful.”
“Dalwights can’t hear or send the thoughts like we sometimes can.”
“Your mother said this is not an ordinary dalwight. You can’t know what she
can do until it’s been tested,” warned Michael.
“Where is the dalwight? What’s she doing?”
“She’s over the road from your house, just watching. I don’t know what she’s
doing. I’m going to follow her and find out where she lives. I wish she would
move. I don’t like waiting about in the dark.”
“I’ll make her move.”
“NO! Don’t do anything. It’s too dangerous...” Michael’s plea not to do
anything went unheard. Myra had broken off the thought connection with him.
For several minutes nothing happened. Michael waited, wondering if perhaps
Myra had heard him and had decided it was better to keep quiet and to do
nothing. The dalwight had still not moved. If she had managed to intercept any
part of the thought conversation between Michael and Myra she gave no sign of
it.
Every light in Myra’s house came on. At the same time Michael heard the most
awful screeching noise that seemed to fill his whole head and to echo up and
down the street, rebounding from every building and becoming louder every
second...
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