Page 24 of Chillingham Castle

“I had something then, but it’s gone. I need to go dry off,” I replied, drenched.

“Yeah, I think we’ll call it quits. Let’s go back,” Haunt agreed, giving me a stern look.

“Hey, I did say to bring a rope,” I retorted, and Haunt laughed before shaking his head.

“You scared the crap out of us,” Reaver exclaimed, slapping my shoulder.

“Scared the shit out of me,” I muttered, casting a baleful glance at the lake. Something connected everything, and I needed to work out the link.

I turned to the hill and gaped. Everyone followed my gaze.

“No,” Haunt breathed. A tall male figure stood at the top, and before him was a barrel. Before our eyes, he rolled it down, and we heard the agonised cries of a child.

“Oh, God!” I gasped as it repeated twice and then faded away.

Cammie

I watched the footage of Jack getting pulled under and paused it. “Lynnie,” I said to Lynnie as she leaned over.

“That’s a hand.”

“I thought that; look here.” I sped forward a few frames, and Lynnie frowned.

“A child?”

“I think so. That’s a man’s face, but this is definitely a kid, right?”

“Yeah. Records say the lake had Scottish soldiers allegedly tossed into it, but there’s been no mention of kids. The only children we know of are the one in King Edward Room and Blue Boy and Eleanor,” Lynnie replied.

“Then why does a child’s spirit exist in that lake?” I demanded.

“It’s possible he was murdered and thrown in there. I mean, where did the bodies of the hacked children end up? There’s no record of a funeral,” Lynnie said softly and winced.

“It sounds callous, doesn’t it?” Jayna murmured.

“Yeah. Almost as if we don’t care,” Lynnie agreed.

“How are you feeling about being here?” I cautiously asked Lynnie. She’d been devastated by what happened to EGS.

“I’m okay.” She tilted her head. “Hey, what’s the saying? A new dawn and a new day! If we stay, I think I’ll keep out of the camera’s view for now. I’m happy editing and researching,” Lynnie said.

“If you go, we go,” Jayna stated staunchly.

“No, you guys love this; I can help from afar,” Lynnie responded.

“For now, let’s just assist the Spirit Chasers,” Jayna suggested, and I nodded.

That was a good plan.

Jack

“Jack, are you the first?” Evie asked, approaching.

“Yes, something’s bugging me, and I couldn’t figure out what,” I replied, standing in the courtyard and staring at the outside of the Great Hall.

“A member of staff contacted me today. She’s been on holiday and hadn’t checked the email I sent out requesting information on anything strange. She saw something and took pictures. Here, I can send them to you,” Evie said, and my phone pinged.

“Thanks, Evie. How have things been?”