I so badly wanted to believe that I had imagined those ghostly figures, like the hunters said, but I knew I hadn’t. Whoever and whatever they were, they had been there. Once they seemed sure I wasn’t going to run away, the hunters gave me a little 173space, although they never moved too far. Before long, Will came and sat down by my side.

“I believe you,” he said quietly. “About the people in the fog.”

I felt a flicker of hope. “Have you seen them too?”

“No. But nothing would surprise me on Bird Rock. I told you strange things would happen if you stayed at the lighthouse. Your family woke it up when you started living there.”

I stared at him. “What do you mean, we woke it up?” I asked, struggling not to crumple beneath a wave of despair. “It’s a building. It’s not aware of us one way or another. It’s not alive.”

“Don’t be so sure about that,” Will replied. “Don’t be sure about anything on Bird Rock. I still haven’t figured out whether it’s the lighthouse, or a presence inside it, but there’s something sentient there. Something that watches, and feels things, and hates us for being here. Something that wants us all to go away.”

“Maybe you’re right,” I replied. “Something really messed up is going on here. You tried so many times to warn us. I should have listened, and I’m sorry. Sorry for yelling at you earlier, and for getting you 174into trouble with your dad, and—”

Will took my hand with surprising gentleness, his fingers warm and reassuring around mine. “Forget it. I knew that sharing that video would seem monstrous. It was monstrous – a cruel thing to do.” A muscle twitched in his jaw. “I hated myself for it but I couldn’t think what else to do to persuade you to leave.”

“We’ll go,” I said. “As soon as I find my sister, we’ll make my dad see that we all need to leave Bird Rock. We’re not staying here another night.”

Will nodded and gave my hand a quick squeeze before releasing it. “Good,” he said, breathing a sigh of relief. “That’s good. Hopefully it’s all just a misunderstanding with your sister, and she’s already back at the lighthouse.”

I hoped so with all my soul, but I had a terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. I was so desperate to see Rosie again that I didn’t know how I would bear to be apart from her another second.

Just then, Cailean came over. “You’re in luck,” he said. “Fog’s lifted.”

I looked up and saw that he was right. It seemed to have melted away as quickly as it had appeared. 175I scrambled to my feet, eager to get back to the lighthouse and see if Rosie had turned up.