"Something like that."

"But I get it. If I was a dad, who had taught my daughter how to do all those things, I think I'd be very proud of her, right now. And I bet I would be missing her too."

"Thank you."

His kindness was overwhelming, it was all I could do to stop myself from reaching for his hand, and it would have been so easy to entwine my fingers into his. Morgan made me feel normal again, almost comfortable with myself. He gave me strength in my moment of doubt. I didn't even know where the doubt had come from, my motivation and determinedness was usually my strongest virtue. I had been so lost in finding Jez's dad that I hadn't realised how much I missed my own.

But I hadn't forgotten the hurt feeling which still dug in like a knife in my heart. I pulled away and stood up, walking into the yard, staring at the ever clouding sky. The greyness was enveloping everything. The trees seemed duller, the light in the air appeared off colour.

"We should get back," I said, to his surprise, and walked back inside to the stairs.

"Okay," he muttered, rising slowly and a little unsure. Confusion appeared across his brow but I kept my face pensive, but unaffected.

Back in Jez's room the others had already formulated a plan, of sorts. The idea was to break down the wooden tunnel wall and see what was on the other side. Our inventory would have to include torches, rope, chalk, a first aid kit, a compass, and possibly a hammer of some sort, in case of other barriers which would need dismantling.

"So, when are we going to do this?" I asked.

"Tonight, if we can," said Debbie. "Why wait?"

"Okay, perfect," Morgan added. "Rose and I will start. Once we get past the barrier walls we may need the rest of you."

"What if Daisy checks up on me, later on?" I said.

"You could just say that you were out with me or sleeping on my very comfy sofa," Morgan said lightly. He smiled but it didn't reach his eyes. Lucie turned away in annoyance.

"Okay, Debbie, Lucie, Jez. You come over to Morgan's about six pm, and we'll pretend we're having a game's night or watching TV or something. Bring a takeaway pizza. Then you can sit tight, just in case we need you," I said. "Bring your phone, and dress for the cold. Ring Mira and see if she can come too. If she knows the maps well enough, she'll be able to guide us through the tunnels easier."

"Sure, I'll get your gear ready," Jez stressed. "When I get the map from Mira, I'll grid reference it so you can see where you're headed. Debbie, you get a rucksack so they can take everything they need."

"Cool. We'll find your dad," said Morgan. He placed a hand on Jez's shoulder to reassure him. Jez nodded.

"If anyone else asks where you are, you'll be taking a walk or something," said Debbie.

"Good. Or if it gets difficult just say I had a headache," I said calmly. "Except for Daisy, tell her what Morgan said."

"Okay, Jez, we'd better go. I need to find some warm clothes and stuff. I'll phone later before I pick up Lucie, we'll just double check everything," Debbie said, squeezing Jez tightly then departing, Lucie did the same, and gave Morgan a sickly sweet goodbye kiss on his cheek. He looked surprised but didn't comment after.

It was just the three of us left.

"You okay, Jez?" I asked.

"I'm all right, a bit more hopeful, you know? I just want my dad back," he sighed; a weary frown furrowed his eyebrows for a moment then his face remained passive.

"I know. And we'll find him. If this doesn't work we'll think of something else. You're not on your own any more," I said and squeezed his hand. "And you need to get some sleep."

"I know. Thanks, I appreciate it. You know despite what people say, you're all right!" his teasing smile lit up his face. I hadn't seen such a smile before on him. It almost brought a touch of colour to his face.

"Really, well you'd hate to see me when I'm nice. Wonder what they'd say about that!"

"Oh, scary, I reckon. Thanks, both of you."

"No problem, mate, any time. We'd better get ready. I think we missed lunch and I could do with a coffee. Will you be all right?" said Morgan to Jez.

"I'll be fine, you go. I'm going to wait for Mira to bring the maps. If I find anything else I'll let you know."

"Cool, see you later," Morgan shook his hand.

I suddenly had a thought.

"I just want to speak to Jez about something. I'll see you downstairs," I said to Morgan.

"Sure," he shrugged, and left. His tread on the stairs was barely audible but I waited until I knew he was at the bottom.

I leaned over the computer desk, Jez looked at me curiously.

"What is it?"

"Do you know of a small tower, like a castle turret near here," I said quietly.

"Yes, it's called King Alfred's Tower. Do you think it's connected?" he said inquisitively.

"I'm not sure. Where is it located?"

"Hang on, let's check," he tapped onto an internet search engine and brought up a local satellite map onto the screen. "It's not far from where the party will be held. Look, here's the party area at Cley Hill. And here's the tower just west of the venue, with about two miles between them."

He pointed to the locations on the monitor. I focused on the screen, scanning the area, judging for obstacles. Fields and trees were all that separated the two sights but a small curvy lane showed me the quickest way to get there. I could run it in a few minutes easily. I only hoped my fellow shadows would forgive me if I didn't tell them of my plan.

"Can you find a picture of the tower?" I asked.

"Yep, just let me....here," he said, after another search.

I froze in horror. The square tall red bricked building was like an old church tower with one rooftop spire thrust high into the sky. The four walls bore stone chiselled hollows adorned with stone statues of King Alfred.

It was identical to the one last seen in my dream. The dream where Aiden has tried to kill me. The dream that Morgan had woken me from.

I gulped, Jez was looking at me peculiarly, but I was thankful he didn't ask any more questions.

"Actually Rose, while I've got you to myself, I wanted to show you this," he said, reaching under a huge stack of papers and pulled out an old photograph. "I thought I'd give it to you when you were on your own. I found it in some of Dad's things."

"Thanks," I said as I stared at the old yellowing picture. The back of the photograph had writing. It said "1967 - Meeting of Two Houses." The figures stood in two lines, the top line was all men, the bottom was all women, sixteen people in all. The smiling faces told me that it had been an impromptu photo. The turtle necks and flared trousers screamed of the sixties, and I began to study the faces although there were none I recognised.

"Who are all these people?" I pointed. He leaned over and our heads almost touched.

"That's Daisy," he pointed.

"No!" I cried, the quirky lady wore a pink crocheted dress and held a white handbag. She was very pretty, and her hair was bobbed in a very fetching style, fetching for that era, anyway.

"And that's Ben Deverill," he pointed to a man in the centre of the back row. The man was frowning, with thick long hair falling down over his shoulders in one length.

"Then that's Agatha Millard, my dad is next, Maggie Dunbar and her husband, Leo Bartholomew, Stanley Arthur (who is Lucie's grandfather), Bill McCaw"

"Morgan's grandfather?"

"Yep, and Henry Cole"

"Old Mad Cole?"

"Yes, and Paul Pemberton, Charlotte Mandle, Regina Stoy, and I don't know the other ones."

I stared into their faces, mostly happy and smiling except for a much younger Ben Deverill who looked fierce. I was remembering the names Jez had just spoken when a cold shiver shot down my spine.

"Jez, you know that half of these people are either missing or"

"Dead? Yeah, I know. That's why I didn't want to show it in front of the others," he gave a forlorn smile.

"I can see why, they'd freak. Plus this means the others"

"They're all in danger too, I know. It's no coincidence that he's picking these people."

I paused, still fixated on the picture. "I'll have a look around Daisy's and see if I can find anything else out. Thanks."

"I knew I could trust you, Rose."

I recalled a name he had said and pointed to the face in the photo. "This Paul Pemberton, is he related to the Chief Super? Is he still around here?"

Jez frowned. "He's Mark's older brother and lives in Heytesbury, it's a village south of Warminster. I don't think he's been out in years, a bit of a recluse from what I hear."

"But you know where he lives? I'd like to find him but I don't want the others to know, you know?" I said.

"Sure, no problem, I can take you, just tell me when you want to go," he smiled and squeezed my arm.

"Thanks, and thanks for the photo," I said sincerely. "We'll see you later, try and get some sleep; you might need it!"

"Sure thing." He grinned and I squeezed his shoulder affectionately and rushed down to the waiting Morgan.

- Chapter Twelve -.

Morgan was sitting on Jez's low garden wall, the light wind gently blowing his hair back away from his face. He pushed his fingers through it, settling it into place, as I approached cautiously, my face pensive.

He smiled timidly. In his hand was the second motorbike helmet and he handed it over.

"Do you want to get a coffee or something? I'm buying," he said amiably, and his troubled eyes twinkled, as I attempted a shy smile.

I couldn't bear the awkwardness any longer. I couldn't avoid him any more either, and ignoring him was plain unfair, not even he deserved that. I was itching to get back to the house to fully study the photo but Morgan and I needed to talk, if only to clear the air.

I checked my watch and gawked; it was mid afternoon already. "Sure," I said. "Where are we going?"

"A small place I know," he gave me a meaningful look, as I got up on the bike behind him and tentatively clasped my arms around his waist to hold on.

He took me to a pub on one of the back lanes out of town called 'The Black Dog Inn'. It struck a chord as Barry had talked about the synonymous name before, but the sign depicted a generic dog painting in the yard of an old coach-house, no Halika Dacome present. We pulled up into the car park and parked in the spot near the main entrance reserved for motorbikes.

"Are we allowed in here?" I said slightly unsure as I got off the bike.

"Why not? We're not drinking alcohol. Just having a coffee, besides I know the owner anyway," he grinned.

"Hmm, I hear that a lot," I muttered as Morgan stifled a laugh.

"Round the back is the beer garden, you go and sit. What do you want to drink?"

"Just a milky coffee, thanks."

"Okay, I'll be back in a minute," and he disappeared into the entrance door.

The back garden was tranquil, just empty tables and benches. I sat and gazed at the greenness and listened with keen ears. At the gardens edge a small stream tinkled and bubbled away down into the valley southwards. The quietness of the gentle stream, of the garden in general was relieving and I relished these moments of being on my own. I tipped my head up to feel the fresh air breeze across my face, brushing against my skin and relieving my previous tension. My muscles relaxed as I inhaled a full breath of clean pure air.

Guilt of neglecting my family hung with me for a second and I thought back to the talk with Morgan in Jez's back yard, I did miss my family immensely but life had been so busy since arriving at Daisy's. My neglect felt worse when I remembered the mobile phone in my bag and I reached for it to try Amy's number. She still didn't pick up, there was still no answer, and I left another message on voicemail insisting that she call me.

I thought about trying my parents, but Mum would freak if she knew I was calling from the mobile so I sent a text to Pritchard, about my whereabouts - he probably knew already - and put the phone back in my bag and dumped it on the floor.

Presently, Morgan arrived with our drinks and sat on the opposite bench.

"Jez is such a bad host; he didn't even put the kettle on," Morgan joked, and unzipped his jacket laying it across the bench. He was trying to clear the air and I had to give him credit for that. He seemingly didn't want to have any bad feeling between us either.

"You have legs, you could have done it," I joked back, a half smile reached my lips.

"So, I hear you livened up the alien event, Henry Cole notwithstanding," he said smirking, resting his elbows on the table and sipping slowly from his coffee cup.

"Well, it would have been dull otherwise. Besides, Hannah and Mira needed a diversion. I can tell their boredom threshold is pretty low."

"I'm sure they did! They go every year, mostly to heckle from the back."

"Yeah. Mira thought it was completely hilarious."

"That sounds like her. That girl could be happy in a snowstorm."

I laughed. "How long have you known them, Hannah and Mira, I mean?" I said, leaning closer.

"I think since we were at Primary school. Around six years old, I think. When we were in the classroom, they used to talk about you all the time. At the start of term, the teacher would ask us to draw pictures of our favourite holiday memory and they would always draw you with bright green eyes."

"No, really?"

"Yep. It was always "Rose said this," and "Rose did that." I'm sure the teachers half thought they'd made up an imaginary friend, but were both imagining her."

"Wow, I had no idea." I suddenly felt a little guilty as I hadn't thought of them much in that way ever.