Read Online Revenge by Gabrielle Lord - Free Book Online Page A

GPS.
    â€˜Coffin! Coffin Bay!’ she said, practically jumping up and down. ‘That’s it! That’s what he wanted us to find. Not the funeral parlour, not the graveyard, not the mausoleum, but a place called Coffin Bay!’
    â€˜That’s where he is, all right,’ I added. I moved back in front of the computer and continued my map search. ‘Looks like Coffin Bay’s a tiny inlet on the coast, about an hour and a half south.’ I hit ‘print’ and turned to face Winter. ‘We’d better pack some stuff and get going!’
    â€˜I’ll go call Ryan!’ she said, running off.
    â€˜Cool,’ I said, jumping up, grabbing the printout and chucking my stuff into my bag. I checked tomake sure I had my Vipercam and my new piece of work, the Hummingbird Hawk-moth, stashed securely inside.
    Winter landed at the bottom of the stairs with a thud—she’d leapt from about five steps up. She pulled on a coat and slung her bag over her shoulder. ‘Ryan’s on his way back over to pick us up now.’

    The drive seemed to take forever. The weather was bad and Ryan had to crawl along with the windscreen wipers going as fast as possible. Even then, the road kept disappearing in the blinding sheets of rain.
    The rain eased just as Ryan parked the car a little way past the Coffin Bay road sign. We jumped out and looked down at the wind-swept coastline. Waves piled and crashed onto the deserted beach and flecks of foam sprayed through the air.
    We made our way down to the sand and across an outcrop of jagged rocks, leaning into the southerly wind that pushed against us as if resisting our intrusion on the tiny beach.
    A cliff loomed on our right, and we kept close to it. The howling wind swept sand across the beach so hard it stung our ankles. Winter shook her hair from her face and tied it back in a tight plait. Ryan pulled his hood over his head and dug his hands into his pockets. I caught Winter glancing sideways at him. With his hair hidden, he looked just like Cal.
    We stopped and scoped out the bay from a safe distance. I didn’t want to walk into a trap like the last time.
    But there wasn’t a soul in sight.
    â€˜There’s nothing here,’ said Ryan. ‘I don’t see a building, a shed, a house … I don’t see anything but sand and sea. Where could they be?’
    â€˜I don’t know,’ said Winter, spinning around, scanning in all directions. ‘This has to be it,’ she said to herself. ‘ Coffin Bay. This has to be what you were telling us, Cal.’
    A gust of wind picked up a clump of seaweed and threw it up into the air. We watched as it was swept up high above our heads, swirling the strong scent of salt around us.
    Above us loomed a tall, craggy overhang. It marked the top of the cliff that reached a hundred metres into the sky.
    â€˜What about up there?’ I suggested, pointing to the old sandstone lighthouse perched on its peak.

    Carefully we made our way up the side of the scrubby, sandy cliff, constantly scanning our surroundings, terrified someone was going to leap out of nowhere and pounce at any moment. Once we reached the top, we ducked down in the long, wet grass for a closer look.
    We eyed the lighthouse carefully. It was about twenty metres tall, and had a weather-beaten white lantern room on top. At its base were the ruins of what must have once been the keeper’s quarters. Only a few blackened and crumbling sandstone bricks remained, marking out the rough layout of the original walls.
    â€˜Looks like a fire burned the cottage down,’ I whispered. ‘But it never reached the tower. Still, the lighthouse looks abandoned.’
    â€˜Maybe,’ said Winter. ‘Or maybe it recently acquired a few new tenants. Follow me.’
    We crept through the grass and over to the lighthouse. The black, wooden door was half off its hinges.
    Winter swiftly kicked the door. I dragged her