Read Online Secret of Light by K. C. Dyer - Free Book Online Page B

similar to a piano leg.
    Kate ran her hand down her own dress again. “I believe this is silk,” she said, excitement in her voice, “but it feels a little draughty...”
    Darrell grinned at the look of horror creeping over Kate’s face. “Must be summertime,” she said with satisfaction, “’cause I’m not wearing any underwear, and I bet you aren’t either!”
    â€œDarrell!” Kate jumped back to her feet, smoothing down her skirts. “We’re going to have to do something about this!”
    Darrell laughed out loud.
    â€œListen Kate, we’ve got more important things to worry about than the state of your underwear. And besides, can you imagine how Brodie feels? He looks like he’s wearing a short skirt and tights!” She reached up a hand and Kate helped her stand.
    Darrell tried to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear, but found her hair was caught up in two knots, one on either side of her head.
    â€œAgh! Please tell me I don’t look like Princess Leia.”
    Kate brushed the straw off her clothes. “No, you don’t. In fact, it kinda suits you. I can’t believe how heavy all these clothes are.” She held out her voluminous skirts in a wide arc. “Some kind of brocade overskirt, silk dress, whatever this vest thingy is...”

    â€œNow you know why there’s no underwear. It’s too hot!” Darrell laughed.
    Kate undid her high-buttoned collar. “That’s a bit better. Now you were talking about taking stock. Have you got a plan?”
    Darrell shrugged. “Nope. Not yet. I think we need to get the lay of the land first. Now, considering that Giovanni guy was going to send us to the kitchen right away, I think you should hide out here with Delaney. Brodie will probably be back in a few minutes.” She peeked into a nearby stall. “This stable doesn’t look like it’s being used at the moment, so hopefully no one will come in here for a while.”
    â€œOkay.” Kate peered through the dim light. “But how do you know it’s not being used?”
    Darrell made a face. “Smell any horse manure? And the mangers are all empty.”
    â€œOkay,” Kate repeated, “but don’t be long. We need to figure out how to get back to school, now that we don’t have a cave or glyphs or anything.”
    â€œWe
do
have something going for us, Kate,” said Darrell. “We have Delaney. And we have our brains and our wits. We’ll figure it out.”
    Kate looked unconvinced.
    â€œI’m just going to have a quick look around. I’ll be back in ten minutes, tops.” Darrell stepped to the stable door and peered out through the crack. The name
Verrocchio
danced through her mind. Could it be?
    Kate retreated into the darkness of the stall. “I’ll wait in here,” she said, her voice muffled by the wooden walls. “I’ll sit here with Delaney and close my eyes.If I try really hard, maybe I can convince myself this is all just a bad dream.”
    Darrell smiled and opened the door, suspended with leather hinges nailed tightly to the wooden wall of the stable. She glanced back and noted with satisfaction that she could see no sign of Kate in her hiding place. The old stable looked deserted, with only a few ram-shackle stalls and a broken ladder leading to a tiny loft. She pulled the door inward and gave her eyes a moment to adjust to the brightness. Outside she could see a yard connecting the stable to a grand home, complete with a kitchen garden and pebble paths carefully lined with what looked like crushed clam shells.
    We must be near the sea. Maybe there
is
a cave we need to find after all.
Darrell hop-skipped her way into the kitchen garden. This leg was easier to walk on than the one she’d had in Scotland, but probably weighed double that of her prosthesis at home. She slipped under the spreading leaves of an olive tree and