Secret of Light by K. C. Dyer Page A

they got stained, and I figured we would have a few minutes to decide what to do next if we hid in the stable.”
    â€œAnd instead, we got dragged forward through time.” Kate looked thoughtful.
    â€œI think we need to look at this thing scientifically,” said Brodie. “Last summer when we travelled through the cave, Darrell touched the glyphs on the wall.” He paused. “But this time — no cave, no glyphs. Just the lighthouse.”
    Kate shivered. “It’s so weird to think we have some kind of portal to the past right down the beach fromwhere we’re sitting now. I mean, anybody could go through it.”
    â€œI don’t think that’s true,” said Brodie. “If that was the case, everyone who has ever worked in the lighthouse could have been flipping back and forth through history. And what about the people who use the old hayloft in the stable? Do you see them dropping by for a visit?” He looked at Kate. “No. Think about it — who travelled through the cave?”
    â€œWell, duh! We all did.”
    Brodie turned his eyes to Darrell. “No,” he said, “that’s not quite right.”
    â€œI did,” she whispered. “With Delaney. Every time. If you guys were touching me, you came, too.”
    Brodie nodded. “So, if conditions are right, we can all travel through as long as we have Darrell and Delaney.”
    â€œBut the cave had those three glyphs,” said Kate. “Somehow they helped move us through time. What made it work in the lighthouse?”
    Brodie shook his head. “I don’t know. But I’d like to go back and run a little test.”
    Kate stiffened. “Oh no — I don’t think I’m ready yet, Brodie. I mean — I love this time travel thing, it’s really interesting and everything, but — I’m just not ready to head back yet. What if we got turned around and went into the future instead?”
    Darrell jumped in her chair, feeling as though a tiny shock had crackled along her spine. She opened her mouth to speak, closed it, and gave her head a little shake.
    Brodie crumpled the paper napkin under his elbow and tossed it at Kate. “You goof! I didn’t mean weshould take another trip into the past. As a matter of fact, I want to be completely safe, so I think Darrell and Delaney shouldn’t come at all.”
    Kate flipped the napkin back. “In that case, I don’t think I need to be there either.” She shuddered. “I don’t want to go near the lighthouse for a while. My stomach needs a chance to settle for a few days.”
    Brodie shrugged. “Okay by me. Still, it’s best to have an independent observer in any experiment. How about if you stay outside and watch from a distance? That way you can let Darrell know if I disappear and she has to come and find me.”
    He laughed at Kate’s look of horror. “I’m kidding! You can be the lookout to make sure no one comes along while I’m checking the place out. It’ll only take me five minutes or so.”
    Kate turned to Darrell, who sat in her chair fiddling with the old bit of stick she had taken from Delaney. “You seem awfully quiet about this,” Kate said. “Do you think it’s safe for Brodie to go back into the lighthouse?”
    Darrell gave a little start. “What?” She looked at her friends’ expectant faces and tried to remember what they had been talking about. “The lighthouse? Sure. Do you want me to come?”
    â€œHave you heard a word we’ve been saying?” asked Kate. She raised her eyebrows at Darrell and turned back to Brodie. “Okay, I’ll come, as long as we keep the space cadet here as far away as possible.”
    Brodie jumped to his feet, but Kate stood more slowly, staring at the solid wall of rain outside the window,her face a mask of gloom. “I need to go find an umbrella first,”