CHAPTER THIRTEEN
I was screaming her name with every ounce of breath in my lungs. I could see Maddy in a small room, chained to a metal framed bed, the room looked generic, plain, cream walls and a dated duvet cover with matching curtains. A picture on the wall was a print of a beach scene. It was plain and soulless. A holiday home. I could be one of many on the island.
I closed my eyes and let my head drop again, trying to control my breathing and focusing on Maddy.
I cleared my head of everything except her. I focused on that small room she was trapped in and where I was now. I felt the sand beneath my fingers and focused on the brown felt carpet in the room. My knees were wet and cold in the water's edge, I concentrated on feeling the cold damp air in the room where Maddy was caged. I took a deep breath in through my nose and fixed on smelling the smell of the holiday let - cleaning products and slightly musty after being shut up all winter.
"Maddy". I spoke her name as clearly as I could inside my head.
Maddy's head snapped up as though I was in the room with her and had spoken her name.
I smiled and lost my vision. Maddy and the room shimmered out of view.
I took a deep breath and focused again.
Her head was back down on her knees, her arms wrapped even more tightly around her legs.
I tried again. "Maddy". She looked up again, this time I could see her tear streaked face and the fear in her eyes, her mouth slightly open questioning.
"Maddy" I spoke, "I know you can hear me in your head"
She put her head back down on her knees and I could see her shoulders begin to heave.
"Don't cry Maddy, please" I begged.
She took a deep breath and rolled over onto her side, pulling the duvet up and over her head.
It was as though I was under the duvet with her; there was the smallest chink of light from a gap above her head.
"Maddy, I can hear you, I can see you" I whispered inside my head, focusing slowly on each word to make it as clear as I could.
She nodded slowly.
"Stay strong Maddy please, we're coming to get you. I promise"
She clenched her eyes closed tightly and pursed her lips, trying not to cry as a tear escaped from the corner of her eye.
I drew back from her, looking around the room inside my head, trying to get any clue as to where she was.
The door to the room opened suddenly and in stalked Grace, the image shimmered again in my head but not before I noticed she was carrying a bowl and I could smell the rabbit stew it contained. At least they were feeding Maddy.
My stomach growled and I cursed myself for even thinking about food at a time like this. How could I think about eating when Maddy was still captive?
I wanted to stay there on the beach and not move a muscle, I was so afraid of breaking the connection with Maddy, but the tide was still getting higher and I was cold and wet. I needed to get back to Emma, Dan and Ellie and tell them what I had seen, it might bring them some comfort.
I ran back to where I had left them in the Land Rover, trying to keep the details of what I had seen fresh in my head.
Emma was out of the back, pacing backwards and forwards, her eyes focused on the island across the short stretch of water.
Dan and Ellie were still in the front, also staring out across the fast moving body of water, Dan still clutching the steering wheel with both hands gripping it as though he was holding on for dear life.
"Anything?" questioned Emma as I approached.
I nodded once.
Dan and Ellie moved out of the car, they must have heard my approach.
Dan didn't say anything; he squeezed my shoulder and gave me a grim smile.
"Could you see Maddy?" pestered Emma, she was desperate.
"Yes" I began, "It wasn't like normal, she could hear me" I shook my head again, I couldn't understand how I was communicating with Maddy, it had never been like this before.
I took a deep breath and told them what I had seen; the magnolia holiday let and being so close to Maddy.
"It's not much" I shrugged, "I've never been able to talk to her like that... It wasn't like normal Eolas..."
"No, it wasn't" said Ellie, sitting down in the open back door of the Land Rover.
She had remained quiet while I had been telling them all about what I could see.
"No, it can't be Mam, can it?..." questioned Emma mysteriously.
Ellie looked up at me, fixing me with a knowing look.
"Some wolfblood's possess a unique ability to communicate with each other that is more than Eolas. It is called Siaph. It's like using Eolas when your heads are together but you don't need close proximity to use it. You should be able to talk to each other should you wish to."
"It was really difficult..." I mumbled, "like trying to get through a brick wall to see her".
"They'll have their own Pentagram" shrugged Dan, "they will be doing all they can to block us from seeing her, that's why Emma is having such problems finding her."
"It's amazing you could see anything at all" said Emma.
"All I could see was the room she was in, I couldn't see the outside it, the cottage or wherever they have got her" I grumbled.
"You've done very well to see as much as you have, it will help" emphasised Ellie. Emma and Dan nodded in agreement.
"So now we just have to wait" shrugged Dan.
"I wish we could find out which houses are holiday lets on the island..." muttered Emma.
"Maybe we can!" I smiled, taking my phone out of my pocket, "One thing that is great about being a Tame wolfblood is being have access to the internet! Maybe the holiday lets' have pictures of the rooms on their websites"
"Genius" smiled Dan.
"But the coverage here is rubbish" shrugged Emma, "it will take ages to look through all the places."
"I saw a sign for a caravan park just up the road from here, may be they will have a cafe where we can get something to eat and access to the internet." suggested Dan.
We were all pilling into the Land Rover before he had even finished speaking.
Although it felt like we were moving further away from Maddy at least we were doing something to help find her.
It didn't take long to find the caravan park. Rows and rows of static caravans parked up for holiday makers keen to enjoy the Northumberland coast.
A huge sign at the entrance proclaimed an onsite cafe and free WiFi access. I felt the mood in the car lift as we all read it.
"I hope the cafe isn't just for the site users" muttered Emma as Dan parked up.
"we'll blag it" answered Dan.
We all walked silently into the cafe and picked a table near the door. Dan and I pulled out our phones and began to hunt straight away.
"What sort of room was it?" questioned Dan under his breath to me "single or double?"
I closed my eyes and thought back to the room again. "It was a twin room" I confirmed, "There were two single beds, the one Maddy was on pushed up against the wall and then another under a high window."
Emma went to the counter and ordered tea and sandwiches for all of us. As hungry as I was I really didn't feel like eating. My stomach was still in knots and every time I thought about Maddy it was like a freezing rock had pummelled my insides.
Dan and I checked different websites, checking back with each other each time we found a picture. Ellie was keeping a list on a paper napkin of each holiday let we looked at.
"This one?" questioned Dan.
I took his phone off him and had a closer look, It was hard to see the pictures of the rooms, his phone was quite old and it took ages for the images to load.
"No" I said shaking my head and handing his phone back. I went back to mine, trying to find the right pages showing the rooms.
Emma brought over the tea and sandwiches.
"They didn't question us" Emma whispered.
"Probably the only trade they have had all day" hissed Ellie back, glancing over her shoulder at the board looking girl behind the counter, "it's a bit early in the season yet".
I carried on searching, eating the sandwiches just because they were in front of me. Emma poured out the strong tea into the tick white cups. It was hot and sweet when Emma passed me a cup.
We silently search on our phones while we ate. It took ages.
Dan showed me another image on his phone. "What about this, they have a twin room".
"It looks like the same duvet and curtains..." I muttered "What is it called? I'll try looking on my phone so the image is better".
"Sea View cottages" Ellie confirmed, looking on her napkin list.
I pulled up the website. "It looks like it could be the place" I said.
Emma smiled, the first time she had done so in hours.
"The curtains are the same but this picture shows a different room, I can't guarantee it's that right place" I shrugged.
"It's a start" said Dan. "Once we get onto the Island we should be able to follow their scent and you can try and contact Maddy again using Siaph. We'll be closer and that will make a huge difference."
Emma and Ellie nodded, Emma's lips were pulled into a tight determined line. She needed to find her daughter and would do whatever it took.
When we had finished the tea and all the sandwiches we got back into the Land Rover and drove back down the road to the causeway crossing over to the Island.
The tide was on the turn but it still wasn't safe to cross. We had more to go on, an address to begin our search but the atmosphere changed in the car from one of optimism to quiet determination. Emma was wringing her hands with nervous tension and Dan was gripping the steering wheel again.
I opened the back door to let in some fresh air; the feeling of confinement was suffocating. My stomach lurched again when I thought about what Maddy was going through.
Suddenly a noise made us all look up.
A roaring motorbike speed towards us in the Land Rover.
It was carrying two passengers.