Faith and Riley packed for the trip, helped Suzie pack her bag, then all three of them ate a quick breakfast. The sun had finished rising, with no clouds in the sky. Hopefully that would last. Hannah and Bradley would come by for Suzie half an hour after Faith and Riley left. Faith had hoped they could pick her up before she and Riley left, but Suzie assured them she was fine alone and reminded them she was eleven.

Faith drove her and Riley to the harbor, where they found the boat easily. It was bigger than she’d thought it would be. It looked like it used to be a fishing boat. Pierce was waiting on the dock with two bags at his feet, and his arm around the waist of the woman next to him.

“This is Kindra Athy,” Pierce said. “Kindra, this is Faith and Riley Gault. I told you about Faith.”

Kindra held out a hand with a big smile. “Good to finally meet you, Faith.” Her eyes were big and light brown. Her long dark brown hair was tied in a neat bun. She was wearing a sky blue sun dress.

Faith shook Kindra’s hand. Kindra shook Riley’s hand too. She looked a little older than Pierce’s usual girlfriends. Maybe thirty, instead of twenty. She seemed nice, but they all did. That made it worse knowing she would probably be calling Faith in a week or two, asking her to inform Pierce she’d found out about one of his other girlfriends.

The four of them got on the boat. The captain, a gruff older man, didn’t say much. The sky stayed blue as they left the harbor behind. Riley stayed away from the railing and avoided looking at the sea. There were a few folding chairs set up on the deck. Faith and Riley sat in the chairs, while Pierce and Kindra stood at the railing, talking to each other quietly. The water was calm, with an occasional warm breeze blowing past.

“You alright?” Faith asked Riley.

He nodded, but he continued to stare at the wood of the deck.

The day wore on. Kindra had brought lunch in a picnic basket. She spread a blanket on the floor of the deck and the four of them ate together. None of them said much while they ate.

“So, Faith,” Kindra said. “How long have you worked for Pierce?”

“Two years,” Faith said.

Kindra smiled. “You keep track of all of his appointments and client calls, right?”

Faith nodded.

“I couldn’t make do without her.” Pierce laughed, but it sounded forced. “I thought you weren’t interested in the office,” he said to Kindra quietly.

“What’s there to not be interested in?” she asked, with a smile like she’d been playing a game with him and had won.

They finished eating in silence. Kindra and Pierce went back to standing at the railing, while Faith and Riley sat in the chairs. Later in the day, dark clouds moved in overhead. Riley tensed. Faith could see the island not far off, covered in forest. The boat stopped at the rough wooden dock. The captain lowered a plank to the dock, but he stayed on the boat. Faith, Riley, Kindra, and Pierce started along the trail through the forest, carrying their bags.

“Is the captain coming back Monday morning, or is he staying?” Kindra asked.

“Coming back.” Pierce frowned a little. “I was told he’d be coming back.”

The trail wound through the forest, seeming to go on forever. At last the mansion came into sight through the trees. The wood shingles had seen better days, along with the rest of the house. The sky had gotten even darker, the smell of rain strong in the air. Light came through a few of the windows on the first floor and two on the second. The two windows on the smaller third floor were dark. Maybe it was an attic.

Pierce pressed the cracked button for the doorbell. The door was opened a moment later by a man dressed much the same as Pierce. Dark gray suit pants, a white dress shirt, but without the black tie. His black hair was short. He looked a few years younger than Pierce, but older than Faith, Riley, and Kindra. He smiled, but it didn’t reach his dark green eyes.

“Westby, good to see you again,” Pierce said. He talked to all clients and possible clients like they were old friends.

Westby nodded curtly. “Likewise.” He opened the door further. “Do come in.”

The four of them stepped into the massive foyer, their footsteps echoing in the vast, empty space. A dim chandelier hung overhead, barely illuminating the stairs that led up straight ahead. A door stood open to the right, leading into a sitting room as dimly lit as the foyer.

“I’ll show you to your rooms so you can put your bags down,” Westby said. He started up the stairs after closing the front door.

The rest of them followed.

“Do you live alone, Mr. Haith?” Kindra asked.

“Please, call me Westby,” he said. “And yes, I live alone.”

“Do you own the entire island?” Kindra asked.

Westby nodded. “I do.” He said nothing more on the way up the stairs.

Just like in the foyer, the light brown paint was peeling on the walls in the hall. The long red rugs were faded. Westby showed them to their rooms, two next to each other on the right wall. The left wall was windows that looked out at the forest.

“I’ll meet you downstairs for dinner.” Westby looked at Pierce. “Then we can discuss business.” He walked away, back along the hall.

“The house is a bit worse for wear,” Kindra said quietly.

Pierce nodded with a slight frown.

Pierce and Kindra went into their room, and Faith and Riley into theirs. The paint in there was peeling a little too, as though it had gotten too much sun. The curtains were the same faded red as the rug on the floor. The wooden bed had fresh looking light blue sheets and a matching blanket. Faith turned on the lamp. The dark sky had gotten even darker through the window on the far wall. The door to the dark bathroom stood open on the wall across from the bed.

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Faith set her bag on the side of the bed closer to the door. Riley took the side closer to the window. He sat on the edge of the bed, staring out the window. Thunder rumbled in the distance. Faith didn’t see any lightning or rain yet, but the rain would come soon. She had smelled it on the way through the forest.

“I’ll stay in here,” Riley said.

“Are you sure?” Faith asked, sitting beside him on the bed.

He smiled tiredly. “I’m sure I don’t want them to see what happens when it rains. Besides, I’m not hungry after that boat ride. And you’ll be talking business anyway.”

Faith nodded. “It’ll be a long, dry conversation. Do you want me to bring you food?”

He shook his head. He kissed her before she left the room.

Faith went down to dinner with Kindra and Pierce. The dining room was across the foyer from the sitting room. Westby was already waiting near the laden table. It seemed too much food for so few of them. There were no chairs at the ends of the long table, only the sides. Faith sat across from Pierce and Kindra. Westby sat beside Faith, leaving an empty chair on either side of the table.

“Is Riley coming down?” Pierce asked.

“No,” Faith said.

“He doesn’t like boats, does he?” Kindra said. “He looked a little pale on the way here.”

“There will be plenty of food leftover if he’s hungry later,” Westby said.

As they started eating, Westby seemed to avoid talking about his house or the island. At last he told Pierce they would discuss it in the parlor after dinner. The storm started during dinner, the rain hammering against the tall windows in the dining room. The lights flickered but stayed on. Westby and Pierce talked about the state of the fishing industry out of Billen.

Kindra stifled a yawn, but she seemed to be listening to the conversation intently. She was different from Pierce’s other girlfriends. Faith had a feeling Kindra hadn’t fallen for Pierce’s slimy charms, but if she hadn’t, why was she with him? Kindra had asked about the office, and Pierce had seemed uncomfortable with her asking.

After dinner, the four of them moved to the dimly lit parlor. Half the bulbs in the chandelier had burned out. Kindra and Pierce sat on an antique looking couch. Faith and Westby sat in the two chairs. There was a candle in a holder on the low table between the chairs and the couch. The holder was tarnished and had a small loop for holding it. It looked old, maybe an antique. An equally old looking box of matches sat beside it.

Westby smiled briefly. “Let’s discuss business.”

Pierce scooted forward on the couch. This was the part he’d been waiting for. “I’d like to insure this property—”

“And you will,” Westby said.

Pierce frowned a little. He probably had an entire speech prepared. “Then you’ll sign on as a client?”

“I will,” Westby said.

That hadn’t taken any convincing. Why had he suggested they come out to discuss it if he’d already decided to sign on? Thunder rumbled loudly, shaking the parlor windows. Lightning flashed brightly, then the four of them were plunged into darkness. The lights in the parlor and the foyer had gone out. They didn’t come back on. Faith heard a scuffing sound, a grunt, a thud, then Westby struck a match. He lit the candle on the table.

The light of the candle seemed too small, as though the darkness was about to snuff it out. It was enough light to see Kindra wasn’t in the room anymore. Faith and Pierce were both on their feet. Faith had stood the moment she heard the sounds. She heard another sound, but it seemed distant. Water dripping?

“Where’s Kindra?” Pierce looked out in the hall. “Where did she go?” He ran from the parlor, calling her name.

“It’s dark out there,” Westby muttered, picking up the candle holder.

Faith and Westby went out into the foyer in time to see Pierce running up the stairs. The two of them followed with the light. A bad feeling had settled over Faith. Was it just the five of them in the house? Where had Kindra gone? And those sounds when the lights had gone out… The sound of water dripping in the distance had stopped.

Upstairs, Pierce looked into his and Kindra’s room. “She’s not there.”

The ceiling creaked loudly.

“Is there an attic up there?” Faith asked.

Westby nodded, staring at the ceiling with a frown. “Perhaps someone has broken in. I don’t think we’re alone.”

A door further along the hall opened a crack, then it opened further. Kindra hurried over to them, her face pale in the flash of lightning through the windows.

“Kindra? What happened?” Pierce asked.

Kindra shivered. “Someone grabbed me when the lights went out and dragged me out into the hall. I ran up here and heard them following, so I hid in a closet. There’s someone else in the house.” She brushed at her arms. “Their hands were wet and cold. They must have been outside in the rain.”

“There’s a phone in the study,” Westby said.

Faith glanced at the sheet of rain outside. The lights still hadn’t come back on. “There’s no power.”

Westby sighed. “Right. In that case, we should lock ourselves in our rooms and call for help in the morning.”

“Or find whoever is lurking about,” Pierce said.

“Is your room far?” Kindra asked Westby. “None of us should be alone.”

“It isn’t far, and I have a light at least,” Westby said.

Pierce and Kindra went into their room. Faith heard the door lock. Westby waited while Faith went into the room she and Riley were sharing. She opened the door carefully, just far enough to slip inside, in case Riley was in view of the door. He wasn’t. Faith closed the door and locked it. The rain had slowed, but it still hammered against the glass of the window. The curtain was open, so the room wasn’t pitch black.

Faith took her shoes off and lay on the bed, but she couldn’t relax after what had just happened. Riley seemed to be asleep, the blanket pulled up over him to the point she could barely see him. She could see his hair was white and could see small blue scales on his neck. The scales would be all over him.

“Riley,” Faith whispered. She didn’t want to wake him, but he should know what had happened.

Riley stirred a little, then he sat up. His eyes were a brighter blue than they usually were. “Done talking business already?” He reached over to turn on the lamp on his side of the bed, but it didn’t turn on. “Power’s out?”

“It went out while we were talking business,” Faith said. Not that there had been much of a discussion. “There might be someone else in the house. Someone dragged Kindra out of the sitting room and she ran. Westby suggested we lock ourselves in our rooms for the night.”

Riley glanced at the bedroom door. “Maybe one of us should stay awake.”

“The door is locked,” Faith said. That wasn’t as reassuring as it should be. “I’ll stay awake.”

Riley sighed. “I think we both will.”

They both did.