Chapter 26 - Whispers in the Rotunda
The iron door of the lighthouse hung slightly ajar, creaking rhythmically on rusted hinges as the ocean wind pushed against it. Inside, the air smelled of salt brine, mildew, and ancient stone.
Daniel pushed the door open with the toe of his boot, his rifle raised and swept the ground-floor rotunda. It was empty. Broken wooden crates, coiled mooring ropes, and rusted lanterns littered the floor. In the center, a spiral iron staircase wound upward into the pitch-black spire.
"Noah, stay behind me. Step only where I step," Daniel whispered.
Maya was breathing steadily against his chest, the effect of the sedative keeping her quiet, though she occasionally stirred, letting out soft, sleepy murmurs.
They began the ascent. The iron stairs groaned under their weight. Every squeak of metal sounded like an alarm bell in the hollow tower. As they reached the third landing, fifty feet above the crashing waves, Daniel’s satellite phone buzzed in his pocket.
He stopped, pulling it out with one hand while keeping his rifle trained up the staircase.
A new message flashed on the encrypted screen:
*Julian, the signal flare was spotted. We are five minutes out. Why hasn't Daniel's tracker gone flatline? Did you kill him? Answer immediately.*
Daniel’s thumb hovered over the keyboard. He typed a single sentence:
*He’s waiting for you at the top.*
He jammed the phone back into his pocket.
"Dad," Noah whispered suddenly, tugging on his sleeve. "Listen."
Daniel froze. He strained his ears over the sound of the crashing surf below.
From the lantern room at the very top of the lighthouse, a sound was drifting down the spiral stairs.
It was a voice. A woman’s voice.
Soft, melodic, and terrifyingly familiar, humming the exact lullaby Clara used to sing to Maya in the nursery back in their burning home.
*Hush now, little baby, don't you cry... Mama’s gonna build you a sea of glass...*
Daniel felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand straight up. Noah’s face drained of all color.
May you like
"Mom?" Noah breathed, tears instantly welling in his eyes. "Mom is up there!"
***
