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I saw Zach watching me fro, It’s okay, we have this Everything is going to be fine And ht

By the tiray, as if the ocean waters and tall cliffs hadout the sun The boat rocked, and Liz gripped her storeen

"Why are we stopping?" she asked, and for a second I thought she ht be sick

"We’re here," Townsend said

"But…how are we supposed to…" Macey’s voice trailed off as she pointed to the top of the sheer cliffs

Mom and Abby shared a look, but it was Townsend who reached into a chest, pulled out a rope, and tossed it in Bex’s direction "We clier

After the past feeeks, the bursts of mist felt like a shot of adrenaline The rocks were sure and smooth beneath my hands, carved out by wind and salt water and the power that comes with a few thousand years

Those cliffs had been there when Gilly was a girl Those cliffs would be there long after ht was so as Bex climbed beside me From the corner of my eye, I could see Zach to my left

It wasn’t a race--I knew thatfaster; sweat and adrenaline wereoff the side of the world I was alive

I ht not have reh it, at least

My ponytail blew aroundto my eyelashes There, with the winds that whipped over the Atlantic and crashed against the cliffs, I felt a

I could hear Mo her where to put her hands and re her that she was safe--they had her (Not to ned that particularour sophomore year)

And then, finally, there was a hand reaching out to her Girl," Zach said, pulling round The as even harder there, with the ocean stretching out before us, as if Ireland had just sprung fro For a second, it almost knocked me off my feet

"Easy there," Zach said when I stuet handsy You ht want to control yourself"

"I’ll try to keep that in mind," I told him, and turned to look around But there were no power lines or blinking lights; just lush rolling hills that stretched out as far as the eye could see

And then I saw the castle Except castle wasn’t the right word--not anymore It was more like ruins Massive stone walls had cruoodness rounds, and only the castle’s tallest toas still standing, looking out over the sea I felt like we’d climbed those cliffs like Jack had scaled the beanstalk, and somehoe’d found our way to another world

"What happened to it?" Macey asked

I couldn’t tell if she was feeling a pull toward her ancestral home or if she just stepped closer out of curiosity It didn’twalls and the weed-riddled courtyard like a her Acadeht have happened if the two hoher had shared the same fate

"Time, Ms McHenry," Townsend said "It can be a cruel, cruel thing The Gallagher fa after your Gilly died, in fact No one has lived here in decades These old estates are almost i If your list ever was here, Ms Morgan, it is probably gone by now Are you prepared for that possibility?"

I sed "I a each of us a copy of the , thewe don’t want to be around by the ti in the distance

"Everyone has their comms?" Mom asked, and we nodded

"Good," Abby said "I’d reco to locate some of the landmarks on the map and work fro hiest the sauess it’s time"

We started to turn and leave, but Liz yelled, "Wait!" She was pulling off her backpack and reaching for the zipper "I have soht have rolled his eyes a little, but Liz talked on, handing a plastic bag to every un, Liz?" Bex said, staring into her bag "I seriously doubt we’ll need a flare gun"

Liz shrugged "I believe in being prepared"

"And what’s in here?" Abby asked, giving a small vial a shake

"Aspirin," Liz said "What? Scavenger hunts giveus back to the task at hand Everyone looked at ht have been nothing That I ed us halfway around the world and into the center of a stor that had never existed at all Maybe Gilly never made the list Maybe she didn’t hide it there Maybe it was lost to tiers that co falls

But we had to look

No har