The Lightning Catcher: The Secrets of the Storm Vortex by Cameron Anne

Author:Cameron, Anne [Cameron, Anne]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: HarperCollinsPublishers
Published: 2015-03-16T07:00:00+00:00

10

THE CRYPTIC STRANGER

An excited buzz filled the boys’ end of the corridor the following morning. Clifford Fugg was keeping a very low profile after his star appearance as a shimmer shark, his bedroom door remaining firmly shut with no signs of life within. Several of the other volunteers, however, wore their costumes proudly and were instantly swamped by crowds of admiring lightning cubs.

“Catcher Smithwyck said we could keep the shark suits since this is the last stop on the winners’ tour,” Nicholas Grubb explained as Angus and Dougal bumped into him outside the bathrooms. He gave them a quick twirl, showing off his fins, which up close looked rather floppy. “We all got herded up to the sanatorium after the real shimmer sharks escaped,” Nicholas said, grinning from ear to ear. “It was absolutely pandemonium. The weather bubble had to be sealed off. Catcher Smithwyck had to be rescued from her own shelter. Dark-Angel was yelling at anyone who tried to sneak back in for a look.”

“Wow! I can’t wait for the next demonstration. If that was only the third-place winner, imagine what’s coming next,” Dougal said, sounding keen, despite the fact it had taken two mugs of hot chocolate in front of a warm fire in the Pigsty to calm his nerves after the frightening incident.

Due to the excitement of the winners’ tour, all talk of the weather vortex had slowly faded into the background. No new pictures had appeared in the Weathervane for some time. Angus was very relieved, therefore, when Dougal announced that he had news. For once all three of them were sitting in the library. Catcher Wrascal had suddenly remembered that as part of their training in the forecasting department, they were supposed to complete a difficult homework assignment on the proper procedure for pickling the contents of a storm jar. It was complicated, dull work involving a number of mathematical equations that Angus had no hope of solving.

“I found something in the research department last night,” Dougal said, lowering his voice and checking the tables close by for eavesdroppers, “and I think it might be important.”

“Go on,” Angus said, swiftly closing his workbook so he could concentrate.

“They’ve got a whole section up there about memorable weather events and accidents, and quite a few of them have caused the same kind of vortex that’s now hanging over Castle Dankhart. But the biggest one I found happened right here at Perilous in 1777.”

“At Perilous?” Indigo looked up from behind a pile of books, shocked.

“I know. I couldn’t believe it either,” Dougal said. “But according to this one paper, it sat over Perilous for three weeks before it finally blew itself out. It was full of rain, snow, fog, and lightning, but it also contained splinters of wood, snails, and all kinds of other rubbish. It sounds exactly like the stuff swirling around Castle Dankhart.”

“But what caused the explosion?” Angus asked.

“Was it an accident?” Indigo added.

Dougal shrugged. “It didn’t say, and I got chucked out of the research department before I could find anything else that mentioned it.

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