Entwined (28 page)

“Well I want to know if you can leave this building without Shannon knowing.”

“She will only know that I have moved if we go any distance.”

“So if you were to, say, walk into the house – would the crystal alert her to your movements?”

Eilidh shook her head. “No, I very much doubt she is that in tune to my movements.”

“Excellent.”

“You aren’t thinking of going into the house, are you?”

Duncan smiled cunningly down at Eilidh.

“That is exactly what I am thinking of doing.”

“But that’s madness. She will wake up for sure.”

“Not if we are quiet.”

“Why would we want to hide in the house? It’s too dangerous, Duncan.”

“No, it’s not. I have an idea. The only worry I have is Amber.”

The dog raised her head at the mention of her name and stared expectantly at Duncan.

“I’ve nothing for you, Amber,” he said, bending to stroke her back.

“She’s good as gold. She’ll do whatever I tell her,” Eilidh said defensively.

“I know that, but can she climb a ladder?”

Eilidh stared at Duncan with confused eyes.

“No, of course she can’t.”

“Then my worry remains.”

“I understand why your mother used to get frustrated with your Pa,” Eilidh said with a patient sigh.

“What?”

“You both talk in riddles, she paused briefly, casting her eyes to his, “Just tell me what you are thinking, Duncan.”

“I thought I was.”

“Not so as I could understand you,” she said, rising from her spot beside Amber.

“Oh,” he grunted in a confused guttural tone.

“Why does Amber need to climb a rope ladder?”

“Because,” he said, taking a deep breath, “We are going to hide in my Pa’s secret room.”

“Your Pa’s what?”

“Remember when Angus first took us through time?” he paused, waiting for her response but she gave none so he continued. “He held us captive in a room which had no obvious way in or out and we thought that without a crystal we had no hope of escape. Until he captured Ma.”

“I remember,” Eilidh said softly. “Your Ma figured out that we were in a bolthole above the kitchen.”

“Remember, Eilidh, Ma also told us that Pa had used something similar, when I was a baby. I don’t remember the room or the occasion on which we used it, but the point is that there is a similar room in the main house and I am guessing that Shannon has no idea that it is there.”

“So how do we get into this bolthole?”

“That’s the problem. If it’s anything like the one Angus made then it’s going to have an old ladder. Firstly, I doubt the rope will be strong enough to take our weight now and secondly I don’t know how to get Amber up there.”

Eilidh looked down at the dog, now comfortably curled up between them.

“I have an idea,” she said eventually.

“And that would be?”

“There is no reason why you shouldn’t use the crystal to enter the room. Once you and Amber are in the room you can drop the hatch and pull me up,” he paused for a moment. “That is assuming it has a hatch.”

“As I said, my memories of the room are patchy to say the least. If Ma hadn’t told me about it I don’t think I would remember it all.”

“What do you think?” Eilidh asked.

“I think it just might work, but it’s risky and I don’t like leaving you.”

“You won’t be, not for long.”

******

CHAPTER 29

Before he had an opportunity to object further, Duncan found himself heading in the direction of the main house; across the old cobbled courtyard and through the gate to the stables, stumbling occasionally on exposed roots and fallen debris. They hid themselves under the cover of the old wood store.

On first glance it appeared as if the occupant of the property had taken herself to bed, but the shadow of a figure, seen through the small landing window, told him that someone was still awake. He turned to Eilidh in the shadows.

“Did you see her?”

She nodded.

They both ducked back against the wall of the house. Amber crouched beside Eilidh, a menacing low growl rumbling through her bared teeth.

“Shh, Amber,” Eilidh breathed, dropping beside the dog and stroking her back reassuringly.

“What are we going to do now?” Eilidh asked.

“We can’t risk going into the house until she is asleep. Thing is, I have a nasty feeling it’s fast approaching midnight,” Duncan whispered anxiously.

“I have an idea. Follow me,” Eilidh said, tugging gently on Duncan arm. “Amber, come girl.”

She led them away from the house and across the gravel path towards the banks of the stream in which they had played when they were children.

“What are you doing?” Duncan whispered.

“Taking us somewhere no one will find us,” she said, sliding down the bank on her heels.

Duncan grabbed Amber’s collar as she spotted a rabbit and attempted to give chase.

“No girl, not now,” he warned her sternly, keeping a firm grip on the collar.

So little had the landscape changed in three hundred years that Eilidh and Duncan navigated the path along the river as though it were only yesterday since they had last walked it.

When eventually they had travelled far enough to be out of earshot of the house Duncan pulled Eilidh to a halt. “What are you doing? It will be midnight soon. We’ll never make it back in time.”

Eilidh threw herself on the ground and lay in the overgrown frozen foliage staring up at the moonlit sky. A million stars twinkled and glistened above them, like diamonds on black velvet. She stared for a moment before turning her head towards Duncan and patting the ground beside her.

“Come, sit by me,” she said, pushing herself up. “No, not you Amber.”

Eilidh nudged the dog forwards.

“Have you taken leave of your senses, Eilidh? It can’t be much off midnight.”

“I know,” she said, allowing Amber to rest her head gently in her lap.

“Then what are you doing?” Duncan asked, coming to sit beside her.

She turned and pointed behind them. A heavily overgrown bank rose steeply away from the river.

“Do you remember when we were little? We dug a hole in the hillside and covered the entrance with twigs and other random foliage.”

“And when Shannon was tormenting us, or we didn’t want our parents to find us, we used to hide in it,” Duncan said, lifting the edge of his mouth in a knowing grin. “You are brilliant, Eilidh. Do you know that?”

“Forget your bolthole in the main house. I think we should wait here, then when midnight has come and gone we can uncover the hole and hide in it. When the sun sets and the farm falls quiet we can leave without anyone ever knowing we were here.”

“I had forgotten about our hideaway,” Duncan said quietly. “Do you think we will still fit in it?”

“It’ll probably be a bit of a squeeze, but I dare say we will manage.”

Duncan fell silent, his eyes wondering out to the hills before them.

“We had some good times, when we were kids. Didn’t we?”

“Aye, my old friend, we did,” Eilidh said, following his stare.

They were quiet for a while, there on the bank of the river they knew so well, staring out at the hills and fields.

“Do you ever wonder how a place like this can remain unchanged for so long?” Eilidh asked eventually.

“I can’t say I had given it much thought until now. I do miss it though.”

“I miss it too,” Eilidh sighed, grabbing Amber’s collar as a rat scurried past them.

“I don’t miss them,” Duncan said, nodding in the direction of the rat’s path.

“No, nor do I. Filthy little creatures they are.”

“I suppose we are going to have to get used to them again,” Duncan said.

“We’ve lived with them before, it won’t be too difficult to do so again,” Eilidh replied.

“Tell me about it, Eilidh?”

“About what?” she asked.

“Magic,” Duncan replied, trying to make sense of his meeting with the Stag.

“That’s a big subject to cover in so short a time.”

“Then just tell me about the village and how it came to be?” he said, lifting his eyes to the sky and wondering if Eilidh would believe him were he to tell her what he knew of the Stag.

Eilidh sighed and readjusted Amber’s head on her thigh. The dog wasn’t a puppy any longer but Amber seemed to be the only one who hadn’t noticed the fact.

“In the aftermath of the massacre a few surviving MacDonalds migrated north west, into the Highlands, looking for a new place to rebuild their lives. Eventually, after many months, they stumbled upon an uninhabited area of land. There they settled and for a time they flourished.”

“What went wrong?”

“Some of their old enemies found them.”

“Do you mean the Redcoats?”

Eilidh shook her head.

“No, this time it wasn’t the Redcoats.”

“Then who were their enemies?”

“Family.”

“Their family? But why?”

“Because, most of the survivors of the massacre were immortal.”

“How did that make family their enemy?”

“For the same reason that Angus became your enemy,” she said simply.

“So this all started with family rivalry?”

“It did, and as time went on other Highlanders seeking refuge from family feuds found their way to the Village, and so the community grew.”

“What about the crystals and the heather?”

“Highland Heather has always been a protector of its people.”

“Then why doesn’t every Scot carry some?”

“Because not every Scot believes.”

“So you have to believe in it for it to work?” he asked, creasing his brow in a frown.

“Not believe - trust,” Eilidh said, shivering as the cold wind blew over them.

“And the crystals? Are all crystals portals to time travel?”

Eilidh laughed a gentle, sweet laugh, the kind that warmed the air and lifted the spirits of those that heard it.

“No, Duncan. Not all crystals can be used for time travel. The crystals we have are called Campbell Crystals. They are endowed with charms - magic. They can only be created by the Stag, and perhaps one day by your little brother, but, honestly, I think their loss to the Highlands would be a good thing,” she paused, bowing her head to stare at the ground. “Too much damage has been caused by their use. They are dangerous and too easily used with ill intent.”

“Will the heather lose its magic when the Stag dies?” Duncan asked thoughtfully.

Eilidh shook her head slowly.

“No. Highland Heather will always protect our people and the crystals will retain some of their charms, but not enough to be used like we have been using them.”

“When we return - you know, to our own time, will we age?”

“Aye, Duncan, we will and so will the villagers. Until now, those born with the gift of immortality only age to eighteen. Those gifted with it in later life have ceased to age. From midnight tonight we will all age as mortals.”

“Are you and I aging now?” he asked turning his look to the gentle outline of her face and her eyes as they glistened in the moonlight.

“We are, and so did Giorsal and Jessie for the twenty years they were out of the village. The Stag long since lost the strength to protect those away from him.”

“So my Ma and Pa will have aged in the past six months too?”

She nodded. “Aye, but not as much as ordinary people do. We all still carry a small part of the charm, the magic bestowed upon us by the Stag,” she paused and rubbed her head, as if to shift a headache. “To be honest, Duncan, even the villagers that are still in the village have been slowly aging over the past few years. The Stag no longer has the strength it did.”

“What happened to it?”

“The Stag?”

“Aye.”

“It was attacked.”

“By the Dark Circle?”

“Well, it wasn’t always the Dark Circle. They grouped later, much later, but essentially it was their leader - a man called Brody - who went after the Stag. He caught it and took a broadsword to it, but before he could sever its head the Stag rose up and fled into the mountains.”

“What became of Brody?” Duncan asked, staring wide eyed at Eilidh.

“He eventually went on to form the Dark Circle, but only after he had spent a great deal of time trying to kill the Stag.”

“And the Stag?”

“It fled to our village to die,” she said, wiping her eyes on the sleeve of her top. “The poor creature has given everything to protect us. It has hung onto life, waiting for the child to be born so that it could die knowing its people would be safe.”

“How do you know all this?” Duncan asked, wondering if the Stag had visited Eilidh too.

“Mostly from Marta. The Stag spoke to her often of things to come. Graham’s father was a diviner. He also provided us with a lot of the information.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes staring down at the river below them. The moon glistened on the water, partially frozen in parts and gently running in others.

“Do you suppose Marta and the Stag could be wrong?”

“They could be,” Eilidh replied softly, “but I hope they weren’t.”

“What do you think will happen if they are?”

“We will die, either when we are thrown back in time or at the stroke of midnight,” she replied simply.

Duncan considered her comment for a moment.

“Then let’s just hope they weren’t wrong, because if I have a choice I would much prefer a life with rats than no life at all.”

“Aye, Duncan, let us hope.”

He turned to her, his face little more than a dark outline against the night sky.

“On the small, outside chance that Marta is wrong, just as a precautionary measure, of course, would you mind if I did something?”

Eilidh met his look, her eyes locked on his. She shivered a little in the cold air and slipped her hands inside the sleeve of Duncan’s coat.

“What would you like to do?”

“I would like to kiss you, if you wouldn’t mind, too much.”

She smiled a gentle, sweet smile. “I wouldn’t mind at all. In fact, I think I might rather like it.”

He leaned in and gently brushed his lips against hers. She reached down and lifted Amber’s head from her lap and turned to kneel in front of him. His arms encircled her waist and drew her towards him. Eilidh put one arm around Duncan and reached down for Amber’s collar with the other. With a firm grip on the dog’s collar and her arms around Duncan she closed her eyes and felt the tender touch of his mouth on hers. She had waited so long for this moment, dreamed and prayed that it would one day come and now that it had she surrendered herself to the moment. All that mattered was the here and now. The feel of his arms around her, the solid wall of muscle against her breast, his thighs taut and hard against the softness of her legs. She quivered and he tightened his hold, supporting her against him. He didn’t care what was to come, he didn’t fear for the future. His only thought was for the softness of the woman in his arms, the smell of lavender in her hair, the sweet taste of honey in her mouth and the gentle curves of her body. He had never understood love, never felt its passion, until that moment when he realized, without a shadow of doubt, that he loved this woman more than life itself.