Dark_Serpent

20




The motorway ended at a train station and Holyhead’s Irish ferry terminal. We stopped at the traffic lights in front of the terminal, and John turned left into the village with its narrow cobblestoned streets. Rows of two-storey houses with small windows were built up the steep hillside heading away from the harbour. The base of the mountain was visible behind the town, but the top was covered by John’s clouds. I kept myself distracted by concentrating on the scenery around us.

‘Jade Building Block,’ John said. ‘Guide us to the inn, if you will.’

The stone jerked awake again. ‘Accessing … go straight through the lights and around past the old church.’

‘That church is extremely ancient and on the site of an old Roman fort,’ I said. ‘The walls are Roman.’

‘Romans. Ugly bastards, very fond of killing,’ John said. ‘I ran into a few of them when they were expanding; they came as far as China to trade. Considered themselves vastly superior to every other race on the planet.’

‘Um … didn’t the Chinese feel that way at the same time?’ I said.

‘We still do,’ the stone said with humour. ‘But then again, everybody always does. Turn left here and head up the hill.’

We threaded our way three hundred metres up the hill until we came to a three-storey guesthouse overlooking the bay. A ferry as big as a cruise ship was heading out of the harbour beyond the breakwater. The sky above the sea was a pale watery blue.

John turned to speak to us. ‘We probably only have a couple of days at the most before they work out who we are. Let’s find out what’s happening before they do. When we’re inside, assume we’re being listened to at all times and stay in character.’

‘Report from Gold,’ the stone said. ‘The alibi’s all set up; and the squad will be here day after tomorrow to take Emma home.’

‘Good.’ John studied the house across the road from us. ‘All clear. Let’s go.’

The front door opened to a narrow hall with stairs leading up. A door on the right led to the breakfast room, comfortably furnished with three wooden tables. The owner of the inn came out of the back room and welcomed us warmly. She was a motherly Welsh woman in her late fifties named Mabel Defaoite. She glowed in my heightened senses; something about her was rich and cool and much sweeter than the average human.

‘We have three rooms,’ she said. ‘Since there are six of you, you have the whole house.’

‘Only five now,’ John said. ‘One of us couldn’t make it.’

‘Do you still want all three rooms?’

‘Absolutely.’

‘Then come on up and choose who sleeps where. It’s all completely up to you.’

‘Thanks,’ I said, immediately liking her.

‘Is your hair natural?’ she asked me as she led us up the stairs.

It took me a moment to realise she was referring to my redhead camouflage. ‘Yes. I get constant grief about it.’

‘I can understand why people would be jealous,’ she said, smiling. ‘These are the blue and yellow rooms, sleep two each.’

We all hesitated for a moment.

Simone, top floor by herself, John said. Me and Emma in the room at the end of the hall. Leo, take the other room this floor.

‘What about Jay?’ I said, indicating the stone.

Mabel looked from me to John, bewildered.

‘I’ll share with Gerry,’ he said, slapping Leo on the shoulder. I’ll go back to the ring at night and help guard.

‘Okay.’ I followed John into the double room at the end of the hall.

‘Well, you seem to be organised,’ Mabel said.

Simone raced up the stairs and shouted down, ‘This room is huge!’ Leo, want to share this one? The view is great from up here.

Leo stays one floor below to guard, John said.

You are so boring, Simone said. We could have a slumber party.

Ugh. Me big tough man, no want slumber parties, Leo said.

‘Since you have the whole house, breakfast is whenever you want it,’ Mabel said.

‘Vegetarian for all of us,’ John said. ‘We are all seeking the truth of eternal enlightenment and harmony, and consuming the flesh of animals dulls our spiritual purity.’

Her smile froze. ‘Yes, well … I’ll see what I can do. Settle in, and if you need anything, just give me a shout.’

‘We may need you to help us with the locations we’re looking for,’ John said. He pulled one of his vintage psychedelic posters out of his back pocket and waved it around, enthusiastic. ‘This place is perfect for the spiritual gathering we’re planning, but we need to check with a druid or local shaman.’

‘A spiritual gathering?’ she said, eyes wide.

‘He means a folk music festival, don’t mind him,’ Simone said from the landing above us. ‘Ignore all the crystal and druid stuff, that’s just his way.’

‘Do you know something about druids?’ John asked Mabel, sounding even more excited.

‘No, there’s nothing like that around here. Holyhead’s a very boring place,’ she said. She patted him on the arm. ‘Good luck with your festival. It would do the town — and the island — a lot of good to have something like that to rejuvenate the economy.’

‘Peace and light,’ he said expansively.

The stone leaned on the wall next to her and crossed his arms. ‘That’s an interesting surname, Defaoite. Is it French?’

‘Irish. It sounds fancy but it just means white.’

‘So you’re Irish?’ he said.

‘No, no, my people came over from Ireland a long time ago. I’m Welsh from way back; the surname is sort of a legacy.’

‘Fascinating,’ the stone said. He put on his most charming smile and moved slightly closer to her. ‘Do you run this place by yourself?’

‘No, my partner helps me,’ she said, brushing her hand through her hair.

‘What sort of partner?’ he said. ‘Strictly business?’

‘He wouldn’t say that.’

‘I see,’ the stone said, and moved back. ‘Shame.’

‘You’re telling me,’ she said under her breath as she headed back down the stairs.

After we’d sorted out our stuff, we went down to the main street to meet with the stone’s contact. To get there, we walked through narrow streets fronted by houses jammed close together with no front gardens. The cobbled main street was divided off with bollards to make a pedestrian mall, but the place was deserted and many of the shops were vacant.

‘That one,’ the stone said, indicating a café.

We went inside. It had a scarred wooden floor and was furnished with wooden picnic tables and benches down either side. A young waitress stood behind the counter, listlessly flicking through a magazine. The place was completely empty.

We sat at one of the picnic tables and Simone pulled the menu out of its stand. She quickly perused it, then searched the stand. When she didn’t find anything else, she turned back to the menu. ‘This can’t be right; they just have breakfast, baked potatoes, sandwiches and nachos.’ She flipped the menu over, then peered at the blackboard over the counter. ‘They don’t even have a proper coffee machine. And what the hell is a breakfast bap?’

‘Welcome to the boonies,’ Leo said, reaching for a menu from another table.

The waitress came up to us; she had short blonde hair and a pierced nose. She scowled around at us and pulled out a notepad. ‘What can I get you?’

‘Salad sandwich,’ John said cheerfully. ‘Vegetarian if you could.’

‘Same here,’ Simone said. ‘And a Coke.’

‘Grilled ham and cheese,’ Leo said with relish. ‘And a black coffee.’

‘I’ll have a salad sandwich, same as the other guys,’ I said. ‘What sort of tea do you have?’

The waitress looked up from her pad, seemed to see me for the first time and froze. She shook herself out of it. ‘Uh … black or white.’

‘White then. Jay?’

‘Just water for me, if you could,’ the stone said, putting on his best Charming British Gentleman.

‘Uh. Ok.’ The waitress looked completely flustered. ‘Um. I’ll be right back with that.’

She nearly ran out the back door.

‘Heads up,’ Leo said, indicating me with a nod.

‘I know,’ John said.

‘Yeah. WTF,’ Simone said softly.

‘It’s here,’ the stone said, rising and turning towards the door.

A small, round middle-aged woman with short red hair hurried into the café, smiling broadly. ‘About time you people got here, I’ve been waiting to hear from you.’ She hugged and kissed everybody as if they were long-lost relatives, pulling back to smile at Simone. ‘You’ve grown so much!’ She squeezed the stone around the shoulders. ‘And you, you old ingrate, you don’t look a day older.’

‘Neither do you, Ruby, you look terrific,’ the stone said. ‘Everybody shuffle over, make room.’

Ruby sat on the bench and spoke through her huge smile. ‘There’s no one eavesdropping, but we may be watched, so you can speak freely but mind the special stuff.’ She glanced around. ‘Where’s that little blonde thing that runs the place when her dad’s on the piss?’

‘She had one look at Emma and took off,’ the stone said. ‘She obviously saw through her disguise.’

‘That’s not good,’ Ruby said. ‘Nice disguise, who did it?’

‘Me,’ John said.

She studied John carefully. ‘Damn, your stone friend here wasn’t kidding. May I?’

She held her hand out. John put his hand out across the table and she took it, concentrating. Her expression filled with awe and she pulled her hand back.

‘Bloody hell,’ she said, then bobbed her head in Simone’s direction. ‘Sorry, love.’ She pointed from John to Simone. ‘This your daughter?’

‘I’m half-human,’ Simone said.

‘Nearly as big as he is, too.’ She studied Leo. ‘And you’re another one. I never thought I’d see your kind again.’

‘Do you know what happened to them here?’ John said.

She shook her head. ‘No idea. I’m old enough to remember when they were drifting around causing trouble, and then one day, poof! They were gone as if they’d never existed. We stones spent some time looking for them, and in the end we gave up.’ She leaned on the table and put her chin in her hand. ‘It would be a hell of a relief to have them back, helping us out when the demons run out of control. Look at that stuff in London back in 2011.’

‘That was demons?’ Simone said.

‘Mostly, yes.’

‘Damn,’ I said.

‘And you,’ Ruby said, turning to me. ‘Something’s not quite right about you, but I don’t know what it is. It’s times like this I really wish we had them back.’ She studied me and I felt more than her eyes on me. ‘What’s your surname?’

‘Stevenson.’

‘I see. For a moment … Never mind.’

‘What do you know about the stone circles disappearing?’ I said.

She dropped her hand and leaned across the table. ‘One of them was my parent,’ she said with venom. ‘When we find out who is doing this …’

She stopped as the waitress returned with her father. He came to the table and stared around at us, then nodded to the stone. ‘Ruby.’

‘Jamie,’ she said with distaste.

He reeked of alcohol, and was wearing a pair of tattered jeans and a stained grey sweater, ripped around the neckband. He glared at me. ‘I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but it would be best if you cleared out right now.’

‘I’m researching my family tree,’ I said. ‘It led me here.’

‘What family tree?’ he said, swaying slightly. He peered at me. ‘What’s your surname?’

Don’t tell him, John said.

‘Stevenson,’ I said.

‘Liar.’ His face twisted with anger. ‘You’re a f*cking O’Breen.’

‘I’m not an O’Breen,’ I said.

He jabbed his finger at me. ‘You’re one of those O’Breens who went to Australia.’

‘My last name is Stevenson.’

‘What’s your mother’s maiden name then?’ he said.

I took a gamble. ‘Donahoe.’

Dammit, Emma, John said.

‘Oh shit,’ Ruby said.

The breath went out of Jamie in an audible gasp and he took a step back, his eyes wide. ‘You get yourself out of town right now. Leave. All of you.’ He focused on Ruby. ‘I don’t know what you’re doing consorting with these people, Ruby, but you know damn well what this one is, and she’s going to bring trouble to us all if she doesn’t leave now.’

‘What am I?’ I said.

His watery eyes screwed up and he scowled. ‘Abomination. Get out of my caff.’ He raised his voice and pointed at the door. ‘All of you! Out! Now! Before I call the police on you. And you!’ He rounded on Ruby. ‘I don’t know what the hell you think you’re doing, but it’s only a matter of time before everybody knows. We thought we could trust you, Ruby.’ He glared around at us again. ‘Get out of town before someone gets hurt.’

‘Can you explain why you want us to leave?’ John said, attempting to placate him. ‘We have no idea what you’re talking about. What’s the problem with my girlfriend?’

‘No!’ he roared. ‘If you don’t know, I ain’t telling you. Get out of town. Now!’

He spun and headed out the back door, the waitress cowering as he passed her.

Ruby stared at me. ‘You’re related to a Donahoe?’

I raised my hands. ‘It’s my last name.’

‘Jesus. You’re not Australian, are you?’

‘I am.’

‘Holy shit. We have to get you out of here before he comes back with a gun or something. Do you have transport?’

‘We have a kombi outside the B&B at the top of the street,’ the stone said.

‘We need to talk,’ she said. She glanced around. ‘Somewhere else. Let’s go for a drive.’

We wound around the base of the mist-covered mountain and arrived at the quarry, now abandoned, where the stone had come from to build the breakwater. It was overgrown with spiny gorse and yellow heather, and fenced to hold the wild ponies that had been released to graze on it. Ruby led us to a park bench near some duck ponds. John gave up on the European look and settled back into his Chinese form with relief, and Leo took his usual African-American shape.

‘First of all, I’m only two thousand years old so I don’t know most of what happened firsthand,’ Ruby said, pacing up and down in front of us. ‘Most of the older stones have retired into stone circles, and they’re the ones that have been disappearing.’

‘How many have gone?’ my stone said.

‘Nearly a hundred,’ she said. ‘The humans don’t know about every circle that’s missing.’

My stone blanched and staggered slightly. He rubbed his hand over his forehead. ‘We’re facing extinction.’

‘Not while the Grandmother lives.’ Ruby turned to me. ‘Here’s what happened. About two hundred years before I was born, the people of Rome turned into a war machine and started conquering everybody around them. They were very, very good at it.’

‘A little too good at it,’ John said.

‘Yeah. So the gods came up here, hid themselves offshore and built a powerful race that would stop the Romans. They mixed demon in as well as god and human, had a bunch of kids, gave them the abilities to really kick the Romans’ arses, and settled them in Ireland where they were well hidden. The children of this new race would join with the armies of the indigenous people and help them fight the Romans.’

‘Druids,’ I said. ‘Or Tuatha?’

‘The mixed-breed results were the druids. Tuatha are what the druids called the gods.’

‘But the druids weren’t nice people,’ I said.

‘Yes, they are, Emma — they’re all nature-worshipping hippies who wear white robes and perform silly rituals at Stonehenge,’ Simone said.

‘They never had anything to do with Stonehenge; that was built thousands of years before any druid,’ Ruby said. ‘That’s the romanticised version of the story, all propaganda. The truth is way uglier.’

‘Human sacrifice,’ I said. ‘Bloodletting.’

‘And sacrificial drowning and mass burning,’ Ruby said. She sighed with feeling. ‘They were losing, so they did the unthinkable to try to win. They used blood and death to enhance their power — and it worked. Each time they fought, it became easier to use blood to win, and eventually it turned into an addiction. They couldn’t fight without it, so they sacrificed prisoners.’ She nodded towards the mountain, still swathed in mist. ‘They’d prepare for battle up there — and that meant someone would die. They helped the Celts fight off the Romans, all right, but they exacted a price — in blood.’

‘The weapon they forged turned into a monster greater than the one they wanted to destroy,’ John said.

‘Exactly,’ Ruby said. ‘The gods wanted to create a band of noble serpent soldiers, and instead fathered a race of nasty, cruel snake people. They gave up in disgust and pissed off, leaving us all in this mess.’

‘And that’s me,’ I said. ‘But you don’t hear of them being around any more; all the snake people were driven out of Ireland.’

‘That’s right, the Irish were so disgusted with them that they ran them off,’ Ruby said. ‘Right into the sea. Some of them managed to make it across to here, then they were squeezed on both sides — the people of Ireland killed them on sight, and the Romans were moving up through Britain set on destroying every last one of them. They did the only thing they could.’

‘Hide?’ Leo said.

‘Nowhere to hide, and they were just as sickened by themselves as everybody else was. They knew how much they were hated, and they saw how evil they’d become, so they decided to commit racial suicide. As long as they didn’t breed pure, their children wouldn’t change to snakes and wouldn’t crave blood. So they kept a careful lineage register — here in Holyhead — to ensure that they didn’t create any more of their kind. The snake lines have particular names, and they’re not permitted to have children together. The women keep their surnames after marrying so we know exactly who’s who.’

‘You mean everyone in Holyhead could be like Emma?’ Simone said.

‘And other places as well. Some of them left and hid in Scotland and England, and even other parts of Europe, anywhere the Celts were. Emma’s two ancestors did the unthinkable on the sly. Everybody hoped that the baby wouldn’t be a snake, but it failed the first test they gave it. Even after trying to breed themselves out of existence for two thousand years, first time they cross it comes out again. The townspeople couldn’t bring themselves to execute them — they couldn’t kill a baby, snake or not — so they were banished to Australia, where there were no snake people at all.’

‘They were banished by a MacLaren,’ I said.

‘That’s one of the names. Donahoe, Defaoite, O’Breen, MacLaren, Anathain.’ She smiled slightly. ‘“Before you have your way, remember DDOMA.” Jamie’s an Anathain.’

‘But the MacLarens are demons,’ I said.

‘Honey, you’re all demons to some degree or other,’ Ruby said. ‘Like I said, a mixture.’ She studied me. ‘That doesn’t explain you though. That all happened generations ago; it should be bred out of you.’

John rubbed his eyes. ‘I’m a snake, Ruby.’

‘No, I can see you; you’re a big turtle thing.’

‘I’m a snake as well. I’m two animals. The Demon King is holding my snake part hostage.’

She stared at him with disbelief. He met her gaze.

‘And how does that work for you?’ she said. ‘With your girlfriend along here, you’re automatically a threesome? Damn, I thought we stones were weird.’

‘That’s beside the point,’ John said. ‘Being with me has activated her serpent nature.’

‘And of all the places in the world you could have gone, you came here,’ Ruby said. She rose and paced again. ‘If Jamie spreads the word, there’ll be a mob waiting at the guesthouse ready to string the redhead up.’

‘Our Eastern Demon King knows all about this,’ I said. ‘He’s been messing around with the bloodlines himself, infusing more demon into them. He crossed Ben O’Breen with a Chinese demon and made a male Snake Mother.’

‘What’s a Snake Mother?’ Ruby said.

‘A really big, ugly demon — back end of a snake, front end human with no skin,’ John said.

‘Lamia,’ Ruby said. ‘A male one? Where is it?’

‘He was run over by a London taxi the day before yesterday,’ Simone said, her voice thick. ‘We were attacked by Western demons and he changed. They’re after us too.’

‘Is Ben all right? It’s been a long time. His father died and his mother took him from Holyhead when he was a baby, before we could tell her what Ben was,’ Ruby said. ‘We tried to track him down later and talk to him, and couldn’t find him.’

‘His son killed him. The demon side of him took over and he couldn’t control it.’

‘So it’s happening again. This just gets better and better,’ Ruby said. She glared around at us. ‘Thanks so much for bringing your war to our peaceful island.’

‘The Demon King brought it here,’ I said. ‘We’re just following.’

‘I’m on a mission,’ John said. ‘I’m here to find the demons and establish what they’re up to. Emma came along to trace her family history.’

‘And I found it,’ I said. ‘This is the source. Can anyone here help me control my destructive nature?’

‘Yes,’ Ruby said. ‘But their solution is a bullet. The best thing to do is get out of town, like Jamie said.’

‘She’s leaving day after tomorrow,’ John said.

‘Leave now.’

‘She’s my fiancée. If the demons hold her, they have power over me, so she has to stay where she’s protected,’ John said. ‘An escort will be here in two days to take her home.’

‘If she survives that long,’ Ruby said.

‘We can camp out on the mountain,’ Simone said.

‘We may have to,’ John said. ‘But all our stuff is back at the inn.’

‘Let me go talk to them, see what I can do for you,’ Ruby said. ‘I’ve been advising them on supernatural matters for a long time and they trust me. It’s not the girl’s fault she is what she is, and she’ll be gone soon. They couldn’t kill her ancestors back then, and they may not be able to do it now. I’ll be back.’ She disappeared.

‘Well, you know what you are now,’ Leo said to me. ‘Congratulations.’

I rose and stalked to the fence that edged the cliff, and leaned on it to watch the long strands of kelp float in the ocean surge. They didn’t follow me.

Ruby reappeared five minutes later. ‘They will hear you out. Can’t promise anything.’ She pointed from John to me. ‘Stick close to Miss Donahoe.’

‘I will.’

‘Meet you back at the guesthouse,’ she said, and disappeared.

We parked slightly up the street from the inn. Mabel Defaoite was waiting outside next to Ruby.

‘Ruby says you’re gods and we should trust you,’ Mabel said. ‘She’s guided us for a long time and it would be a shame if she’s wrong.’ She gestured with her head. ‘This way.’

Ruby and Mabel led us up the hill a little, then took a sharp left into a road that headed down again, almost parallel to the one we’d just come off. Three houses along stood an old church, its walls painted dark grey, its windows boarded up. Cracked concrete and weeds surrounded it; it looked like an abandoned scout hall.

A couple of other people arrived at the same time as we did, and glared suspiciously at us. One, an intelligent-looking middle-aged woman with shoulder-length brown hair, unlocked the padlock that was holding the chain across the hall’s double doors and pulled them open. She stood back and gestured for us to go in.

John and I entered the tidy, polished hall. Six people were waiting for us inside. I had a brief moment of recognition before they shot at us. I steeled myself for the bullets to hit, but John jumped in front of me, a dark blur with his hair flying, and took the bullet in the middle of his chest. Leo grabbed me from behind as John fell in front of me.

‘Together, take her!’ Leo said. Simone grabbed my other arm and everything around us disappeared.

We landed in a ruined cottage in the small village on the hillside above the town. The floor was stone, but there was no roof; the walls were falling down and long weeds had taken over. It was a good spot: we weren’t visible from outside.

‘What if we hurt the baby?’ Simone said.

‘You can teleport in the first trimester,’ Leo said, checking me for wounds. ‘The bullet didn’t go through him and hit you, did it?’

‘Leo, you’re bleeding,’ Simone said.

‘You’ve been hit, my friend,’ the stone said.

Leo glared into my eyes. ‘Were. You. Hit?’

‘No,’ I said.

‘Good,’ he said, and fell sideways to sit on the ground. ‘Give me a moment and I’ll bring the van and we can get out of here.’

I checked him. He’d been hit by a bullet in his abdomen and blood was seeping through his clothes.

‘Simone, can you conjure a pad and bandages to put over that?’ the stone said.

‘I’m an Immortal. I can take it,’ Leo said.

‘Even an Immortal can die if they lose enough blood,’ the stone said. ‘Simone?’

‘Here,’ Simone said.

They took Leo’s shirt off and examined him. Simone flopped to sit on the other side of Leo and put her head between her knees.

‘I didn’t think you’d faint at the sight of a little blood,’ the stone said, mopping at Leo’s abdomen with the gauze she’d summoned.

‘Neither did I,’ Simone said from between her knees.

‘Don’t look if it bothers you, sweetheart,’ Leo said. ‘Ow. How bad is it?’

‘It’s just a flesh wound,’ the stone said, leaning back on his heels.

‘As if hitting me somewhere else would be okay,’ Leo said. ‘I’m made of flesh, and this damn well hurts.’

‘Well, it’s not mortal, it just grazed your side. You probably don’t even need stitches, but we should find some antiseptic to clean it out as soon as possible.’

Everybody was ignoring the most important thing.

‘What about John?’ I said too loudly.

They were silent; the stone kept working on Leo’s injury.

‘Dear Lord, he’s dead, isn’t he?’ I said.

‘They were aiming for your head. They hit him in the heart,’ the stone said, not looking up from Leo’s abdomen. He sat back and studied the bandage. ‘That should do it until we can find some proper medical attention off this damn island. Then we can head back to London and hope that the squad or the Dark Lord meet us there.’

‘Can you tell if he’s rejoined, Simone?’ I said.

‘Not this far from home,’ she said, looking up from her knees. ‘I’m as worried as you are, Emma.’

‘I’ll be right back with the van,’ Leo said, and disappeared.

While he was gone, I stood up and checked outside. There was nobody nearby. The stone cottage was very high up in the village called Mountain, with a sweeping view of Holyhead and the harbour below. The scenery resonated through me, and I realized — this was the village from my dream. I had come home.

The scent of Leo’s blood on the ground wafted to me and I leaned on the broken wall, gasping. I would not change to snake and attack them. I desperately tried to convince myself that this was not what I wanted, closing my eyes and concentrating. There was a reason I couldn’t change but it seemed unimportant — what really mattered was the rich scent of Leo’s blood. If I changed it could be so good …

And I could hurt the baby, if I was pregnant. The shock of this knowledge was like ice water splashed over me and I straightened as it subsided. Simone and the stone hadn’t even noticed my internal battle. I took a few deep breaths and remembered that a tiny life could be growing inside me, and that was enough. I was in complete control and the village meant nothing.

I turned back to the cottage, then stopped when I saw the sign at the front door.

Simone saw my face as I rejoined them. ‘What, Emma? What did you see?’

‘There’s a nameplate on the front of the house,’ I said. ‘Iain and Brede Donahoe.’

‘Your ancestors?’

‘The ones that were sent to Australia.’

‘Oh, that’s interesting,’ she said. ‘Wait, this was their house?’

‘Yes. After the townspeople sent them to Australia, they must have destroyed it.’ I looked around. ‘From the marks on the walls, I’d say they tried to burn it to the ground; and when it wouldn’t fall, they took sledgehammers to it.’

‘Why would they do anything like that?’

‘If your home’s gone, you have nothing to return to,’ I said. ‘They really wanted to make sure that Brede and Iain never came back.’ I studied the cracked stones beneath my feet; this village was full of hatred and death and no longer felt like any sort of home. We needed to get off this awful island as soon as we could.