In my head, I could imagine Addie still cackling from wherever she’d gone and gloating, “Ye will never make it back across the bridge in time ta save your beloved Doon.”
Jamie clutched Vee’s arm. His manner became clipped and efficient as he pulled the new queen to his side. “The fastest way to the riverbank?”
In spite of the panic on her face, Vee remained calm. “Up the stairs and out the back door.” Before her words were finished, they were moving toward the exit.
Duncan crossed the room in a half dozen determined strides. My stomach plummeted as he reached for me. I longed for him to take me in the shelter of his arms and kiss me senseless. Instead, I grasped his powerful hand and let him drag me behind Jamie and Vee.
Just before the door, I pulled away long enough to scoop up Aunt Gracie’s journal and the upended duffel. I stuffed the book into the bag and thrust it at Vee. “Take this. Whatever you do, don’t drop it.” There were questions in her eyes but she slipped the strap horizontally across her torso and rushed into the pitch-black corridor.
Duncan waited at the doorway, his eyes voicing a particular question. He would never return to Doon if I didn’t. Or at least if he didn’t think I was going back. Before he could say anything, I grabbed his arm, tugged him into the hallway, and whispered, “I’ve changed my mind about staying in Doon.”
Feeling physically sick, I watched as wonder crossed his face, followed by relief and a new determination to get to the bridge. Duncan’s hands pressed into my back, urging me to climb the stairs two at a time. As we raced through the darkened house and out the back door, I thought of Aunt Gracie. How before she died, she’d promised me she was going to recover. But she couldn’t.
The clock from Alloway’s main strip started to toll the hour. One! The low muffled clang reverberated through our bodies as we dashed toward the trail that would get us across the bridge.
Once on the footpath, Duncan interlaced his fingers with mine. Anchored to his side, I had no choice but to match his long gait stride for stride. Just ahead of us, Jamie propelled Vee in a similar manner while Fergus sped past us to take the lead.
My side ached. Two! My lungs burned from lack of oxygen. I ignored my protesting body and pushed through the pain. The distance separating the cottage from the bridge seemed impossibly far. Yet I refused to abandon hope.
I focused on the bend that led to the Brig o’ Doon. Three! Fergus rounded it first and declared, “I see the brig!”
In front of me, Jamie and Vee seemed to run even faster—if such a thing was possible—as they caught their first glimpse of the portal that would lead them home. Four! With a shout, Jamie urged us on. “Keep going!”
We sprinted through the curve. Ahead, the Brig o’ Doon was barely discernible in the haze of the riverbank. Duncan’s fingers tightened over mine in wordless assurance, and his pace quickened. Five!
I was doing the right thing. I had to believe it. But we were running out of time. As we neared the mouth of the bridge, thick tentacles of mist reached for us. All that remained visible of the Brig o’ Doon was the lamppost on our side. Six! If not for that dull yellow halo of light, we’d have lost our way for certain.
The disembodied voice of Fergus echoed from the oblivion. “I’m across!”
My timing had to be perfect. As I took the first jarring step onto the cobbled stones of the bridge and the mist swallowed us, my hand slipped from Duncan’s.
“Mackenna!” he called out in alarm.
“Right here.” I struggled to keep my response as reassuring as possible. Seven! Although he was only inches away, I couldn’t see any part of him. How I wished in that moment I could see his ridiculously gorgeous face one last time. “Keep running!”
Then I stopped.
Eight!