Breath of Yesterday (The Curse Series)

CHAPTER 22

 

Cemetery by Auld a′chruinn, Present-Day October

 

 

 

Payton opened his eyes and adjusted the back of his sport seat back into an upright position. He’d been getting worse 

 

these last few days. He was sleeping a lot, frequently needing to leave the cold, wet cemetery to warm himself up in the 

 

car. His body was no longer strong enough to do it by itself. The fever was eating him up from the inside, and the 

 

cramps in his muscles made him scream in pain at times.

 

He was glad whenever he could find some sleep, because that was when he saw Sam. He saw her in his newly created 

 

memories. He could feel her presence as if she were right beside him. But the images were faint. Only moments of 

 

particular intensity seemed more tangible. He longed for those moments when yet another wave of excruciating pain washed 

 

over him, as it was doing right now.

 

“Stay strong, Brother. He’ll be here soon. Maybe he can help us,” Sean implored. He’d been watching the dirt road in 

 

the rearview mirror and heard the sound of a car approaching.

 

 

 

“That’ll be him.” Sean exited the car, waiting for the dark green Land Rover Defender to come to a stop a few yards 

 

behind them. The driver got out.

 

“Roy Leary?” Sean asked, even though he was pretty sure that it was the right man. The description—a redheaded giant

 

—was to the point.

 

“Aye, and you are Sean? We spoke on the phone. I came as fast as I could,” he explained. “What you told me is 

 

inconceivable. Are you absolutely sure? Truth be told, it would be a sensation!” He sounded both excited and agitated.

 

Sean nodded and pointed toward the cemetery that lay peacefully deserted before them. Nothing at all hinted at the 

 

incredible story that had happened there.

 

“A sensation? A disaster, more like it. Samantha is in grave danger. There must be a way we can help her.”

 

They passed Payton’s car and Roy glanced through the window, greeting the young man he found hard to recognize.

 

“We shall see, aye? But what’s wrong with him? Wouldn’t he be better off in a hospital?”

 

“He’s refusing to leave this place.”

 

Roy raised a curious eyebrow.

 

Sean tried to explain.

 

“If I thought they could help him in a hospital, I would have no trouble taking him there. But he doesn’t have the 

 

common cold, now, does he. No medicine on Earth could possibly take on a curse. And so I’m letting him have his way.”

 

Roy nodded and walked toward the cemetery with Sean following behind.

 

“So she’s really found the portal through time, aye? I would never have dared to believe that it actually exists,” 

 

Roy admitted.

 

Sean pointed at the memorial stone bearing the name of the five sisters. Roy pulled his glasses from a shirt pocket and 

 

crouched down.

 

“This is where it must have happened,” Sean explained. “We can’t say for sure, because we only noticed the stone the 

 

next day. It looks just like all the other gravestones, which is why it didn’t spark our attention at first.”

 

Roy checked the names that were chiseled into the stone.

 

“Fantastic. The legend of the five sisters is one of the most beautiful tales ever. Their haunting story makes even a 

 

full-grown man such as myself well up. I can barely believe that there should be some truth to it. Just look at those 

 

mountain peaks. Do you seriously believe that those were young women once?”

 

“I don’t know. But Samantha has disappeared, and she keeps popping up in our memories as if she’s rewriting our past. 

 

We are afraid she might be caught between two fronts. Besides, we have to think about Payton, too. He urgently needs 

 

help.”

 

Roy examined the stone as closely and thoroughly as an archaeologist, letting the earth run between his fingers, and 

 

inspecting its surroundings.

 

“What was she doing right before she disappeared?” he asked quietly.

 

“We don’t know. We’ve tried everything, but nothing’s happening,” Sean explained helplessly.

 

Roy got up and wiped his hands on his pants.

 

“Is it possible that it only works for women? After all, the father was clearing the way for his daughters,” Roy 

 

contemplated.

 

Sean had thought of that before, and he shrugged helplessly. Payton didn’t have much time left, and Samantha was in 

 

mortal danger. As he reflected on the time before Vanora’s curse, all he could remember were lies and betrayal, deceit 

 

and dishonor. The blood feud between the Stuarts and the Camerons had cost many lives and brought pain and misery to all 

 

involved.

 

There had to be a way of taking Sam out of harm’s way. He was a warrior! He had fought many battles and had always won. 

 

And now he was feeling like a helpless child, unable to get this situation under control. They had to save Sam, if only 

 

for his brother’s sake. Payton couldn’t die without knowing that Sam was safe. That was why Roy was here. He was their 

 

last hope.