CHAPTER 8
It was a damp and foggy morning. The cold clamminess of it soaked right through my skin and made me shiver. Longingly, I
glanced back at Payton’s car, whose heated seats had kept me warm until a moment ago.
I found it impossible to keep up with my two Scots on this uneven terrain. The brothers had already reached the small
cemetery by Auld a′chruinn on the Road to the Isles. Right behind it I could see the majestic mountain range of Kintail
with its five peaks—the Five Sisters.
I wasn’t sure if I felt chilly because of the weather or because the legend was still reverberating in my brain. But I
did feel unsettled when I left the narrow dirt road and entered the cemetery by way of its crumbling gate.
An eerie silence welcomed me. It might have felt peaceful and serene on a less murky day, but the quiet only increased
my uneasiness on this day in which my nerves were all over the place. As I continued, a bird scattered up and escaped,
screeching, into the tree canopies. The haze rising from the lakeshore reminded me of a horror movie, and the sheer
remoteness of this long-forgotten place seemed to fit that creepy picture as well.
I rubbed my arms to warm myself up, and I called Payton’s name. I’d feel much better once I was near him again.
“Right here,” he hollered. He stepped out from behind the former chapel at the center of this old decrepit boneyard.
I moved carefully so as not to stumble over one of the sunken gravestones. The more graves I passed, the more relaxed I
felt. Luscious green grass had taken over the reins of the once carefully landscaped paths. Several of the headstones
had submitted to the elements, and they now leaned to the side or had even broken in half. Silvery cobwebs stretched
across the barely recognizable paths. I was glad when Payton put his arms around my shoulders and gently kissed me on
the forehead.
“What do you think? Could this be the right place?” I asked.
“Take a look around! This is a place where legends are forged, don’t you think?”
“Sure, but how can you know if there really is a tear in the fabric of time somewhere around here? Or this path through
all time mentioned in the story?”
“I can’t say, but the location looks about right. We’re at the foot of the Five Sisters—in their shade—which might
also indicate protection. At Loch Duich in front of us, the girls must have met their fate. And over there on the hill,
do you see the big memorial stone? They call that the Druid Father.”
I swallowed hard. Was it possible that all of this was a coincidence? But before I could reply, Sean trotted over to us.
He had walked the length and breadth of the entire cemetery and seemed a little lost.
“I’ve found nothing,” he said angrily, running his fingers through his short blond hair. “Maybe we were wrong. Just
because cemeteries have played a prominent role in so many other legends or are supposed to possess a lot of power doesn
’t mean it’s true for us.”
“But I had a good feeling about this place. Somehow it seems right,” Payton said, looking around as if searching for
something.
“What if we tried our luck with the Druid Father stone? Maybe it marks the spot or contains a hint of some sort,” I
suggested.
The brothers agreed, so we made our way up the short, steep slope of the hill. I was pretty hot from all the exercise
and opened my jacket. Up here the air was clear, and with every step we took, the view of the sparkling lake—nestled
between the gentle foothills of the Five Sisters—became more beautiful.
“I’ve been thinking,” Sean started. “I was serious yesterday. Payton, I don’t think you are strong enough for this
kind of journey. Remember how hard life was back then? The trip from here to Burragh alone will take several days.”
We had reached the Druid Father stone. Just the short hike up the hill had drained Payton of his strength, and he had to
sit down by the foot of the stone to get some rest. I slipped out of my jacket and sat down, using it as a cushion so I
wouldn’t get my pants dirty. One last time, Sean let his eyes wander over the lake below. To him it seemed almost
ghostly in this pale early-morning light. Then he looked at his brother.
“I really have no idea how I would manage, but we haven’t found the path through time yet…if it even exists,” Payton
muttered, dejected.
Sean wasn’t ready to give in just yet.
“But once we find it, we can’t afford to waste any more time. So we may as well think about it now. I will go in your
stead and bring you Vanora’s blood. And you will do your goddamn best to hold on, stay alive, and wait for my return.
Aye?”
Payton looked at his brother for a long time before holding out his hand. Sean shook it with great relief.
“Brother, I swear to you that I won’t let you die,” Sean pledged.
I turned away, feeling like a third wheel eavesdropping on an intimate moment between siblings. At the same time, I was
glad that Payton wouldn’t be putting himself at risk. I trusted Sean unquestionably, as he had become like a brother to
me. If anyone had the strength and ability to master this challenge, it was this brave young Scot in front of me. After
all, he was already familiar with the time period and wouldn’t have any trouble finding his way around.
“Mending it. Right, Sam?” a voice rang into my thoughts.
“Huh? Were you talking to me?”
“Sean wants to know if you could mend his old plaid. If we really find a way, then we need to start preparing. Sean
will need to look as inconspicuous as possible. His old plaid would be perfect! In addition to his dagger, he’ll also
need his broadsword. And he should take along some food, because supermarkets were few and far between back in the day,
” Payton said, clowning around.
I had to laugh even though I was in no mood for jokes. These two were crazy just thinking about all of this.
“Do you really think you can take all that stuff with you?” I voiced my doubts. “Just like that, like you’re on
vacation or something? Maybe fill your little Louis Vuitton duffel bag with ramen noodles? And don’t forget your
smartphone so you can bring back unforgettable pictures and videos from the eighteenth century to show to your friends.
Oh, and remember to pack a Tupperware container for Vanora’s blood.”
Still, it was a relief to be making plans, even if we were as far away from saving Payton as we had been yesterday. It
just felt better. We had hope—and something of a plan. We cracked a few more jokes before we started working on the
marker stone.
We examined every nook and cranny, every line chiseled into it. We walked around it clockwise and counterclockwise, and
followed every inch of its surface with our fingers. The brothers even lifted me up so I could get a look on the top of
it. There wasn’t a trace of a hint on the entire goddamn stone.
“Maybe we weren’t that far off back at the cemetery. There’s nothing here, that’s for sure.”
Although I knew we wouldn’t come across neon signs flashing messages like “Return to the past” or “This way to the
tear in the fabric of time,” I had hoped we’d have more luck. Hadn’t movies and novels proven that there were always
mysterious signs to be found glistening in the sunlight—like a thick layer of cobwebs hiding some secret passageway? On
the other hand, if a portal to the past was so easy to find, there’d probably be a thriving tourism business exploiting
it.
The hike uphill had been easy enough for me, but the hike back down proved almost impossible. Wearing nothing but simple
sandals, I kept slipping on the dewy grass, and the seat of my pants was smeared with muck after only a few yards. I was
irritated, knowing that the steepest part of the journey down was still in front of me.
The boys laughed at my ineptitude, and Sean handed me his sgian dhu.
“What am I going to do with this thing? Do you think it’s easier to fall into a knife than into the mud?”
“When you’re climbing down this next part, just ram it into the earth and use the handle to hold on. Oh, and try not
to stumble into the blade, aye?”
Sean grinned up at me before taking a sure-footed jump down the slope. It looked so easy. Full of doubt, I glanced at
the small knife in my palm and then at the downward slope. Luckily, a grinning Payton offered me his hand. I carefully
slipped the dagger sideways into my belt and slid down into Payton’s arms.
Once we finally made our way down the hill, we hurried to follow Sean back to the cemetery. But before we passed through
the gate, Payton grabbed me. He shot a quick glance over the cemetery wall before ducking behind it and pulling me down
with him. Before I could complain about being back in the damp grass, he closed my mouth with a kiss. His hand reached
behind my neck and pulled me even closer to him. Almost without a will of my own, I submitted to his hungry kiss,
returning it with the same ferocious passion.
“I am sorry, mo luaidh, but I had to feel you close to me. I am worried that I don’t have much time left.”
I caressed his cheek with my fingertips, touched his lips, and lingered on the little scar on his chin. Of course he was
afraid. I myself was barely able to breathe because I worried about him so much. I didn’t want to think about all these
terrible things. Didn’t want to imagine what it would be like to lose him. Didn’t want to allow this fear to germinate
and take root.
“How did you get this?” I changed the subject, kissing him very gently on his chin.
“The scar? Oh, I’ve had it for ages. I can’t even remember when I got it. When I was young, Kyle and I would earn our
daily share of scrapes and bruises. This is probably one of those.”
“Kyle? That’s your little brother? The one Nathaira mentioned?”
Payton didn’t respond, but his eyes grew darker.
“Why did you get so many cuts and bruises? Did you get into a lot of fights?”
There it was, a smile. “No, during that time, Sean and Blair tried to share their broadsword skills with us, their
little brothers. They were both excellent warriors but very bad teachers. Not a day went by that we didn’t lose some
blood.”
“Well, my theory is that your brothers realized that you were the handsomest of them all, and so they tried to put
things right,” I teased.
“Oh yeah? You think? Honestly, Kyle was the handsomest of us all. He was pretty cute even as a baby, and he just got
better looking with every year. All the girls were crazy for him! They got into fights and used love potions just to get
his attention.”
“It’s true!” Sean interjected, swinging his legs over the top of the cemetery wall. He scowled. “And just so you
know, if Blair or I had really wanted to cut Payton down to size, then your hunky boyfriend here would barely reach the
tip of your nose today. Besides, I am shocked that you think he’s better looking than I am!”
“How long have you been listening?” Payton cut in. He didn’t seem to appreciate how Sean was talking about him.
“I’m not eavesdropping. I’ve been sitting over here on the other side of the wall because I wanted to show you
something. But then you decided to have a make-out session right here on the heath, and I didn’t want to intrude.”
“Thank you for being so considerate,” I said, “but we were not making out!” I could feel my cheeks burning.
“All right, then. What is it that you wanted to show us?” Payton cut through our bickering.
Sean pointed at a line of graves on his side of the wall. Behind the gravestones was a gray obelisk rising up into the
sky.
“Since we don’t know what we’re looking for, searching every square inch of this place could take days. I’ve been
thinking this whole time that there must be some small hint or some kind of mechanism hidden around here. When I saw
this crow land on top of the obelisk, something occurred to me about time. Obelisks symbolize rays of sunshine that have
turned to stone, and they’re supposed to connect the heavens and the earth. So it wouldn’t be entirely unusual to see
a gravestone in the shape of one. But that one over there is not on a grave. It’s completely freestanding, nowhere near
a grave. Back in the day, people measured the passage of time using the shadow cast by such an obelisk. I know it’s not
much, but it’s better than nothing. So, what do you say? Should we take apart that obelisk and find your damn portal?”
Actually, Sean’s explanations sounded logical—so with newfound courage and a lot of enthusiasm, we set about examining
that long stone pillar in great detail.
Sean and Payton were completely engrossed in inspecting the old, withered letters on a moss-covered inscription.
That was my chance. Since the moment I’d sat down on that cold, damp ground I’d had to pee. I had tried in vain to
suppress it, but the need was getting urgent. So I took advantage of the guys being distracted and disappeared behind
what was left of the decrepit chapel. The decaying walls were still high enough to offer protection from unwanted
attention. Since I really wanted to avoid defiling one of the old graves, I hurried over to the cemetery wall where
there were only a few headstones, and I relieved myself behind one of them. Fortunately, the brothers were nowhere in
sight.
When I stepped out from behind the gravestone, Sean’s dagger slipped out of my belt. As I bent down to reach for it, I
noticed an inscription on the stone.
Mo còig nighean
Mora, Fia, Gillian, Robena, Alba,
Gabh mo leisgeul
Tha gabh mi gradhaich a thu
I couldn’t make it all out because a rosebush covered parts of it, but I felt I’d discovered something significant. I
picked up the sgian dhu, put it back in my belt, and knelt on the ground. Carefully, I pushed away the branches and
examined the inscription in more detail. I didn’t know many words in Gaelic, but I knew nighean. It meant “daughter.”
And còig was easy. “Five.” My heart thumped inside my chest. This wasn’t a headstone! Trembling, I pushed a strand of
hair from my eyes and wiped the moss off the next line.
“Ouch!” I’d caught my hand on some thorns.
I flinched and saw a big drop of blood squirt from my finger. It was as red as the flowers on the rosebush. I quickly
put my finger in my mouth, but the taste of copper on my tongue made me queasy.
I opened my eyes and stared down at my hands. Blood, hot and slimy, gushed onto the dagger—and onto me.
I took a few deep breaths, trying to shake the strange feeling of having a flashback to my fainting episode at Roy and
Alison’s house. All right, back to the inscription.
“Mora, Fia, Gillian, Robena, and Alba,” I muttered.
I felt sick to my stomach, and I held on to the stone to keep from keeling over. A drop of blood fell onto the stone,
seeped into it, fused with it—and with the intensely bright appearance of an all-consuming blaze, my world ceased to
exist.
Light.
Pain.
Nothing else.
I seemed to fall without moving, without actually falling, without even existing. There was nothing. My body and mind
had come apart, and they were carried away on burning wings while simultaneously being torn to shreds by an icy fist.
“Payton,” I wanted to scream—but I had no voice or even air to breathe, no consciousness that could have made any of
this possible. And still it was as if I were slowing down in my fall into this bottomless, bright abyss. I could no
longer even control my thoughts.
Everything was bright, so bright. I myself seemed to be made of only light. All my senses were superimposed with this
painfully intense luminosity. My lungs were filled with liquid gold, and my blood was a white-hot liquid coursing
through my veins. The light expanded, trying to break out of me like a baby bird hatching from its shell. If I had been
able to think straight, then this is what I would have thought:
I’m dying.
A while later, I became aware of coldness around me.
And a long time after that, dampness.
Eventually sounds became audible again to my brain, and in a daze I opened my eyes and sighed a breath of relief. It was
almost dark. I could not have taken seeing that intense brightness again. But what had happened? Every one of my bones
hurt as if they were all broken, and it took an enormous amount of effort just to blink.
Had I passed out again as I had at Roy and Alison’s house? I sat up slowly, moaning in pain, and the world around me
blurred. Blink, blink. Finally, my surroundings shifted into focus. Where were Payton and Sam? How long had I been out?
Judging by the fading daylight, it had to be late in the evening, and the two of them must have noticed by now that I
was missing.
“Payton? Sean?” I called, flinching at the sound of my own voice. I definitely felt like I had suffered a concussion.
Still, I strained my neck to look for them. No reply came, and I was terrified. I shook my head. Pain throbbed in my
temples, and I tried to suppress my rising panic.
Panic. Obviously my subconscious self was already aware of what had happened. It had been something seemingly impossible
—but it had happened nevertheless.
No, no, no.
I squinted and touched my head. I have a concussion, that is all.
There had to be a logical explanation for Payton and Sean leaving me behind. They went to get help. Went to call an
ambulance or something. They’d be back any minute now and would laugh if they knew about the crazy thoughts trying to
take over my mind. All I had to do was keep calm and sit still. That thought managed to calm me down for a moment or
two. But then I opened my eyes again, and I seemed to be seeing my surroundings for the very first time.
That was when I knew.
I was in a crap ton of trouble.
In complete hysterics, I struggled to my feet, ignoring the stabbing pain. Standing on wobbly legs, I threw up all over
my shoes. My mind fought against everything it was being forced to realize. It fought tooth and nail against the truth
that lay right there in front of me.
Shaking, I bent over and spat out the rest of the bile in my mouth. Then I sank back into the grass, wrapped my arms
around my knees, and waited for the panic to subside. I shook and shivered uncontrollably while crying for what seemed
like an eternity.
Meanwhile, the world around me had gone pitch-black into the night. But instead of feeling frightened, I found comfort
in knowing that the truth lay hidden beneath a cloak of darkness. That was when my mind was at long last able to grasp
what had happened. Slowly, I comprehended that I had not only found an important marker to the portal through time, but
that I had in fact traveled the entire length of the goddamn journey.
As soon as I allowed this thought, I felt calm again. I breathed in the air that was essentially old and part of
history, but I soon realized that it filled my lungs and enriched my blood with oxygen, just like the air back in my own
world. Which somehow seemed comforting.
And so, under the cover of darkness, I tried to familiarize myself with my state of affairs. I knew where I was—but not
when. I hoped that this portal would not prove to be a one-way street—that I’d be able to take the road back to from
where I’d come. But would I have enough courage? I couldn’t remember the horrors I’d already lived through without
feeling scared to the core. Still, I was determined to get back to where I belonged as quickly as possible. And then I
would tell Sean how he could save Payton.
All I had to do was return.
Although my body had just released its largest-ever dose of adrenaline, I suddenly felt excessively tired. Comforted by
the possibility of a way out, I relaxed enough for sleep to take over and heal my broken body and my exhausted mind. As
I gave in, I hoped to wake up and find out all this had just been a dream.