“If we lift that carpet, I am willing to bet that we will find a trapdoor.”
“A trapdoor? What makes you think that?” said Duncan.
“Because, Duncan, when you were a little boy and your pa extended the cottage, he had a special room built in the cottage. We could only access it from the kitchen; there was no door from the attic of the house into the room. From the kitchen the ceiling looked seamless, but when you hit it with a pole, in just the right place, a hatch opened and a ladder fell out. We hid in that room when the Red Coats came when you were a baby. Now I am willing to bet that the idea of a secret room is one that Simon and Angus got off your grandfather.”
Duncan and Eilidh stared at me in confusion.
“I had no idea there was another room in our house.” said Duncan.
“No, nor did I,” echoed Eilidh.
“You have been in it, Duncan, but you were very little. Your pa would never tell anyone of the room, but it was there and I am willing to bet you that Angus has used the same idea here.”
“What should we do?” Duncan asked.
“Pull up the carpet and let’s see what is under there” I said.
******
CHAPTER 36
I had been right. Angus had employed the same mechanism as Simon to conceal the room and it had not taken us long to discover the hinges for the hatch and swing it open. Free from the confines of the hidden room we scanned the house for signs of life, but Angus was nowhere in sight and judging by the lack of food in the house, I doubted that he planned to live here anytime soon.
“I’ve had a thought,” I said to Eilidh and Duncan as they stood in the kitchen. “I think Angus makes the crystal work with some sort of divining. You know how farmers find veins of water in the ground with the use of a stick?”
“Aye, ma, we do.”
“If I am right, then it won’t matter how far we run because the crystal will bring Angus straight to us, every time.”
“Not much point in running then,” said Duncan.
“Ahh, but if we can confuse the crystal into thinking we are someone else then there is every point in running,” I said.
“How can we do that, Corran?”
“I don’t know if it will work, Eilidh, but I think we need to pretend to be someone else.”
“Ma, I’m not following you again. How can we do that?”
“As I said, Duncan, I’m not sure it will work, but it’s worth a try. If we change our clothes into those worn by Angus and carry with us his things, then perhaps we will have done enough to throw the crystal and its diving powers into confusion.”
“I can’t say as I can see this working but I’m willing to give it a try. What about you Eilidh?” Duncan asked.
The girl nodded, slowly, her eyes a haze of confusion. “Does he have any clothes here?” she asked.
“I have no idea, Eilidh, but it won’t take much to find out.”
We found Angus’s bedroom and went through his wardrobe quickly. A selection of suitable items were chosen and changed into. I slipped my hand into the pockets of my jackets to check what I had in there and felt the cold metal object I had found in the shop in York. Holding it up to the light, I discovered that it appeared to be a silver locket and when I opened it, I found that it contained a small sprig of heather. Deciding that it wasn’t mine and would be unlikely to lead the crystal to us, I slipped it into a backpack which we found neatly propped up in the wardrobe. I also retrieved the tiny book of ‘Highland Magic’ from my jacket and slipped that into the backpack.
“Duncan and Eilidh, make sure you take nothing that belongs to you. Leave it all here.”
I looked down at my hand and realized that meant my ring. With sadness I slipped it off my finger and placed it carefully on the table beside the bed, wondering as I did, if I would ever see it again.
“Right, are we ready?” I asked, scanning my eyes over the room in case we had missed anything.
“Aye, ma, as ready as we will ever be,” Duncan said.
As I had suspected, we were in Scotland, not the Highlands but possibly the Borders. What I didn’t know was which way we had to go to get back to York, nor did I know quite how we were going to manage the trip with no transport. For now, the main objective had to be to get as far away from Angus’s house as we could, so we found a narrow road and followed it.
“You don’t suppose he will find us, on this road I mean?” said Eilidh soon after we left the house.
I pursed my lips in thought. “There is that risk, I suppose. Perhaps we should follow the road from a distance, just in case. Oh, I should mention people don’t really use horses much in this day. They drive a machine called a car.”
“What is that ma?” Duncan asked.
“Well seeing as we are going to be following the path of a road, I am sure you and Eilidh will get the opportunity to see one soon enough.”
I had no idea how many miles we had traveled when finally we settled down for the night, but I hoped it was far enough away from the house to be safe from Angus, should he come looking for us. Hungry, tired and cold, we huddled together in a small clearing by the side of the road and slept.
Just as the sun rose in the early morning sky, we awoke and packed up our meager camp.
“Do you think we could find something to eat?” Duncan asked as we set off.
“Darling, I really don’t know. We have no tools, not even a knife. I do have the matches that Angus dropped though, so I can light us a fire tonight.”
“What the hell are you three doing here?” said a familiar voice.
I swung around to see Simon standing beside a tree, staring bewildered at us.
“Simon, how did you find us?” I cried, running toward him.
“Well to tell you the truth I was looking for Angus this time. I have been going half mad with the worry about where you are.”
“It’s not exactly been a barrel of laughs for us either,” I said.
“And what are Duncan and Eilidh doing here?” he asked.
“Hello pa,” Duncan said, moving toward his father.
“Angus brought them here. He had us locked in a house but we got away and were trying to find our way back to York,” I said.
He laughed. “You were hoping to walk back to York?”
I nodded. “What other choice did we have? And just out of interest’s sake, where the hell do you think we are?”
“Aye, I suppose you didn’t have much choice in the matter and to answer your second question, I would say looking at the hills that we are in the Borders, somewhere,” he said, still laughing. “But tell me, why are you all dressed like that? You lasses look ridiculous.”
“I thought that if we used Angus’s clothes then we might confuse the crystal when Angus tried to use it to find us.”
“Well it worked. I have tried everything to find you, Corran, but when I started looking for Angus the crystal brought me to you.”
“Simon, we left everything in the house, even my ring.”
“Right, then let’s go and fetch it,” he said.
“No, Simon, you can’t. If we have it on us then Angus will find us,” I protested.
“Aye and the problem with that is?”
“I just want to go home and live a quiet life, without crystal balls and Red Coats. Please, Simon, just this once, let it be, and take us home?” I pleaded.
“I am sorry, Corran, that is something I can’t do,” he replied, “Come on, Duncan and Eilidh, you are going to take me back to this house and we are going to retrieve your mother’s wedding ring and while we are on about retrieving things I suggest you all put your own clothes back on again.”
“Pa, I don’t suppose you have your dirk on you?” said Duncan hopefully.
“Why, what’s wrong, Duncan?”
“Nothing’s wrong, pa, only we are all starving for something to eat.”
Simon laughed. “As your mother would say, nothing much changes.”
Instinctively I moved my hands to my h
ips and turned toward him. “Simon, we have been kidnapped and locked in a room, the lad has had nothing to eat. I am willing to bet that not an hour ago, you filled your belly with a warm meal.”
“Aye, Corran, you are right. It shouldn’t be too difficult to find something edible in these parts. There are some things that don’t change and fertile ground such as this will always provide a meal,” he said, slipping his hand into his pocket and throwing me a box of matches. “If you and Eilidh can get a fire going, Duncan and I will catch something to cook on it.”
We ate well by the warmth of a fire and away from the choking fumes of the road. When we had finished we packed up and headed back to the house from which we had fled. I was quite certain that Simon hoped to find Angus there when we arrived, but continued to maintain that the journey was to retrieve my ring and our clothing. I could see, under his coat, the shape of a new pistol and I knew he carried his dirk. He had clearly come prepared.
“Simon, when did you figure out how to use the crystal?” I asked, as we trod our way through an overgrown field.
“A few hours after you got yourself thrown out of the library, the clues were all there, I just needed the peace and quiet to figure them out.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I said, softly.
“Don’t be, Corran, I love you just the way you are. You will never know how frightened I was when I returned to the hotel and you weren’t there.”
“How did you know Angus had taken me?”
“Rose told me he was back.”
“Did Angus not come after you?”
“No, but then I didn’t expect him to. I guessed he had taken you so that I would come for him.”
“Can the crystal take us home?” I asked.
“Yes, I expect it can,” he replied, but I knew there was no point asking him to use it for that purpose. He was going to stay in this time until he had killed Angus and nothing I could say was going to change that.
“Corran, you and Eilidh stay here. Duncan, come with me,” said Simon.
“Don’t go in there Simon, please?” I begged but my words fell on deaf ears.
“Where did you leave your ring?”
“Duncan knows where to find it. It’s on the table at the side of the bed in his room,” I replied.
“We won’t be long,” he said, pushing the box which held the crystal into my hand. “You know what to do if we don’t come back?”
I nodded. “Yes, I know how it works but Simon, don’t leave me, please come back?” But they had gone, and Eilidh and I were left to do nothing but wait.
“You know Eilidh; I am not sitting here, waiting for them any longer. Come on, we are going to find out what is going on in there,” I said after a few hours of mindless staring at the house. We had not heard a sound, seen a movement or had any indication that Angus had returned. I had a strong suspicion he had already been and gone. Either way, I had no intention of staying hidden in the bushes for the rest of my life, waiting for the news of Simon and Duncan’s triumph or death.
Simon’s head shot round when he heard us come through the front door. “What the bloody hell are you two doing in here?”
“The same as you, I should imagine,” I said, facing him.
“Well, if you are looking for Angus, he is not here but judging by the mess in the house, I suspect he has discovered your absence.”
I scanned the kitchen. He was right. It did look as though someone had rather forcibly lost their temper in the rooms since we had left.
“Is my ring still here?” I asked, quietly.
“Oh, aye,” he said, sliding his hand into his pocket. “Here, lass, get it back on your finger.”
Eilidh had rushed over to see Duncan, who was filling a glass with some water from the taps. I watched as she moved behind him, gently putting her arm around him. He turned and offered her a sip of drink. She shook her head gently, her eyes never leaving his. He bent slightly and whispered something into her ear. She giggled and lowered her eyes coyly.
“Simon, when did that happen?” I asked, nodding in the couple’s direction.
“I don’t know, I would have thought you could have answered that question.”
“No, I had no idea.”
“Well I guess you were right all along, Corran,” he said, putting his arm out and pulling me onto his knee.
“Aye, we just have to make sure they have a chance at life.”
“Don’t worry, Corran, I will see to it that they have a life.”
“Do you think he is coming back?” I asked, quietly.
“No, I think he is looking for me to go to him and that concerns me.”
“What do you mean?”
“When he realized you had escaped, I think he tried to find you with the crystal. But when that failed he looked for another way and I don’t think that involves him chasing us. He has been doing that for years and it hasn’t worked.”
“What do you think he will do?”
“I don’t know, Corran, but I intend to be ready for whatever it is he does.”
It was a clear, cold night and the sky twinkled with the light of a million stars. We knew Angus was not coming back but what we did not know was where he was.
“Simon, take us home, please? He isn’t coming back here.”
“Aye, I know,” he said. “Duncan, Eilidh?” he called, making his way into the lounge area of the house.
“Aye, pa, we are here,” replied Duncan.
I followed Simon through the hall and into the lounge, smiling as I found Duncan huddled in front of the television. “Eilidh, it would seem you too are a television widow. Don’t worry, lass, we are going home now and there are no televisions in our world.”
“Have we got everything?” Simon asked as he set the candle on the table.
I cast my eyes across the faces of the people in the room. Fear hung heavily in the air. I smiled at Eilidh. “Don’t worry sweet; it will be over very soon. Take my hand and Duncan’s.”
Simon struck the match and held it to the candle. I held the crystal in my free hand. As the flame reached the wick I moved my palm into its light and Simon rested his hand gently on my arm. The thin silver thread joined the flame to the crystal and the room began to swim. I tightened my hand hold on Eilidh and felt her tremble as the air around us spun in ever faster circles.
“Where are we?” Eilidh asked the spinning stopped.
I shook my head in confusion. “I don’t know. It looks like a cottage, but it’s not one I have ever seen before.”
I heard a noise and turned toward it. A beautiful young woman with long golden hair stood in the frame. I recognized her features but not who she was.
“I am sorry. I think we may be a bit lost,” I apologized to the girl.
She smiled softly, but a deep fear hid behind her eyes. “You are Corran?” she said.
“Aye, I am,” I replied, with shock. “But how do you know who I am?”
“I am Giorsal, Marta said you would come.”
******
CHAPTER 37
“Giorsal...?” I stammered.
“Aye, Corran, I am the child you called the stag for on the mountain after the massacre.”
I moved toward her, desperate to hug the child of my friend.
“You have grown into a fine woman, Giorsal.”
“Thank you,” she replied, softly.
“Tell me Giorsal, where is your mother?”
The girl met my eyes and I knew what she was about to say. “He has taken her, Corran, the Campbell Red Coat who butchered our people.”
“Angus?” Simon said his voice a low rumble of rage.
“He said you would come and to tell you that he would let her live if you meet him.”
“Meet him where?” Simon asked.
“In a place called York,” she replied.
“Right, Corran, light the candle, I’m going back. You three stay here,” Simon ordered.
“No,” Giorsal whispered, “He wants all three of yo
u or he will kill my mother. Please, Corran, save her?”
“I will, Giorsal, I will,” I promised, praying as I did that it was going to be possible.
“When did he take her?” Simon asked.
“A couple of days ago.”
“Where is Marta?” I asked.
“I will take you to her, come Corran,” the girl said, moving toward me and taking my hand.
“Did the stag come for Marta on the mountains?” I asked Giorsal as we made our way across a field and toward a small thatched cottage.
“Aye, it did. You saved us both that day.”
“Where is Dùghall?”
“He died a year after the massacre.”
“I am sorry, Giorsal.”
She nodded sadly as we reached the door of the cottage. Giorsal went to knock on the door but I stopped her. “Wait, how did Marta know I would come?”
“She has always known that you would come back one day,” Giorsal said, raising her hand once more to knock on the old wooden door.
The old lady smiled warmly, her face unchanged with time. “You will help us again, Corran?” she asked, hugging me with a love I had not known since my grandmother’s death.
“Aye, Marta, I will try.”
“Come, child, and sit with me,” she said, ushering me toward a chair in the corner of the cottage. A small fire burned in the centre of the room and I warmed my hands on its flames as I passed by it.
“What do you know of the crystal?” I said eventually.
“I know that it brought you to us and I know that you will use it to send Nansaidh home to us.”
“Will we live through this Marta?”
The old lady shook her head. “You know I can’t answer that, child.”
“I need to know how to use the crystal to end this, Marta.”
“I know, but only you can find the answer to that. I am sorry, Corran.”
“Then tell me Marta, how can you be so sure that we will save Nansaidh?”
“Because you have the sprig of heather, child, that is why.”
“Heather, what heather?” I asked, confused.
“In your pocket, you carry the locket with the Highland heather.”