by Glen L. Hall
A second later the boat was free and Sam was losing his footing and plunging, gasping, into the dark sea. He surfaced, spluttering, and found Eagan, with iron-like hands, grabbing hold of the back of his jacket and pulling him back into the boat.
‘Quick,’ Eagan called out, ‘find the breach and do something about it!’
The Celtic Flow was taking in water. There were already several inches swashing around the bottom of the boat. Sam and Emily looked helplessly at each other.
Eagan was quickly back at the oars, but he could tell the boat was sluggish. He was just grateful it was cloudless now and he could use the stars to navigate. Now and then the sea would turn white as a jagged rock churned the waters and he hoped they could make the mainland without further incident.
Suddenly there was a sickening crack as the boat rammed against a barely visible rock, quickly followed by a second thwack that propelled Eagan from his seat. As he picked himself back up, he heard Emily say, ‘We’re sinking.’
‘Not yet,’ he replied grimly.
Back in his seat, though, he could feel the icy water begin to slowly inch its way past his legs and could feel the boat becoming less and less responsive.
The shoreline broke above the waves perhaps several hundred yards away, but all around them jagged rocks were beginning to rise through the churning waters. Eagan was finding it almost impossible to steer and now and then there would be a deafening crack as the boat hit another rock.
‘Can’t you row harder?’ Emily demanded.
‘What do you think I’m doing?!’ Eagan yelled back.
Sam looked down at the water swirling around his ankles and then watched in horror as the boat rammed against yet another sharp rock and bits of wood sprayed up into the air. In the darkness the rocks reminded him of the stone statues in Oxford – silent, unmoving and yet watchful. He couldn’t help but shiver at the sight of them.
The Celtic Flow skimmed past several more and suddenly they were in open water with waves crashing around them.
‘Get ready!’ Eagan shouted.
Water was now gushing around their knees and waves were breaking over the prow. Sam grabbed Emily as a huge wave almost engulfed them. He was frightened, but held on to her waist just as another wave submerged the front of the boat. Then they were plunged into the black waters and instantly felt the currents wrapping themselves around them.
Panic and memories of the night in Oxford made Sam break the surface, gasping, terrified, and heaving Emily behind him. But the waves kept coming, crashing over their heads. Salt water was stinging their eyes and the back of their throats, but as they struggled to keep above the waves, they each felt Eagan’s powerful arms around them. He propelled them safely through the waters, having spent a lifetime swimming the rivers of Northumberland.
They stumbled onto the shore, wet and coughing but grateful to be out of the churning sea. Sam lay on the shingle, looking up at the night sky and seeing the sparkling stars staring back. At that moment, he felt overwhelmed – overwhelmed by the sea, by the night sky in all its vast blackness, by the endless riddles that seemed never to be answered and by what people were expecting of him. He didn’t feel much of a hero lying there shivering and coughing. Emily might be convinced he’d saved them in Oxford, but he knew he’d spent the last few days being scared out of his wits.
Eagan’s voice brought him sharply back to the present – back to the crashing waves and the freezing wind.
‘Damn you!’
When he sat up, he found Eagan trying to pull the Celtic Flow from the clutches of the lashing waves. Its bow was splintered and half-sunk and the boat was rolling helplessly just on the edge of the shore.
Emily was also sitting up shivering, looking at the forlorn figure trying to wrest the boat from the sea’s clutches. She turned to Sam.
‘Isn’t this just awful?’
Somehow Sam found himself wading back into the waves, but the boat was now submerged and he found it impossible to get a grip on it. He drew back, not wanting to walk too far into the black sea and lose the firm ground beneath his feet.
Then Eagan looked up at him. ‘Help me – I can’t lose the boat.’
There was a look of such anguish on his face that Sam took a deep breath and waded further into the freezing sea. Chest-deep in the waves, he used the last of his strength to get a firmer grip on the wet planks, and together he and Eagan pulled the broken boat slowly from the sea.
Once it was firmly wedged in the wet sand, Eagan buried his face in it and threw his arms round it as if holding a fallen companion. Sam and Emily stood watching him, unsure what to say or do. Above the sound of the waves they could hear Eagan sobbing.
Emily walked slowly to her cousin and placed her hand gently on his shoulder. It was still several long moments, though, before he raised his head, put his hands over his face and turned away from the Celtic Flow.
Without saying a word, they left the boat where it lay ruined.
* * * * * *
They walked along the shore for a while in silence. It was Emily’s voice that finally cut across their thoughts.
‘I know this place.’
‘Of course you do. It’s Howick Haven,’ replied Eagan, without taking his eyes from the floor. ‘Just above those rocks will be Howick Burn and then it’s a two-mile walk to Howick Hall.’
‘How did you manage to navigate your way here by sea?’
‘We did have a lot of luck back there. Before the actual shipwreck.’ Eagan fell silent.
‘Luck? We should have been smashed to pieces!’ Emily cried. ‘It’s a notorious stretch of coastline.’
‘You’re right,’ Eagan sighed. ‘There are some foul currents in those waters, but the Celtic Flow was a wonderful boat. You see how she brought us safely ashore.’
He turned away.
‘Can we be certain that it was the Celtic Flow?’
Eagan stopped walking and turned to Sam with a glint of anger. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Have you forgotten that you left the Celtic Flow on the Coquet two nights ago? How did it turn up in Alnmouth?’
‘I don’t know. But anyone could have rowed it there.’
‘You both seem to be missing something.’ Emily was already clambering up a small rocky hill. She turned to look back down at them. ‘Have you really forgotten the man from the estuary? You know, the one with the black Labrador. Why was he fixing your boat?
Eagan pushed back his wet hair. ‘I really don’t know, Emily.’
‘He was the man with Oscar in the tapestry! What was he doing in Alnmouth, looking not a day older?’
‘How should I know? I’m freezing – can’t we discuss this when we are sitting in front of a fire?’ Eagan asked, looking irritated.
‘There’s something else that’s been bothering me since we first arrived in Alnmouth,’ Emily persisted.
‘What?’ asked Sam, beginning to be irritated too.
‘The Alnmouth we arrived at looked different from the one we left.’
‘Well, we arrived at dawn and left in the evening, so you wouldn’t be wrong there.’
‘That’s not very funny, Sam, and it’s not what I meant. When we left, all the boats on the estuary were rowing boats. I didn’t see a single motor boat. But when we arrived, there were definitely boats with motors. And the doors in the village were also different, now I come to think of it.’
‘You know, Warkworth was a pretty mundane place until you two turned up,’ Eagan remarked. ‘Now nothing surprises me. I mean, people are summoning fire from nowhere.’
‘I didn’t summon fire, Eagan.’ There was a touch of anger in Sam’s voice. ‘It wasn’t me, but the woman – the one who saved me at Magdalen, and then again at Mum’s. The Fall. I heard her voice back in Alnmouth too. She was protecting it.’
‘No,’ Emily broke in, �
�you can summon fire, I know you can! I saw fire in your hands when you confronted the creature outside the orchard. I was terrified, but you didn’t seem to care at all. It was all fire and words and you throwing that thing down as if it was a rag doll.’
‘But—’
‘Whatever excuse you’re about to come out with, save it!’ Eagan yelled. ‘Brennus and Drust have seen something in you, and that’s why they’re risking their lives for you. Right now. So just get on with it.’
His words hit a nerve.
‘What if I don’t want it?’ Sam cried. ‘All it’s done is put us all in danger. Look at us now – shipwrecked!’
Emily shifted uneasily as Sam’s voice rose higher.
‘I didn’t ask for any of this! Why won’t you listen to me? You’re both in danger whilst you are with me. It doesn’t take a genius to understand the Shadow will come again.’
‘You were a match for it in Oxford,’ Emily reminded him.
‘No! Oscar and Culluhin were its match! Why won’t you listen to me?!’
‘It was you!’ This time it was Emily’s turn to shout. ‘You saved us! I was there! I know you did!’
‘Don’t be so sure,’ Sam growled. ‘And don’t rely on me. The Shadow will come again and next time there might not be any Oscar around.’
‘Forgive me for interrupting,’ Eagan said wearily, ‘but I’m really tired. Can’t we just get to Howick Hall and wait until Brennus or Drust or my father can bring news?’
‘And what news do you expect them to bring?’ Emily muttered.
‘How should I know? That’s why we need to wait for news!’ Eagan rolled his eyes, then grinned suddenly.
Emily wasn’t impressed. ‘It seems every time we wait, we run into trouble.’
‘We’re always running into trouble!’ Eagan laughed bitterly. ‘It doesn’t matter where we are! We can’t even go to the pub without being attacked! What do you want us to do?’
Emily stamped her foot in frustration and placed her hands on her hips. Her wet clothes were pressed tight against her body and Sam couldn’t help but forget the argument and stare at her.
‘Look,’ she said, ‘Oscar says the Circle of Druidae needs to be re-made. So we just find this Otherland and then…’
‘Then what?’ asked Eagan. ‘Face it – we haven’t a clue. And if we keep moving, it’s going to make it impossible for anyone to find us.’
‘If you ask me, that’s a good thing.’
‘Ha! I see being half drowned has had no lasting impact on you, Emily. Same as ever.’
Emily scowled.
‘Let’s at least try to stay in one place for more than a couple of days.’
Eagan started climbing up the craggy rock face, signalling the conversation was over.
Sam quickly followed, anxious not to be left alone on the dark beach. As he scrambled over the sharp rocks, he realised just how tired he was. His legs were quickly burning against his damp clothes. Emily reached out a hand and pulled him up.
They found Eagan waiting for them at the end of a line of trees. ‘These trees follow Howick Burn, which runs from the main house to the sea,’ he explained. ‘They’ll give us cover from the skies.’
They moved beneath the trees and found a path following the trickling burn. Towering oaks on either side formed a giant archway offering some shelter from the elements.
Sam felt it almost immediately – a gentle current that pricked his senses and made the hairs on the back of his neck stand to attention.
Suddenly Emily’s hand was in his. He took a quick glance at her and could tell she could feel it too.
Eagan was passing a hand over his face and looking around him.
Sam stood still. ‘You know,’ he said softly, ‘I think we were always going to come here. Whether we wanted to or not.’
Eagan and Emily stared at him. ‘Why would you say that?’ Emily asked.
‘When I look back, although I didn’t realise it at the time, I’ve had this feeling before – at the Fellows’ Garden, the Eagle and Child, the Garden of Druids, even the Seven Stories.’
‘There is a strange feeling in the air,’ Emily admitted. ‘It’s almost as if this whole place is alive.’
Eagan nodded. ‘It’s in the wind and in the water – it’s everywhere.’
‘Is this the flow that you all speak about?’ Emily wondered.
Eagan shook his head.
‘I think it’s different,’ Sam agreed, looking back the way they had come. ‘It’s a feeling of familiarity, of things having to be a certain way, of everything conspiring to make them so. I think from the moment I left Oxford with Professor Stuckley and Professor Whitehart, we were always going to end up at the Garden of Druids. And now I think we are being led somewhere and we no longer have a choice in the matter.’
Emily was nodding in agreement. ‘The letter is part of it.’
‘Yes.’ Sam was still staring back through domed canopy of trees. ‘But not the full story.’
He turned to look at Eagan, who was standing motionless, the strain of the last few days clearly visible on his face.
‘There’s something I haven’t got right, though. It’s been on my mind for the last few days. Now I think I’ve worked it out. I don’t think it was the Shadow that was after me beneath the Fellows’ House. I was just terrified and so I thought that was what it was, but now I think it was the Grim-were – in fact I’m certain of it. When I look back, I think it had been in Oxford for a while. I think it had been watching me.’
Sam looked from Eagan to Emily.
‘Think back to Gosforth. The Shadow had found me in the Way-curve. It was then that the crow-men came. The Grim-were was the thing I saw through the window at the Seven Stories. It looked really ugly and frightening, but I think it was trying to help.’
‘Help?!’ Eagan exploded. ‘Grim-were are servants of the Bodika!’
‘Who?’
‘The Grim-Witch. That’s what the Grim people call her. Though some say she had another name once – I don’t know what.’
‘Well, it was the Grim-were that saved me in Gosforth.’
‘It was the Grim-were that tried to kill you in Gosforth!’ challenged Emily.
‘No, no. I’m figuring it out now. Emily, listen, the Shadow was waiting for us at the house.’
‘The house?!’ Emily’s mouth dropped open.
‘That’s why the Grim-were and its crow-men were out there in the garden. If they hadn’t been there, the Shadow could have overcome the Fall. And I don’t even want to think about what could have happened then.’
‘I didn’t see any Shadow…’ Emily sounded unsure.
‘The crow-men sacrificed themselves to stop it. Back in Oxford I remember seeing a murder of crows over the Fellows’ House. They were protecting me then – they gave me enough time to escape to Magdalen. They’ve always been there. In the background.’
‘They would have killed me in Warkworth,’ said Eagan flatly.
‘But they didn’t.’
‘They poisoned me! I’d have died if Oscar’s servant hadn’t helped me!’
‘They needed to know where we were, Eagan, and you wouldn’t tell them. They knew we’d been in Warkworth – you said it yourself. They’d been watching us. Grim-weres are shape-changers. You must recall the grey heron.’
‘Yes, of course. I misled it. I was waiting for the Forest Reivers to come…’
Eagan paused. Was it possible he had never given the Grim-were a chance to explain? Had there been a huge misunderstanding?
Sam turned again to Emily. ‘Believe me, the crows in Warkworth were protecting us.’
‘But what about the crow-men in the wood?’ she asked. ‘They weren’t exactly flying white flags. They meant to do the Forest Reivers great harm.’
‘But you saw the Forest
Reivers, Emily. They’ve fought the Underland for ages. Literally. According to them, anything from the Underland is trouble. They’d murder anything that came from there before they’d even asked its name.’
Eagan drew breath, but it was Emily who spoke first. ‘Are you sure they haven’t used their poison on your mind?’
‘I’m not sure. But I can tell you that without the Grim-were’s help, we might not be here now.’
‘But,’ said Eagan, his eyes flashing, ‘the Forest Reivers would say they had just cause to fight. What good has ever come from the Underland? And what does this say about Brennus, Drust and Father? They fought the crow-men at the bookshop, didn’t they?’
Sam paused, uncertain how to answer.
‘I think Sam’s right,’ said Emily quickly. ‘We have to keep an open mind.’
‘Well, you’ve changed yours quickly enough!’ Eagan said, turning sharply towards her.
Sam found himself stepping forwards. For a second the tension between them all bubbled precariously to the surface.
‘Remember,’ continued Eagan grimly, ‘that if that letter is to be believed, a lot of Reivers lost their lives in Birling Wood. And it was the crow-men who pulled you into the water, Emily.’
Emily shivered. ‘Okay, you have a point.’
‘I know it all sounds confusing, Eagan,’ Sam said soothingly, ‘but it’s important that we don’t forget that there is a traitor amongst us. Oscar said they had already done much mischief. They might have told all sorts of lies about anybody.’
‘And who do you think the traitor is then?’ Eagan pressed.
Sam dropped his gaze. ‘I don’t know,’ he said awkwardly. ‘It might even be the letters that shouldn’t be trusted.’
‘We’ve already had that conversation!’ interrupted Emily. ‘Come on, Eagan, let’s get moving.’
Eagan ignored her. ‘You are relying on a letter that could have been written by people who are no longer alive. Have you ever considered how it could change so frequently?’
‘It’s changing because I keep communicating with the past,’ said Sam, shifting awkwardly from one foot to the other.
‘Right. Well, as I said, we’ll just wait here until my father brings news of Brennus and Drust.’
