She nodded. “But it’s risky, Corran. I can’t control the place and time that accurately.”
“Alright, don’t worry, I didn’t expect you could, but it was worth asking,” I said, slipping my hand into the pocket of my oversized sweatshirt, and withdrawing Harry’s mobile phone.
“What are you doing?” Rose whispered.
“I’m finding out where the man’s mobile is,” I said. “Rose, can you see him in the kitchen?” I was sure she had seen him as clearly as I had, but I wanted to make sure that she was alright with the sight of him.
“I can see him,” she said with a hint of venom to her voice.
“Do you think you can watch him, whilst I ring his mobile?”
“Yeah, of course I can, but where did you get his mobile number from?”
“It was in the phone that Grace put in Kate’s desk, I’m guessing he hasn’t changed it in the last week,” I said smiling at the girl’s stunned faces.
“Well I’ll be damned,” said Kate. “That was bloody genius.”
“We’re going to ring him and see where his phone is. With any luck he’s got it on him. If he has then I’m going to phone him again and have a little chat with him, whilst you three go and get Jenny. If you’re quick and leave me with the pendant the man shouldn’t be able to trace me. If things go wrong, light the candle and take Jenny home. I’ll find my way back to York,” I said, with far more confidence than I felt.
“Corran, you are insane,” said Kate with a look of horror on her face. “Do you have any idea what that man is capable of?”
“Yes, Kate, I have a very good idea what the man is capable of, but I’ve also killed him once. I’ll do it again if I have to.”
“No, Corran, you mustn’t,” said Eilidh with a panicked shrill to her voice. “If you kill him now Duncan and Jenny may never exist. We don’t know how old this Angus is. He could still be in nappies for all we know.”
“I hear you, Eilidh, but I think we can all be sure that man is well out of nappies,” I said trying to break the tension.
“I’m serious, Corran. He came and went through time without a care for its consequences. He had more lives than we’ve had hot dinners.”
“Alright, sweet, I’m not going to kill him. I’m just telling you that Jenny is your priority. You have to get her back to her mother before this man does her some harm,” I said firmly.
“You are right, we do need to get Jenny away from him but not at your expense. Do you not understand, Corran, that child is the one who will one day save us all? I can’t risk Angus getting his hands on either you or the baby. By rights I should take you all back now,” Eilidh shouted in an exaggerated whisper.
Eilidh had changed so much I hardly recognized her. No more the quiet, placid child who allowed the likes of Shannon to control her. Here was a woman who knew her own mind, a strong woman who didn’t suffer fools.
“I’m not the one going into the house, Eilidh. I’m only going to use the phone. Just so long as I have the pendant he won’t be able to trace me, and if you three are quick we can all be out of here before the evil sod knows what’s hit him.”
“What if she won’t come with us?” Rose asked quietly.
“Then you grab hold of her, light the candle and take her home.”
“And you?” Kate asked.
“Eilidh can come back for me. If she doesn’t, I’ve picked up enough money to get a train back to York. I used the laptop thing to plan a route. I know there’s a station in Chesterfield and I also know it goes straight through to York. There’s even a bus from the end of this road that will take me right into the centre of town. I can probably make my own way back to York faster than you can use the crystal to find me.”
“Corran, you do realize the risk we are running by even being out here, don’t you?” Eilidh said. I caught the rise of her brows in the light of the moon.
“I do, Eilidh, but that is why I told you to bring two pendants. By your own admission three were enough to protect us all in the pub. I’m sure the four of us are safe with two.”
“And now we have left the pub vulnerable,” she replied.
“I know, and that is why we need to get this job done,” I replied, knowing full well that the fatal flaw in my argument was the simple fact that I couldn’t keep both crystals if Eilidh had to go back without me, but I didn’t intend on bringing this fact to their attention. “Now are you all ready?” I asked.
Reluctantly they all nodded. “Eilidh, may I have one of the pendants please?”
She slid it into my open hand. “Keep safe, Corran,” she whispered.
I ran my finger over the names in Harry’s address book, stopping as soon as I reached the name I had recently added. “Ready?” I asked, with my thumb hovering over the green button.
The girls nodded.
It wasn’t going to be easy to scramble through the hole in the trees and then down the bank into the garden. I only hoped Angus hadn’t locked the patio doors to the lounge. I checked the window again. I could still see Jenny. She hadn’t moved from the black sofa in front of the television since we had arrived. Grace had been right. The girl did look frightened. Her eyes stared unfocused at the screen and she was playing nervously with a thread on the end of her jumper, much like Duncan did when he was uncomfortable or cornered. I had no doubts about what we were about to do.
Taking one deep breath I pushed the button. The phone rang. Angus fumbled around the counter in the kitchen. I watched through the window as he lifted the phone to his ear. I waited for him to answer, watched confusion and then annoyance sweep over his face, and then I deliberately hung up.
“He’s got the phone in there with him,” I said, voicing what we had all just seen.
“Are you going to call him again?” Eilidh asked, clearly hoping I had changed my mind.
“I am, but I was thinking that you three should get a head start. You’ve got that bank to get down and the garden to cover before you even get to Jenny. I want to spend as little time as possible on the phone to him. The longer I’m connected to him the more chance there is that he’ll be able to trace me. You guys go on ahead, when you get to the patio door, I’ll call him. Hopefully the noise of the phone will help cover the sound of the door being opened too.”
“Corran, why don’t we all go together?” Rose asked nervously.
“Because I couldn’t get down that bank. I’d slow you up too much and we’d all end up getting caught. From up here in the graveyard I can see everything that is going on in that house. I can distract the man and give you three a fair chance of getting Jenny out.”
“Corran?” Eilidh, said, putting her hand gently on my arm. “If we have to take Jenny without you, remember that you must get back to the pub before midnight tomorrow.”
“Why, Eilidh?”
“Because I did what you asked and I’ve brought you to the twentieth.”
“What’s going to happen at midnight tomorrow?” Rose asked.
Eilidh shook her head slowly and I caught a flash of fear in her eyes.
“We don’t know for sure - but Marta thinks that all time-travelers will be thrown back to their own times,” replied Eilidh.
“What about the villagers?” I asked, growing suddenly afraid for my people.
“The Stag will see them through the change, but he won’t last much after that. He is sacrificing his life for the Highlands and its people.”
“I understand,” I said, giving the girl a gentle hug. “Go, all of you and remember that Jenny is the one you need to rescue. I’ve the means to take care of myself.”
I knew, without doubt, that the three of them weren’t going to have time to come back for me.
They were going to have to move fast. I just hoped that they could move fast enough to get Jenny safely back to her mother.
I watched as they pushed their way through the thick trunks and down the bank. Quietly, they slid into the garden and crouched behind some bushes to the side of the loung
e. Jenny still hadn’t moved, and neither had Angus. I couldn’t quite make out what he was doing in the kitchen but it looked as though he was working on a laptop.
As the girls reached the patio door, and Eilidh’s hand stretched out towards the handle I pressed the button on the phone.
Angus’ mobile rang, he reached across the counter for it, I heard him answer.
“Yes,” he barked.
Jenny had seen the girls, she was standing, moving towards them. Kate lifted her finger to her lips and Eilidh fumbled in her jacket pocket. She passed the candle back to Rose.
“That’s a bit of a gruff greeting for a vicar,” I replied, in the calmest voice I could manage.
“Who is this?” he shouted.
The girls crowded in around Jenny. Eilidh reached out to grab her arm but the girl flinched and stepped backwards.
Angus turned to leave the kitchen.
“Angus,” I shouted.
He stopped and turned back to face the window, his beady eyes scanning the darkness of the garden.
“Where are you?” he growled.
A sharp pain stabbed my lower back and a tiny moan escaped my lips.
Rose lit the candle, Eilidh lunged at Jenny, Rose and Kate followed. The crystal connected with the flame, their shapes swirled and blurred.
“Nowhere you will ever find me,” I said slowly, watching as my friends disappeared in time.
I bent double trying to breathe through the pain. A voice in the back of my head screamed, but I couldn’t hear it, couldn’t understand it. I knew I had to get away from this place but I couldn’t think where to. I couldn’t remember where I was. Angus’ voice echoed through the window and then seconds later the handset. I remembered I had to hang up.
He was in the lounge, screaming for his daughter. He lifted the television set off its stand and hurled it at the sliding door. It bounced back and shattered on the pale blue carpet leaving the double-glazed sliding door in a spider’s web of cracks.
I was in the graveyard at the back of Angus’ house, I remembered, as the pain of the contraction eased. Staring through the gap in the trees I watched the man as he raised his hand and banged it on a table. He grew demented, kicking furniture, throwing anything and everything that came to hand.
A figure appeared from the shadows of the room and delivered a silencing punch to Angus’ face. He stumbled and then fell onto his back. The man reached forwards and lifted Angus’ head inches off the ground before raising his right foot and kicking him square in the face. I cringed as his head dropped backwards into an ever-growing pool of his own blood.
I couldn’t wait around in the graveyard any longer. My friends had done what I had asked and taken Jenny back to her mother. I was on my own and for the first time since hatching the ridiculous plot I realized how misguided I had been in asking Eilidh to bring me to the twentieth of the month. There was little or no chance that I would have enough time to get myself back to York before they all had to leave. My only hope was that Eilidh would find me, but I couldn’t sit around waiting for her. I had to get away from the house. I was too close to Angus, I needed to be a long way away before he came round from the beating.
There was a bus - I tried to recall the number, seventy seven, I thought, but wasn’t sure. It would take me to the town and from there I just had to find the station. I wasn’t going to make it to York on time, but I hoped to get far away enough from Angus to make my mark, at least, challenging to trace. With the pendant clutched firmly in my hand I found my way to the gates. They were locked. The only way I was going to get out was to climb my way over the gates.
My eyes dropped to my stomach and I suppressed a laugh. I really couldn’t see any way it could end well but resolved to try. Lifting my right foot onto the wrought iron crossbar, I heaved myself up onto the gate.
Two young men walked past me as I balanced precariously on the top bar. They both stopped and for a moment stared. It was difficult to look causal and inconspicuous so I didn’t bother trying. Hanging from the top of the gate I shouted down to the men.
“I don’t suppose either of you two would mind giving me hand?”
“Yes, of course,” one said running toward me.
Thankfully they were both of above average height, which meant that they were finally able to reach my dangling frame and extract it from the gate.
“Thank you so much,” I said, wondering if it would be appropriate to shake their hands or if a simple ‘thank you’ would suffice.
“Errr, what were you doing up there?” the thicker-set of the two asked.
“I went to visit my father’s grave but I must have fallen asleep on one of the benches, because when I woke up it was dark and the gates were locked,” I lied, wondering if there was any chance they would believe me.
“Right,” he said. “Take care, it’s cold enough to freeze the ba-”
“That’ll do, Josh,” said the skinny one. “The lady doesn’t need to hear the rest.”
“Well, thank you again,” I said, straightening my top over my baby bump.
“See ya,” they said, walking off.
I had absolutely no idea what to do next and couldn’t decide if I should turn left or right or park my rear end on a bench I spotted.
Eventually the cold air inspired me to move and I turned left, for no particular reason other than it seemed to take me in the opposite direction to Angus’ house. I desperately regretted not picking up my coat as I made my way down a hill which appeared to run alongside a golf course. I wasn’t comfortable walking on the sidewalk and cowered at every car that drove past, fearing it might be Angus.
Turning to look at the wide expanse of unlit ground, I ducked through a broken wire fence and made my way across the course.
I hadn’t gone far before a crippling pain grabbed my stomach. Resting against the trunk of a tree on the edge of a fairway I lowered my shoulders and tried to breathe through the pain. This was the second contraction since the girls had left with Jenny. I’d never had two so close together. Panting furiously I became aware of a warm liquid running down the inside of my leggings. For one moment I thought I had wet myself. Then another contraction gripped me and more liquid poured down my legs. Alone on a golf course I had gone into labor, and as that horrifying thought struck me, I realized that I hadn’t the faintest idea what to do. Panic took hold and my body started to shake. My back slid down the tree trunk and I came to rest on the long, frozen grass in the rough.
I wasn’t far enough away from Angus, the baby was too early, I was alone, lost, and in a foreign place. My head swam in an ever-growing vortex of confusion. I needed to focus, to calm down and think, but I was no longer coherent. I was going to freeze to death, and Angus was going to take my child. My people were going to die, and my baby used to perpetuate evil.
Another contraction sent me forward onto my hands and knees. My thoughts inverted, consumed, owned and crippled by pain. Exhausted, I rolled onto my side and lay frozen on the icy ground.
In my dream I felt him beside me, lifting me from the frozen ground. Another contraction took hold as he rocked me in his arms. I could hear his voice, soft and gentle, whispering my name. My husband’s voice grew urgent.
“Do it, Eilidh, light the bloody candle and get us out of here,” I heard him growl.
I wanted to touch him, to tell him I loved him. But I couldn’t because I was too weak, and in some distant part of my mind I came to understand that I was dying.
******
Part Two
Innocent as Doves
How do we live good lives when so much evil surrounds us?
God told us, “You are sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”
So many before you have died so that you can be that sheep.
It’s been a tough journey thus far, and no one is coming out free from pain.
But those that survive will be stronger than before.
Corran’s story is coming to an end
.
We must be reminded that her tale affects more than just those around her.
It affects all the sheep, wolves, serpents and doves in existence.
Even the Stag.
******
CHAPTER 17
‘Ye Olde Starre Inne’, York - 20th December, Modern Day
As they materialized in the front room of the pub the worried faces of their family and friends crowded round.
“What is the date?” Simon barked.
“The twentieth,” Kate whispered.
“Put her down on here,” said a short blond man in his mid-thirties.
“You must be Graham,” Simon said gruffly, laying his wife on the table indicated by the man.
“I am, Sir, and you must be Simon. Good to know you.” The men shook hands.
“Rose and Kate, do you remember what I told you?” he asked.
They both nodded. “Good, then may I ask the rest of you to leave.” He turned to Simon, “I’ll do my best for your wife.”
“I’m not leaving,” Simon growled.
“Fine, but stay out of my way. The first time you interfere, I stop. Do I make myself clear?” Graham replied.
“Perfectly.”
“What’s happened to her?” Rose asked, nodding at the blood seeping onto the table.
“I think it’s placenta praevia, but she’s also gone into labor. Do either of you know if she had any bleeding earlier in the pregnancy?” he asked, gently feeling around her swollen abdomen.
They both shook their head. “No, I’m sorry, we don’t,” replied Rose.
“What is this placenta praevia?” Simon asked, grim faced.
Graham turned his head to face Simon. “It’s a complication. Has your wife ever had an abortion?”
“No,” Simon replied with a dark, dangerous look. “This is Corran’s first pregnancy.”
“Are you sure she is only pregnant with one child?”
“Yeah, absolutely sure. Corran had a couple of scans a few months ago,” Rose said, interrupting Simon and Graham.
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