"Even if he comes back, I'm going home, Marian." Kendra's voice was tight with anguish. "I've asked him to go with me but he refuses." She stopped and covered her face with both hands. Going home. Leaving Navarre. How could one thought bring such joy and the other such grief?
"I brought you your bag," Marian said, her eyes soft with sympathy. She went outside and after a few minutes came back carrying the familiar leather satchel. "You left it behind and I thought you might need your things."
Kendra opened the bag and was surprised and pleased to find both of her cameras. "Thank you, Marian."
"Do you feel like coming outside?" Cennach said, poking his head in suddenly at the doorway. "We are going to have a brief ceremony for Magda."
"Of course," Kendra said, throwing the light coverlet off of her. She stood and took Marian's hand. "Come, Marian, let's tell her good-bye."
The forest did not lend itself well to digging graves since the ground was covered with bracken, bramble, tree roots, and rocks, but Friar Tuck and Cennach had managed to carve a shallow grave for Magda. As the brief service came to an end and the sun set behind the hills, the two men shoveled what dirt there was into the grave, then the four of them worked quickly to cover the grave with rocks to keep animals from desecrating the makeshift tomb.
"I'm afraid we have yet another task left to us," Friar Tuck said abruptly as he stood from his task and eased his back with one hand. "As we approached the forest, in yon glen we saw some of Garrick's men. Navarre must have killed them before he arrived here."
"That duty must wait until morning, my friend," Cennach said. "The night is not safe. Predators abound."
"Aye," said the priest, nodding. "I confess I feel no great compunction to make sure their souls reach a safe haven, wicked as that may sound. I will to bed. These bones grow wearier by the minute."
"The women will sleep in the small bedroom and I have coverlets on the floor in the larger room for us," Cennach said. "I will be in shortly." The priest said his good nights, then he rose and disappeared into the house, his shoulders still slumped dejectedly.
"I, too, am ready to sleep." Marian stifled a yawn. "Kendra, are you coming?"
Kendra turned toward Cennach, feeling infinitely tired and all too aware of how much farther she had to go before this night was over.
"Cennach, I know you are as weary as I am, but we can't put this off any longer." She moved toward the old man and laid one hand gently across his arm. "Tell me how I can get back home."
Chapter Eighteen
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Marian's eyes widened. "Suddenly I am not sleepy at all." She sat back down beside Kendra, her hands clasped around her knees, her expression expectant.
Cennach smiled at the eager look on her face, then turned to Kendra. "It is quite a tale. Are you sure you don't want to wait until tomorrow to hear it?"
Kendra nodded, fighting the impatience she felt even as she knew she must hear Cennach's words. Right that moment she wanted nothing so much as to ride after Robin and stop him, to warn Navarre, but for the sake of her child she had to sit here and listen to Cennach's story.
The professor was silent for a very long time, and Kendra had to control herself to keep from jumping up and shaking the words from the man. At last, he began to speak.
"Marian does not know I am from another time." He glanced over at her and she smiled.
"After meeting Kendra," she said, "I began to suspect perhaps that was why you knew such wondrous things you taught me about, things she seemed to be aware of also."
Cennach nodded. "Very astute of you, my dear. Magda always said you were my best student."
"The professor is the man who was teaching you about science," Kendra said thoughtfully, shivering against the cold night air. She turned back to Cennach. "Did Magda know, I mean that you were from another time?"
"Yes. She sought me out when she heard of the "madman" living in the forest." He gestured to Marian. "You see, Marian, in my own time I was a university professor, a teacher, and I taught my students exactly what I've been teaching you for the last few years. I had been studying the relationship between phenomena—those are unusual and unexplainable occurrences—and physics for many years, always from a skeptic's point of view. One of those phenomena was that of the mysterious crop circles. I had read a great deal about the circles and when I heard a contest was to be held in England, offering a prize to the person able to duplicate a crop circle, I decided to come over."
"I remember reading about that," Kendra interjected. "It was said that the man-made crop circle was exactly the same as the 'real' crop circles."
"Wait, what is a 'crop circle'?" Marian asked, her pale brows pressed together.
Quickly Kendra explained the mysterious circles that had led her to England in the first place. Marian smiled and Kendra couldn't help but notice the difference in the attractive young woman sitting beside her and the mousy teenager she had first met in Nottingham.
"Oh, you mean the fairy circles. I've always known they were magical. Do you mean they have something to do with your travels through time?" Her eyes widened again and her hand slipped through the crook of Kendra's arm, like a child at a horror movie who needs reassurance. Kendra laughed softly and squeezed her hand.
"I am getting to that," Cennach said, frowning at her with what Kendra recognized as a dearly familiar gesture. "I went to England to make my own decision regarding the 'contest' and found that something amazing had happened. While one crop circle was being manufactured—and it literally took six to seven hours—a so-called 'real' crop circle appeared in a nearby field in what locals report was less than an hour's time. I observed both the fabricated circle and the one which appeared so quickly, prepared to find no differences." He paused dramatically and Kendra leaned toward him.
"And?" she prodded.
"There were striking differences in the way the stalks were pressed down, at least, differences that could be seen under the microscope. I also observed something rather extraordinary."
"Little green men?" Kendra asked flippantly, then smiled as the professor frowned down at her.
"A blue light, accompanied by a popping sound, appeared as I walked through the 'real' circle."
"Did you say a blue light? I saw blue lights!"
"Did you, now?" His green eyes twinkled with the good humor she remembered from his class. "Well, I began to do more research on the subject, studying the work of other physicists. I began to be fascinated with the possibility that some power was actually creating the circles, or was generated by the circles, and as I studied more, I began to feel there was an intelligence behind the creations."
"Intelligence? Do you mean like aliens from another planet?" Kendra frowned at the old man.
Cennach shook his head. "I don't know for certain what I mean, but tell me, when you crossed through the portal, before you passed out, did you feel anything unusual?"
Kendra considered the question. "Well, I'm not sure," she said. "It felt as if a magnet were pulling me into the center of the circle, and there was a buzzing feeling under my skin—but, yes, now that I think about it, before I was pulled into the circle, I felt like someone was there, watching me, or following me."
"Yes." Cennach nodded. "I had the same experience."
"Wait a minute." Kendra sat up straighter, her mind whirling with Cennach's words. "You said portals. Do you mean the circles themselves are portals of time?"
"It isn't the circles themselves that are the portals I speak of, but the force which forms the circles. That power creates a portal—an entryway if you will—to other times. It is in the midst of its creation that the time portal opens."
He drew his knees up to his chest and gazed up at the stars beginning to appear before going on. "I've spent the last twenty years trying to figure out the mathematics as well as the physics, but simply put, when a circle is being formed, intensely powerful magnetic waves are harnessed into a kind of 'whirlpool' or 'tornado' effect that pushes t
he grain in the field down into the intricate patterns. Some people believe there are certain places in the world where these magnetic waves are more powerful, more concentrated. My theory is that these waves also possess a heretofore undiscovered quality that disrupts the time-space continuum."
"Wow," Kendra said.
"Wow," Marian echoed, then tried the new word again under her breath a few times until Kendra poked her with her elbow.
The two women were silent for a long moment, then Kendra lifted her own gaze to the star-studded sky. "But what creates the magnetic waves?"
Cennach frowned. "Therein lies the mystery. Is it the work of extraterrestrials playing god with lowly humans? Is it God Himself? Is it a natural phenomenon that has unnatural consequences? All were possibilities I had to consider. As to why the portal opened into this particular time period, I do not know."
"But if they opened to the same time, why are you so old?" Kendra blurted, asking the question that had been on her mind since the beginning of their conversation. "You were a young man when you disappeared."
Cennach laughed and rose stiffly to his feet. "Thank you my dear. I was actually a middle-aged man of fifty-one illustrious years. One night I was sitting in a field of wheat that had been known to be frequented by crop circles and a forming one took me away. I was transported back in time also, but to the year 1171, not 1194. Why my circle took me to a different year, again, I do not know." He spread his hands apart. "I have been living here for the last twenty-three years."
"Did you ever try to return?" Marian asked.
"Yes, I did. That is how I learned the secret of time travel. Tell me, Kendra," he said abruptly. "How long have you been in the past?"
She shrugged. "When I arrived it was the middle of February, so almost two months, I guess." Apprehension gripped Kendra's chest. "What's wrong? There isn't some kind of time limit, is there?"
Cennach shook his head. "I have no idea if the portals will open indefinitely for a traveler, or if there are time constraints, but I suggest we do not delay. You must seek out your circle."
"Seek out my—Cennach, this is all very confusing," she said. Marian nodded silently. The sun was gone and the night air chilling. Kendra's cloak had been used to wrap Magda's broken body and she rubbed her arms vigorously, refusing to allow herself to think about the priestess. "So, cut to the chase, Professor, please, and tell me how do I get home?"
"Be patient, my dear. I am getting to that. After a couple of months of observing medievalism, I felt I should try to find a way to return to my own time. As a scientist it seemed imperative to return and write about my experiences—one experience in particular."
"One experience?"
He sighed. "Before I stumbled into the time portal in England, I had just learned that I had terminal cancer."
Kendra laid one hand on the professor's arm, her eyebrows knit together in concern. "Oh, Professor, no."
"Can-cer—what is that?" Marian asked.
"A terrible disease in our time," Kendra said softly. "It's often fatal." Her fingers tightened around Cennach's arm and he patted her hand reassuringly.
"It's all right, my dear, for you see, after I had been in this century for a few days, I realized something extremely odd—I no longer felt ill. I began to gain weight as I found my appetite again. My pain was gone."
"That's marvelous! But how?"
"I don't know, but I have a theory. I traveled backward to the past, to a time before I was ever born." His bushy brows lifted and he smiled. "How could I have cancer when I have never yet existed?"
"Wow," Marian said, and Kendra smiled involuntarily.
"Go on," she urged.
"I felt even more compelled to return then, to show my colleagues that here was possibly a way to cure mankind of its most deathly disease." He laughed at the amazed look on her face. "Oh, I know, it sounds crazy, but having experienced the ravages of the disease, I knew people would risk anything on the chance it would cure them. The scientific community had to know!" His fist came down into his palm with a resounding thud. Kendra reached over and covered his hands with one of her own.
"They didn't believe you, did they?"
He shook his head, his eyes downcast. "No, and who could blame them? Not only was my story of time travel ridiculous, but as soon as I reached my own time, my cancer returned. When my doctor gave me the news, I headed back to my apartment, packed a bag with equipment and supplies and headed back to England."
"And you found another forming crop circle?" Kendra asked, astonished. "Aren't the odds against that happening phenomenal?"
"Yes, in fact, I did the math and they are over a trillion to one. That was when I began to believe the circles were not just aberrations of nature, but works of a higher intelligence." He spread his hands apart. "How else can you explain the fact that when I returned to the field where I was first taken back in time, the circle reappeared and for the second time swept me back to the same year, 1171? Once here, my cancer disappeared again and I have been as healthy as a horse ever since. Unfortunately, the aging process is one that seems to be a factor for me whether I have literally been born yet or not."
Cennach chuckled, smoothing the rough brown material of his robe with both hands, his brows knit thoughtfully together.
"Once I had chosen to stay here, I began to see that my knowledge and my experience were needed here for various things—medicine for one. You see, I had always wanted to be a doctor but my life took another path. In this time, however, just knowing how to clean a wound properly can mean the difference between life and death. I began to see I could make a difference. I took on a few students, eventually Magda and Marian, as well as a youth or two who have promising potential—"
"But Professor," Kendra interrupted, "aren't you afraid of damaging the balance of history, of changing things by being here?"
"Now that is a very good question," he said, staring up at the stars. "There is no easy way to explain something so complex," he said, his green eyes flickering across the heavens. "I have worked very hard on the calculations involved, and it would seem that unless I introduced some vastly unknown quantity—for instance produced a mechanical engine or a gun—" He lowered his gaze to hers and smiled as Kendra grimaced "—before its proper time in history, or unless I caused the death of some historic person of consequence, then there is little danger. We have come so far back in time as to make the changes our normal, everyday existence would cause to be inconsequential."
"I see." Kendra kept her gaze on the heavens too, her mind whirling. She could stay in the past and not worry about hurting anything. The problem was, she didn't want to stay, not if her baby was at risk.
"Now, my dear, let us talk about your return."
"Yes." She turned and faced him. "How do I get back?"
"I believe if you return to the field of Avebury, your circle will come for you."
Kendra shivered at the thought of some paranormal entity "coming" for her. "It must have been hard on you, staying here all that time, alone."
"Oh, I wasn't alone. I had Magda as a friend." His voice softened. "I will mourn her passing once this is all over." He brightened. "And I have enjoyed my students like Marian and others." He glanced over at the young woman half asleep beside him and his lips curved up gently. "And I have helped people here. All in all, my life has been most rewarding."
"Professor." Kendra gripped his arm as a sudden, terrible thought struck her. "If I return to my own time, will I still be pregnant, or will it have been taken away because this happened in the past?"
Ceannch frowned. "I have considered that question already and I believe you will still be pregnant. Your trip through time will not be erased. It happened, and anything which took place here, will still have happened."
"But your cancer—"
"The cancer was a condition I had before I came here. It was not a result of my being in this time. If I had, for instance, lost a leg in this time, then returned to my own time, I would stil
l be legless. Does that help you, my dear?"
Kendra sighed. "Yes, but it is terribly confusing."
"I agree." He turned and faced her, taking one of her hands in his. "Kendra, either the circle will take you home or it won't. Either you will be pregnant when you return or you will not. It is up to you to decide if you are willing to take these chances."
"But how do you know the circle won't take me back to some other time—a more ancient time?"
"All I can tell you is what my experience has been. I was brought back to my own time, only days after I left."
"And you think there is an intelligent force governing these portals?" She shook her head. "It's frightening to think about putting your life in the hands of some otherworldly beings, although maybe that's preferable to simply jumping into some crazy phenomenon! But what if they don't like me?"
Cennach laughed and dropped his hands from her shoulders. "Remember, there is a possibility that a higher power is at work, not necessarily an alien one. Perhaps I was needed here. Perhaps you were. Who knows? But you don't have to leave, my dear. You are quite welcome to stay here. I'm sure Navarre would be thrilled if you chose not to go."
Kendra moved away from the professor. "I can't. Magda saw in the runes that if I remained in the past I would die in childbirth, along with my baby. Of course, it's possible Magda is wrong about everything. I might not even be pregnant. I have no proof, at least not yet."
The older man's smile disappeared and he shook his head, a solemn look on his face. "Magda was seldom wrong in her prophecies. By all means, then, you must return to your own time. It was a full moon moon when you arrived. In a fortnight the moon will once again be full. We will try then."
"I want Navarre to come back with me," she said softly. "Is that possible, do you think? Would it change something? Hurt history?"
Cennach shook his head. "I do not know. I have never gauged the outcome of such a scenario. We have traveled to the past. Navarre would be traveling to the future."
Tess Mallory - Circles in Time Page 30
