Brendan was kneeling next to her. But he seemed strangely elevated. She rolled her head further and saw his knees. They were at eye level, but on the ground. That’s when the realization struck.
I’m in the basin. I’m on MacKay Hill!
The knowledge startled her. How had she gotten here?
Stephanie looked around some more. All of the torches were lit, encompassing her. The whole of the Home Coven was in its ceremonial white tunics and stood around Brendan.
Stephanie panicked for a moment. Then another realization struck her and put her back at ease.
Cailleach. I’m here to channel Cailleach.
She tried again to move her arms, but she was still unable to do so. It felt like…
Stephanie looked down at her right arm extended alongside her white-clothed body. Her wrist was tied to a wood stake in the ground. She scrunched her brow in confusion, then looked back up at Brendan.
“What’s going…?” She looked down her right side again. Her white clothing wasn’t a tunic. She lifted her head and looked down the full length of her body. She was wearing the sacrifice dress!
“Brendan, what—?”
“Shhh.” He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. “I told you that you were important, that you were even crucial to what we were going to accomplish as a culture and a religion. Remember?” He reached his left hand to her brow and smoothed her forehead with his thumb. “How long have you doubted your purpose? Hmm?”
“Brendan, this can’t… This can’t be right! I’m Picti! We’ve got to bring the girl. The MacAlpin girl. The one that Uilliam and Grainne are fetching.” She made sure to use their Pictish names.
“You, my princess, are that girl.”
“I’m Picti!” she screamed.
“Now, now. Don’t be distressed. I’ve treated you well, haven’t I? All these years, haven’t I treated you like the Scottish royalty that you are?” He thought for a moment. “Okay, well, until recently when you began to think too highly of yourself.” He smirked at her. “That’s a little ironic. Isn’t it?”
Her eyes narrowed with anger. “I … am … Picti!” she growled.
“You, my dear, are MacAlpin.”
She began to panic again. She knew how the MacAlpin girl was to die. She had to convince him that he was making a mistake.
“Brendan, listen to me…”
“Hmm?” Brendan lifted his eyebrows in mock interest.
“Think this through! You’re making a mistake! It’s the other girl, the one that we’ve been researching. The girl we located in that suburb of Cincinnati. Blue… Blue…”
“Ah, yes. Blue Ash.”
“Yes! In Blue Ash! Tabitha! Tabitha MacAlpin!”
Brendan pulled his lips in tight and shook his head. “I’m sorry, Steph. I’m afraid that whole search was nothing but a ruse.” He shifted his weight and his countenance changed. He was no longer amused.
“You see, when I left Scotland to move to America, I already knew about your family; your mom’s side of the family, that is.”
“My mom? What does she—?”
Brendan cut her off. “She, Stephanie O’Leary,” he continued in a snide tone, “had one of the target names. Her maiden name was Dunkeld. It seemed back then, and trust me, I’ve confirmed it since, that her father came from an unbroken lineage of Dunkelds…” He moved his head back and forth, reconsidering a thought. “… as far as I’ve been able to prove, anyway. And, trust me, Steph, I am an outstanding researcher. I’m sorry, but you’re it. That’s just the way it is; the way it was always meant to be.”
Brendan looked up, seeming to peer into the darkness that lay beyond the mound, then returned to his thoughts. “The Dunkelds have a storied history as royalty. You should actually be very proud,” he said with a nod of his head. “Anyway, the Dunkeld dynasty came from another prestigious, albeit evil, family bloodline called the MacAlpins. Princess Beatrix MacAlpin, to be precise. And in case you’re interested, she was the Heiress of Scone about a hundred-and-forty years after her bad-guy relative, Kenneth, destroyed so many of my relatives.”
He stood up, towering above her. Brushing the dirt from his bare knees, he said, “And that is why you, Stephanie, are in a hole in the ground.”
As if struck by an afterthought, he crouched down before her again. “I do appreciate all of the, you know, favors over the years. You’ve been quite pleasurable.”
He laughed, got up, and walked off the mound.
Trophy! Whore!
It had been true all along.
Her breathing became rapid as another wave of panic rose within. Tears rolled down her cheeks. She lifted her head, and began to plead with the others before her.
“Charlotte? Taran? Please, help me. Cut me loose.”
While Charlotte seemed to have a certain amount of pity in her eyes, Taran just laughed. Stephanie used to appreciate his strong, joyful laugh.
Brendan called back as he walked toward the farmhouse. “Ladies! Gentlemen! This way, please. Final prep!”
And just like that, Stephanie was alone.
1:09 A.M.
FORMER MILLSVILLE POLICE sergeant, Brent Lawton, and Corporal Tracy Larkin crept up the gravel and grass driveway that approached the Baird farmhouse. Their purpose, for now, was to be on-scene and out of sight. Brent wished, now, that Millsville’s police uniforms had incorporated dark, rather than white, shirts.
The trees that lined the right side of the driveway seemed to end about a hundred feet in front of the farmhouse. To the left side of the drive was a thick wooded area that extended as far back as they were able to see in the darkness. Brent took out his Droid cell phone and turned back toward the road, using his body to block the light from its screen. He opened up the Maps application that they had used to get there and saw the final destination still pinpointed on the screen. He clicked the ‘Layers’ button and then ‘Satellite.’ The screen changed from a road map to that of a daylight satellite view of their location.
Zooming in, he was able to get a pretty good idea of the layout of the property. He could see the shape of the house, the garage behind it, and a large clearing to the right.
Brent nudged Tracy who turned around and looked at the phone. Brent whispered, “Chances are, this field is where they will hold the ceremony.” Tracy nodded and turned back to the house.
They were only about thirty feet from the road and still a good football-field-distance away from the house. The trees to their right were simply too thick to see through, so they really had no idea at all where anyone was at the moment.
“Brent!” said Tracy in a strained whisper. “Move!”
Tracy scampered into the trees, followed by Brent. They pushed in as far, and as quickly, as they could manage in order to hide their white uniform shirts from the vehicle that had approached and was now turning into the drive.
On their stomachs, Brent again had to force himself to contain a fractured-rib-generated groan. They watched as a dark-blue police cruiser rolled by. Another vehicle followed; a late-model, silver Chevy Camaro.
“Plate,” whispered Brent.
Tracy lifted himself and moved out close to the drive. After a moment he came back.
Tracy pulled a note pad out of his pocket. “Light.”
Brent lit up his Droid screen which provided enough light to write down the plate number and vehicle description.
“That was Connor,” said Larkin.
Brent only nodded.
They waited a couple of minutes before extracting themselves from the trees in the event there had been another vehicle straggling behind the first two.
Back in their crouching positions, Brent said, “You’re on Eldredge’s frequency, right?”
Tracy looked to make sure, then nodded.
“Let him know we’re in position and that Connor just arrived. Find out about state and county.”
Larkin whispered into the mic on his left shoulder. “Eldredge. 20.” He placed his fingers on the
volume control; wanting it only loud enough to make out what was said.
Fortunately, the majority of Ten Codes that the two departments used were the same. All of the codes that were going to be needed tonight had been discussed on the way out of Millsville.
“Copy you, Larkin. 20 is leaving Pittston P.D. Conferring with upper management to be.”
“60 on state and county?”
“Confirmation. They are rolling.”
“77 on them and you?”
“State and county, ten minutes plus. Management and I, seven to nine.”
“Contact again. Tell them to run hot and silent. No lights.
“10-4.”
“4 and out.” He looked at Brent. “Did you get that?”
Brent nodded. “Come on. We need to get closer.”
BRENDAN WALKED UP to Uilliam and Grainne as they exited their vehicles in front of the house. He was encouraged by the smiles on their faces.
“Everything went perfectly,” said Uilliam. “It was just a very unfortunate accident in the middle of nowhere.”
“Excellent!” exclaimed Brendan.
“City resources will be out of our way and focused on the other side of town for a while. Does Cowan know about the … umm … unfortunate loss of life, yet?”
“He does. He’s inside grieving his dear sister now.”
“Will he be trouble?”
Brendan shook his head. “Not at all. He understands that it needed to be done. Regardless, tonight’s ceremony will have cemented his dedication had there been any wavering. I’m also pretty sure that he’d hate to have something so tragic occur in his own path… so to speak. How’s Sòlas?”
“He’s pretty bruised and raw, but he otherwise came out of it intact. He deserves a big pat on the back when we see him in the morning.” Connor looked over at the mound in the distance. “I see she’s awake and aware.”
Brendan looked over, as well. Stephanie was straining to keep her neck elevated in order to see what was going on.
He shouted over to her. “We’ll be there soon, MacAlpin! Be patient!”
Both of the men, as well as Grainne, laughed.
“What do we need to do?” asked Uilliam.
“Change into your tunics. We’ve been waiting on you two.”
TARA WAS DESPERATE for news.
She sat in front of her laptop once again. Jenna was just inches away, sitting to her left. They made sure that they could both be seen at the same time as they talked with Karen.
“Karen, I just can’t sit here wondering. You’ve got to understand that.”
“That’s not the point, and you know it. You are not equipped to be in proximity to what’s going on out there.”
“Maybe not. But I can’t think of a reason why I can’t be there immediately after everything goes down. I’ve got to find out about Stephanie!”
Karen stared at her through the screen for a few moments. Finally, she said, “Tara, get going. It’s not like you’re seeking my permission anyway. Right now, though, make a wise decision concerning your daughter.”
“Aunt Karen, I’m going with my mom. That is the wise decision. I need to know about Dad.” She looked into her mom’s eyes, pleading.
“Tara…” Karen didn’t say anything else. The way she said her name was pregnant with meaning and emphasis.
Tara looked at her daughter. “Put your shoes on and grab some bottled water. I’m going to need it.”
Jenna removed herself from the table immediately.
“Tara!” exclaimed Karen. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Karen, I love you. And I appreciate you beyond anything you can possibly understand. But she and I have got to do this. Together.” Tara continued. “Jenna has been in this with us from the beginning. She’s earned her place beside me while I do this.”
Karen sighed. “I guess this is goodnight, then. At least on here. I’m going to keep my ringer on, so please call me once everything is settled. Okay?”
“Don’t worry. I wouldn’t think of keeping you out of the loop. As soon as I know anything I will call you. I love you, Karen.”
“I love you, too, Tara.”
A shout from the living room. “Love you, Aunt Karen!”
Everything she had believed in for thirty years ended up being a lie.
She whimpered alone in the night. The far off sounds of laughter and talking were only on the periphery of importance. At the forefront of her thoughts were all of the preparations she had made that were supposed to be leading to the death of a different woman.
I’m the woman. I’ve always been the woman.
For years she had been orchestrating her own death. And now she lay in a dress that she had jealously wanted to wear herself.
The irony was a stench in her mind.
“It’s for the best, my lovely.”
Her eyes opened wide with realization.
Aldinar!
“Help me,” she whispered. “Guide me from this. Please! I’m not supposed to die.”
“From the time you were born, you were predestined to die. Whether by pain or in peace, it’s all the same.”
“But… I’m supposed to be…” she stammered.
Supposed to be what? she wondered. She realized that the larger portion of her life had been sequestered from the rest of the world. The friendships that she had developed existed only within the Picti people. She hadn’t held a job since she was in her early twenties, she knew no one in the community; not a single neighbor. She would never even be missed. How could I have been so blind?
“Aldinar, you…” She didn’t want to finish the question, but needed to learn the truth. “All this time, you knew I was the appeasement sacrifice?”
“It has always been your destiny. At the moment of your birth I had chosen you.”
“What?” The statement seemed impossible. It was impossible!
Unless.
Unless Aldinar had been lying in wait. Waiting for the right time in history to bring all of this together.
“He was meant to find you, my beloved. You were his from the beginning. He thinks he found you, but he was led.”
Anger mixed with understanding. She had been naïvely guided to this place. A twelve-hundred-year-old circle had been completed; from MacAlpin’s betrayal of the Picts to the Picts betrayal of a MacAlpin.
“Very soon, my dear… Very soon, you and I will be face to face. I hope you enjoy what you see.”
A shiver coursed through her body. Soon she would enter the Otherealm.
But if everything else had been a lie…
Stephanie pulled hard at the bindings on her arms and legs and screamed at the top of her lungs!
“AHHHhhhhh!”
BRENT’S GUN WAS out of his holster in a flash. The scream cut him to the core.
He and Larkin had made their way to the edge of the tree line and were able to see the ceremonial mound to their right at a distance.
The drawing of his weapon had been pure reflex. He knew that there was no immediate danger of Stephanie’s demise with everyone congregated at the front of the house.
Jim Connor came storming out of the house with his weapon pointed toward the sky, shoulder height. The normally impressive looking man looked like a buffoon as he scrambled off the porch in a near panic, wearing nothing but a toga-looking dress.
He must have thought they’d been found out. Now that he’s had a scare, he’s going to be more wary.
As if to emphasize the point, the Pittston police chief looked over his police cruiser and past the Camaro in the direction of the driveway. Brent and Tracy pulled back slightly until they could no longer see him. Hopefully their shirts hadn’t been noticed.
A moment later, Brent heard the sound of footsteps behind him; the soft crunching of gravel underfoot. He swung around, aiming into the darkness, his eyes unable to adjust quickly from the lights at the front of the house.
“Stand down!” came a whispered command.
He lowered his weapon as the voice registered in his brain.
“Eldredge?”
“And Lieutenant Given”
Brent and Larkin quietly trekked back to the other men. It turned out that there were two other cops with them.
The lieutenant noticed Brent’s missing badge immediately.
“You’re not a cop?” He looked at Eldredge.
Brent answered. “Not as of 4:30 this past afternoon.” He wasn’t going to get into the details. Instead he deflected the subject. “This is Corporal Larkin. He is a cop.”
The lieutenant took the hint. “SITREP.”
With that word, Brent assumed that Given must have had a military background. SITREP was a military acronym for ‘Situation Report.’
“A woman by the name of Stephanie O’Leary is restrained, back to the ground, about seventy to eighty yards to the right of our position. Looks like she’s on some sort of ceremonial mound. I haven’t gotten a firm count, but there are at least ten people milling about the front of the house. It appears that they’re about to head out to Miss O’Leary’s location to perform some sort of ceremony. I’ve got reason to believe that they intend to ritually sacrifice her. I don’t know how many people remain in the house, but your boss just came out with his weapon drawn. Unknown if any of the others have weapons.”
“Okay,” said the Pittston lieutenant, “we sit tight and wait on county and state. They should be here in a couple of minutes. We go in alone only if we know the woman is in imminent danger.”
“Yes, sir,” replied Brent. He looked at Larkin who gave a nod toward the Pittston cop. Brent understood.
“Sir, do we have your permission to be in your jurisdiction for this action?” He needed to have clarification, if only for Tracy’s peace of mind.
“I’m giving you and Larkin a ‘Jurisdiction Grantor,’ Lawton. I’m not sure how that’s going to play out with you, though. You’re not a cop, and I don’t exactly have deputizing powers.”
“I understand. I submit to your authority.”
Given nodded.
They sat tight.
When Darkness Comes Page 30
