Only seven hours, Taylor thought nervously to herself. Seven hours until she stepped into the unknown, risking everything for a man and an existence she didn’t even know. Jerking on her jeans as she tried to shake herself out of the mounting panic, Taylor stared at her reflection in the mirror, silently wondering to herself how she’d ever gotten into this mess.
Sitting at the table, Taylor arranged and rearranged the elaborate omelet on her plate. No matter how she moved the bits of food around on her plate, they didn’t look any more inviting. Drake and Mattie watched her as she sat staring down into her meal, lost in her mounting panic.
“You know…you don’t have to kill it before you eat it….it’s already dead.” Mattie commented drolly.
Glancing up from her plate into the concerned face of her friend, Taylor placed her fork on the table, then dropped her hands helplessly into her lap. “I’m sorry….I guess I’m just not hungry,” she apologized lamely.
Removing Taylor’s full plate from in front of her, Drake replaced it with a steaming cup of tea. Patting her gently on the shoulder, Drake said, “Here…drink some tea. It’s chamomile and it’ll help calm you.”
Smiling up at Drake, Taylor accepted the tea gratefully, staring down into the pale golden liquid. As she sipped at the soothing hot tea, she wandered over to the window, gazing out across the beach at the waves.
Watching Taylor staring sightlessly out the window, Mattie motioned quietly for Drake to join her at the sink. “I’m worried about her…are you sure we should push her to do this? Taylor’s never believed in this sort of thing.” Her face covered with concern, she whispered quietly, glancing over her shoulder at Taylor standing alone. Taylor looked so helpless, so completely lost in her thoughts.
As Drake scraped the plates into a bowl by the sink, he quietly replied, “Mattie…it’s for her own good. You saw the cards, the rune casting…it’s her destiny.”
Pressing her lips firmly together as she filled the kitchen sink with soapy water, Mattie sighed, her heart filled with gnawing frustration. “I know…it’s just that she’s so frightened. In fact, I’m a little afraid of all this myself.”
Slipping the dirty dishes beneath the layer of suds, Drake nodded in agreement. “I know what you’re saying. The unknown is always frightening but think of the possibilities for Taylor…the opportunity she has here to embrace a rich and exciting adventure.” At the sound of Taylor’s footsteps coming toward them across the room, Mattie and Drake cut their conversation short. Industriously scrubbing the breakfast dishes, as though that were their only concern in the world.
Placing her empty teacup on the counter, Taylor stood between Mattie and Drake. Draping her arms lightly across their shoulders, she whispered into their ears. “You know…I’m very concerned about what’s going to happen tonight, but not so concerned that my hearing still isn’t quite good. If you two are going to voice your opinions about me, you might want to consider going to another room for a little privacy.”
Faces reddening slightly, Mattie nodded knowingly at Drake as they both filled their hands with mounds of soapsuds and proceeded to wipe them all over Taylor’s face. Shocked at the surprise attack, Taylor quickly countered by grabbing the nearby wet dishtowel and administering well-aimed snaps. The horseplay helped relieve the mounting tension and the three were soon laughing and panting to catch their breath as they dropped into their seats at the dining room table.
Not wanting to slip back into an atmosphere of dreaded anticipation, Mattie grabbed a deck of playing cards from the nearby cupboard and began dealing. Keeping the conversation light and concentrating on their cards, the three whiled away the afternoon playing gin, studiously ignoring the unknown future ticking closer with every chime of the clock.
As the clock on the mantle struck the hour of five o’clock, Taylor swallowed hard in an attempt to dislodge the rising knot stuck in the middle of her throat. “We’d better get started,” Drake said quietly, slowly gathering up the cards and putting them back in the box.
“Let me get my sweater,” Mattie replied, rising quickly from the table and hurrying to her bedroom on the other side of the croft.
Taylor sat silently at the table, staring down at her folded hands. She wasn’t sure what was about to happen, but she’d resigned herself to following it through. “Mama didn’t raise me to be a quitter,” she reminded herself aloud. As Mattie returned from the bedroom pushing her arms through the sleeves of her sweater, Taylor quietly rose from the table and walked outside. When Drake and Mattie joined her a few moments later, they were surprised to find an elderly man standing by Taylor’s side.
“Magnus,” Taylor began, gesturing to Drake and Mattie with one hand. “I’d like you to meet my friends…Drake and Mattie.” Nodding first to Drake and then to Mattie, Taylor announced with a flourish, “Guys…this is my friend Magnus…the one I told you about.”
Reaching up to remove his tattered cap, Magnus bowed regally before Mattie, nodding curtly to Drake. “I’m pleased ta’ meet the both of ye. Ye’ve done well by yer friend here.”
Drake was struck speechless by the appearance of the old man but Mattie’s eyes glistened with excitement. Rushing up to hesitantly touch Magnus’ arm, Mattie’s wide eyes and amazed smile brought a quiet chuckle from the gnarled old man. “I’m so glad to finally meet you. You’re absolutely fascinating!” she breathed in adoration.
Finally finding his voice, Drake joined Mattie at Magnus’ side, quickly nodding in agreement. Reaching out to shake the knobby old hand, Drake’s voice quivered slightly as he said, “Delighted to meet you…very delighted sir!”
The introductions complete, Taylor turned toward the car. “We’d better go…it’s nearly time.” Sliding into the back seat of the car, she inhaled deeply as she stared out the window. Mattie joined her on the other side as Magnus and Drake sat up front.
Everyone was silent as they made their way to the stone circle, each person wondering what was about to ensue. When they reached the end of the side road, they parked the car and started up the footpath to the gate at the top of the hill. Taylor eyed the setting sun with trepidation; mentally gauging just how much longer it would be before the rays of sunlight struck the top of the stone opening the unseen gateway. As they drew closer to the forbidding megaliths, Taylor felt an increasing sense of uneasiness. As she walked by one of the stones that had fallen to its side, a sudden wave of nausea and dizziness brought her to a standstill.
Mattie and Drake rushed to Taylor’s side as Magnus watched with concern. Supporting her arms with their hands, they led her to sit upon a small stone lying on its side in the overgrown grass. Wiping the sweat from her clammy forehead, Taylor closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She’d come too far to turn back now. She had to see this through. Her stomach finally settling, Taylor rose with a nod to her friends and they continued to the center of the circle. Just to the side of the cairn, Taylor turned to watch the tall center stone and wait for the revealing ray of light.
As the sun seemed to settle on the surface of the stone, the shimmering crystals of the megalith caught the light and seemed to strengthen it. As the onlookers watched, a straight shaft of sunlight nearly white in its purity traveled from the top of the center stone, striking in the middle of the ruined cairn to flood the entrance with light. As Taylor looked into the cairn, she blinked to make sure she was seeing correctly. There in the center of the light filled cairn was a set of steps leading down into the earth, a heavy door was revealed at the base, slowly swinging open toward her.
Magnus gently nudged the small of Taylor’s back, whispering urgently into her ear, “Ye must go now lass…’tis no time to waste.” He nodded toward the steps as he spoke.
Turning to hug Mattie and Drake, Taylor struggled, choking back the tears as she bid her friends goodbye. “I’ll be back soon…don’t you two leave the isle without me, okay?” she hiccuped, her voice quivering with fear.
Tears shining in her dark blue eyes, Mattie gentl
y pushed Taylor toward the cairn. “We’ll be right here…go get Quinlan then hurry back,” she smiled, her chin quivering slightly as the tears threatened to overflow.
Grabbing Taylor to his chest, Drake whispered in her ear, “Take care…Taylor…I’m honored to have known you.” Drake’s words striking her as slightly odd, Taylor drew back, staring at him in confusion. But feeling the urgency of the passing shaft of light, Taylor shrugged away the gnawing doubt in the pit of her stomach, deciding she’d worry about Drake’s odd behavior later.
With a backward glance at the three of her friends, Taylor slowly began the descent down the sunlit steps of the cairn. The farther down the stairway she walked, the dizzier and more nauseated she felt. A strange wailing seemed to be filling her head, the sound pounding even louder then her heartbeat. By the time she’d reached the bottom of the stair, she was so ill she could barely stand. She forced herself to lunge forward through the doorway; trying to escape the ringing in her ears. She had no choice other then to move forward; she was too sick to make her way back up the stairs.
As she cautiously stepped through the doorway, Taylor could hear the blood rushing through her veins. Her heartbeat pounding out all other sound from her mind, black spots were soon swirling before her eyes. Taylor reached out frantically with both her hands, searching blindly for something to stop her from falling. The last thing she remembered before she completely lost consciousness was two strong hands gripping her…pulling her through the passage by her arms.
~*~
The ray of light was suddenly gone as the sun slipped the rest of the way behind the megalith, the dark cold shape of the stone now completely shadowing the cairn. Mattie turned quickly to Magnus and Drake, pointing worriedly to the center of the cairn. “They’re gone…the steps are gone! How will she get back out?” she cried, pulling at Drake’s sleeve to drag him closer to the cairn.
Drake reached out to take Mattie gently by the shoulders, turning her to face him. His face calm and sober, he stared down into Mattie’s frightened eyes. “She won’t be coming out…Mattie. Taylor’s gone forever.” Gripping Mattie’s shoulders tighter as the gist of his words hit her, Drake patiently waited for Mattie to see the truth.
Freezing in the midst of her struggle, Mattie’s mouth dropped open in dismay, searching Drake’s face for some other explanation. “Gone! She can’t be…she’s got to come back…she promised us she would!”
Pulling Mattie to his chest, Drake shushed her as he stroked her hair. As he cradled her gently in his arms, he calmly explained the situation as though talking to a frightened child. “Taylor didn’t know she’d never be coming back…the gateway only opens into this dimension once every few hundred years when the planets are correctly aligned. She’s gone back to where she belongs…her soul doesn’t belong in this place.”
Pushing away from his chest, as she stared up into his face, Mattie’s frightened gaze slowly turned to one of anger. “Taylor didn’t know…I didn’t know…but you knew this and you didn’t see fit to tell us?” Glaring up into Drake’s patronizing face, Mattie could feel the internal rage filling her body to overflowing.
Nodding grimly as he watched Mattie’s flashing eyes, Drake tried to explain as though talking to a dull witted child. “If I had told Taylor, she never would’ve gone…never would’ve realized her destiny. She doesn’t belong in this world, Mattie…I’ve watched her these past few weeks and I’m sure of it. It was for her own good.”
His calm voice and smug expression quickly fanning the flames of her smoldering anger even further, Mattie’s chest heaved with emotion as the injustice of the situation overwhelmed her. Pounding on his chest with her fists, Mattie spat into Drake’s face. As he let go of her shoulders to wipe her spittle from his eyes, she whirled on him; enraged at the deception he’d so easily allowed to play out. “What right do you have to decide who belongs or who doesn’t! I trusted you! I talked Taylor into trusting you!”
Her fury obliterating all sense of reason, Mattie glanced wildly about. Anxiously searching for a way to vent her anger, she whirled, her mind searching for a way to punish Drake. Spying the rocks lying about on the ground, Mattie quickly grabbed them, hurling them at Drake. “How could you!” she continued to scream, with each stone she lobbed at his head.
Hands raised against the attack, cringing and backing away from the irrational woman and her missiles, Drake didn’t see the sharp stone jutting through the ground behind him as he stumbled about the path. Throwing him off balance, Drake fell backwards as Mattie continued bearing down upon him, constantly firing the plentiful shards she continued to scoop from the ground. As his head cracked against a sharp protruding rock, Drake’s body suddenly grew quite still, his hands dropping limply over his body even though Mattie continued hurling the stones.
Strong hands grasping her by the shoulders, Mattie finally grew still as the red haze of her fury slowly diminished. “Stop it…lass!” came Magnus’ gruff voice through her rage. “The lad is dead.”
Running the back of her shaking hand across her tear streaked face, Mattie sniffled and hiccuped as she looked down at the bruised and bleeding body of Drake. Biting her lower lip, she inhaled deeply as she trembled in Magnus’ arms. “I’m glad he’s dead…he killed my friend. I don’t care what they do to me.”
Slowly turning her to hug her against his barrel chest, Magnus gently patted her back, vainly attempting to sooth her. “Taylor’s no’ dead, lass. She’s just in another place. ‘Twill be all right, I promise ye.”
Pulling away from the old man’s arms, Mattie shook her head. The rising hysteria once again showing in her eyes, Mattie clenched her fists to her chest. “She might as well be dead…I’ll never see her again,” she cried as she held her head. A thought suddenly striking her, her eyes narrowed as she stared at Magnus. “You knew she’d never be able to come back…didn’t you? You deceived her too!”
Carefully leaning against his weathered cane, Magnus cocked his head to one side. “Are ye going to try ta’ stone me as well? If so, I’ll be telling ye to save yer strength. Ye canna kill me since I’m already dead.”
Her tears renewed and welling from her reddened eyes, Mattie collapsed to her knees with a keening wail. The bleakness of the situation hitting her, she hugged her body tightly, rocking and moaning as the tears flowed down her cheeks. “Why didn’t anyone tell her? She’s no idea she’s lost forever to everything she’s ever known.”
Gingerly stepping around the rocks lying scattered upon the ground, Magnus placed a gnarled hand upon the top of Mattie’s head. “She’ll learn the truth soon enough…and then learn ta’ accept it. Now stop yer crying and wipe yer face…come with me to the top of the circle…we’ll have to state yer case there.”
Staring up at Magnus, her brow furrowed in confusion, Mattie remained on the ground, too weakened by her emotions to stand, let alone walk to the top of the hill. “What case…what are you talking about?” she asked, frowning at Magnus through her hiccups and sniffles.
Grabbing her by the hand, Magnus roughly pulled her to her feet, slowly beginning the ascent up the steep hill. Every time Mattie demanded to know where he was taking her, he merely grunted and continued to climb, methodically dragging her behind him as he shook his head with aggravation.
Finally reaching the crest of the hill, Magnus slowly raised his cane over his head. As the sun crept just below the horizon, the winds rose quickly, howling and rushing around them swiftly until Mattie closed her eyes. As Magnus gripped her arm with one hand, he continued to hold his cane high above his head. Shouting into the wind, Magnus said something in Gaelic that Mattie couldn’t quite make out. As the roaring of the wind suddenly died down, Mattie cautiously opened her eyes to find they were standing in total darkness, a faint glowing from Magnus’ cane the only light to be found.
“Where are we?” Mattie asked, her voice trembling as her heart pounded within her chest.
“Quiet lass!” Magnus barked, his face upturned as though
waiting for some sort of sign.
Suddenly out of the darkness came an eerie feminine voice, bone chilling and ancient in its reverberating tone. “Why do ye disturb us, Magnus? ‘Tis over. The child has finally returned ta’ her place.”
Staring up into the darkness, Magnus’ eyes narrowed as he replied, “This one feels we deceived the child…the choice was not actually her own.” As he spoke, he inclined his head toward Mattie as though placing her on display.
“The child will now be able ta’ choose her love if she so wishes? She’s returned to the land from which her soul originated. How is that a deception?” the voice inquired.
“She didna’ know that she was leaving this world forever…she has ties ta’ this place as well.” Staring up into the darkness, Magnus patiently stated Mattie’s case.
Another feminine voice, slightly deeper then the first now spoke with slight irritation. “There has been a death at the gateway…the one by yer side has blood upon her hands.”
“My friend was tricked!” Mattie shouted into the darkness. “She never would’ve gone into the cairn if she’d known she couldn’t come back. People here love her too! You had no right to steal her away!”
“Hush, ye wee fool!” Magnus hissed, jerking sternly on Mattie’s arm. “D’ye want ta’ be sent into the pits of hell? Or left on earth ta’ face the human accusers?”
A low tinkling chuckle erupted from the darkness, a third voice observing with amusement, “Ahhhh Magnus…ye never change now d’ye lad? What are ye up to this time?”
A hint of a smile played across Magnus’ ancient face as he looked up into the darkness. “Ye know I serve ye faithfully…but I would ask that ye let this one travel with me…allow me ta’ take her to the child.”
Twice Upon a Soul Page 17
