Redhead

by Ian Cook

  She stopped abruptly when she caught sight of the Stones. They looked different now. In the evening light, they seemed even more imposing and mysterious, as if they were guarding long lost secrets.

  Walking slowly over to the Sun-Stone, the old lady’s warning played on Rebecca’s mind and she felt very alone. Examining the inscriptions on the Stone, she couldn’t help envisaging Dr Waddell looking at them decades previously.

  Stepping back, she turned her attention to the Moon-Stone and found she could easily make out the various signs: the Z-rod, the mirror and the serpent twining its way through the other symbols.

  She felt a sudden urge to trace along the line of the serpent with her finger, and then did it again, wondering who had carved it and what it signified. She wondered if she were imagining a faint tingling sensation in her finger. Deep in thought, she didn’t notice that the rooks had become silent.

  The sound of soft footsteps and rustling branches behind her brought her abruptly back to reality. She swung round and stiffened with fear.

  What she saw made her quickly back up against the Moon- Stone in terror. Breaking out of the bushes about twenty feet away, what appeared to be a savage-looking caveman stopped and gazed in her direction.

  He was quite short, but very stocky. His large head seemed too big for his body, and his protruding eyebrows overhung blue, intelligent eyes. It reminded her of a cartoon she had once seen of Charles Darwin, caricatured as an ape. But this was no ape standing there before her. This was definitely some form of human, and he was wearing animal skins, crudely stitched together, covering most of his body. Only the forearms and legs below the knees were visible; and these, like his head and face, were covered in red hair.

  He continued to stare at her, as if taking in the scene, and then started to lurch clumsily in her direction.

  Rebecca froze against the Moon-Stone, but as the creature slowly approached, she noticed that his eyes were not on her at all. He did not even seem to notice her presence there but, looking straight ahead, lumbered past and crashed into the undergrowth behind the Stones.

  Then, total silence again, apart from the sound of dripping leaves. Still taut with fear, Rebecca inched away from the Moon-Stone and peered apprehensively behind it, dreading what she might see.

  A rustle in the foliage made her leap back. It was a sleek russet-haired fox. How long has that been there? Why didn’t the caveman disturb it? Now, startled by Rebecca, it darted off through the undergrowth, showering down droplets of water, only to stop about twenty yards away, almost hidden by the foliage. There, it eyed her, with what seemed keen interest. It cocked its head to one side, like a friendly dog, then quite casually turned back and slipped away out of sight.

  Shaken and nervous, Rebecca felt instinctively that she was treading on someone else’s hallowed ground. Pulling herself together, she went to grab her bag and get away as quickly as possible.

  It was at that moment that there was a sudden sound of flapping wings. Looking up, she saw a large, hawk-like bird land heavily on top of the Sun-Stone. The sight of it instantly chilled her to the marrow. It seemed to eye her coldly, its head jerking from side to side. Hesitantly, she backed away and turned round to run.

  She glanced back over her shoulder, fearing the bird would attack her, but found it had disappeared without a sound. But to her horror, she saw Dr Neferatu stepping out from behind the Sun-Stone.

  No, no, not again, flashed through her mind. Then, mesmerised, she found herself turning back to face him. He was still dressed as he was at the conference, his dark suit completely out of place in the wet woodland clearing.

  As a slow smile spread over his face, she immediately noticed something different about his appearance; his eyes had changed. Previously green, they were now a deep brown.

  “Are you all right, Miss Burns?” he sneered.

  Without warning, he lunged towards her and tried to grab her hand. She fell backward, but he lunged again and caught hold of it in a vice-like grip.

  “Let go, will you,” she demanded, attempting to free herself.

  But, smirking, he continued to hold her hand, his finger-nail digging in deeply. “Such bad manners.”

  He looked over her shoulder, as if in anticipation. “Ah, good – Ikar has arrived,” he said, and calmly let go of her hand.

  She nervously turned to look behind her and froze again. A huge man was standing there.

  His appearance was extraordinary. On top of his head, his black hair was covered by a cone-shaped cap. At the back of his neck, his hair hung down in braids almost to his shoulders, and his beard was meticulously arranged in rows of small, tight curls. He was dressed in a skirt of white cotton, slit up the sides for ease of movement, and a tight-fitting, short-sleeved white tunic. A mantle of rich blue and red was slung over his left shoulder, and his muscular brown arms were decorated with simple silver amulets.

  He stood, legs apart, gazing at Rebecca with cruel, dark eyes. Pushing his mantle to one side, he rested his hand lightly on the hilt of a sword. His face, as if set in stone, betrayed no emotion. She stared at the figure in disbelief. I don’t think I can stand it. I’m having a vision. He’s not real.

  But he was real enough when Dr Neferatu nodded to him. Without a word, the man stepped towards her and grabbed her by the shoulders. Pushing her backwards so that she almost fell over, he forced her back to the Sun-Stone. As he roughly pinned her shoulders against the cold, wet rock, she tried to cry out for help, but the breath had already been knocked out of her. Gasping, she fought for air. “Leave me alone,” was all she could whimper.

  Dr Neferatu spoke from behind his accomplice. “We are indeed quite alone, I’m afraid.”

  Ikar leaned forward, putting his full weight against Rebecca’s shoulders, completely immobilising her. She tried in vain to struggle, feeling the hardness of the stone against her back.

  Dr Neferatu came forward, grabbed her hand again and held it tightly. As if he were draining the very life-energy out of her, she felt herself slowly losing her strength. Her knees started to buckle and her body sagged against the Stone.

  She was on the point of passing out, when she noticed a flicker in Dr Neferatu’s eyes. They were changing from brown back to green.

  At last, he pulled his hand away. Barely conscious now, Rebecca saw him draw out what appeared to be a length of red silk cord from his pocket.

  He gestured to Ikar to leave him space, wrapped the cord around his hands and stretched it taut. Quickly, he passed it over her head and twisted it around her neck. As he braced himself to draw it tight, the red thread stood out like veins over his white knuckles.

  Dr Neferatu was now so close that Rebecca, struggling feebly, could smell his peculiar odour. It reminded her of a church. It was the unmistakably sweet, pungent smell of incense. She slowly started to drift into unconsciousness.

  She barely heard the stranger’s voice. It barked from the direction of the Moon-Stone, like a powerful command in some unknown tongue.

  The sadistic smile disappeared off Dr Neferatu’s face and was replaced by a look of pure incredulity. He closed his eyes and mouthed a silent curse. His hands still at Rebecca’s neck, he turned slowly to face an imposing figure emerging from behind the Moon-Stone.

  The figure held a short, bronze sword and, like Ikar, he had the appearance of a man from Mediterranean antiquity. Dressed in a kind of light armour, he wore a quilted cuirass, with leather thongs that hung down over a short white tunic. His hair, in ringlets, was sandy-coloured red. Tall and upright, he had the presence and authority of a high-ranking warrior.

  Seeing him, Ikar sprang away from Rebecca, who, barely conscious, slumped heavily to the ground as Dr Neferatu let go of the cord.

  The jolt shook her back to life and, through half-opened eyes, she tried to make sense of the scene before her. Is this really happening in present-day Scotland? She lay there, trembling.

  Dr Neferatu stepped back, scowling as he recognised the exotic figure. �
�Ptolemy!” he spat out. Then he added “Soter” in a sarcastic tone.

  Ikar immediately drew his sword and faced his adversary, raising the sword upright in front of him. Dr Neferatu discreetly stepped aside.

  Ptolemy, his face impassive, slowly and deliberately brandished his sword in front of Ikar, as if challenging him to do battle.

  The two opponents circled each other, before Ikar made the first move. Ptolemy parried the thrust almost casually. Instantaneously, his expression changed. His eyes flashed with anger, and he leapt forward to take a swipe at Ikar’s body. Ikar leapt backwards, the hissing blade slicing through his tunic.

  The fight was bitter, the clang of striking metal echoing incongruously through the Scottish clearing. But it quickly became evident that Ptolemy was the superior fighter. As Ptolemy lunged forward with his sword, Ikar jumped sideways to avoid the blow and slipped on some mud. In an instant, Ptolemy brought his blade down, knocking Ikar’s weapon from his hand.

  Pulling his sword back to deliver the fatal blow, Ptolemy failed to notice a blur of movement at the side of his head.

  The talons of a hawk ripped through his hair as it attacked him. He swung at the bird with his sword, missing it by inches. The bird soared upwards, turned and swooped again, keeping just out of range of his wild swipes.

  Seizing his opportunity, Ikar rolled to one side, quickly retrieved his sword and retreated behind the Sun-Stone. The bird flew up again, circled once and calmly flew away.

  Barely conscious, Rebecca lay at the foot of the Sun-Stone, frantically fearing what would happen next. She waited, frozen still, but there was no movement anywhere, not even a sound. Apprehensively, she edged herself up the Stone. Daring to take a fleeting look to one side, she nearly fainted again.

  Ptolemy was leaning nonchalantly back against the Moon-Stone, his sword dangling from his hand. As her eyes widened, he stood upright and bowed his head towards her. With just a hint of a smile, he slid his sword back into its scabbard. Then he slipped silently behind the Moon-Stone and out of sight.

  Rebecca closed her eyes and stood there, numb, fearful even to twitch. There was a complete silence around her. Only when it was broken by the caw of a rook, quickly followed by others, did she dare to open her eyes. The clearing seemed to come alive, as if nature itself sensed it could relax again. She nervously looked around, retrieved her bag and crept away from the Stones, very slowly turning round to look behind them. Dr Neferatu and the two adversaries, who had been physically fighting with swords just a minute previously, seemed to have completely disappeared.

  She made her way unsteadily towards the path through the trees. There she halted, terrified her attackers could still be lying in wait in the undergrowth. Desperate to reach the safety of the car, she hesitated for a few seconds, her heart pounding, wondering what to do next.

  Slowly it dawned on her that she was, indeed, entirely alone. It was almost as if the whole thing she had just witnessed had never happened, as if it had all been a horribly realistic nightmare. But the fierce pain in her shoulders where she had been held so brutally reminded her that, once again, it was only due to some kind of other-worldly protector that she had escaped with her life.

  CHAPTER 46

  Darkness was falling by the time Rebecca reached the shop. Bedraggled, she ran up to the front door and hammered on the doorbell, ignoring the ‘Closed’ sign.

  The shopkeeper was still there doing the accounts, and quickly opened the door. “Come in, come in. What’s happened? You look terrible, Miss. What’s the matter?”

  She fell into the shop, still shaking. “Someone just tried to kill me,” she blurted out. “Someone I’ve met before. He really wanted to kill me, but I don’t know why. I nearly died. I only got away because an amazing man with a sword came and rescued me. Then they all just disappeared, but I didn’t know if they’d really gone…”

  “Come and sit down,” said the shopkeeper, taking her by the arm. He led her through to the back of the shop into an old-fashioned sitting-room, warmed by a roaring fire.

  “Here now. Sit right down,” he said, pulling up a chair. “Mother,” he called out. “The girl’s back, she’s been attacked.” He waited until she was seated. “Now, tell me again what happened. What do you mean – somebody tried to kill you?”

  Before Rebecca could answer, the old lady came in, took one look, went up to Rebecca and held her hands. “You poor thing. I knew it wasn’t a good idea to go to the Stones at this time of night.” She held Rebecca by the hand and guided her to a comfortable armchair in front of the fire. “Now, you warm yourself up, and I’ll make some tea.”

  “We should call the police,” the shopkeeper said.

  “No, no. Don’t do that,” said Rebecca. “It’s all been a bit weird, and I don’t think they would believe me. Just let me stay here a bit, if that’s okay. I’ll be fine in a few minutes.”

  The old lady turned around at the door. “Don’t even think about going anywhere. You’re staying here the night, you’re safe in this house. Let me get the tea and you can tell us exactly what happened. Tomorrow, we can decide what to do.”

  “Thank you. That’s kind. I’m probably not in a fit state to drive, anyway.” She began to relax as she sat by the fire. Here she felt safe and secure, even though the couple were almost total strangers.

  “Do you mind if I make a couple of phone calls?” she asked.

  “Of course not,” said the shopkeeper. “We’ll leave you to it.” He left the room and headed for the kitchen.

  Rebecca got through to Syreeta immediately. “Sy – it’s happened again.”

  “What do you mean? Are you all right?”

  “Neferatu tried to kill me. Just now. You know, the slimy-looking man who was on Easter Island. He’s right here in Scotland. He was at the conference. Then, when I went to see these old stones, he suddenly appeared out of nowhere and tried to strangle me.”

  “Where are you? I’ll come right over.”

  “No, no. I’m okay now – really. I’m with a kind couple in Insch. They’re looking after me – they’re insisting I stay the night. I just wanted to tell you about it. Don’t worry, I’ll be okay. See you tomorrow.”

  “But now I am worried about you. He may still be hanging around there. If someone tried to kill you, he could try again.”

  “It’s okay. I’m safe now. But there’s something horrible happening here. Can’t tell you now, but that weirdo Neferatu wants me dead.”

  There was a long silence at Syreeta’s end.

  “You think I’m making all this up, don’t you?” said Rebecca.

  “No, of course I don’t. I just don’t know what to do.”

  “I told you, I’ll be all right,” said Rebecca, and she ended the call.

  Shaken, Syreeta was staring at her phone, when it rang again.

  “Syreeta? Charles here. How’s the redheads story going?”

  “I’ve just been speaking to Rebecca. She’s been attacked again. Here, in Scotland! Somebody just tried to kill her again – to strangle her.”

  “Is she okay? I think it’s time she came right off this story.”

  “She says she’s safe now. She’s staying with a couple in Insch for the night. They’re looking after her.”

  “What the hell is going on up there? I didn’t think she could get into trouble in Aberdeen, of all places. And what on earth are you doing there? But listen – listen carefully. Something much bigger is blowing up now. The Earth’s magnetic field is changing…”

  “I know. I heard about it from Rebecca’s scientist contact here.”

  “Well, we’re forming a team to handle it. Mick Green, the science correspondent, is heading it up for the time being. I’m on it, with my contacts. And you’re on it, as well. Put something together on what you got from Rebecca’s contact, and get it to me tonight. Like, pronto!”

  “But what about Rebecca?”

  “This is a big story!” Charles said, and put the phone down.

>   Syreeta got through to Jim immediately.

  “Jim – it’s Syreeta. Rebecca’s been attacked again. I’ve just spoken to her. Someone tried to kill her, strangle her. Some pervert called Neferatu, or something like that.”

  “What? You’re kidding! Why would he do that? How did she sound when you spoke to her?”

  “Very upset. I’m really worried, Jim. Something very peculiar is going on, and it’s getting much too dangerous. She may not be so lucky next time.” She explained that Rebecca was being looked after by the couple in Insch.

  “I’ll give her a bell,” said Jim.

  While the old lady made the tea, Rebecca received three calls in quick succession. Charles was concerned as well, but wary. She had the feeling that he was beginning to doubt her mental stability, that he could even drop her from her story.

  Jim wanted to know exactly what had happened, but he sounded distant, somehow. Not really troubled. She had hoped he would rush straight over, but instead he said he would meet her at the Newton Stones, first thing the next morning.

  Larry, on the other hand, had sounded genuinely worried. Satisfied that she was in good hands, he had promised to come along with Jim.

  Now, while his mother poured the tea, the shopkeeper sat himself opposite her. “You sound as if you’re from Edinburgh?” he said.

  “That’s right – Rebecca Burns. But I work in London. I’m a journalist.”

  “Keith MacGregor. And this is my mother, Mary. Now, tell us – what happened to you today?”

  “Don’t push her, Keith,” said Mrs MacGregor. “She’s in shock, aren’t you? You can tell us in your own time.” She rummaged in a cupboard and came back with a large tin of biscuits. “Listen, dear,” she said. “Can I ask you a rather strange question? Did you happen to see a caveman at the Stones?”

  “Well – yes. Yes I did. But how could you know that?”

  “Oh, you’re not the first one. It’s always people with red hair who see him. Quite often they see a fox as well.”