Echo McCool, Outlaw Through Time
Page 20
“I knew you’d be here,” he said.
“And I knew that you would come,” Echo replied.
Then her strong arms were clasped around him. He hugged her tightly, unaware of the tears in his eyes. This time, the embrace could last as long as he wanted. The feeling was familiar; the same as he’d felt when he hugged Lauren the night before. In that moment Jason realised he had not one sister, but two. Echo released her grip, and smiled at him.
“Everything’s okay,” Jason told her breathlessly. “I’m not going back to Brandsby House. The countryside’s our home now, and Lauren’s coming with us. Pauline Hewless and everybody, they might catch up with us one day – but we’ve got to give it a try. I’ll miss proper beds, and telly and DVDs, and flushing toilets and hot showers – but I’d miss you a lot more.” He glanced down at her mottled limbs. “Kate and Ben are helping us, and they’ll be here soon. Where are the rest of your clothes?”
Echo pointed towards the nearby undergrowth.
“You’d better put on your trousers and the green top,” Jason said. “We don’t want anyone seeing your stripes once we’ve left the wood.”
Echo darted into the undergrowth, returning fully-clothed less than a minute later. Jason heard voices, calling his name.
“Over here!” he yelled back, taking Echo by the hand.
Together they ran out to the middle of the clearing. In the same moment Lauren, Kate and Ben emerged from a woodland path, hurrying across to join them at the tree stump. They took off the rucksacks then, suddenly, everyone was hugging, and laughing, and talking at the same time. Eventually, Echo’s curiosity got the better of her.
“What is in the packs?” she asked, pointing at the rucksacks.
“Pretty much everything,” Ben replied. “Tents, sleeping bags, changes of clothing and underwear, cups, bowls, knives and forks – even a camping stove and set of pans.”
“We’ve also packed some shampoo, toothbrushes, toothpaste, hairbrushes, soap and deodorant,” Kate added. “We even got an iPod for you, Lauren, and some make-up. There’s plenty of food and drink in here to get you started.” She picked up the bag and reached inside it. “Oh yes, and Nikki asked me to give you this.”
Kate pulled out a book, handing it to Lauren. Jason leaned forward to look at the front cover, a photograph of the sun setting at Stonehenge. The author’s name was Vivienne Rollright and the book was called The True Path: A Modern Handbook to the Old Religion.
Lauren’s eyes shone. “That’s great! Be sure to thank Nikki for me.”
Kate rummaged in the bag again. “And I found this in the chamber at Ravenstone.”
She took out the tiger toy, giving it to Lauren who looked a little embarrassed.
“Ethel!” she said. “My only friend for three years. How tragic is that?”
“There’s a mobile phone in the bag, and some cash as well,” said Kate. “But it won’t last forever. What are you guys going to live on?”
“Lauren’s good at finding hidden things,” said Jason. “That’s why the Cobalts took her in the first place. But it’ll come in handy now. I’ve seen those adverts in papers and shop windows – Missing: One Wedding Ring, £50 Reward. That should make us plenty of money.”
Kate smiled. “Ben and I had better get going. Remember the story, that you gave us the slip in the cemetery? It won’t look right if we leave it too long.”
“But a bit of advice before we go,” said Ben. “Make sure you keep your heads well down. It might draw attention if you two kids are seen out when you should be in school. Even though you haven’t really done anything wrong, the police and social services will still be after you. Disguise yourselves, if you have to - and remember, phone calls can be traced, so only use the mobile in emergencies.”
“Got it,” said Jason. “I’ll think of a way to let Pauline know I’m okay, but I’ll cover my tracks well. And don’t worry, we will see you again.”
After more hugging and hand-shaking, Kate and Ben began to make their way back to the edge of the clearing. Jason was about to put on his rucksack when Lauren stopped him.
“Not yet,” she said. “If we’ve all got dryad blood in our veins, then there’s something I want to try first.”
She put everything back in the shopping bag, then dropped to her knees in front of the tree stump. Jason and Echo knelt down to face her, and they all linked hands above the stump.
“Close your eyes,” Lauren said. “We’ll see if this works for all of us.”
At first, nothing happened. Then Jason’s mind began to swirl, his body pulsating with energy as the woodland fell away. He blinked, seeing bright pinpoints of light, dancing before his eyes like fireflies. Dimly he heard different sounds as new scenery faded in around him. Everything was in black-and-white, like an old movie. He, Echo and Lauren got to their feet in the large room, its walls panelled, a glass dome in its ceiling. Jason had never been in a court before, but he’d seen them on TV. The jury sat along one side, lawyers and court officials occupying the seats in the middle. Sitting at the far end of the room, high above everyone else, was a woman in a robe. She wore half-moon reading glasses, her greying blonde hair swept up beneath her horsehair wig. In the dock at the back of the courtroom stood six ashen-faced figures; Scott, Kevin and Tiffany Cobalt, Maxine Knaggs, Lee Railton and Carl Fishburn. All were sweating, sheer terror in their eyes. Kevin’s bottom lip was trembling, and tears were streaming down Tiffany’s cheeks.
“Fie!” said Echo. “It is a gewita showing the future.”
“It’s something I learned to do,” Lauren said. “I don’t know how – it just kind of happened.”
The judge glared across at the six defendants.
“You have all been found guilty of many serious crimes,” she said. “These include placing an old man under duress, procuring a false will, murdering a mother of two and kidnapping her teenage daughter. Even though Lauren Fleeting wasn’t available to give evidence, the jury had no difficulty in reaching its verdicts. Scott and Kevin Cobalt, you will go to prison for life. Maxine Knaggs, although you didn’t take part in the murder itself, you abused your position as a police officer. My sentence upon you is twenty years. Tiffany Cobalt, you weren’t involved in the murder either, but you played your part in everything else. You will go to prison for fifteen years. Finally, Lee Railton and Carl Fishburn, for aiding and abetting, and witnessing the false will, you shall both serve sentences of eight years. Take them down!”
Jason gasped. “So we’re seeing the future? Is this something that really will happen?”
Echo nodded. “These events are now foretold, and are sure to take place.”
The Cobalts and their friends looked as though they’d been hit by a lightning bolt. Jason didn’t feel remotely sorry for them as uniformed officers led the group from the dock and down a set of steps, amid murmurs from the public gallery. The courtroom began to dissolve, sweeping away in a blazing golden light. Slowly Jason, Echo and Lauren returned to the colourful world of the present where they knelt around the tree stump once more.
“Excellent!” said Lauren. “That’s what I call a result!”
“But there’s something I don’t understand,” said Jason. “You two can see into the past and future. How come I don’t have any dryad powers?”
“You will possess a gift for certain, but it has yet to be unlocked,” Echo told him. “It is likely we will discover the answer as we continue in our quest.”
Jason glanced across towards Kate and Ben, who by now had reached the edge of the clearing.
“They will know nothing of the gewita,” said Echo. “For them, hardly a moment has passed.”
“But we didn’t see ourselves in the black-and-white gewita,” said Jason. “Why couldn’t we look into our own future?”
“The answer is simple,” said Echo. “Our destiny is to help others, but we have yet to know who these people are.”
“Help others?” said Lauren.
Echo looked at Jason.
“Do you not feel a warm glow inside you, after helping Kate to reclaim what is hers?”
“Yes,” said Jason, glancing again across the clearing. “I guess I do.”
*
Kate and Ben had stopped to watch their three friends, kneeling down to join hands above the tree stump. The whole event seemed only to last a few seconds before Jason, Echo and Lauren were on their feet again.
“Good luck!” called Kate with a wave. “And remember, you’re welcome at Ravenstone any time.”
Lauren put on her own rucksack, then helped Jason and Echo on with theirs.
“Sure,” she shouted as she picked up the shopping bag. “Maybe when the weather turns cold – I guess camping isn’t much fun in the snow!”
With final waves the three of them headed away from the tree stump, making for the path at the opposite side of the clearing.
“What was all that about?” said Ben, taking Kate’s hand. “It looked like some kind of pagan ritual.”
“That Echo girl is a total mystery,” said Kate. “Jason never really explained what he meant by her long sleep, or why he didn’t want the police to know about her. Then there was all that psychic stuff – and we both saw the way she can fight.”
“Maybe she’s a traveller,” said Ben.
“Maybe she is,” said Kate. “But I think that’s only part of her story.” She sighed. “Remember those carefree days, when we were kids? I can’t help envying Jason, just a little.”
She looked again but now saw only a solitary grey squirrel, scurrying across to sit up on the tree stump. Echo McCool, the twenty-first century girl-dryad, had left the clearing with her new brother and sister to begin the rest of their journey together.