by Kirsty Ferry
‘Yeah, no problem,’ said Brian, and stopped the car.
‘Thanks. I’ll be back shortly,’ he said. He smiled at the landlady. ‘I’ll be back for breakfast, I won’t be long,’
‘OK,’ she said and Lucas climbed out.
‘I’ll get on with your bacon while you’re gone!’ called Drew, as the car pulled away. ‘Don’t hurry back!’ Lucas lifted his hand and watched them drive away. He took the shortcut through the houses he had spotted and hurried over to the early morning Priory. The Island was just beginning to wake up, but he doubted anybody would be at the Priory just yet. Good. There was just that one final thing he had to do, then he wanted to forget this whole business.
***
Lucas climbed over the fence into the Priory grounds. He stood, staring about him, wondering which way he should go. What had Kester told him? The piscina? He looked around and his eyes settled on a pale, golden haze somewhere over in the direction where the sun was rising. He wrinkled his nose – was that just the rays of the early morning sun or something else? The ancient stone walls seemed to be bathed in the light and he turned to face the east properly. Well, he had to start somewhere. Maybe there would be an interpretation board up somewhere that would help him if he needed it. He wandered down the length of the silent Priory and, bizarrely, the golden light seemed to draw him closer. Finally, he reached the wall and found himself staring at a small niche, with what looked like a drain in the middle of it. He stepped towards it to inspect it and the soft ground beneath it gave way slightly under his toe. He looked down and saw a small sign fixed onto the bottom of the wall – Piscina and Aumbry.
Lucas’ heart began to beat faster. This was it. Whether it was the sunrise, or Kester, or something else entirely, he knew that he had to bury the phials right here. He crouched down and began scooping the earth away with his fingertips. Soon, there was a hole wide enough to lay the two bottles in, side by side. Lucas placed them carefully together and covered them with the soil.
He patted it down and sat back on his heels. ‘I’ve done it,’ he said. ‘That’s it, isn’t it? That was what I was supposed to do?’ He looked around him, half-expecting a voice to answer him. Nothing. ‘OK. I’ll take that as a “yes”,’ he said. He was beginning to feel a little bit silly, hunched over a pile of earth in a ruined Priory. Then the hairs on the back of his neck began to prickle. He had the feeling that somebody – or something – was creeping up on him, watching him and waiting for his next move. He tensed. What if it was another one of those things? How could he be sure he had divine protection? One word, in Kester’s voice, came into his head. ‘Trust’.
The atmosphere was definitely changing; Lucas felt whatever it was approaching him. And he knew there was more than one of them, he just knew it... He spun around, and the sight that greeted him made his jaw drop and a strangled sound escape from his mouth. Behind him, were two rows of monks. Hazy shadows, but definitely monks. He could make out their robes, and the fact their hands were pressed together as if in prayer. They were walking along the nave, with one monk at the head of the procession. As they drew nearer, the monk at the front stopped. He smiled at Lucas and nodded. He made the sign of the cross and Lucas blinked. When he opened his eyes again, they were gone. Lucas jumped to his feet and ran out of the Priory grounds. It was stupid, he knew. He wasn’t scared of them – what was there to be scared of? But somehow felt he was intruding on something private and he had the strong sense that he shouldn’t be there. I’ve done my bit! he felt like shouting. It’s up to you lot now!
***
Lucas ran out of the Priory grounds and along the side streets towards the B&B. Normality. That’s what he wanted. He’d had enough – more than enough – and couldn’t wait to get back home. That was it though – today, they all left the Island and he would never have to come back again. He sprinted up the road and rounded the corner. A red mini was parked right outside of it, and a girl sat on the fence, cradling a mug of coffee. He started and stared at her. For a brief moment, he thought it was Cass. She flicked her straight, strawberry blonde hair over her shoulders and stared back at him.
‘Laura?’ he said.
‘Why act so surprised?’ she asked. She balanced the mug on the fencepost, jumped down and came over to him. ‘I texted you. I told you. Don’t make me wish I hadn’t bothered.’
‘I never got the message,’ he said, ‘there’s no signal.’
‘Hmmm,’ said Laura. She’d piled on the mascara again, he noticed. God, he’d missed seeing that. Even down to the tiny smudges where her eyelashes had tickled her cheek when she blinked. ‘The landlady’s nice,’ she said. ‘She gave me toast. And coffee. They said you’d been at the Priory for some reason.’ Lucas nodded. ‘I just got here, really,’ Laura continued. ‘I had to wait to get across on the causeway. Drew’s eating your breakfast, by the way. He said he’d waited long enough.’
‘I didn’t realise I’d been so long,’ he said. ‘I was just doing some research.’ He paused. ‘I’m so sorry. Sorry about everything.’
‘Yeah, well. I’m not making any promises,’ she said. ‘I was up for my cousin’s hen weekend. It wasn’t that much further to come up here. I’ve never been before.’ She looked around. ‘It’s nice isn’t it? The landlady said you got stuck in the refuge hut overnight.’ She grinned suddenly. ‘Only you could do that - idiot.’ She reached out and ruffled his hair. ‘Still, at least you weren’t messing with the island girls,’ she said. ‘Anyway. Like I said. No promises. I just don’t know what to do. There’s a tiny, tiny part of me,’ she held up her hand and pinched her finger and thumb together, ‘that thinks I don’t want to let you go. There’s a bigger, much bigger part,’ she extended her arms as far as they would go, ‘that says I should walk away.’ She let her arms drop and looked at him. ‘What’s it to be?’
‘The first one?’ he asked.
‘Well now. That’s up to you, isn’t it?’ she replied.
‘You’re right,’ said Lucas. ‘I’ve got to make this bit,’ he took hold of her hands and squeezed her thumb and forefinger together as she had done, ‘into this bit.’ He swung her arms apart and she laughed. The laughter sounded good. ‘I’ll do it Laura. I promise.’ He became serious. ‘You don’t often get second chances. I appreciate it.’
Her arms were the perfect width apart now for him to move closer and wrap them behind his body. He was very pleased to feel her arms tighten around him. He had had more than a second chance, he realised, what with everything that had happened, but the bite marks might take some explaining away, if she ever got to the point where she might see them…but he would worry about that later. For the moment, though, he was happy. Laura seemed quite calm. She smelled of shower gel and perfume, and he held her close for a minute, breathing her in. Then he lowered his face to hers. He kissed her, and was very pleased to realise that she was kissing him back.
Epilogue
There is a famous quote that says, “time and tide wait for no-one”. It’s wrong. Something, somewhere controls the time and the tide. And when everything is in the perfect condition, and everything is where it should be, things can happen. Some people call it Fate. Others call it synchronicity. But whatever it is, it exists.
So, just after the sun had risen somewhere off the northern coast of Jura in the Southern Inner Hebrides, the tidal force of the Coire Bhreacain whirlpool smashed a silver dagger off the peak of the underwater mountain and sent it spinning through the waves. The dagger was carried along to the shore near Kinundrach and pitched up on the rocky coastline near Barnhill.
Katie Logan found it. She saw it lying on the rocks when the first rays of sunlight flashed off the diamonds embedded into the hilt. It made her stop in her tracks and distracted her from walking straight out into the roaring waves and never coming back. She bent over and picked it up, staring at it as if it was the most entrancing thing in the world. She felt her heart beat faster and then suddenly, she understood. She didn’t know what the dagger was or what it meant
, but she knew it was important. And she knew that she had been meant to find it.
The End
By the same author
THE MEMORY OF SNOW
Three eras.
Three young women.
Three Guardians, separated by centuries.
Aemelia: the Christian daughter of a Roman Commandant.
Meggie: accused of witchcraft in the seventeenth century.
Liv: a twenty-first century teenager, intent on finding information for a project.
When horrors from the past threaten her, Liv discovers she is a Guardian of the mystical Coventina’s Well. She must work with the spirits who linger there, and use their combined power to banish evil from the sacred spring.
A paranormal novel, weaving together fact and fiction and set amongst the wild landscape of Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland, The Memory of Snow tells the story of the Guardians of Coventina’s Well and how three young women from three different eras must confront both the tragic past and the potential future to help each other survive.
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