The Thirteen Stones

by Finegan, KT

  ‘What are we going to do?’ I asked Angel and Grizelle. ‘This could go on all day, and look at the damage they’ve already done.’

  They were both quiet, and I realised they were probably sending some healing to the situation. I stood slightly to one side and found my attention wandering towards one of the pools of water expanding at our feet. I could see a ripple dance upon it, like it was being shaken from below. It was filling with green, brown, and black dirty water. My mind played tricks on me. For one moment it looked like a huge dragon’s eye staring out from under the pond. I shuddered involuntarily.

  After another half hour, we were all freezing. My feet were like blocks of ice and my head was hurting. The crowd had thinned out slightly, so I offered to go and get drinks for us. Instead, Angel phoned the café and within ten minutes a couple of the staff arrived with trays of insulated cups filled with coffee and tea. She handed them out to the people standing closest to us. The hot drinks helped a lot, but as the day progressed, the cold wind and sleet showers thinned out the crowd further.

  Another couple of police cars arrived, as did several lorries from the quarry, and a team of workers began to erect temporary fencing. But they could only go so far as there were still around fifty people still gathered around the Stones, including the police. The helicopter overhead flew off and then returned a couple of times, probably refuelling the engine as well as the reporters.

  I was worried about Sally and Maggie sitting on cold metal, and the rest of the group sitting on the frozen ground. Although I knew they had a lot of layers of clothes on, they couldn’t have been comfortable.

  There was another shout from the crowd, and my solicitor Mr Douglas came sliding down what was left of the hillside. The same look of horror flickered across his face as he took in the carnage, before his professional demeanour returned. He slipped and slithered to a halt at the police sergeant, and between us and the councillors and quarry officials. He was tall, so we could see him clearly.

  Mr Douglas cleared his throat and spoke loudly to ensure most of the crowd could hear him.

  ‘In my hand,’ he announced, with all the pomp and circumstance his three piece suit, silver watch chain, and mucky shoes permitted, ‘is an interim interdict on behalf of the town. This document means that the quarry cannot move this Stone or take away a single piece of ground until a hearing at court next Monday morning.’

  The crowd roared. Frozen limbs danced. The news was relayed by mobile phone to those further up the terraces and in the care home. Concerned faces turned into smiles and back slapping, and a couple of impromptu Highland dances and conga lines broke out. The sky was darkening all around us, and before long it would be dangerous for everyone on the site. The news had come in time and saved us all an overnight vigil.

  The councillors shouted and argued amongst themselves and their officials; the man from the quarry had his head in his hands, his plans delayed until the court appearance.

  A whisper, a breath, a shadow came upon me and I shivered. This wasn’t over.

  23

  Flashes of lightning and the distant sound of thunder distracted me for a moment and I didn’t notice some of the group trying to help Sally and Maggie down from the blades of the digger. The women were stiff from sitting on the cold ground all day, and had used up all their energy in the freezing conditions.

  As they climbed down, the release of their weight shook the machine and the blades pushed ever so slightly against the Stone, toppling it over. As the machine moved, Maggie was too cold and stiff to get out of the way, and she fell back against the digger.

  She yelped with pain and fell six feet onto the ground, her white hair quickly turning crimson as a huge gash opened up on her head, blood gushing out and dripping into the deep, dark hole where the Stone had rested.

  I hadn’t noticed that anyone from the doctor’s surgery was in the crowd, but Dr McLeod and one of his nurses appeared from somewhere near the back and ran to Maggie, mopping up blood with a handkerchief. Clearly shaken, the digger driver climbed down quickly from his cab with a first aid kit and passed it to the medical staff, who were able to stem the flow.

  We watched in horror as the soiled rags leached more and more blood into the pool of water and further into the ground. I swear I saw that dragon’s eye blink for a moment.

  Angel and Grizelle grabbed me and we climbed back as quickly as we could through the crowd, slipping and sliding as we joined the queue at the gate and into the graveyard. Linking arms, we supported each other in silence. In the semi-darkness, most of the crowd hadn’t noticed Maggie’s fall nor realised that the Stone had been toppled. Their mood was still jolly and relieved, trusting that the local court would not permit the quarry expansion.

  I heard lots of people saying ‘over my dead body will that happen’ as they headed confidently home. And although it was an everyday phrase, I shuddered with fear.

  ‘Kirsty, it will all be okay.’ Angel, as always the nurturer, sensed my fear. ‘Let’s get inside and warm, then we can think about what to do.

  But I just knew that something terrible was about to happen. Looking at their pale faces in the gloom, I knew that she and Grizelle shared that same thought.

  I heard the church bells ring out five o’clock, and it was dark as we walked through the burial ground. We could hear other people walking around us as we slipped and scrambled to walk on the icy pathways. My stomach churned. Something terrible was going to happen to the town.

  I turned to Grizelle and Angel. ‘That’s the bells for five o’clock, and it’s already black out here. Look, we can’t see a star in the sky. What can we do?’

  Grizelle and Angel both turned towards me like synchronised spirits in a dance of the living.

  ‘Kirsty,’ said Angel, clearly perplexed. ‘What did you say about the bells? Did you mean the church bells?’

  ‘Of course.’ I shook my head in frustration. ‘I hadn’t realised that they’d been fixed until I got back. I‘ve hardly needed to look at my watch since I came here.’

  Grizelle’s placed her hand on my arm. ‘Kirsty, the church bells weren’t part of the restoration; they’re still in storage. The church hasn’t had bells for over forty years.’

  ‘But I‘ve heard them. All the time.’ I looked from one to another. ‘What do you think this means? How can I hear something that isn’t there? Like phantom bells?’

  ‘Or a sign from Kirsten only for your ears. Just for you.’

  My feet were still frozen, my hands and cheeks icy, but inside me something burned. I could feel my gran close by my side, my mum, dad, generations and generations of Cairngeals firmly behind me. They were right.

  ‘We have to go to the church tower,’ I urged. ‘It must be the door we need. Come on, quickly. ’

  24

  We made our way quickly out of the graveyard’s main gate, three women with a common mission. I had no idea how much time we had or what would happen, but the book’s warning had been clear: no bloodshed on the Stone. And by accident, fluke, or some much older design, blood had been spilled and the Stone had moved.

  The main road was almost empty of traffic but full of people heading back to their warm and well-lit homes. An ambulance passed, no doubt carrying Maggie for a check-up at hospital. We didn’t see the rest of the campaigners, but I was sure they would be given a warm welcome everywhere in the town once word of their heroics got round.

  When Angel, Grizelle and I turned into the church grounds, the lights were all out. It might have been another power cut, but the street lights were still on so I had a sense that something darker was responsible. The normally floodlit cross was in darkness, and no moon or star was visible in the velvet black night sky. Grizelle led the way to the main door and then turned right towards a small wooden door, hardly visible in the shadows.

  ‘This takes us into the tower,’ she explained. ‘It’s always lo
cked for safety reasons, and I’m sure they blocked up the inside door from the church into the tower years ago. This is the only way in, but I’m not sure what’s there. The bells were taken down and put into storage years ago. I’m hoping the steps are okay.’

  We couldn’t see much, especially with the old wooden door being in shadow from the church and the square stone tower over one hundred feet above our heads. I pulled Gran’s keys from my pocket and put one into the lock. It didn’t turn. Neither did the next, nor the next. None of the keys fitted.

  I tried them all again convinced that I’d missed one. We didn’t have a key for this lock. Could I have lost a key in the last few days? I didn’t think so. Could Gran have hidden one away somewhere else? Why wouldn’t it open? It had to be the Tower. I was the only one hearing bells. It had to be a sign.

  ‘Angel, Grizelle, is there any other way into the tower? Another doorway? I’m sure there is a connection with the bells. You both feel that too, don’t you?’

  They nodded in agreement, shadows playing on their faces, contorting their features but Icould sense their growing excitement.

  ‘It has to be here. If it’s to do with the bells, then where else can this lead but here to the bell tower?’ I was muttering to myself as much as to them. ‘There must be another way in, or is it another place, where the bells are? Grizelle where are the bells stored? Would Gran have known?’

  I was beginning to panic. I didn’t know how much time we had and I didn’t know what would happen. I had a horrible feeling of dread, but at the same time I wanted to get this sorted, do whatever I had to do. I was doing it for Gran, and all my family across the ages.

  ‘I think the renovation company have the bells, but I don’t know where that is. It’s not in the town, I know that for definite,’ Grizelle replied. ‘There has to be another doorway.’

  ‘Let’s go up to the flat and have another look at the book,’ Angel soothed, putting her arm round me to stem my panic. ‘There could be something else in it.’

  But I knew there was nothing else in the book to help. I had to figure it out.

  I stepped back from the two of them and the shadow of the church then walked to the end of the tower, feeling the brickwork. I was working on senses, on instinct. Something had my attention, and this time I wanted to follow it through to wherever it led me. No matter what or where.

  ‘Angel,’ I asked. ‘What’s on the other side of this wall?’

  ‘It’s the lane between my building and the church wall.’

  Although I couldn’t see their faces, I could feel they were turned towards me, attentive, in tune.

  ‘So the side wall of the church tower is against your wall?’ I could feel excitement building. ‘Do you know if there is a doorway in it? I’ve walked up and down that passageway a dozen times since staying at your flat, but I’ve never noticed anything. Have you?’

  We walked back towards the street and welcome overhead lighting, and I saw her blond curls shake sadly.

  ‘Sorry, Kirsty, there isn’t a doorway on that side of the wall. It’s a great idea but I would have noticed. There isn’t a door, only stone walls.’

  There was something tugging at the edges of my mind; a feeling, a word of inspiration trying to get through.

  ‘Let’s go and look anyway. It’s a feeling I have, and you did say to go with my feelings. I know it doesn’t make any sense but I feel we are really close to something. Will you come with me and look?’

  Deep down, I knew they would come. These two women had been at my side for the last week, supporting and helping me.

  The light from the street lamps cast a yellow glow a few feet into the alley between the café and the church wall. I walked into the dark space first, followed by Angel then Grizelle. Immediately I had a sense that the energy had changed. It was like walking into an invisible force field of some kind.

  I felt Gran draw close, whispering in my ear, and I stopped three-quarters of the way down the path, directly on the other side of the wall from the tower. We could sense its vastness above us. It was dark –, no stars, no moon, and still the distant rumblings of thunder. Sleeting heavily now, I could faintly see a fog coming in and swirling around our knees.

  I pulled out the mini torch I still had in my pocket, and we all held our breaths as I shone it up and around the wall.

  Angel was right. No doorframe or door was visible. We all sighed in frustration. But I knew I was close. What was I missing? What else was there to see, to know?

  ‘Come on,’ Angel whispered. ‘Come upstairs and we’ll meditate, that might bring in some help for us. It’ll be fine, Kirsty. We’ll sort this. Or we could try our pendulum. I have faith in you, Kirsty.’

  Grizelle and Angel turned and began to walk away, but I couldn’t. Something was keeping me rooted to the spot. I shone the torch again all around the stone wall, convinced I was missing something. I took off my gloves and rubbed my cold fingers across the rough stone surface, feeling it scratch away the skin at my fingertips. Nothing.

  I briefly closed my eyes and sent up a message yet again to Gran and my angel. What am I missing? I know it’s here. I know it. What am I missing? What am I looking for? Help me, please.

  I took the keys out of my pocket and looked at them in the torchlight, then looked again at the wall. I need a keyhole.

  ‘I’ve been looking for a doorway,’ I called to the others, ‘but actually all I need is a keyhole!’

  I dropped down to my knees, darting the torch back and forward over the wall. Feeling every mark, every edge, the unevenness of the wall with my fingertips.

  ‘What’s this?’ About four feet up from the ground was a small hole. An inch or so long and wide. Almost invisible in the ancient stonework. ‘I’ve found something!’

  Angel and Grizelle returned to my side as I shakily stuck a key into the hole. It was big enough to take the key, but I didn’t feel any connection or the sound of steel or anything to tell me that it was a lock. I tried the next key; same again. Tears of frustration came to my eyes but I took a deep breath and tried the next key.

  I heard it connect; I had found a lock. A hidden lock. Gran had told me to find the door and use her keys. I had done it! I turned the key back and forward a couple of times. It was stiff, and I sensed the pressure as centuries-old mechanisms creaked. Then we heard a faint click as the lock released. I pulled the key out and put the bunch back into my pocket.

  I bent down on my knees, feeling the cold dampness through my jeans, and pushed against the wall with my shoulder. Nothing shifted. Nothing moved. I took another deep breath and pushed really hard with all my weight against the wall. Angel shouted a warning as a hidden doorway opened up, but I was off balance and fell hard and fast into the blackness beyond. The door shut abruptly behind me, leaving me alone inside and Angel and Grizelle standing in the dark alleyway without anyway of unlocking the door as I had the keys.

  25

  I fell only a few feet, but there was total blackness and I screamed in terror before hitting wet soil face-first. The wind was knocked from my lungs, and it took me a few minutes before I could sit up. I panicked as I tried to find my bearings in the dark. I knew the doorway must be somewhere above my head, but not exactly where.

  Left, right; I had no internal compass. My eyes hadn’t adjusted to the blackness and I couldn’t see a thing. I rubbed my freezing cold hands over my face. My forehead was grazed and I could feel wetness which I assumed was blood on my scratched fingertips, but I was okay. No bones were broken and nothing was damaged, just sore and bruised.

  I was cut off from Grizelle and Angel, and I guessed they would go and get help once they’d recovered from the shock of seeing me disappear through a hole in the wall. The door must have sprung shut behind me, and I had the key so if I could keep calm I would be rescued eventually. The police would still be at the quarry, so realistically it would
be a while before they could get back into town. The main thing, I told myself, was that I was unhurt. Scared maybe, and uncomfortable in the cold and dark, but overall I was fine.

  After a few minutes the shock of the fall and my situation started to fade. I couldn’t hear a thing from above through the thick stone walls. I couldn’t see a thing, not even my hand in front of my face. I decided to try and feel around me to see how big the space was.

  I assumed I must be in the bottom of the church tower and attempted to stand up, only to hit my head on a roof of some kind. I winced with the pain. The opening I had fallen in must have been at the top of this space. I carefully felt around and above me using my hands, then moved along on my knees to try and find the edges of the room. I hit the wall about two feet from where I was sitting ahead of me, behind me, and to my left. On my right hand side, I stretched out into nothingness. I wasn’t sure whether I was in the tower or in a space between the walls.

  It was cold, dark, and silent. I felt it might be safer to stay kneeling down to avoid bumping my head again, so I slowly edged forward, using my hands in front of me on the floor to feel for the other wall. Instead, I found myself moving further and further along the floor, which felt dank and dirty. I wasn’t sure whether it was earth or dirt-covered stone. There was no way to tell in the darkness.

  I was trying to focus on my breathing. I had a sense I was on my own, there was nothing around me. As I settled into the silence, it felt peaceful. I sensed there was nothing to be scared from; rescue from above might take some time, but I’d be fine. I’d do some safe exploring, I told myself, and then I could turn around and feel my way back to where I’d started. I didn’t have to worry. Rescue would come eventually.

  I was trying to modulate my breathing and keep calm, ignoring my aching knees and sore head, when I saw a faint flickering light a little bit ahead of me. Instinctively, I moved towards it. It would be the torch I’d had in my hand when I had been examining the wall. It must have fallen away from me, and was almost out of power.