by Nancy M Bell
“The tide has to be out or we can’t reach the rock. I can’t remember when low tide is tomorrow,” Aisling cautioned.
“Sarie has a tide table downstairs. We can check it over breakfast,” Laurel said.
“This is getting complicated. Maybe we’re on the wrong track,” Coll worried.
“We can’t settle anything tonight other than we’ve decided to start at the Nanjizal portal when the tide is out tomorrow. Let’s get some sleep and see if things are clearer in the morning,” Aisling advised.
Gort and Coll slid off the bed and padded to the door. “Night, Laurel. Night, Ash,” Coll whispered. Gort waved a hand in their direction and peeked out the door. Giving the all clear, he and Coll disappeared and the door snicked shut behind them.
“Do you think we’re doing the right thing?” Laurel slid down into the bed.
“I hope so. At least it’s a start.” Aisling snuggled under the quilt and yawned. “Night.”
“Night,” Laurel echoed. Hard as she tried to sleep, images of Gramma Bella and Vear Du played in a loop through her brain. When she finally fell into a fitful slumber her dreams were plagued by the disembodied head of Treagle, his lips moving frantically. He was replaced by Gramma and Vear running from hiding place to hiding place. Somewhere there was an important message she needed to find, but the harder she looked the more elusive it became. Disjointed words lost in the roar of the wind and the hiss of the sea.
Chapter Fourteen
Morning dawned bright, clear, and frosty. Laurel pulled on a flannel shirt over her t-shirt and jeans. She glanced at the closed door to the spare room before following Aisling down the stairs. Sarie was in the kitchen, the kettle already boiling for the tea.
“Sit you down, girls. Toast will up ‘derctly.” Sarie waved hand toward the table.
“Boys not up yet?” Laurel asked.
“Haven’t heard a peep out of them.”
“We need to talk to you, Sarie. But we should wait for the boys,” Laurel said.
“Have you come up with a plan, then?” The older woman raised an inquisitive eyebrow.
“I think so,” she answered.
“Hey, did you save any for us?” Coll burst through the door followed closely by Gort.
“We did, not that you deserve it, you slug a beds,” Aisling countered.
“It were a late night, so it were.” Gort yawned and covered his mouth.
The boys pulled out chairs and settled at the table. Sarie set a plate of toast and a pot of preserves on the table, followed by a bowl of boiled eggs. Laurel got up and brought the tea pot over, covering it with a bright knitted cozy to keep it warm while it steeped.
“Eat up, then. You can tell me your plans when you’re done. Things always look better on a full stomach.” Sarie took her place at the table.
Laurel pushed away the empty mug and looked around the table. Everyone except Coll was finished eating. He was still polishing off the last bit of toast.
“Ash, can you check the tide chart, please?” Laurel began.
She went to fetch the chart while Laurel explained their plan to Sarie.
“Since Gramma used the rock portal at Nanjizal, we figured that’s as good a place as any to start. I have no idea how to use the thing, or activate it, or whatever it is we need to do to it. The man in the stone said we needed you to ‘hold space’ for us. Does that mean you have to be out at the bay, or somewhere else to do that? Coll thought Emily might be able to help you with that, if you think it would be okay.”
“If you can get the portal to work, how will you know where to go? Remember, the other worlds are like an onion, each world layered on top of the next. Time runs differently in those places, some will be slower, and some much faster. It is very hard to judge the passage of time, what might seem like only a few minutes may be days or years in this world. Or what you think are weeks or months passing might only be minutes here. What is your plan to find Bella?” Sarie studied Laurel, holding her gaze for long minutes.
“I thought I would just think about her really hard and concentrate on being with her.” Laurel shrugged helplessly. “I’m not sure what else to do.”
“Use the talisman the selkie gave you,” Coll chimed in.
“Laurel and I talked about that last night. What if using it alerts the Council that we’re there and leads them to where we are? It seems like too big a risk,” Aisling replied.
“I think I should only use it in an emergency,” Laurel agreed.
“I’m more worried about how to find our way home,” Gort said.
“That’s what I’m for,” Sarie said. “My job is to hold the gateway open for you and guide you safely back to this world. That’s why my stone disc is different from all of yours. Mine is like a lodestone, it will draw your discs back to it. So, as long as you don’t lose yours, you will always be able to find your way home, back to me.”
“That’s a relief.” Gort sat back with a sigh.
Aisling came back into the kitchen. “Low tide is at fourteen-ten, that’s ten after two this afternoon.”
“Right then, Emily and I will come out with you and guard the gateway. You’ll only have four, maybe four and a half hours, in this time to find them and come back. The times between high and low tide are about six hours. Emily and I won’t be able to stay at the portal once the water gets too high. As it is, we’re going to be pretty cold.”
“What happens if we can’t get back in time?” Coll’s face flushed deep red with anxiety.
“In that case you will have to wait for the next low tide, Emily and I will get out there as soon as the water recedes enough,” Sarie sounded confident, but Laurel noticed the lines of worry on her face.
“We’ll just make sure we’re back in time, that’s all,” Laurel declared.
“I think the best way to ensure your success is to keep in physical contact with each other, holding hands like you did on school outings when you were young. All of you focus on Bella, don’t divide your concentration between her and the selkie. Where she is, he’ll be too.’ Sarie hesitated and looked at Laurel. “You need to be prepared that Bella may not want to come back with you. She may decide to stay with Vear Du, regardless of the danger.”
“I’ll make her understand she needs to come home with me,” Laurel said staunchly. “I know she’ll see reason, I just know it.”
Sarie sighed, but didn’t say anything else on the subject. Instead she began to clear the table.
“We’ll wash up,” Aisling volunteered. She threw a dish towel at the boys. “You can dry.”
“While you lot are taking care of that, I’ll run into Penzance and collect Emily and some things we’ll need for this afternoon,” Sarie declared, heading to the door.
Laurel watched the car disappear down the lane from the window over the sink as she rinsed the plates. Coll came and stood behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. She glanced up at him over her shoulder.
“I’m scared, Coll. What if something goes wrong? I should go by myself, there’s no need for all of you to risk it.”
“We’ve been through that before. Remember out at the Men an Tol that night when you thought you’d go off without us?” he reminded her. “We all go, and that’s final.”
She glanced at Aisling and Gort, hoping they were on her side. The stubborn set of Ash’s chin and the determined expression on Gort’s face told her she was defeated. Sighing, she handed the last plate to Coll and let the water out of the sink.
* * *
It was just gone one in the afternoon by the time the group reached the high headland of Carn les Boel. A strong wind swept across the cliff face and a falcon soared along the rocks below them. The Atlantic sparkled blue and white in the sun as the surf broke over the base of the cliff. Without speaking, Sarie and Emily turned and led them down the trail over the shoulder of the hill bounded on both sides by purple heather and golden blooming gorse. The coconut-vanilla scent of the gorse seemed out of place with the dread
in Laurel’s heart. By the time they reached the bottom of the steep descent the tide was fully out. She followed Coll down the wooden steps set into the rock below the little waterfall that ran into Nanjizal bay. The sand was firm underfoot when she reached the bottom. To her left the high, narrow slit in the rock loomed like a formidable foe. It’s only a rock, she reassured herself. No, it’s not, her common sense screamed, it’s a freaking portal to God knows where! As if sensing her rising panic Coll reached over and twined his fingers with hers.
“We’ll find them, Laurel. You know we will.”
Not trusting herself to speak, she nodded and followed Emily across the beach, picking her way among the rocks littering the sand. When they reached the base of the rock, she halted and moved out of the way as Emily and Sarie made their preparations. At any other time, Laurel would have been interested in just what exactly they were doing and the reasoning behind it. Today, she only hoped they knew what they were doing. Aisling came up beside her and took her other hand. Gort had Aisling’s hand firmly in his. Laurel almost laughed. Just like school kids. Except this was no school outing, this was a different kind of adventure, and one that could have deadly consequences. She tipped her head back and looked up at the apex of the opening high over her head. Was the portal that big, or did it only take up a small part of the opening? She wished she’d thought to ask Sarie earlier. Right now she didn’t want to distract the two women from the arrangement of their tools. She swallowed hard and smiled at Coll.
Pushing her fear to the back of her mind, she dug her feet into the sand and thought of the crystal mare that carried her along the moon paths to Glastonbury Tor when Mom was so sick. The thought gave her confidence.
“Right then, are you lot ready?” Sarie’s voice cut through Laurel’s thoughts.
She glanced at her friends and nodded. “Whenever you are,” she replied. “Any idea how we make this thing work?”
“Let’s just concentrate on your gramma and walk through. See what happens,” Aisling suggested.
“Okay.” Laurel shrugged. She led the way, hesitating only slightly before entering the cleft in the rock. The sound of the waves on the beach was intensified by the close confines. She wrinkled her nose as the scent of wet rock, damp sand, and seaweed surrounded her. She turned to see if they all fit inside the opening and then waited. Closing her eyes, she thought as hard as she could about Gramma Bella. Nothing changed that she could tell. Laurel opened her eyes and stepped all the way through the cleft and out the other side.
“Are we there?” Coll still had his eyes screwed tightly shut.
“We’re still where we started, you git.” Gort nudged him with his shoulder.
Laurel ignored them, frustration rising in her chest. What were they doing wrong? “Let’s go back through from this side. Maybe that will make a difference.” She walked boldly into the shadow of the towering stone and out the other side where Sarie and Emily kept watch.
“Any suggestions?” Laurel asked Sarie.
“Gather round and let me smudge you lot. I included you when I did the site earlier, but perhaps this will do the trick.”
They gathered in a circle by the cleft while Sarie and Emily wafted the hallowed smoke about them. “It’s thyme for bravery and courage, and lavender for cleansing of thought and intent,” Emily told them. Gort sneezed when the pungent smoke curled around his head. For good measure, Sarie drew a circle of sea salt in the sand encompassing their little group and the spire of stone.
“Right, then. Concentrate hard and try again when you’re ready,” Sarie instructed them, returning to her place beside Emily.
“Ready?” Laurel glanced around at her friends. Fixing an image of Gramma Bella firmly in her mind, she moved toward the cleft once more. Her steps faltered just before the entrance as a wave of dizziness swept over her and the air seemed to ripple in the depths of the shadows. Coll didn’t stop in time and ran into her, pushing her forward.
“Go back, go back!” A thin reedy voice sounded from the thin air in front of her.
“Wait, something’s wrong,” Emily cried at the same time.
“Stop, stop! Don’t enter here.” Gwin Scawen materialized in mid-air and dropped to the sand at Laurel’s feet. He scrambled to his feet and snatched up his hat that had fallen in the sand. “You can’t go through this portal.” He gasped for breath.
Aisling dropped to her knees by the little man. “Slow down and catch your breath.” The piskie sagged against her, his thin limbs trembling. When his breathing had slowed, he looked up at Aisling.
“Thank the Lady I got here in time to stop you,” his voice still quavered.
“Why? What’s wrong, Gwin?” Aisling prompted him.
“You can’t use this portal, it’s far too dangerous,” he insisted.
“What’s wrong with it? Gramma used it and it worked for her,” Laurel demanded. “Did something happen to her? Is she hurt?” A horrible thought occurred to her.
“Peace, no, no. She is fine for the moment,” Gwin assured her.
“Fine, then it will work for us too.” Laurel moved toward the rock.
Gwin threw himself at her legs and hung on. “You cannot, Mistress Laurel. You must not.”
She looked down at the bedraggled piskie impatiently. “We don’t have time for this. Cut the crap and just tell me why we can’t go through here.”
“Yes, yes, of course.” He drew a deep breath and Laurel glowered at him. “Patience is a virtue, Mistress Laurel,” he said tartly.
“Gwin Scawen, you tell me what you’re on about right this minute or I’m going through,” Laurel threatened.
“No, no, you can’t, you mustn’t.” He blanched beneath the swarthy tone of his face.
“Why not?” she growled.
“They’re watching the portal…if you go through here you won’t get two feet before they have you in their net,” he said.
“They who?” Coll asked.
“The Council’s men. They can’t locate the selkie and his mate, but they know you are planning to come through and they’re waiting.”
“What good will we be to them?” Laurel edged closer to the rock.
“They plan to use you as bait to lure their quarry out of hiding. Blood calls to blood.”
“Laurel, listen to reason.” Sarie pulled her further away from the cleft.
She chewed her lower lip in frustration and paced in circles. She stopped abruptly. “Is there another portal nearby that we can use?” Laurel looked from the piskie to Emily and Sarie.
“It’s what I came to tell you,” Gwin stood up and spread his arms wide in an expansive gesture.
Laurel ground her teeth. “Couldn’t you have just started with that instead of beating around the bush?”
“I was getting to it,” Gwin defended himself.
“Where is the portal? We’ve wasted the better part of two hours here and the tide is turning. If it’s on the coast, time is running out for this afternoon.” Sarie looked toward the sea where the wind was whipping spindrift from the tops of the waves.
“No need to worry about the tides, Mistress Sarie. No need at all.” Gwin capered around them, coat tails flying behind him.
“Where do we need to go, then?” Ash asked.
“To the stone circle,” he announced proudly.
Laurel groaned inwardly. “Which circle? The one near the Men Scryfa, the Nine Maidens?”
“No, no, no.” The piskie shook his head and danced around Aisling.
“The Merry Maidens?” Coll suggested.
“No, no, no.” Gwin danced faster, twirling his pointed hat.
“Stop being silly and be serious for a moment, please.” Ash caught his hand as the piskie whirled by her.
“As you wish, keeper of my heart.” He stopped dancing and bowed low, the tip of his nose brushing the sand, his long forelock swinging in the sea wind.
“Thank you. Now, please tell me what stone circle you think we can use as a portal,” Aisling coax
ed.
“The circle with the pointing finger and the white quartz marker, of course.” Gwin appeared astounded at her puzzlement.
Laurel glanced at her friends and then at Sarie and Emily. Surely, one of them would know what the piskie was talking about.
“He means Boscawen-un Stone Circle,” Emily exclaimed.
“Yes, yes, yes. That is what you know it as. Boscawen-un.” Gwin capered around them again.
“Is it near here?” Laurel looked up at the cliffs.
“It’s a fair piece,” Emily said.
“How far?” Laurel asked, keeping in mind her idea of a long way was far different than her friends.
“It’s north of Saint Buryan, just east of Lower Leha. The stones are quite close to the road, only a short walk in.” Sarie said.
“We went through Saint Buryan on the way here, didn’t we? It had the old church with the big tower?” Laurel tried to remember how long it took to get to Polgigga after they passed it.
“Yes, we did. There’s a narrow road that goes north from there, but I think we should go home first and decide the best way to go about this.” Sarie began to gather her things.
“I don’t want to wait. Why can’t we go there now?” Laurel grumbled.
“Act in haste, repent at your leisure,” Emily counselled.
“Yes, yes, best to have a good plan,” Gwin agreed.
Laurel opened her mouth to protest and then snapped it shut. Once Sarie made up her mind there was no sense wasting her breath arguing. She bent and helped replace things in the carry all.
Gwin stopped dancing in mid-step and cocked his head to one side. “Coming, I’m coming,” he shouted and dived into the shimmer that appeared in the shadowy cleft of rock. He disappeared in a puff of displaced air.
“Sure,” Laurel grumbled. “He can use the thing, but we can’t.” After one last glance at the place he vanished she followed the others up the wooden steps to the path.
On the way back to the layby, they took the easier path up the little valley cut by the stream rather than the steep climb back up the cliff to Carn les Boel. The grazing cows regarded her with interest as she passed. They seemed disinclined to do anything other than look, so after a quick glance, Laurel ignored them. She turned to look back down at Nanjizal Bay. The sand gleamed in the late afternoon sun and far out in the shallow waters over the sand bar three seals played in the waves. She shivered. No matter how beautiful the azure sea looked, it was freezing. Mid-December was way too late for swimming.