He listened.
We both turned toward the building.
We were on the river bank behind a thin strip of trees, with a view across golf-course-style grass to the side of the castle. We had an oblique view of the driveway. Four SUVs drove up and parked in a line.
He asked, “Who could that be?”
I said, “Our first visitors?—”
The SUV doors opened and soldiers stepped out, they were armed. A few headed up the steps while others walked around the side of the building, as if they were surrounding it. It looked as if they were there to make arrests.
Liam said, “Who the hell is that?—?”
But then he looked down in surprise as the vessel in his hand began to vibrate. I grabbed his arm. “What is it doing?—?”
Wind whipped through the trees above us. I looked up at billowing black clouds. There was a searing pain that rose up my hand to my elbow and spread across my shoulder. I put up my other arm to block the wind, and felt such intense pain inside my body that I felt like I was going to be ripped apart. I began to scream.
CHAPTER 61 - BLAKELY
LIAM AND BLAKELY CAMPBELL - 1301
Icame-to first by feeling very sick. I clapped my hand over my mouth, realizing I was draped across Liam’s chest. I shoved myself over, weakly retched in the grass, then collapsed back on the ground.
He asked, his voice a mumble, “Woodshee, are ye alright?”
I nodded, but then I sobbed and said, “No, what was that — are we okay?”
A low voice startled me. “Who are ye? What are ye doin’?”
I jerked up my head.
There was a large brown horse that was stamping left and right, and beside it was a man, wearing a long hooded cloak. The man looked young, he seemed to be about eighteen years old, and from what I could tell with his face half hidden in the shadow of his hood, very handsome, like a model, his hair was dark. Along with the cloak, he was wearing a belted tunic, high leather boots, and carrying a big sword, the tip of it casually down in the dirt. He looked like he was the king of the Ren Faire, as if he were cosplaying, except not like it was a costume — he looked real.
Real dark and ancient.
Actually everything looked dark, smoky, like someone needed to turn on the lights. But it was day — was I brain damaged? My breathing was too loud, my heartbeat hammered in my chest.
I ached everywhere.
Liam shoved himself up to sitting. “Who are ye, what hae ye done tae us?”
“I am Archibald. I dinna do anythin’ tae ye. Ye just time-jumped intae m’lands, and I haena seen a time-jumper in a verra long time.”
The End.
EPILOGUE I - ARCHIE
NEAR INNIS CHONNEL CASTLE ON LOCH AWE - 1301
The man asked, “What do ye mean? Where is this place?”
“Ye are in the past, the long ago past. From the looks of yer clothes ye are not used tae it.” I looked at my watch, one of the last vestiges that remained of our former modern lives.
Ben returned from checking for others, he said, “Nae one else.”
I asked the travelers, “Ye are alone? Were ye chased?”
The man said, “Aye, we are alone... I daena ken how, but I brought ye somethin’.”
