The Curse: Touch of Eternity (The Curse series) (12 page)

Then something gently brushed my head. The old woman was standing directly in front of me.

“Who are you?”

I hadn’t asked the question out loud, but I could read the answer in her thoughts: “Vanora.”

“Vanora? But what do you want from me? What’s going on? I’m scared!”

Her hand was resting on my head, as if she were blessing me. And just as before, she answered silently: “‘Face your destiny. Remember those you are a descendant of. Fear not. The pendant will protect you.”

She put the pendant around my neck. It looked new and shiny. The metal was warm, and I immediately felt safe.

The wind died down, and the dark clouds disappeared. And like the clouds, Vanora vanished. Only her voice was still echoing in my head.

The last thing she said was, “Beware of the fall.”

With a start, I sat straight up in bed, feeling terribly afraid. My heart was racing and a layer of sweat covered my skin. I switched on the lamp next to my bed. Seeing the cozy room in the light, peaceful and tidy as usual, helped to push the nightmare to the back of my thoughts.

That stupid pendant was even haunting me in my dreams. I looked for it on the desk, but it wasn’t there; it was around my neck. That was impossible! I was certain I’d taken it off. Then I took a closer look and saw that the pendant had changed. It was no longer old and tarnished. It was shining like new—and the engraved writing was clearly legible. I was starting to freak out when a quiet whisper made its way to my ear. The words sounded strange, but I could understand everything:

“Face your destiny. Fear not.”

The woman in my dream seemed so real, and I wondered who she was, this Vanora, and why her words actually made me feel safe. I wanted to be brave for her, to face my destiny. But what was my destiny? Would she come back and tell me?

Then I remembered that Roy was an expert in Scottish history and legends. I had discussed my first dream with him, and he was open-minded about it. Maybe he could help me decode this one. Disturbed by such a vivid dream, I lay awake for a long time, stewing things over in my mind.

Although I didn’t have anywhere to go in the morning, I got up early to talk to Roy. I wanted to get his opinion as soon as I could. When I went down to the kitchen, he was already sitting at the table, engrossed in his newspaper and slurping his coffee. The fantastic smell of baked biscuits was in the air, but Alison was nowhere to be seen. That was good
because she was far more skeptical than Roy when it came to myths and legends. Without her practical influence, I could talk to Roy without any inhibitions.

“Good morning, Roy.”

I sat down next to him and poured myself a cup of coffee.

“Aye, good morning. Did you sleep well?”

“To be honest, no. And that’s exactly what I want to talk to you about. Do you have a moment?”

Roy laid the paper aside, pushed the plate with biscuits toward me, and leaned back in his chair.

“What’s up?”

I picked up a biscuit and broke off a little piece.

“I had another strange dream. It was similar to the one I had before. But this time, something else, something kind of weird, happened.”

Roy waited for me to continue, but suddenly I felt insecure. It was absurd to believe that a woman from my dreams had come into my room and put my pendant around my neck. My newly spruced-up pendant, no less.

“Sam, look, I’m from Fair Isle. A tiny island, far north, between the Orkneys and the Shetlands. There are things there that many people, including those here, would not believe. I have seen things that aren’t supposed to exist. But I did see them, aye? So you don’t need to worry. I will believe you, whatever you tell me.”

I could tell he meant what he said. And so I told him everything. In between sentences, I paused to put pieces of biscuit into my mouth. The warmth and sweetness of Alison’s baking felt like my connection to reality. Like a soft, safe anchor in this whole muddle of dreams.

When I had finished, Roy shook his head. “Astonishing. Really astonishing. Do you mind if I look at the necklace?”

He held the pendant with strong fingers, and brushed over the engraving.

“
Cuimhnich air na daoine o’n d’ thanig thu.
I know that motto, it’s the—”

“The Camerons’ motto, I know.”

“Aye, right. It means, ‘Remember those…”

“‘… you are a descendant of.’” I completed his sentence. Goose bumps covered my body, and I had to swallow several times to fight the lump in my throat.

Roy nodded. “But how did you know?”

“From my dream. There was a woman, and her name is Vanora. In my dream, she said that to me.”

Roy laughed out loud. “Aye, in your shoes I would also be feeling alarmed. But remember, it is only a necklace. Vanora means “white wave,” and that tells me she must be an old woman, one of the Island Folk. I am sure she is of no danger to you.”

“But Roy, how do you explain why I am dreaming of island women I didn’t even know existed?” I brushed up the last crumb from my plate and stuck it in my mouth.

“I think she wants to reveal herself to you. She wants you to understand what she is trying to tell you.”

Roy had a strange expression on his face. I didn’t know who I thought was crazier—me for telling him all this or him for believing me.

“Let’s assume you’re right,” I said. “How do you know this stuff?”

“For thousands of years, the people on Fair Isle have been living there in peace, without any influence from outside civilizations. The people are fishermen, simple people. The Wise Women of Fair Isle made sure everything was in order. They spoke the law. They were the leaders of the tribe. It was a responsibility they passed down to their daughters and granddaughters. And because everyone was so dependent on the sea and its moods, all the Wise Women were named in honor of the water. Like White Wave or Peaceful Current. But also Raging Lake.”

I leaned forward in my chair, nearly knocking over my coffee.

“These women,” Roy said, “could also connect to the powers of nature, or at least, so it is said. Their supernatural powers and abilities became famous. At one point, some of the mighty Scottish clan leaders sent ships to the island with the intention of stealing one of the Fair Witches—that’s what they called the Wise Women. They thought the witches could help bring them more power and wealth.”

I imagined how terrible it must have been, to be taken forcibly from your family and home, to face an unsure destiny at the hands of people who wanted to steal your powers.

“The Wise Women saw the warships coming,” said Roy. “And they gave the men of the island an order—to bid farewell to one of their daughters each. The men wanted to fight and defend their island, but they followed the instructions of the Wise Women, and soon eight girls stood waiting on the beach in their white gowns. As the heavily armed warriors streamed by the dozens onto land, they heard the voice of the eldest Wise Woman, a voice carried right up to them by the wind.

“Take these powerful children of our folk. To maintain the peace, they will obey you. Never again will you return to Fair Isle. The sea would devour you. Now go.”

This was something the warriors hadn’t expected at all, and there was disagreement among some of the men, who were determined to have a battle. Then the skies darkened. Lightning flashed over the wild sea. The clansmen took it as a sign. They grabbed the eight girls, dragged them to their ships, and left the island.”

“Wow, what a story!” I couldn’t wait to hear more.

Roy laughed. “I hate to do this to you, but I have to get going or I’ll be late to work. We’ll talk more later.” He got up, folded his newspaper, and put his jacket on.

I don’t know how he could so easily leave the story and return to the present day. I could still see the frightened girls in front of me, whose fate had been to leave their home to protect their families’ lives. Face your destiny. These girls had done just that. But if that’s what it had meant for them, I wondered, what could it mean for me?

Roy already had his bag under his arm. He stuck his head through the door and said, “I’m off, then. Have a good day.”

“Roy? What does
mo luaidh
mean?”

“
Mo luaidh
? That means ‘my darling’ in Gaelic. Just how many necklaces do you have?” he joked.

I blushed. “It wasn’t from a necklace.”

“Aye.” Roy grinned knowingly.

Then he was out the door, and I started grinning, too.

P
ayton raced behind his brother, both of them flying along the wind-buffeted road on their motorcycles. Sean took a turn so low his knee almost touched the ground. Payton accelerated and followed suit. They’d been on the road together since the break of dawn, but they hadn’t spoken a single word. Payton had almost caught up with Sean. When he reached him, he pulled up his handlebars and zoomed past him on his back wheel. Then he turned into a parking lot and stopped.

Sean pulled in and got off his bike. “Not bad. If you practice another hundred years, you might get as good as me.” He patted his little brother on the back.

“And in another hundred years, you might finally notice that I’ve been letting you win.”

The brothers were very competitive; it seemed every ride they did together ended up as a race. But there was no more time for that—it was almost noon, and Payton had quite a lot to discuss with Sean.

“So what’s so important that Nathaira has called the whole clan together?”

“Something strange happened,” said Sean. He paused. He seemed to be having a hard time putting itinto words.
“I was hoping to annoy Blair. He was polishing his Bentley, and I thought a little gravel shower would do the trick. Unfortunately, my stupid prank backfired on me. I slipped and landed under the bike.”

Payton lifted an eyebrow. “As I said, I let you win. You really are a pathetic driver.”

“No, seriously. When I fell off, I actually got hurt. I felt pain. Terrible pain.”

Payton paled. “Pain?”

“Yes! Ask Blair. He thought it was so funny he nearly fell over laughing. Don’t you think that’s strange, too?”

“That is strange. I wonder if this is all connected.” Payton rubbed his forehead.

Sean watched his brother briefly. “If what is all connected?”

“Everything. I think everything is connected.”

“Really, Payton. Could you please be a bit more precise? I have no bloody idea what you’re talking about.”

“I’d better start at the beginning.” He leaned against his bike. “I was driving along one evening, and I saw this girl next to the road. I suddenly felt incredible pain. Pain so bad I couldn’t even see. I rammed straight into her suitcase. Thank God I didn’t kill her.”

Tensely, Sean urged his brother to go on. “Well, what happened then?”

“Then, boom, I see her again, not even a week later. It was raining, she missed her bus, and she needed help. I almost rode past her, but then my curiosity got the better of me. I gave her a ride to Aviemore, and the whole time I thought I was going to die any minute. When she touched me, it felt as if I were burning.”

Sean was paying very close attention.

“Since then, I’ve been following her. At a certain distance, the pain is bearable, but the closer I get to her, the worse it gets.”

“What do you mean, the closer you get to her?” Sean asked. “How close have you been?”

It was clear from Sean’s voice that he was not at all pleased, but Payton couldn’t do anything about that at this point. His words tumbled out.

“I talked to her. Then we took a walk, and the next time we spent a whole day together. I’m supposed to see her again tomorrow. She’s beautiful, and kind, and… well, it’s hard to explain. I feel like I need her. I even need the pain! I haven’t felt anything in so long that I now crave pain. I need to find out what is going on, why I react to her that way. I think it must have to do with the resemblance she has to—”

“Wait, what resemblance?” Sean still didn’t quite seem to understand what his brother was talking about, but he couldn’t miss the passion in Payton’s voice.

“This sounds crazy, but when I first saw her, I thought one of the Cameron women was standing in front of me.”

Now it was Sean’s turn to go pale.

“Payton, for God’s sake! Why didn’t you tell me any of this earlier? She’s a Cameron? Do you think this has anything to do with the curse?”

Payton felt cornered, but since when was it up to Sean who he spent time with?

“
Sguir!
” He warned his brother to stop.

As often happened when they fought, they had switched to Gaelic.

“I am to stop?” countered Sean. “With what? You are the one who needs to stop seeing that girl. It is far too dangerous.”

“You can’t tell me what to do.
Pog mo thon!
” Payton turned and stormed off, onto a footpath that led away from the parking lot, out into a park along the cliffs.

“No, I will not kiss your arse,” Sean yelled before running after him. “And what do you think Cathal will say to this?” He tried to calm himself down, knowing that otherwise Payton would end the conversation for good.