The Curse: Touch of Eternity (The Curse series) (8 page)

Payton’s way of speaking seemed a little old-fashioned—almost from another time—but I figured it must be a Scottish dialect I wasn’t familiar with yet.

He got up and gestured in the direction of the slowly setting sun. I got off the floor, too, and stood beside him. He immediately stepped back and motioned past me.

“Look there!”

A fawn down on the banks of the lake seemed to be looking directly at us. Its pointed ears swiveled, listening in all directions, before it lowered its head and drank the clear water. The soft movement of its muzzle spread wide ripples across the surface, breaking the golden lake into a million tiny lights. I was enchanted. The last warmth of the day started to creep through my thin chambray shirt, wild spots of light danced in front of my eyes, and a gentle breeze danced softly over my skin.

Payton gasped.

Startled, I turned toward him. His face was white, and he was clutching the balustrade.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Come on, we should go back down now.”

Payton seemed to be doing better, so I tried to put it out of my mind. I saw why he thought it was time to leave. A crowd of people was streaming along the narrow path toward the tower. Payton pointed at the tight opening to the
staircase, motioning for me to go ahead. But the idea of squeezing myself down onto steep steps that I couldn’t see made me nervous.

I reached out for Payton to steady myself. Our fingertips had hardly touched when he yanked his hand back, took a deep breath, and let out some strange sounds.

“
Ifrinn! Daingead!
”

A moment of déjà vu passed over me, but I couldn’t grab the memory.

Then Payton took my hand again. Before I could give it a second thought, I stepped into the narrow opening and carefully felt around with my feet to get a safe grip on the old, rough steps. Payton held me until I felt secure enough to loosen my grip and climb down on my own. A thick rope seemed to be the only safety measure against falling, and I made my way down hand after hand, warily.

No sooner had I stepped through the arched door than Payton was standing behind me. I had no idea how he had managed to get down so fast. The thought of him squeezing through with his broad back and strong arms was absurd, and I would have thought it was impossible if I hadn’t seen him come up.

Payton kept his distance, and as a few of the other tourists shoved their way through to the dark mouth of the monument, he moved even farther away. I was just glad to be back on solid ground. I wandered a few steps toward the polished wooden benches set up in a semicircle around the tower. Then I sat down and looked over my shoulder. Payton had followed, but he didn’t sit next to me. Instead, he sat on the grass.

His eyes had such an immense intensity, and I wondered what it was about him that made me want to take in every little detail. I was getting used to his company, but inside I was still vibrating, as if I were standing next to a Tesla coil, with its energy conducting through me.

“So have you had enough of the history lesson,” Payton asked, “or do you want me to tell you more?”

What I really wanted to know more about was his history, but I told him to go on, that I still had time.

“How much time?” He seemed to have an idea.

I checked my cell phone. I still had an hour before the bus was scheduled to go back to Aviemore. “Actually, I have far too much time.”

I didn’t know what I could possibly do there for another hour, so I hoped Payton would stick around. If he were to say good-bye now, I’d probably die of boredom and they’d have to erect a monument in my honor. “Here died a bored teenage tourist,” the plaque would read.

Mostly, though, I didn’t want him to leave. I tried to think if I should throw my hair back lasciviously—or maybe lick my lips. That seemed to work in the movies. But I was saved from having to try any awkward girly maneuvers, because a bemused expression crossed Payton’s beautiful, mysterious face.

“What do you think about going for a walk with me, and I’ll act as your personal tour guide? I know a path that leads to the foot of the viaduct.”

A bit behind the souvenir shop, a gigantic viaduct spanned the valley, all the way from hill to hill. I knew the bridge: it was in the Harry Potter movies. You could buy posters in the shop showing the Hogwarts Express train,
which took Harry and his friends over this bridge. But even without the view, Payton’s offer would have been enticing.

“Sounds great.”

I got up immediately, and he stood up quickly, too, before I could reach out a hand to help him off the grass.

“You should eat something beforehand, though,” he said.

“Eat?”

“Weren’t you feeling kind of woozy up on the tower?”

“Right… I was dizzy. Something to eat sounds good.”

We wandered back to the shop next to each other, and I got a bag of chips and a bottle of lemonade. As we sat at one of the small bistro tables, a woman from my group threw a glance our way before turning around to whisper something to her friend. Oh, I thought, the gossip this would cause on the bus! Oh well.

I wiped my hands on a napkin. “So, shall we?”

Payton had also noticed the woman’s look. “And I thought the days when pretty girls had to have a chaperone were long over.”

Oh my God, I thought. Had he just called me pretty? My heart sped up by about a hundred beats per minute. I felt like I was in a deep, warm whirlpool, swirling around wildly with no protection. I just hoped Payton didn’t notice I was having a panic attack at the sound of his voice.

“So,” he said, “what brings you to Scotland?”

“Student exchange. I’m trying to improve my grades in geography and history. This trip was my teacher’s suggestion. He thought I needed… well… inspiration.”

Payton held me with a long look, as if he were searching my soul to see if I was telling the truth. It made me a little uneasy.

“And you? Do you live here? You seem to know your way around.”

“Near here.”

His kept his answers so short, which didn’t exactly encourage me to ask more questions.

“But why come to a tourist spot then? What with all the vultures stampeding around with their cameras and eating chips.”

“Hmm… I don’t know. Let’s say I was drawn here magically. And I am very glad about that, about following my impulse.”

If Ryan said something like that to a girl, he would have looked down at the end of the sentence, playing it for all it was worth. Payton, on the other hand, seemed matter-of-fact. He looked almost as if he were challenging me, but the hardness in his eyes didn’t match the softness of his voice.

Something about him sucked the truth right out of me, and I couldn’t help blurting out, “I’m glad you followed your impulse to come here, too.”

We started walking. Ow, I thought. That stupid pendant was burning against my skin. That was it, I decided then and there. I just couldn’t wear it anymore.

The brisk Scottish wind kept blowing across the hills and down to us, but I didn’t feel cold; being near Payton seemed to warm me from the inside. He told me about the bitter fight for the crown of England and Scotland. Charles’s rebellion, which had started where we stood, had been smashed only six months later at Culloden. When the battle
had been lost, Charles fled from the English troops and hid near the place where it all had started, back when his journey had held such promise.

When Payton was talking about history, he didn’t seem as tense. He spoke with great passion, as if he could see the events of the past taking place directly in front of him—almost as if he himself had taken part. It seemed the past and the present weren’t separate for Scots, the way we saw things in America.

The street and parking lot were way behind us as we wandered along the path under the impressive viaduct spanning the valley. A stony riverbed ran parallel to the path, and the quiet gurgling and swishing of the crystal clear water was like music. Butterflies fluttered in colorful clouds around the yellow blooming plants on the riverbank.

“So,” I said. “This is the bridge Harry Potter crosses when he goes to Hogwarts?”

“Yes, Scotland offers many magnificent backgrounds for Hollywood blockbusters.”

“It’s unbelievably beautiful here. I think I could stay here forever.”

“Forever? You don’t know how long that is!”

A dark shadow crossed Payton’s face, and he left me standing alone on the path. It seemed I was always saying the wrong thing.

Payton took two steps toward the water and sat down on a large rock, where he took off his socks and army boots. Barefoot, he waded into the middle of the shallow stream. After a short moment of hesitation, I set my shoes next to his and dipped my toes in. And whoa—was it icy!

“Oh my God,” I called out. “This is awful! How are you not freezing?”

Payton smiled, and I must have gone crazy, because I gritted my teeth and waded toward him. It was hard to get a grip on the slimy stones under my feet, and I could just see myself slipping. Fortunately, Payton had stopped on one of the rocks jutting out of the middle of the stream, and he waited there until I reached him. I sat down and rolled up my clammy, wet jeans. The material felt icy on my calves, and goose bumps spread over my entire body.

The afternoon glow of the sun was hitting the viaduct at an angle and making it appear to glow against the sapphire-blue sky. On the riverbank, a row of purple and pink rhododendrons seemed determined to outdo each other with their colorful displays. Payton and I sat next to each other silently and enjoyed the view as crickets chirped and the stream tinkled around our shining little silver island.

After a few minutes, he slid slightly closer to me. His body radiated a comforting warmth. I wondered if he was thinking of putting his arm around me. But I knew I had to go. I’d already missed one bus, and I didn’t want to miss another.

“Payton?” I whispered, so as not to destroy the magic of the moment too abruptly.

“Yes?”

His voice was very close to my ear, and his warm breath caressed my neck.

“I’m afraid I have to go back to the bus.”

“I’m afraid I knew that you were going to say that.”

But neither of us got up.

“You’re going back by bus?”

“That’s how I came.”

Payton raised an eyebrow. “Really? With those gossipy ladies? I can give you a ride, instead, if you want.”

My common sense was practically yelling into my ear, Are you crazy? You don’t know him at all! He could be a lunatic serial killer!

“That’s awfully nice of you, but I don’t think I should.”

But there was also another voice in my head, and this one was saying, Have you ever met a guy like this before? He’s amazing! Take a risk!

I decided it would be all right if I got Alison’s permission. I was sure she’d be fine with it. But when I called, no one picked up. I just heard Roy’s voice asking me to leave a message.

“Hi, it’s Sam. I just wanted to tell you that I won’t be coming home on the bus. I’m going to get a ride home with a friend. I just wanted to let you know so that you won’t worry. See you soon!”

When I hung up, my heart felt like it was beating in my throat. I had made a decision. I needed to find out more about this spark between me and Payton. My whole body was reacting to him, and I’d never felt anything like this before.

When I looked up at him, a small smile made its way onto his face. “Then we are no longer in a hurry, are we?”

“No, but I should probably tell the bus driver I’m not coming, so he doesn’t send out a missing persons report.”

He stood up and reached out his hand, and we made our way back to the riverbank. My teeth started to chatter, so we started to run. Once I almost slipped, but Payton’s strong
grip kept me from falling. Still shaking, we put our shoes on and started back down the path.

“Do you do this often?” I asked quietly.

“What?”

“This.”

“Take a walk?”

“No! Pick up girls in towers and take them wading in freezing-cold riverbeds.” I felt myself flushing, my cheeks turning as bright as the pink rhododendrons.

“I never do this kind of thing! And you? Do you often go off with guys you’ve met in towers, following them into rivers?”

I shook my head, embarrassed. “I’m ridiculously sensible, usually.”

Payton had stopped walking and looked at me. “Do you think it is sensible to be here with me?” His words were quiet, almost whispered.

“It’s the most irrational thing I’ve ever done.” I looked for his eyes, but he had turned his face away.

“But I don’t think I’m in danger,” I joked, trying to lighten the mood. “You don’t look like you’ve killed that many people recently.”

His laugh was hard and forced. “No, you are right. Not recently.”

P
ayton ducked under the stream of hot water in the shower. He shut his eyes and let the water pound against his eyelids. What a day he’d had. In the morning, he’d felt like some remote-controlled robot, drawn mindlessly toward the girl. He hadn’t fully considered what might happen. He’d been following her for days, though, so he realized that in some way, he was deliberately asking for pain.

The entire time, he’d thought she could sense she was being followed. She’d look around, puzzled, then go back to what she was doing. But he hadn’t let her see him. Hadn’t given her a chance. Then the feeling started growing more intense. The pain, the fire, that devoured him every time he got close to her, was rising higher and higher. It had been so long since he had felt something, anything, that the pain he was experiencing—so strong it could take his breath away—felt like a powerful drug. He didn’t know where the pain was coming from, but he was determined to find out.

He had watched her get on the tour bus. Then he got in his car—he’d decided not to take his motorcycle—and followed her. He thought about how it might all play out. Clearly, something big had happened to him. He wasn’t hollow anymore. But while he was glad to feel sensations, the
pain when he was near her was barely tolerable. It was taking a toll, draining him of his strength. When he thought back to the day she had touched him while on his motorcycle, the torment still hit him like lightning.