13

Sarah tied Snow up with the other horses and followed Meehall, Eoin, Ciaran, and Baltair into the thicker part of the oak and rowan forest. “Is na Malina tae come with us?” she asked Eoin’s back.

He didn’t answer, just kept climbing over twisted branches.

Meehall leaned down to whisper near her ear, “Eoin forbade her tae come tae the sacred grove. Says ’tis tae fraught with danger. She wanted tae accompany him anyhow, and he had tae appeal tae her that Rory might na be left with ainly one parent.” His breath tickled, and yet she didn’t flinch away.

Wanting to feel more of his breath but knowing that wouldn’t be wise, Sarah sighed, instead beginning to tread over the gnarled roots of huge old oaks and rowan trees. “It has na improved his mood at all.”

“Nay, it has na.”

“Dae ye believe this grove is a danger tae us?”

 

The Murrays had surrounded the sacred grove to guard them lest intruders appear.

Eoin was leading, as usual. "The rest o’ ye are along tae guard me. I wull speak with Deoord."

It wasn't really a question, so no one answered him.

Sarah hid the tiniest smile at Eoin’s expense. He probably took their silence for agreement, when it was far from that. She looked over to see if Meehall shared her amusement.

He didn't. His face showed only hope and reassurance. "Have na fear, Sarah. Soon, yer friends wull be free."

Sobered, she forced a smile. "I thank ye again for coming with me on this quest. I feel sae foolish for jumping at the chance tae time travel."

He pulled some bushes back to help her go through the forest. "Dinna be sae hard on yerself."

She went through and then moved aside again, so that they were walking close, but not touching. "What sort o’ friend am I, tae lead them intae captivity?"

Surprising her, Ciaran spoke up. "Ye are the kind o’ friend who goes after them and seeks their release. Who does na give up. Ye are the type o’ friend good tae hae."

Surprised and taken off guard, Sarah mumbled, "I thank ye. I dinna feel that way at all."

Ciaran rushed toward the next bush, reaching out his hand toward some branches which blocked the trail. "Well that is the kind o’ friend ye are, and ye need tae ken."

Meehall rushed ahead and pulled aside the branches, beating Ciaran there by a millisecond. "Aye, Nadia and Ellie are fortunate tae hae ye as a friend."

From up ahead, Eoin's voice came booming out. "Cut that silly banter oot, all o’ ye, and come ower here intae the sacred grove and guard me, already. While ye hae been caterwauling, I hae made all the preparations. Ye are holding up this expedition."

Sarah made her way through the remaining smaller trees into the small grove of large oaks and rowans. Maybe it was her imagination, but it seemed like the trees were dancing ever so slowly in a circle around a flat boulder that loomed in their midst.

Eoin was seated atop the flat boulder. In his hand was a tiny vial with a silver stopper. "Years ago, Deoord promised tae heed my summons if I poured out this vial inside a sacred grove." Flexing all his muscles, he looked up and addressed the trees, a solemn and self-important look on his face. "I dae this for the Murrays and MacGregors at the expense o’ the Camerons. I summon ye, Deoord, tae tell us how tae defeat the Camerons. Tell us how ’tis they travel such distances withoot dozens o’ druids in their midst. Give us aid tae find them and defeat them." He poured a thick black liquid out of the tiny vial onto the stone.

The liquid ate at the stone, making acrid smoke rise up.

Sarah didn't want to feed Eoin’s self importance by watching, but she couldn't help it. And then she had other things to think about.

The smoke over the hole being eaten in the stone shimmered. Colors swirled around. It was a meaningless swirl at first, but soon it all came together into the likeness of a very old man with wrinkled skin and gnarled hands. He was wearing a white linen robe that had seen much wear, judging by the stains on it. Oddly, the stains didn't make the robe look used but rather, seasoned. The man's hair was long and silver. And on his head was a crown of mistletoe. His pale eyes were open, but they plainly did not see, being unfocused and devoid of recognition.

The druid spoke in a voice that belonged to a much younger man, sturdy and sure. "Yer need must be great, Eoin. As ’twas agreed, this wull be the one and ainly time I come tae ye."

Eoin didn't waste any time with pleasantries. "Where has the Cameron clan gone with the lasses, Deoord? Which is our fastest route tae them? How can we get the lasses away with the least amount o’ bloodshed on oor side? Tell me!"

Deoord didn't cower at Eoin’s angry words, but he wasn't quick to answer, either.

Spittle flew out of Eoin’s mouth. His face became red and his hands once more clawed into fists, which he shook at Deoord. "Tell me! That acid will eat through the stone before your slow voice responds!" Meehall’s brother lunged forward as if to shake the old Druid, but his hands went right through the apparition, which was gone for a moment with a break in the smoke before re-congealing into the likeness of Deoord.

Sarah couldn't stand it. She'd heard of this happening before, with overeager students at Celtic University. Druids didn't like being dictated to, and they would do everything in their power not to satisfy demands.

She addressed the Druid in the way of the university’s hired secretarial staff. "Please. Please tell me where my friends are and how I can save them."

The slightest smile took to the face of the old druid even as Eoin kept ranting and raving at him.

Deoord addressed his answer to Sarah, with his unseeing eyes. "The Cameron clan does hae a druid child.” He left it at that, pausing as if waiting for her to exclaim. When she didn’t, he went on.  “Sculpted from dirt and created from magic, druid children hae nay parents. The earth is their mother. They see openings in space, openings that exist naturally and have since the beginning of time. Druid children are rare, and verra powerful. The Cameron clan’s druid child has na found portals for time travel yet, only portals that travel distance in the blink of an eye. But once she discovers how tae find portals that gae agin time, the Murray clan is doomed." He started to fade away.

Desperate at the idea that he would be gone and she wouldn't know how to save her friends, Sarah sobbed with grief, letting out her heart's desire in a whisper, begging the old Druid to help her. "How dae I find my friends? The Camerons have captured them!"

Just before he faded away, Deoord looked right at her. "Find them soon, verra soon. The Cameron clan has some aught planned for them. An abomination agin this waurld. Gae west. ’Tis na far. And dinna lose heart. The druid child can ainly travel through portals. There are na portals near the sacred groves."

"A thousand times, I thank ye!” Sarah said through tears of relief. She was puzzled about the portals and the sacred grove. Why had he said that? But he was fading again, and she had a much more urgent question. “Och, and I beg o’ ye, afore ye leave us, pray dae tell how Jaelle fares?"

On hearing Jaelle’s name, Deoord’s features softened. He quit fading. "Jaelle is a blessing tae my people, and I dinna mean ainly as the wife o’ my clan chieftain and mither o’ his bairns. She is o’ prime import tae us as a fighting teacher. Her training in the ways people fight in the future hae gained us the upper hand in the region. We are safe on account o’ her expertise.”

This made Sarah smile even though her tears still flowed. “Jaelle did in all ways wish tae be a fighting teacher.”

Deoord drifted to her on the breeze, and when he put his ethereal hand on her cheek, Sarah thought for a moment she actually felt contact. “I can see that ye miss yer friend and regret the loss o’ her company. Yer loss is oor gain. I ken ’twas na yer choice, but I thank ye for the sacrifice nonetheless. We are verra glad she came tae oor time."

Sarah might have imagined it, but Deoord looked over at Eoin in disapproval before he was gone.

They were ten steps away from the grove when Sarah heard her name and looked back to see the ancient druid had returned.

“Dinna fash ower much,” he called out to her. “The portals dinna open tae the sacred groves, but always several hoors ride, sae nay one can surprise us there.”

She shared a confused look with Meehall, and then the Druid faded away for good.