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lex led Zeus out of his stall, talking to him the whole time — a habit of long standing. The two had been together a number of years and Alex knew the horse wouldn't complain about the weather as Da had mentioned.
"Where's Ian? Is he coming?" Jack called out. He had arrived with Hector close on his heels.
"Do ye think he can mange this? I know his leg's doing well, but what if this is too much?" Hector was not as sure of this plan as Alex.
"He'll be fine. He's got a nose like Mam's — and Caitlin's too, now that I think about it. He's always been able to track better than the three of us. More than that, he needs to feel he's a part of this family. Let's give him a chance to make his mark."
Alex had taken the reins as leader a few years ago, just as Da had planned. And now he was allowing Ian to pull his weight. Hector nodded.
Well, then. Maybe Alex is finding his way to including others in his decision making and allowing them to bring ideas as well.
Ian came running into the stable, a bit frustrated as it took him longer to get his boots on than it did the others. But no comments were coming from them, so he brought his young gelding out and threw a saddle over him quickly. This beauty was a gift from Da a couple of years ago. He was totally black, except for one white blaze down his face. Ian had named him Merlin, a character from his favorite book, Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory. He had found it in the library and read it often.
Alex was back to giving orders, as usual, and no one was going to challenge his plans this night.
"Jack, you go over on the west side of the property. It's rugged over there, so I wouldn't expect they would have gone that way, but we gotta check everywhere. Hector, you go to the south end as far as that old crofter's hut. Maybe Deirdre would try to hide in there for the evening. She's not in her right mind, so we don't know what she might be thinking. Ian, I want you to come with me. We'll go to the top of the moor, at the crest, and see if you can smell anything. The wind there will carry scents a far distance. Now, if anyone sees anything or hears anything, fire one shot as a signal to the rest of us and we'll all come in that direction. We'll meet back here at daybreak. Let's hope we find them before then, but if not, we'll get more help. Now off with ye."
Jack took off headed west, and Hector made tracks to the hut. Alex and Ian started at a fast pace. The moon was lighting their way fairly well as it was only a day til it would reach its fullness. As they got to the top of the moor, Ian suddenly stopped, pulling quickly on the reins. Merlin stomped and snorted, annoyed at such an abrupt command.
"What's wrong? Do you smell something?"
Ian shook his head. "Nae, but we forgot something. We gotta go back."
"We can't go back. We've gotta find Caitlin quickly, lad."
"Alex, my nose is good — but Willie's is even better. We gotta get him."
"Damnation! What was I thinking? Getting married and losing yer bride in the same day turns yer brain to mush. Yer right. Let's get Willie."
They flew down the moor and rushed to the stable where they had put Willie so the women at the celebration wouldn't be afraid. Alex was quite sure Willie would not have harmed anyone, but it was better that the wolf be put away for the evening.
When Alex and Ian opened the stall door, Willie was standing at attention as if waiting for them, right next to his new friend who had appeared at the barn a few days ago. It was the strangest looking cat any of them had ever seen. In fact, no one had ever seen such a cat. It was larger than most, and its body was a soft pale yellow, and its ears were tipped in black as was his tail. Then, most unusual, it had blue eyes. The farm lads had all commented on it, but Willie seemed to think the cat was acceptable, and allowed the animal to curl next to him for a quick "cat nap."
"Willie, come boy. We've got to find Caitlin."
The words were hardly out of Alex's mouth before the wolf ran out of the stable and headed to the moor. Alex wondered if the animal hadn't understood every word. The cat looked at both men, then settled into the hay, licking at his front paws.
Willie was at the crest of the moor several minutes before Alex and Ian. But he had sat down, almost as if he had already tired of this chase.
"Willie, do you smell something, fella?"
Alex looked about, but didn't see nor hear anything. Turning to Ian, Alex look puzzled.
"What do you think Ian? He's acting as if he wants to stay here."
"I don't know, Alex. But I do know he's a special wolf. Wabi told me enough to know we should trust Willie's instincts over our own."
Alex looked at Ian. The expression on the lad's face stopped him in his tracks.
"What's wrong? Did ye hear a noise — or smell something?"
"Nae, but I gotta go to the lodge. It's important. Ye just gotta trust me now. Go on and I'll catch up with ye. I can't explain it just now. But go. I'll be back in a few minutes."
"Ian, I can't wait, lad. Caitlin's out there. I've got to find her and soon. Hurry yerself. I'm going on without ye." Alex couldn't for the life of him understand why the lad was insistent on going to the lodge. He knew he and Willie must keep on the trail, if they could find one.
Ian tore through the place, frantically looking in jacket pockets to find an important piece of paper. Finally, finding the right jacket hanging on one of the pegs, he reached inside and his fingers felt the folded piece of parchment he had placed there. It was the paper Wabi had given to him with the instruction, "Don't read it, not just yet anyway. But if a time should come when you wonder what I've written on the page, then that is when you must read it. And it's most important that you follow the instructions, exactly as they are written."
There was no doubt in Ian's mind that this was the moment. Every nerve in his body screamed for him to do this now. Slowly unfolding the paper, he read the words carefully and felt a rush of anxiety he was not sure what to do with. He was becoming more and more aware lately that there was something he must do, but what it was exactly he did not yet know. Just now, however, he also remembered other words of Wabi's in one of their discussions.
"Ian, lad, when the time comes you must open your mind, your heart, your spirit, and embrace the experience. Don't be afraid. Just follow your intuition. It will not lead you astray."
Holy sheep shite! Should I really follow his directions?
~ * ~
ALEX WAITED FOR ONLY a few minutes, then he had to move. Had to do something.
"Come fella. We gotta find her. She's in trouble."
Willie understood completely, but when Alex called him, he continued to sit, just outside the circle of stones.
"Come on, boy. Let's move on."
Finally, Willie obeyed Alex's command, but kept turning his head toward the stones, as if he could see something that perhaps Alex couldn't. But Alex was in command. Willie would follow.
Ian left the lodge and was at the crest of the moor. Alex was gone apparently, as was Willie. He stopped and dismounted, then following the instructions on Wabi's paper, walked a few steps forward and reached the circle of stones. Only the called ones are to enter...he remembered Mam's words.
Ian knew he was to enter the sacred circle, and even though he was afraid, he continued until he reached the middle of the space. He stood atop a small flat stone that was only about two feet by two feet. There was such a feeling of peace in this place.
He had not known what to expect, but peace was not something he thought to find. Then he felt the wind rise and he could hear voices, far away, singing a song . . . almost like a lullaby . . . and it seemed familiar.
Following the instructions on Wabi's paper, he raised his arms skyward. As he did so, he began to chant in a language he had not known he could speak, but one that had been used for millennia by others of his ilk. His words were echoed back to him by other chanters, and he understood their meaning. Then, in a hushed whisper that he almost missed, one voice stood out from all the others, and he fell to his knees in reverence. He knew that voice. Mam. Her spirit was ever so real and he was so wrapped in her presence he could hardly breathe.
"Yes, dear boy. I'm always here for you. Always in this place."
Then she drifted away and he felt such a loss. But as she left, his mind was suddenly filled with images, one after the other — and they meant nothing to him.
"Embrace the experience, Ian. Follow your intuition." Wabi's words rang in his head.
He stood again and this time when he raised his arms he opened his center and let his mind fly as far as it wished. The images began to become clearer and clearer. A dark place. Cold. Water dripping. Lavender and mint. Voices, female. And another image — no, not image — a sense — evil. This place was filled with darkness. Something powerful and evil was in this place. And so was Caitlin.
His fear resurfaced and he was so tempted to leave this place of images. Where was this? Caitlin was here. He must look again . . . and listen . . . and smell. Another scent, or more accurately, an odor . . . sulphur . . . and a sound he couldn't place. Wind whistling? Perhaps. As the images began to waver and disintegrate, the last one caught his attention—a fleeting image of the letter X, just for the briefest of moments, then the images were gone and the singing stopped. All that remained was the delicate scent of roses, which Mam always left in her wake.
Alex still had found no tracks, nothing to give even a clue as to where Deirdre may have taken Caitlin. The more time passed, the more agitated the Highlander became. With no sense of where to go next, he stopped, dismounted and tried to think, if that were possible.
Kneeling on one knee, he stroked Willie's muzzle, wishing he had never put the wolf in the stable during the celebration. He would have kept Caitlin safe from Deirdre, of that Alex was certain. But then, that was his job now, wasn't it?
Well, Alex, my man, ye've not done so well as a protector so far. Maybe ye better let Willie keep that position 'til ye get better at it.
Exasperation was not an emotion that Alex cared for. Neither was fear.
Willie had stood still for the Highlander's attentions, but when Alex rose, Willie did something Alex had never seen him do. The wolf threw his great head back and called to his ancestral past. "HOOOOWWWWWWW!" That howl would have awakened the dead. It even had the hair on Alex's neck standing at attention. The next second the wolf tore off across the path to the moor. Alex had enough sense to realize this animal knew something he didn't, so he jumped on Zeus and he, too, made a short trip of getting back. However, when he arrived he was unsure of the scene before him.
There, in the center of the circle of stones, stood Ian, hands raised in the air and a golden glow shone on his body.
Just like the light that wavered over Caitlin's body when I found her in the circle.
What that meant he didn't know, but he'd take whatever help he could get now and ask questions later. Or maybe not even then.
Willie entered the circle and lay at Ian's feet, almost in supplication. Another four-footed beast was there also, the great cat with the black tipped ears and black tail. He, too, lay prone, as if waiting for an event to occur.
Not knowing what to do or say, Alex dismounted and stood quietly. Only a second was necessary as Ian lowered his hands, bowed his head for a short moment, then left the circle with Willie and the cat following.
"Have ye something to tell me, lad?" Alex spoke quietly, and waited for a response.
"I have information that may help. But it'll take all of us to figure out what it means. Just images. But I know they're important to finding Caitlin."
"Aye, then we'll call Jack and Hector and sort this out."
He fired one shot from his pistol and the echo from that single shot resonated from one end of the moor to the other. Alex knew his brothers would follow that echo and be here as soon as their mounts could find their way.
"I'll ask ye no questions, just as I asked Caitlin none. But are ye sure your images come from a place, or person, we can trust?"
"I don't know much more than ye do. But Wabi told me to trust my intuition, so I will. Don't think we got much else to go on anyway."
"Aye, ye got that right. But damnation, this waiting around and getting nowhere is not to my liking. We've got to find her!"
The night grew colder and colder. The wind was whipping around, first in one direction then another, as if it couldn't decide where it wanted to go. But the clouds had cleared and the moon provided even better light for the bewildered band of brothers.
In what seemed like ages to Alex, but was only a few minutes, Willie jumped up and began to pace the ground. Alex and Ian heard nothing at first, but shortly their ears, too, picked up the sound — horses coming at a fast pace.
"Thanks be to the Creator," Alex mumbled.
Now they could make a plan or develop a strategy. He'd never felt so inept. The two, Jack and Hector, listened as Ian told them what he had seen in his vision. They, too, asked no questions. It had never been Hector's nature to question much, but Jack usually wanted every detail. Since meeting Wabi and Caitlin, however, he'd learned to accept there was much in this world he knew nothing about. Right now he'd listen to anything that might help them in their search for Caitlin. He'd never seen Alex in a state of inertia. It was as if he couldn't get that fine brain of his to function. But now, with information recently received through Ian, perhaps they could make some headway.
"All right, lad, tell us once again what ye saw."
"Jack, it was just images. Some very clear, others not so much so. And scents . . . and sounds."
Alex came to stand in front of the lad. "Think hard on these images. Caitlin's life depends on them."
"Aye. Aye. There was darkness. The place was cold, but not freezing. And I heard a sound, like the wind whistling as it does just before a storm. And there were a number of scents — a few that I recognized, but others that I didn't."
"What scents? What did you recognize?" Alex was desperate for any information.
"Alex, I don't wish to upset ye, but I could smell lavender and mint. I don't know if ye are aware of it, but that's Caitlin's scent. It's just part of her, like roses were a part of Mam.
"Keep going, lad." Alex was indeed aware of Caitlin's scent.
"Any other scents ye could get a whiff of?"
"Yeah. A strong odor of sulphur. It was not pleasant, but I know that's what it was."
"Sulphur. Where would we find that smell?" Jack started pacing to and fro. "Sulphur, sulphur."
"What about any other images?" Alex was still prodding, hoping to find a clue that would give them direction.
"Oh, there was the sound of running water. A constant running."
"That's it?" Jack was frustrated with not being able to connect all these smells, sounds, and images.
"Well, no. There were a couple more things. But I don't think yer gonna like it."
"Come out with it, Ian!" Alex, not one to lose control easily, had shouted at the boy.
"There was evil there, all around the place. I can't tell ye any more than that, but it was frightening, I tell ye."
"What frightens me is not knowing what state of mind Deirdre's in. Let's hope she's regained her senses and realizes this scheme of hers was not such a good idea.” Alex had his doubts about that happening.
"Oh, and one more thing. The letter X appeared, just for a second, then it was lost in the fog, but it kept flashing for another moment."
"X? What the hell does that mean?" Jack was not one for figuring out puzzles. He preferred to take action. Any kind of action was better than this.
Ian just shook his head. He had no idea what it meant.
"Then let Willie lead the way. He's been prancing now for ten minutes like he's ready to go," Jack said. He needed to get moving.
Alex got on his haunches and took Willie by the jowls, looking deeply into the wolf's eyes, as he had seen Caitlin do when she wanted his full attention. "Willie. We need ye to find Caitlin. Come on, now. We need yer help."
Willie ran to the circle of stones, sniffed around for a few seconds, then was halfway across the moor before they could even get mounted.
"Let's hope he knows where we're headed. God knows I don't," Alex muttered.
He spurred Zeus and the horse responded immediately. The thunderous sound made by this group of men on horseback could be heard across the moor. Certainly the two men standing on the front porch of the lodge heard it.
"Come on in now, Daniel. Those lads will find her. Never known any of 'em to not complete any task. Come on. Let's have a wee dram and find our beds."
Andrew opened the door and let Daniel walk through. These two had seen much in their years, but this latest event had them worried. Daniel would like nothing better than to talk with Alice about now. She always had a way of pulling information together more quickly than others. If ye asked her about it, she'd just tell you it was woman's intuition. Maybe, thought Daniel, maybe.