Page 27 of Time of the Warlord (Stones of Scotland #5)

S adie could barely meet Bethany’s eyes when she had a meeting with the royal couple. What a fool she’d been, letting Matthew talk her into running away in the middle of the night. She’d let her fear and mistrust overrule her, and as a result she had made the worst possible decision.

To her surprise, Bethany seemed remarkably calm about the whole situation.

“He was determined to find his father,” she said sadly. “Even without you as his guide, I’m sure he will manage. And he did live in the twenty-first century for the first seven years of his life. It is not entirely foreign to him. Still, we need to find him.”

“You’ll help?” Sadie asked tentatively.

Bethany smiled, the expression strangely wild and feral on a woman who was always so calm and composed.

“Oh, yes,” she said. “If my ex-husband is behind any of this mess, I intend to make him regret it.”

Comgall just grinned. Sadie looked at the king’s heavy sword, then back at the queen’s vicious smile. Suddenly, she was not sure which of them to be most afraid of.

“So, we’ll need a few more guardsmen, and some supplies,” Bethany said, turning to her husband. “You can escort us as far as the stone circle.”

Sadie expected Comgall to object, but he just inclined his head in agreement. He didn’t even look worried.

They rode out less than an hour later - Bethany, Sadie, Ciaran, and five crimson-clad guardsmen, each armed with sword, spear, and shield. Ciaran was just as heavily armed, and even more imposing, with a heavy fur cloak hanging from his shoulders.

“I don’t really know what to expect,” Sadie said nervously as they rode the final distance towards the stone circle.

“I think I can track Matthew,” Bethany said thoughtfully. “If he wants to be found, that is. And then we’ll just have to see where we end up.”

Sadie shivered. That did not sound like much of a plan to her, but neither Bethany nor Ciaran looked worried.

They all dismounted at the stone circle and left the horses tied up a short distance away. The group of them formed a line, all holding hands, while Bethany reached towards the nearest stone, her face screwed up in concentration. Sadie braced herself for the nausea, the sensation of falling - but nothing happened.

“I can’t feel him,” Bethany said, the first hint of fear in her voice. “I can’t tell if he’s blocking me, or if… he’s just gone.”

“I’m sure we’ll find him,” Sadie said encouragingly. “Keep trying.”

But Bethany shook her head decisively and stepped back from the stone.

“No. We’re going to find your sister, Sadie. Step up here so you can hold my hand.”

They reshuffled the line so that Sadie held Bethany’s cool hand - a sharp contrast to Ciaran’s warmth on the other side.

“Now, think of your sister,” Bethany said. “Not just what she looks like, but who she is . Everything that makes her unique, makes her special. Everything that would leave a trace on the universe as she moves through it.”

Sadie closed her eyes and obeyed. She thought hard of little Norah, dancing out in the rain. Norah as she grew older, and the two of them huddled together in bed late at night, swapping ghost stories. She thought of Norah here in Dal Riada, riding as if she had no fear.

“I’ve got her,” Bethany said smugly. “Now, let’s go.”

She touched the stone so suddenly that Sadie had no time to prepare. It was as if the ground flew out from under her, sending her whirling through an expanse of rainbow-colored nothingness. Mysterious shapes twisted and flew past as Sadie fought to keep upright, fought to keep her balance.

They all hit the ground hard in a long white corridor. Sadie and Bethany clung to each other, just about still standing. The guardsmen all collapsed on the floor, retching.

“Pull yourselves together,” Ciaran hissed, and the shame-faced men scrambled to their feet, all still a little pale. Ciaran himself seemed surprisingly unaffected by the journey, although Sadie detected a little tightness around his mouth.

“Where are we?” she whispered to Bethany, whose own face was set and pale.

“Lucan’s laboratory,” Bethany whispered in reply. “No surprise there.”

“Our mission is to find Norah and get out of here,” Ciaran instructed. “And potentially to take revenge on Lucanus Edmondson,” he amended, after glancing at Bethany’s face. The queen nodded approvingly.

They all crept forwards together, Ciaran in the lead. Sadie peered at each door they passed along the length of the corridor, but each was completely solid, with no hint of what lay behind it. There was no sound except the soft scuff of their feet.

“Something’s not right,” Bethany said quietly. “There should be more people here.”

Even Sadie could agree that the place felt uncannily empty. Where were all the employees? She’d never been able to get inside this place, not even when she was investigating Norah’s disappearance, so she had no idea what it was usually like. Surely it was not normally this quiet, though.

“In here,” Bethany said, gesturing to a door just ahead of them. Ciaran yanked it open and preceded them all into a large, dark room. Blinking lights in the darkness suggested that it housed some sort of scientific equipment. As Bethany flicked the lights on, one switch at a time, Sadie saw that the entire far wall was occupied by a huge, hulking machine, covered in mysterious lights. A doorway-sized hole sat in the center.

“Is that-” Sadie began, glancing at Bethany.

“It’s a time machine,” Bethany confirmed. “But it doesn’t look right. I’ve got a nasty feeling that we’re stuck here, unless there’s a handy stone circle nearby.

“Correct, my dear,” a voice said from behind them. They all whirled around to see Henry standing in the open doorway, his gun held casually in his hand. “What a surprise to see you here, Bethany. We might have mislaid your son, but I suppose you’ll do for now. Get that machine working, and I might just let you live.”