I followed Marcus to the hallway where all the guests were accommodated, including my family. He lightly tapped on a door and stepped in.
The windows facing the courtyard were all shut and I couldn't hear a thing. I exited the house through the garden entrance to see if the room had windows facing the river like ours. I scaled up to the second floor and stayed behind the window curtains.
"It just occurred to me now. No wonder she couldn't visit Chicago." I heard Marcus's voice.
"If the stones work only one way, how were we able to return then?"
"I think by one way, it means the place where they can be activated from. We can activate my stone only from here. And hers only from Chicago. We used the portal you created from here to return. If the portal had closed, I think we would have been stuck in Chicago."
Chicago, portal, stones... what was he talking about? Maybe they were speaking in a mixed language because most of it sounded like gibb
Marcus's feet staggered, and I caught him from falling to the ground.She loaded the next one to aim at Marcus again."No! Stop!!"He seemed to be awake but not able to get off the ground. What the hell did she shoot him with? Poison?I ran to stop her but was too late. She took a shot at him again."Stop, don't kill him." My voice cracked when I tried to beg.She grabbed another dart and was loading once more. I reached close enough to attack her, but she pulled out a strange weapon from underneath her tunic and moved toward me threateningly, speaking in a foreign language.But what was she going to shoot me with? She loaded nothing in there. It was too tiny to be a weapon. Was she fooling me?I disregarded her warning and pulled my knife out from my boot while grabbing her hair with my other hand.I heard a click sound and saw her nervous expression before she pressed it again. She was too slow, and I had already
"How can that be? Billy took them?""Liam Cooper checked them out."Marcus and the Druid had some heated exchange of words about the Druid not telling Marcus about Liam earlier."We were focussed on finding Alyssa's home address back then, not who Liam Cooper was or why he exists, remember?"We went to find someone named Jake, the doctor."You folks are driving me insane. That guy looked exactly like him but spoke perfect English," Jake said, pointing to Marcus."Please ask him about Allena's condition," Marcus prompted him.I was so confused about who this other Allena was if Alyssa was in the alternate world as Allena. How many worlds have these people infested?The Druid translated Jake's words for Marcus, "Looks like she underwent the last surgery and was out of danger. As expected, he is going crazy as to why both Allena and Alyssa are still unconscious. He is also suspicious about who we really are. Alyssa said you were h
It was a quiet, moonless night, shrouded in an oppressive deep fog. I bolted, lungs burning, legs screaming, yet the earth-shaking hoofbeats seemed impossibly close. I trod off the dirt path and plunged deeper into the forest. The thick oak canopies made it harder to see. Twisted branches snagged at my clothes and sent me tripping onto the damp undergrowth as my knees buckled with fear. Clip-clop! Clip-clop! The rhythmic clop of hooves steadily grew louder, a relentless counterpoint to the frantic hammering of my heart. Should I climb a tree? Do I even have time to climb a tree? Yes, I should stay put, up there hidden somewhere, until he gives up looking for me. A flicker of desperate hope ignited. Lurching towards the sturdiest oak, I reached for a low branch. Just as I grasped it, a towering silhouette of him and his majestic horse appeared from the swirling fog. His roar, "Think you can escape me?" echoed like thunder through the silent forest. Abandoning the tree, I plung
I woke up with the most massive headache I'd ever had. As my eyes peeled open, uncertainty clung to my senses like a stubborn fog, questioning whether I'd truly woken or merely stumbled into another layer of slumber. Above me stretched a wooden ceiling, with a sloping ascent that resembled the majestic arches of ancient Greek temples that I studied in my art history class. The room was shrouded in an inky blackness, offering only faint outlines of furniture. The bed I lay on felt foreign, yielding to my weight with an unsettling softness. As I attempted to rise, a wave of nausea washed over me, forcing me to sink back down. A pair of wide, startled eyes blinked back at me from the side of the bed. A tiny girl, no more than six, was staring at me. "Aaahh!" she shrieked, her voice a high-pitched squeak. "MOM! DAD! GRAND..." More voices clamored into the room. A tall man, his face etched with concern, approached the bed I was lying on. "Selma, start the fire!" he boomed, his voice e
The commotion outside my makeshift bedroom was impossible to ignore. Through the flimsy walls, I could hear the clatter of dishes and the excited hum of conversation. Apparently, the Druid was staying for lunch. My stomach rumbled in agreement as I learned Allena's father had snagged a wild boar–a feast in the making. Iona walked me to the bath, our footsteps echoing on the rough wooden floor. Hushed whispers and hurried footsteps filled the air as a towering figure, dwarfing even Allena's brothers, emerged with Boann and grabbed hold of my arm. His bushy mustache twitched as he spoke, his anxiety evident in his rapid-fire words. "Allena, listen closely," he rasped, his grip tightening on my arm. "The Druid cannot know about your loss of memory. It was his idea to ally with the Romans. If he finds out that you don't remember a thing, he may have second thoughts about choosing you as the bride. I put too much at stake, so this wedding has to happen." He turned to look at his wife and
I had the strangest kind of dream, with that same man, the one with eyes like polished emeralds. It was a different time and place, but I got the same sort of goosebumps when I saw him. “No, please! Don’t leave me. I feel terrified! I need you here. Our baby needs you here.” I implored some other guy with blue eyes to change his mind. This man was my husband. His face exuded sadness and helplessness. Sweat slicked my skin, and my breaths came in ragged gasps. Trapped in bed, my arms held by two women, each contraction brought a fresh wave of agony. My water broke six hours ago. But the searing pain in my heart, the fear of being separated from my husband, eclipsed the physical torment. "No," I rasped, tears mingling with the sweat on my brow. "If we are to die, let it be together." “I am so sorry, baby!” His voice cracked. “We don’t have much time left. He will be here anytime now.” He was talking about that stranger and I was terrified, shaking with sobs. “If he is going to kill
The air hummed with anticipation. The crisp wind whipped around the hillfort, carrying the scent of roasting meat and nervous excitement. I looked down at the River Boyne, which like a silver ribbon, snaked along one side, while majestic mountains guarded two others.The chief's family and their kin gathered from all sides, overlooking a panoramic vista. They appeared to be wearing their best outfits; tartan woven skirts or long trousers, fur cloaks, brooches, armlets, and torcs. "There they are!" Iona exclaimed, her voice tinged with excitement.Goosebumps erupted in my skin as I followed her gaze to the distant procession snaking its way towards us, litters and carriages pulled by snorting horses and burly mules, and impossibly handsome horseback riders."And there he is! Isn't he gorgeous?" Iona nudged me with a mischievous grin.A shiver ran down my spine as my eyes landed on a man riding ahead of the others. He emanated an aura of raw power, his face etched with a scowl that sent
We marched down to the village, with Marcus no longer by my side. A sonorous, lilting kind of music grew louder and richer as we neared the bonfire. The villagers had already gathered by the fire and the atmosphere was noisy and lively. There was a group of people dancing by the fire and another group singing and playing music to them. Wafts of food and wine saturated my senses. I felt at ease for the first time since the last two days that I have been here. Marcus's presence had a calming effect on me, which was completely unexpected. All my apprehensions about him felt unwarranted when I saw him laugh carelessly with his family. The warm bonfire glow transformed his face into a picture-perfect vision.