Soren felt the silence between them, as they rode, as they ate, and as they arrived at the burial cairn. Words had never been a problem for them in the past. They’d spent hours talking and planning their life together. And in this moment, he missed that the most. They were facing unknown dangers and she was willing to do that, but she could not simply talk to him.
Ran felt his gaze on her. She knew he watched her closely. As they passed places familiar to them, Soren would begin to say something to her and then stop, realizing how uncomfortable she was. Reminding her of their past only brought the bad memories with any good ones. She hardened her heart dozens of times since their journey began and she suspected she would need to strengthen her resolve in the matter of Soren Thorson many, many more times before they parted ways.
As they would need to.
Whether or not they were able to return to their lives after they had rescued her father and saw an end to whatever was happening to them, she and Soren could never return to what they had been.
But her body did not or would not hear those words of wisdom and reacted to every touch or glance. When he’d helped her down from her horse and touched her back and arm, her body ached to feel his touch everywhere. When he reached past her to get the sack holding their meal, her breasts ached for his hands to caress them. The worst was the way her mouth watered when he smiled or touched his tongue to the edge of his lower lip.
All those nights of pain and heartbreak suffered would be forgotten in an instant if her body made the decisions.
As they finished their meal and rode toward the first of the stone circles on Einar’s map—near the southernmost part of Loch Stenness—a sense of unease filled her. The horses felt something too and became skittish as the distance between them and the stones decreased. “Why are they so disturbed?” she asked, looking around the area for the cause. “I see nothing.”
No one else approached. No animals were there. The sky was clear and Soren kept the strong winds under control.
“But you feel it as well?” he asked.
The low humming. The slight vibration from below the ground and even through the air. She nodded. “I hear something. You?”
“Aye. Like the buzzing of thousands of bees or insects. Let us move closer and see if it changes.”
The horses balked when they urged them forward, so Soren suggested leaving them there, closer to the road and that they approach on foot. As Ran adjusted her cloak, she saw Soren remove a sword from his pack. She raised an eyebrow as he slid it into a scabbard on his belt and walked to the edge of the field where the stones stood.
Ran had a dagger inside her boot for protection, but she wondered if those weapons could fight against the evil that Father Ander spoke of. They made their way across the empty field to the slight rising where the huge stones sat in a sort of circle. Though the reasons and uses of such things had been lost in the passage of time, they never ceased to impress her.
These stones by Loch Stenness were the tallest in the area, taller even than the ones farther up the road called Brodgar’s Ring. Stories told that several stones had been toppled and taken in pieces so that only eight of the original eleven stones remained in place. Smaller ones lay inside the circle, in the center of it. Looking back across the distance, she could see the burial cairn they’d passed and several other stones, separated but close enough that she knew they were somehow connected.
“I wonder what these were for?” she asked aloud. Walking around the stones, she looked for any markings and found none.
“Legends are all the explanation we have,” Soren said. “Some have noticed that they align with the sunrise on the solstice. Others claim they are ancient temples.” He ran his hands over the surface of the one closest to him as he walked past it and she had to look away. “I see nothing on the stones.”
“Nor I,” she said, following him into the center of the circle. She could see an indentation in the ground, but no other sign of Einar’s knowledge or presence. “Should we ride on? Look elsewhere?”
Soren pulled the map out and held it up before them. “There are some squares in that field, between here and the lake. Come. We can search before we leave.” When she stepped into a boggy spot in the field, Soren held out his hand to her. Even knowing it was not a good thing to do, she took it and he pulled her free. A few paces later, he did it again, but that time, she noticed, he did not release it. Ran told herself it was necessary. His height and strength would keep her from falling. She told herself many things in the next few minutes as they walked toward the water’s edge.
And when he released her, she told herself she had not enjoyed the feeling of his hand, his skin, against hers and knew it for the lie it was. They found nothing in the area of the squares on the map with exception of a strange vibration from the ground and the voices.
“Do you hear that?” she asked, walking toward the sounds. “Whispers.”
“The voices you hear when the sea calls you?” he asked. “I hear nothing more than the buzzing.”
“This is different, lower in tone and quieter than the sea. The sea sounds like happy children, chattering my name.”
When she glanced at him, Ran saw his curiosity. “It’s how they sound when I am with them.” Walking toward this new sound, she realized it came from the lake. Leaning over she put her hand into the water of the lake and listened. At the touch of the water, the voices began, pulling her toward them and the lake. But these voices, this voice, was dark and dangerous.
Ran. Daughter of the sea. Daughter of the waters. All the waters heed your call.
I need you. Help me.
It was only when Soren wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back that she realized that something was wrong.
“What happened?” she asked, pushing her hair from her face and facing Soren.
“You were moaning, as in pain. And then you were being pulled into the lake.” He released her then and she stumbled. Grabbing her, he lifted her into his arms and carried her out of the field away from the water. “You did not change to water. Something was pulling you in and you were fighting it.”
With his long paces, they were back on the road quickly.
“Ran, I am sorry,” he said as he placed her on her feet. “I felt the danger. I had to stop you.” He stepped away, putting space between them. “Otherwise, I would not have touched you.”
