Ran staggered into the circle and began to fall. She heard Soren screaming her name as she landed in the center, in the same place they had just burned their sacrifice to the gods.
Soren scooped her up and carried her out of the circle. She did not respond at all, no sounds, no movements. He laid her on the ground as the priests came running. “Ran!” he called, rubbing her hands and tapping her cheeks. “Ran, wake up,” he said.
She’d walked to the stone opposite of where he was and laid her hands on it. Her body jerked and jerked, and then she pulled away and stumbled to the center where she fell.
When she did not wake after several minutes, Soren decided to take her to the priests in the camp. Mayhap Aislinn knew what was wrong? Lifting her gently and leaning her head against his chest, he asked the winds to take them. Ran did not rouse even as they approached the encampment.
Soren remembered her words about the sea and knew that he must give her to the sea. To revive her. To protect her. Going north past the shoreline, he dipped down until he could glide within inches of the surface of the water. Carefully, so carefully, he stopped and let her slip into the sea under him.
He watched as her body disappeared into the water. Her human form dissipated within seconds of him placing her there. Soren floated above watching and waiting for any sign of her.
“Come back to me, Ran,” he whispered, the winds carrying his voice into the water. He stayed above the sea, watching and waiting for her. The sea was her refuge, it had saved her before.
What had happened? What had she seen or touched? He and the priests were in and out of the circle, touching all of the stones and searching for clues, and nothing happened to them. But Ran reacted to something there, just as she had the first time. Was she somehow connected to those places?
Soon, a whirlpool formed beneath him. It spun the water around and around until a huge wave rose. As though it could see his form, the wave rolled toward him and then crashed into him. He laughed and threw the winds at her, creating thousands of water droplets that rained down on the sea. Ran rose in her human form and waited for him to carry her.
“I think I saw the beginning,” she said. “I think I know where the circle is.”
“A vision?” he asked, turning toward the coast and the encampment.
“When I touched the stone, I saw it. I saw them.”
“Them?”
“The gods. The seven Old Ones. They lived here. They existed with the humans who worshipped them, Soren.”
Excitement filled her voice, which was not what he expected to hear.
“You scared me. I saw you convulse and then collapse in the circle,” he said, leaning his head against hers. “Do not do that again.” It was a mixture of command and a plea.
“Take me to the broch,” she said. “I want to show you first.”
They reached the broch and entered the chamber. The priests had finished copying the drawings and were gathering up their supplies to return to the camp. He took them back and returned to Ran.
She walked around the perimeter of the broch’s lower chamber, reaching out but not touching the drawings. Then she stood in the center and faced one side. Faced the southwest.
“When I was there, when the stones were first sanctified, the land and water were very different from now,” she explained. “The water was much lower and more land, here”—she pointed—“and here were above the water.”
“And you think the circle we are looking for is . . .”
Could it be? Had they been standing right on top of it, or been part of it already?
“Under the water?” he asked. She smiled again and nodded, walking closer to the wall but still not touching it.
“Here I think. See how the land curves right there in his drawings? When I was there, it was in the distance, a huge circle that sat between Brodgar and the land that projects into the lake from the west.”
He was astounded. Even the map hinted at its presence. Einar had known.
“So, how do we get to it?” He turned to her. “If it’s under the water, how do we perform the ritual they said we must do to close the gateway?”
“I am not certain. I hope that the priests can tell us that when we show them this,” she said. “I do not think the water of the lake there will heed my call.”
“But you control all water, Ran,” he said. “Why would it not obey you?”
“I think I heard the evil goddess that first time. I think she is there, beneath whatever this gate is, waiting for it to be opened. So when I touched the water, it was her voice speaking to me.”
“But her man must be able to open the gate to free her. So how will he get to it if it’s under the water?”
