Suddenly Angus made another small sound of distress, and before her eyes his complexion went from merely pallid to a deathly grey. His lips were turning an alarming shade of blue. Meara put a hand on her shoulder. “I’ve seen this many times before. He won’t live, Nessa dear. You have to say your goodbyes now and let him go to the Spirits that wait for him.” Her fingers went to the pulse point in his neck and she shook her head. “He’s already gone. I’m sorry.”
“No…CPR…I need to do CPR…”
Everyone looked on in silent bewilderment as she began pressing on his chest and blowing into his mouth. She heard a few vague mumblings.‘She’s trying to blow the life back into him. It won’t work’. ‘Some people lose their mind with grief.’ ‘Someone should stop her so the man can go to his rest. The spirits will be already waiting for him.’
She continued the chest compressions, even knowing deep down it wasn’t going to work. As the realization slowly sank in, she pressed harder and harder against his silent heart, until she was practically beating on him.
“Damn it! I told you to take better care of your health, but did you ever listen? No! What am I supposed to do now, huh? Just look at this mess you’ve gotten me into, and then you go and die on me?” Tears were streaming down her face and she couldn’t quite catch her breath.
She hadn’t even believed him.
“You can’t just go back in time and change the world—it would be—I don’t know—you just can’t!” She had finished lamely. Uncle Angus wasn’t listening to her anyway. He was fiddling with a long, clear, shining crystal that was jutting out from the side of some contraption he had been working on.
“Of course I can”, he said simply.
Nessa sighed. There was no use arguing with him, because he didn’t think like her, or anyone else for that matter, and the strange contraption wasn’t going to work, anyway. How could it? You couldn’t just travel through time with something you built in the back room; that was impossible.
“I followed the instructions exactly, Ness. The ancients knew what they were doing. They knew how the universe works much better than we do today. They paid attention to things.”
That was probably very true. Not many people paid attention to much more than their cell phones and televisions now days. Who knew what they were missing? Trees could be talking out loud and no one would notice.
“I need to test it and maybe tweak a few things if it doesn’t work right. Can you take me to Clough Hill tomorrow? Tomorrow is Wednesday”, he reminded her. They always spent Wednesdays together.
“Okay, if that’s what you want to do. It’s a nice walk.” She grabbed her purse and keys off the table. “I’m going out, but I’ll be home in time for dinner, okay?”
“Aye.”
She turned at the door and stuck her head back in. “But don’t start cooking until I get back, okay? The last thing we need is another kitchen fire.”
Clough Hill had turned out to be a doorway.
Meara tugged gently on her sleeve. “It’s time to let him go now. He is with the gods. Tonight we will send him to the Heavens with fire, and to the Earth with the ashes.”
A funeral pyre, she assumed, sniffing and wiping at her tears. Angus would have liked that. Angus would havelovedthat. She slowly stood up, her legs shaky with the after-effects of so much adrenaline. It took her a moment to realize that she was crying. “Maybe he’s with Gram now”, she sniffed.
“Aye. He is at peace”, Meara said, petting her hair in a soothing gesture.
Nessa smiled through her tears. “He was crazy. But he was a good man. What am I going to do without him?”
Bridei came up beside her and opened his arms. She walked into them, and he enfolded her to his chest. For a moment everything else faded away and she felt safe and content as the warmth and scent of his body washed over her.
Nessawanted nothing more than to stay right where she was, with her head against Bridei’s chest and his warm scent filling her senses. But she couldn’t. Not when Angus was still lying on the ground near her feet. She couldn’t quite believe he was gone, even after so many days already expecting the worst. Somehow her heart must have known he was still alive…then.
“He…he just wanted to help. He wanted to do something good”, she said.
“I know Ashta. And he did.” She couldn’t be sure, but she thought she heard him barely whisperHe brought you to me.
“But what if I’m not even supposed to be here? Now I’ll never be able to go back. Only Angus knew how to get home again.”
Bridei held her at arm’s length, looking into her eyes. What she saw there both calmed and frightened her: it was a dizzying mix of lust and determination.
“I believe that you are meant to be here, and I am glad you can’t go back. You will be happy here, I will see to it.” He pressed his lips against the top of her head, and as he did so she caught a movement out of the corner of her eye. Sten was standing close by, glaring at her as if he could will her out of existence. She was sure he wished he could do just that. Bridei felt her tense and followed her gaze.
“Don’t let him bother you. He was counsel to my father. I owe him my loyalty as he owes me his. He has strong opinions, but he knows better than to act against me.”
Meara tugged at her sleeve, pulling her gently out of Bridei’s arms. “Come with me. I will look after you while the men take care of your uncle.”
“But…”
