Morag opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out.
“She might have a chance,” Rachel said, pulling out the necklace. “Here, take this and wrap your hands around it.” She slid the necklace over Morag’s head. “When you get there, call for help.”
Morag reached up, stroking Rachel’s cheek. “You must get the spellbook,” she whispered, coughing up blood as she did so. “Save the past to save your future.”
“Where is it?” Cam asked, climbing down from his horse. “Where is the spellbook?”
“My house is due east of here. Follow the trail and you’ll find it. Go to the marked page and learn the spell. Take the book with you to the stone circle at Cullen Point. You must get there before the full moon if you’re to stand a chance.” She coughed up more blood, wincing as she did so.
“Go,” Rachel said, moving Morag’s hands toward the necklace. “Before it’s too late.”
Morag grabbed hold of the necklace, pressing it to her chest. An instant later she was gone, like she had never been there.
“What just happened?” Cam asked. “Where did she go?”
“To my time,” Rachel replied. “I only hope we weren’t too late.”
“Come on,” Cam said, helping her to her feet. “They will be back soon, and in greater numbers. We must ride swiftly. The full moon is due this night.”
“You think what she said will work?”
“I’ve just seen a woman disappear into thin air. I dinnae ken what is real and what isnae anymore.”
He lifted her up onto the horse before climbing behind her. She could feel his chest against her back, his arms holding her tight as he took the reins and led them away from the corpses of their attackers.
“How will you get back without the necklace?” he asked as they began to ride.
“We’ll worry about that later. For now let’s concentrate on getting the spellbook.”
They stuck to the trail for sometime until Cam heard a noise behind them. Looking back he could see nothing. Nonetheless, he quickly turned the horse into the grass toward a copse of trees in the distance.
When they reached them, he stopped, climbing straight off the horse into a tree and looking back the way they came.
“They are hunting us,” he said.
“Hunting me, you mean. I heard them talking about sacrificing me.”
“You should have gone home while you had the chance.”
“Then she’d be dead and you’d be alone.”
“At least you wouldn’t be risking your life.”
“You risked yours to save me. And that kiss by the way. Are we going to talk about that or do you want to pretend it never happened again?”
“I thought I might never see you again. I couldnae let you go without a goodbye kiss. It wouldnae be polite, would it?”
“So you did that out of politeness?”
“Not quite. Look, over there. I see her house.”
“How do you know it’s hers?”
“Hidden in the trees. She meant us to find it this way. I see the thatch, it blends well with the leaves. She was clearly good at hiding things.”
He climbed back down, leading the horse slowly through the trees until they saw a clearing in the centre of the copse. Cam stopped the horse by a gnarled ash tree.
“I dinnae like it,” he said. “There’s something making my skin crawl.”
