Kenna paused, her eyes narrowing as if seeing it all again. “ ’Twas so vine-covered, it took the strength of all of us, tae barely push it open a few feet. As soon as there was room, mither shoved me through. I heard her shouting at Elanor to go next—to hurry—but there was such a great noise, like water, or wind rushing past my ears, I couldnae hear more. And then for a moment, total silence.”
With her chin quivering, Kenna shook her head. “I thought they were right behind me.”
Wondering if she was even aware of the tears sliding down her cheeks, Sean swallowed hard, battling the burn in his own throat.
“I dinnae ken if I hit my head on the gate, or what happened, but the next thing I remember were the birds singing and the pink light of early dawn spilling over the kirkyard. But, strangely, the graves were now unkempt, overgrown. The kirk and the outer wall, sound and solid when I entered, were in ruin. The vines I’d fought my way past, were gone, along with the gate, itself. I called to my family over and over, searching for them. But I was alone.”
Kenna’s voice had dropped so low, Sean could barely hear her. Even so, the aching loneliness cut like a knife. It took all his strength to sit still and let her finish when all he wanted was to go to her, hold her, and drive her pain away.
“I’ve no idea how many times I ran back through the opening, calling to them, but ’twas the same result. The landscape outside the wall had changed, too. So drastically, I barely recognized it.”
Shaking her head, Kenna stared at some unknown spot outside the window. “I couldnae understand how everything changed so fast. The kirk, the wall, the gate—alltransformed in the blink of an eye.”
Sean couldnae tell if ’twas a sigh or a shudder he witnessed, mayhap both, but Kenna appeared beyond weary. When she returned to the sofa, he held his hand up to her. “Sit, love. Ye dinnae have tae continue right now. Rest. We can talk more, later.”
She took his hand. Let him help her down. “Nae. I want tae get it out. Be done with the telling of it.” Slowly, she settled onto the cushions and leaned against his shoulder. “After my initial thought—that I’d suffered a blow tae my head—I had tae consider that somehow, I’d lost my sanity. The proof was there, after all, right in front of my eyes.”
“Aww, sweeting.” Easing his arm around her, he drew her closer and softly stroked her arm. “ ’Twould have been terrifying.”
Her nod was barely perceptible. “I couldnae find my way back through a gate that dinnae exist,” she continued, “and I couldnae leave the kirk in case my mither and sister might still be coming. So I waited, praying I would suddenly wake and find it had all been a nightmare. Or they’d be there, beside me.
“Finally, sometime after the sun set, I must have fallen asleep. When I woke again, ’twas a new day, but naught had changed. I was still alone in the shambles of what eerily resembled the world I came from, though clearly, wasnae.”
“Ye stayed there, wi’out food, or drink?” Sean pressed.
“I had tae. I was desperate tae find the exact spot I needed tae stand in, or the direction I needed tae face,anythingthat would take me back. I tried tae recall my mither’s last words in case they were the key. But…nothing worked.
With a defeated shrug, Kenna blotted her tears with her bandaged hands and peered up at him, through damp lashes. Even with swollen eyes, a red nose and wet cheeks, Sean thought she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. It took all his willpower no’ to wrap her tightly against him and kiss her heartbreak away.
“I was sobbing my terror intae the dirt, near the kirk wall, when Owen found me. He gave me some water and urged me tae go with him. I was scared tae leave the kirkyard, but scared tae stay alone, any longer.
“He brought me home, cleaned me up, fed me. He tried asking a few questions at first, but when he could see I dinnae have answers, he stopped. I let him think I’d lost my memory. His wife had just died, so we kind of leaned on each other and offered what comfort we could. He let me use this place and gave me a few hours of work, late nights and early mornings. During the day—every day—I go back tae the kirk and repeat the process, praying this time I’ll stumble ontae the right combination of circumstances. ’Twas what I was doing when ye found me.”
She tried to laugh but it sounded flat and hard. “I kenstumbleis exactly what I did this morning, but with all the wrong results.”
Still trying to absorb all Kenna had revealed, Sean wasnae sure how to help or comfort her. He could see no immediate path forward. “Ye’ve been through a great ordeal. Mayhap, considering yer injuries, ye should take a day or two, tae rest?”
Desperation showed on Kenna’s face, and in the almost violent way she shook her head. “I willnae lose another day! I fear the price my family might pay because I wasted this one.”
Her words drove painfully deep. “I’m sorry, Kenna. I dinna realize the cost of pulling ye away. I only thought tae care for yer injuries.”
“I know. I appreciate your kind intentions.” She turned both palms up and studied them. “But mytrueinjuries cannae be mended with bandage and tape.” Dropping her hands to her lap, she turned her haunted gaze on him. “I’m afraid, Sean. In our village, while we were being loaded ontae the carts, I heard the drivers talking. They kenned the witch trials would likely last a few weeks since ours was only part of a huge round-up ofwitches,from all the districts. They laughed because the trials were merely a formality, after which there’d be a mass burning and a huge celebration.”
She shuddered.“I’ve been here two weeks, already, Sean!So ye see, I cannae rest. I’ll never rest, until I know my family is safe.”
What Sean wanted most in the world was to keep Kenna with him. To see what kind of future they could build, together. But he couldnae ask her to sacrifice her family. Even if Kenna would have him, they couldnae build a future on such a painful foundation.
He searched for the right thing to say. To do. As hopeless as it seemed, there must besomethinghe could do, to help her. “Ye said ye’ve tried tae recreate everything ye could, from that night? Let’s talk about what ye couldnae recreate.”
A faint spark of hope brightened Kenna’s eyes before they darkened, in concentration. She shifted to face him. “Almost everything. The graveyard was well tended when I glimpsed it in the moonlight, before going in. The kirk and the wall were fully intact, of course. The outer wall was much higher, with a mass of tangled vines over that part of the wall, and the gate. ’Twas clear, from the difficulty opening the gate, it hadnae been used for a verra long time.”
Sean nodded, tried to picture how everything might have looked, centuries ago. “Let’s begin with the gate, then. What could ye see of it, beneath the vines? Was it wood? Iron? Plain? Fancy?”
“ ’Twas iron, I believe. Even with the vines, I could tell ’twasnae solid. And there was a definite shape tae it. Curved tae a point at the top, like a stained-glass window, in a church. I remember because at first, I thought mither was hurrying us toward a solid wall. Then, when the moon emerged from the clouds, I saw that shape and knew ’twas a gate. Something scraped my shoulder when my mither pushed me through the wee opening we’d managed tae create. Though I dinnae ken if ’twas from the gate or the pieces of torn vine.”
“Could ye tell if the design of the gate was plain, with simple, straight bars, or something more curved and ornate?”
“I’m not sure. But ’twas such a poor kirk, I ken ’twould have been merely plain and functional.”
