SilverMoonLight (SilverMoonSaga Book 1) (17 page)

The
book originated from 1920, and had been written by the doctor treating the
unhappy woman, and was published after her death. It was in actual fact an
academic text about hallucinations, but the doctor had noted every detail of
the woman’s observations. It was a complete mystery to me how Dr. Erickson had
found this text. It must have taken him decades to collect all of these titles
together. Unfortunately, though, this text was of little help to me. I put it
back on the shelf with a sigh. If only I knew what I was looking for. I didn’t
have time to comb through every book; research like that would take forever.

I
slowly made my way down the shelves that were dedicated to works on the
shellycoats. Again and again, I pulled out a book if the title seemed
promising. But after a quick flick through, I put every single one back in its
place in frustration.

When
I reached the end, I debated whether I should start over. There were so many
books I hadn’t checked. But was there even any point? The texts all seemed to
report the same things. According to every single book I had looked at, the
shellycoats were evil water spirits who wanted to take the lives of young
women.

One
book I hadn’t checked yet grabbed my attention. It was on the shelf opposite
me. The binding had clearly once been blue, but now it was worn out and grey.
Despite that, though, it seemed to shimmer somehow, and the linen of the
binding had been treated.

»
Gwragedd
Annwn
,« announced the tongue-twisting title. I opened it up at the first
page.

»The
Gwragedd Annwn were water spirits and lived exclusively in the Welsh lakes.«

I
read on. »The women of the Gwragedd Annwn are permitted to take mortal men as
their husbands.« How delightful, I thought. The text revealed that there were
individuals who had allegedly seen the underwater palaces. They must have been
down there and lived to tell the tale.

According
to the legend, it had once been possible to access the Kingdom of the Gwragedd
Annwn through a door in the rocks, but only very few people were brave enough
to do so. They arrived in a wonderful garden and could stay as long as they
liked. The garden was full of juicy fruits, flowers, the most beautiful music,
and many other wonders. There was just one condition, though: they weren’t
allowed to take anything back with them into the human world.

»
One
day, a young man took a flower from the garden back with him. At the moment
when he left the Kingdom, the flower dissolved into nothing and the man fell to
the floor, unconscious. Since that day, the gates to the Kingdom of the Gwragedd
Annwn have remained closed
.«

Apparently,
the Gwragedd Annwn were an ancient clan of elves. The men were very handsome
and all had long white beards. I giggled at the thought of Calum with a beard.
By night, the elves came onto land to dance. Most of the encounters with their
people had been in Wales, but there were also alleged to be similar descendents
in England, Scandinavia and France. Maybe in Scotland too, I pondered. For the
shellycoats also danced in and around the lakes at night.

Here,
for the first time, I had found some evidence that the shellycoats were not
just cruel beings—assuming, that was, that the Gwragedd Annwn were also
shellycoats, just named differently by the Welsh. I had just decided to ask the
librarian if I could make a copy of the most important passages when, all of a
sudden, I heard footsteps nearby. Startled, I looked up; the voices sounded
familiar. I slipped from the central aisle into one of the narrow walkways
between the shelves. At that moment, Dr. Erickson and Calum walked past, deep
in conversation. They went into the next room, their voices becoming more
muffled as they moved farther away. Why had I hidden from them? It was a public
library; it was ridiculous to be hiding like this. What were they doing here?
Unsure what to do, I just stood there holding the book. Should I look for a
copier, or go into the next room and see what they were doing? My curiosity got
the better of me; on tiptoe, I crept forward and peeped around the corner. Now
I could hear their voices more clearly. They were looking for a particular
book. Cautiously, I edged closer.

»I’m
sure it has to be here,« said Dr. Erickson.

Could
I risk going farther forward? I was almost directly behind them now.

»I
definitely put it with the books on the shellycoats.«

Now
his voice was so clear that it made me jump. I hoped fervently that they
wouldn’t walk into my aisle.

»I
was planning to research whether you and the Gwragedd Annwn were one and the
same people.«

»Well,
you only had to ask me,« I heard Calum say. The sound of his voice gave me
goose bumps; it felt as though I hadn’t heard it in so long. I edged closer to
the books, not wanting to miss a single word.

»I
haven’t thought about it in years,« said Dr. Erickson in his own defense.

»The
Welsh call our people Gwragedd Annwn. Our clans are almost identical,« answered
Calum.

I
pressed the book closer to me.

»Then
the book proves that you and...« Dr. Erickson’s voice sounded triumphant now.

At
that moment, a book was pulled out of the shelf in front of me. I found myself
staring into Calum’s intense blue eyes.

I
fell backwards in shock and dropped my book. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw
it slip under the aisle of shelves. Then I ran as quickly as I could out of the
room, struggling at first to find the exit. When I finally found myself out on
the street again, I leaned against the wall and gasped for air.

I
was so stunned by their sudden appearance that I hadn’t thought about what I
was doing. Had he followed me? I rushed on, away from the library, and immersed
myself in the crowds of people.

Feeling
annoyed at myself for dropping the book, I hoped they would find it. What did
Dr. Erickson want with it? He must have added it to the collection years ago.
And I didn’t feel as though I’d gained any knowledge at all, instead I just
felt more confused.

The
next few days in Edinburgh were filled with activities that Ethan had planned
for us: concerts, exhibitions...it was impossible for me to sneak off unnoticed
back to the library.

We
soon headed back into the ‘wilderness’, as Amelie had put it. After the hectic
days in the city, I was happy to be travelling through the Highlands again. I
couldn’t help but smile; if someone had told me a year ago that I would come to
prefer nature to the city, I would never have believed them.

The
route home led us over the Rannoch Moor to Glencoe Valley, where the infamous
massacre of the MacDonald clan had taken place in 1692. We stayed in Fort
William for a few days, and Ethan persuaded Peter, Amelie, and me to climb Ben
Nevis with him. After six hours of climbing in the pouring rain, we finally
managed to reach the top of the mountain.

The
last days of our trip were spent on Loch Maree, with our tents pitched in the
shade of old pine trees. Amelie and I collected firewood until we had an ample
supply to last us the next three days. Ethan and Peter tried their hand at
fishing, while Bree and the twins arranged our provisions in the tents.

The
men were on a lucky streak and managed to catch several mackerel, so our
evening meal was decided. The starry sky spread out above us like a twinkling
cloth, with millions of stars shining down. The fish, roasted over the bonfire,
tasted delicious. After the feast, Ethan told a tale about Loch Maree from his
seemingly inexhaustible supply of Scottish legends.

»There
used to be a hermitage on one of the lake’s islands. Apparently there is a
gravestone there called the Monument of Lovers. According to the legend, the
King’s daughter lived on the island with her teacher and a warrior. She fell in
love with a prince and they swore their undying love to each other. The warrior
was jealous, for he too was in love with the princess. One day, he lay in wait
for the prince and challenged him to a duel. But the prince defeated him, and
the warrior fled from the island. A few days later, the King sent for his
daughter, and she set off on her way, accompanied by her teacher.

»Already
missing his beloved, the prince pleaded with the teacher for her speedy return.
They arranged that the teacher would send a light signal when they reached the
banks of the river, to tell the prince that the princess was safe and sound.

»Having
overheard the conversation between the teacher and the prince, the warrior sent
the prince word of the princess’s death. Overcome with devastation, the young
man immediately impaled himself on his dagger. Soon after, when the princess
returned and found out about her lover’s death, she had the entire region
searched for the warrior. But the search was in vain; he could not be found.
The princess then took her own life, and the two lovers were buried alongside
one another in one grave.«

There
was a deathly silence when Ethan finished his story. I couldn’t make out the
islands on the lake in the darkness, even though I tried very hard. Bree blew her
nose, prompting Ethan to put his arm around her with a chuckle. I felt on the
brink of tears too. Couldn’t he have told a more cheerful story?

»Thanks,
Dad, that was really entertaining,« said Amelie. »Shakespeare has nothing on
you.«

Our
laughter chased away the somber mood.

»It’s
late,« said Bree with a glance at Hannah and Amber, who had fallen asleep
huddled against one another. »Let’s go to bed.« Ethan and Peter carried the
twins to their tent and we all retired for the night.

We
spent the days that followed swimming, fishing and reading in bright sunshine.
It was wonderfully peaceful, and we were all very reluctant when the time came
to pack up our things and drive home. It wouldn’t be long now before school
started again, and Ethan was insistent that we have enough time to prepare for
our new courses.

Chapter Twelve

On
the first day of school, Amelie, Peter and I decided to go on foot; the weather
was too nice for us to be cooped up in the car. Just as we walked past the
parsonage, Calum stepped out of the door. Peter waved at him.

»The
first day of our final year!« he said in exuberant greeting.

Calum
looked at us and nodded hello. »Peter, Amelie ... Emma.« His voice shot
straight to my heart, and all I could do in response was nod. Peter and Amelie
didn’t seem to notice that I suddenly went quiet.

»Where
did you spend the holidays, Calum?« asked Amelie curiously.

»I
visited some relatives in Wales, nothing special.«

I
looked over at him, knowing full well he was lying. He avoided meeting my gaze,
but I could still see his impenetrable, cold stare.

Amelie
chatted away cheerfully, telling him about our trip and walks and visit to
Edinburgh.

»You
say something too, Emma. It was great, wasn’t it?« she said, giving me a nudge.

»Yes,
it was great,« I answered.

Giving
up, Amelie turned away and continued to chat to the boys.

»We
thought we saw you in Edinburgh,« said Amelie.

Calum
shrugged.

Once
we arrived at school, everyone was eager to catch up. Jamie ran towards us and
hugged Amelie and me. The day began with all students from the two upper classes
assembling in the cafeteria, where everyone was chatting excitedly. Even when
Ethan came in, the buzzing took a while to die down.

»Hello
everyone,« called Ethan. »As you know, once again, we’ll be organizing a class
trip for the two upper classes at the start of this school year.«

The
murmur started up again, and a few people clapped. Amelie had already told me
about the trip.

»This
year, we’ve planned to go to Inverness, to a camping site right next to Loch
Ness. We’ll set off on Saturday morning by bus, and you’ll soon get the program
for the two days. We need to know who can bring tents, air mattresses and
sleeping bags. There’s a list in the secretary’s office; please write down what
you have, because I don’t want anyone to end up sleeping out in the open air.
Before there’s any uncertainty, anyone who wants to go into town on Saturday
evening rather than sit around the bonfire will need a letter of permission
from their parents.«

A
few of the boys cheered.

At
lunch, I looked out for Amelie in the cafeteria. She was sitting with Peter on
one of the last tables with a free seat. Clasping my tray, I pushed my way
through to them. Bryan and Jamie were sitting together at the neighboring
table; clearly something had happened in the holidays that I was unaware of.
They were whispering to one another, holding hands and seemingly oblivious to
the world around them. Just before I got to the table, I heard Peter shout out.

»Calum,
come sit with us.« It was too late for me to turn around now, for Amelie had
already seen me. I put my tray on the table and sat down, my heart beating
wildly. I felt like I had swallowed a rock. Hearing a chair being dragged over
to our table, I stared at my plate. Then, tentatively, I glanced over at him.