Trespass: A Tale of Mystery and Suspense Across Time (The Darkeningstone Book 1) (7 page)

2010

“SO WHAT
DO YOU THINK IT IS?”
I asked.

“Ah,” Cally said. “That is the big question. What do you want it to be?” I was still close to her, leaning over the stone. I looked her in the eye. Her pupils were wide, glinting with mischief. In a movie, I would’ve kissed her. But I wasn’t in a movie, and I wasn’t sure if she was teasing me or flirting with me.

Instead, I said, “I…er, I don’t know.” I think I blushed.

She looked away, smiled to herself. I took the opportunity to step back and brush some of the dirt and bits of dead leaves from my shirt.

“Sorry,” she said. “I was just…you know. I didn’t mean to…”

I frowned as if I didn’t know what she was talking about. “Mm? It’s all right, I just, erm, anyway,” I said, changing the subject. “You must have some ideas, some theories.”

Cally nodded. “Oh yeah, there’s theories all right—lots of them: shrine, altar, monument, navigation waypoint, celestial calendar. Take your pick.”

“Or it could be,” I said as though I’d just had an inspirational idea, “an amazingly expensive bench.”

She laughed. “You’re funny,” she said.

“No, I’m serious,” I said, hamming it up for all I was worth. “They’d pay a fortune for a set of these in the new mall.”

“Yeah,” she said, joining in. “Stylish, elegant and, above all, vandal-proof.”

We shared a smile.
I’ll be OK
, I thought,
as long as I don’t push my luck
.

“Seriously though, we don’t know what it is,” she said. We don’t know how it got up here, where it came from. We don’t even know how old it is.”

“Can’t you use carbon dating?” I asked.

“Not carbon dating—that’s really for organic materials. But there’s lots you can do in the lab. The prof wants to analyse it in a mass spectrometer and do as many tests as possible. But for that you need samples, and to take samples you need permission. And the druids…” She shrugged.

“The druids don’t want you hacking lumps off the mother ship or whatever they think it is.”

“Right,” she said. “Anyway, I think it’s usually this slow. It’s not like on the telly—you don’t rush in with diggers. It’s more like scraping away with a trowel and a paintbrush. You take your time, photograph everything, write it all down.”

“Sounds a bit…dull,” I said.

She shrugged. “It’s OK. You can have a bit of a laugh. And if you do find something, it’s great.”

“Yeah,” I said. I wasn’t convinced, but then I thought of long hours spent with Cally, and it started to sound pretty good. “Look,” I said, then I wasn’t sure how to finish the sentence.

She looked at me, smiling, expecting another joke. “Yeah?”

I felt light headed; was I going to do this? “Are you finished for the day? I mean, are you free?”

She looked at me quizzically. “Free?” she said.

“Yeah, I, er, wondered if you wanted to…” my voice trailed off as I saw the look on her face, realisation closely followed by embarrassment. I’d pushed my luck.

“Oh,” she said. “No, I don’t think that would be…”

“No,” I said. “Of course not. I…I’d better be going anyway. Stuff to do.”

“Yeah. Sure. And my friends will be back in a minute. And Dean, he’s sort of my boyfriend.”

I looked at the ground, I looked all around me—anywhere but at her. “You said there was a path?” I said.

“Yeah,” she said. “Just over there.”

I glanced at her to see where she was pointing. “Thanks,” I said. “See you…I mean…bye.” I started walking up the slope, hoping I was going in the right direction

“Bye,” she called.

I raised an arm to wave, but I didn’t turn around. I waded into the undergrowth, moving as fast as I could without breaking into a run. And I kept going.

3,500 BC

TELLAN DUCKED
INTO THE UNDERGROWTH
just in time. It was not yet dawn, but already Waeccan was crossing the pit floor. Tellan held his breath, raised his head and watched. Waeccan approached the rock face and then…Tellan gasped. The old man was climbing, clambering rapidly up the sheer slope like a man half his age. Soon Waeccan disappeared from view. Tellan waited. When would Waeccan return? Tellan rubbed a hand across his face. It was worth taking a risk. He broke cover and sprinted across the pit. He found the narrow steps easily. They were only partially hidden by the surrounding undergrowth. Tellan reached out, ran his hands over the level surface of a step. It was cut into the rock, but how? He shook his head. It wasn’t right.

A voice from above. Waeccan was talking—to himself? Tellan backed away, listened. It sounded like Waeccan was on the move. Quickly, Tellan turned, scanning the pit floor for hiding places. He chose a large boulder and dashed toward it, almost slipping as he threw himself down behind it.

He took a deep breath. He’d done it. Carefully, he peered around the boulder’s edge. Waeccan was climbing unsteadily down. Tellan watched as Waeccan walked to his hut. Soon Tellan smelled smoke. His stomach growled as he realised Waeccan was making a meal. Tellan turned away, slumped back against the rock and waited.

In a while, Waeccan emerged from his hut, walked to the rock face and busied himself. What was he doing? And who did he keep talking to?
I should go back to Burlic
, Tellan thought.
But I don’t know what to tell him yet. If I wait, he might do something worth watching
.

Tellan had the patience of a natural hunter. As Waeccan worked, Tellan crept from shadow to shadow, watching, waiting. But he kept his distance.
I don’t like it
, Tellan thought.
The way he talks. Can he really be alone?

Eventually, as the daylight faded, Waeccan stopped to forage for food and firewood and returned to his hut.
I’ll go closer now
, Tellan thought.
While he’s busy
. He crept across the pit floor, picking his way carefully through the scattered stones. As he neared Waeccan’s hut, he crouched, edged his way behind a clump of dense hawthorn.

He could just see Waeccan. It looked as though the old man was struggling to light his fire, muttering away to himself. Tellan was well hidden. He could move closer, close enough to hear what Waeccan was saying.

Almost noiselessly, he crouched down, parted the lower branches and slid in between them. He hardly noticed the thorns scratching his arms. He’d known much worse. Inside the clump of bushes there were very few branches, just the main trunks of each bush. They formed a dark space that made a perfect hiding place. Tellan even had room to shift his position and stretch his legs a little. It had been a long day.

Now Waeccan crouched over his pathetic attempt at a fire. The acrid smoke drifted into Tellan’s hiding place. It stung Tellan’s eyes, made them water. He blinked, wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. And when he looked back to Waeccan…Oh no—the old man had jumped to his feet, was rushing toward him. Tellan froze; there was no time to react. Waeccan reached among the branches, peered into the darkness within.
I’m too close to him
, Tellan thought.
I should’ve known better
. But it was a shadowy hiding place. There was a chance Waeccan wouldn’t see him if he kept absolutely still.

No. Waeccan gasped in horror. It was too late. He’d been discovered. Tellan tensed. His hunting instincts told him to strike, to try for a quick kill. But the old man was staring him in the eye, and nothing in Tellan’s life had prepared him for this moment.

“Who are you? What are you doing there?” Waeccan called. There was no mistaking the fear in the old man’s voice, but nevertheless his words chilled Tellan to the core. Tellan backed away, retreating into the gloom. One step, two, then in one motion he turned and crouched. He pushed his way through the branches, and then, as quickly he dared, he slipped away. He heard the old man calling after him: “What do you want? Why do you hide like a coward? Show yourself if you are a man.”

Don’t run
, Tellan thought.
It’s too noisy—he’ll know where you are
. He moved in among the trees and breathed more easily. The daylight was dwindling, the shadows were darkening and the old man’s frustrated cries were fading away behind him. He had escaped.

Now he must return to find Burlic. He looked for the path he needed and spotted it easily enough. He started walking.
Burlic
, he thought,
there’s another problem
. What would he tell him? How would he react if he knew that Tellan had been seen? Better not to mention it. He would tell him about the secret way up the rock face. Waeccan must have some sort of hiding place up there. That should satisfy him. And there was nothing else worth talking about. If there was anything suspicious to see, then it must be in that hiding place. He’d tell Burlic to climb up there himself and look around while Waeccan was busy elsewhere. It would give him something to do, distract him from his murderous plans. “And while you think about that,” Tellan muttered, “I’ll think of a way to stop you.”

It was all right. He had until tomorrow. They’d come back into the pit tomorrow.

2010

WHERE DID
I GO WRONG?
The question nagged at me over and over as I barged through the undergrowth, hopelessly casting about for a glimpse of this supposed path. Of course, I’d never really been in with a chance in the first place, not with a girl like Cally. “Oh well,” I muttered to myself, “at least you tried.” And how was I to know she had a boyfriend?
Dean
, I thought bitterly,
sounded like a prop forward—whatever that means
. I stood for a moment and looked around to get my bearings.

The slope was steeper than I’d thought. And there was no sign whatsoever of a path. I looked back at my trail of trampled plants. It was clear to see where
I
had been, but there was no trace that anyone else had ever been there. So either I had blundered off in completely the wrong direction, or…“She lied to me,” I whispered. I sighed and closed my eyes for a moment. She’d made a fool of me. Her whole story of professors and archaeological digs was just too far-fetched. Surely, if there’d been a dig in the quarry I’d have heard about it. It would’ve come up at school and my dad would definitely have talked about it. It was just around the corner from my house for goodness’ sake. And protesting druids? That would’ve been on the local news. “Druids,” I said contemptuously. “Give me a break.” I trudged on up the slope. Apart from some spindly trees, the ferns and wild plants seemed to go on forever.
A few druids
, I thought,
would brighten the place up
.

But then, there was the stone. Cally hadn’t made that up. And if she wasn’t really on a dig, then what the hell was she doing there? I chewed my lip. I didn’t have any answers. I grabbed hold of a tree trunk and rested for a second. I was starting to get hot. And thirsty. I looked at my watch. It’d been a long time since I’d had anything to eat or drink. And I just wasn’t getting anywhere. I could bumble around for hours and never find the path.

I looked back down the slope. “I could go back,” I said. It would be a bit embarrassing, but I didn’t have to admit I’d got lost. I could make up some excuse. Perhaps, if we could pretend that I’d never tried to chat her up, things would go a bit better with Cally. I’d certainly like to ask her a few more questions. I wanted to know more about that stone. I’d almost made up my mind up to go back, when I heard it: a girl’s high-pitched scream, suddenly cut short. It came from below me. It could only be Cally. And now I knew what I had to do.