Page 6 of Highlander’s Captive

Zach continued yelling, “‘And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air…’”

He stepped back and lost his balance a little, and the small crowd of his schoolmates, led by Jenny, yelped.

“Come down, Zach! Right now!” Jenny cried. “Or no phone till the end of the trip.”

But Zach’s eyes were only on Deanna, who sang with him.

“Aw, looks like he is in love,” Sìneag said.

Amy chuckled. “I doubt it’s love. He craves attention, like all boys his age, that’s all.”

“Oh, aye? Do ye ken love?”

Amy crossed her arms over her chest. Sìneag was local, no doubt, so maybe it was normal here to skip the small talk and get straight to the deep stuff.

“Do I know love? I was in love. Who wasn’t?”

“But ye havna met yer man yet…” Sìneag said slowly and rubbed her chin.

“My man?” Amy laughed.

“Aye, the one man that ye truly love. The one ye change for. The one that ye want to die on the same day with. The one ye are ready to cross countries, oceans, mountains…and even the river of time for.”

Amy sighed with a smile. “Sìneag, you are terribly romantic. I definitely don’t have a man like that, nor will I ever have a man like that. The relationship you describe doesn’t exist.”

Sìneag cocked her head. “Why so sure, Amy?”

“Because I was already married, and now I’m divorced. And I had thought he was my soul mate. So trust me, I know what you describe is impossible.”

“Do ye now?” Sìneag studied Amy thoughtfully. “Do ye ken how this castle was built?”

“I read on the information board right there—built by the powerful Comyn clan in the thirteenth century—”

“Aye, but do ye ken it was built upon a stronghold of the Picts?”

Amy raised her eyebrows. “No, I didn’t know that.”

“Oh, aye. And those Picts, they kent powerful magic. They could open the river of time and build a secret tunnel under it to help people pass through.”

Amy smiled. Adorable. She enjoyed fairy tales.

“Do you mean like time travel?”

“Aye. A journey through time.”

“Fun! I’ve never heard myths and tales about time travel. Usually you have the ‘Hansel and Gretel’ sort of stories, with a cannibal witch and lost children… How does this one go?”

“Well, the castle was built upon a rock that can open such a tunnel. It takes a person with a purpose to reopen it and take the journey.”

“So did anyone travel in time?”

“Who kens? They might have. And they might again.”

Sìneag’s smile grew a little mischievous, and Amy raised her eyebrows. “Might?”

“There was once a Highlander here, a Craig Cambel. A mighty warrior, and an honorable man. Do ye ken of King Robert the Bruce?”

Amy wondered why Sìneag didn’t answer her question directly, but maybe she was leading into the story of time travel.