outside ring, tracing it towardsthe middle. That’s when the friends felt the hallucinations start.
‘Hey!’ shouted Finny. ‘What’s going on?’
‘What have you given us, you creeps ?’ Benvy hollered, trying to retreat but finding she couldn’t move.
Where the giant’s finger went, the ring shone yellow and orange, as if it was being set alight in a perfect, thin curve. As the rings lit up, Sean noticed something in the corner of his eye: the stones on the perimeter copied the line, their own spirals glowing, like neon worms crawling across the rock in hot coils. He elbowed his friends to look, but the hum grew louder, pressing at their skulls.
The wind had picked up ferociously, whipping the tall grass around them into a frenzy. The temperature fell and threw icy rain into their faces. They huddled together, trying to lean against the gust, but it pushed them in all directions.
Benvy was the first to fall, only saved from being sucked away by Sean’s grip on her wrist. Then all three slipped, holding tufts to anchor themselves against the tempest, which grew more violent with every second. The deluge swept against them, battering them in heavy drops so that they couldn’t see.
And then, like a switch was flicked, it all stopped. The rain hung in the air, suspended in motion. Everything was frozen to the spot, paused. Even their clothes still looked like they were flapping madly, but without moving. Andthen the stone face, leering at the far side of the field, burst into light, beams leaping out from its eye cavities and shooting across to where the uncles stood, searingly bright.
The three giants basked in the white haze, and in the flicker of the dancing fire they seemed to change. They each had long beards now, and their hair was plaited and tucked into mirror-like, copper-coloured helmets. Leather straps were slung across their torsos, each bearing two swords in scabbards at their hips. Their waists were wrapped in heavy olive-green wool and thick leather, daubed in crudely painted spirals. All of their skin was tattooed with the same markings, whirl after whirl hewn into the flesh: scar and paint. They leaned on tall, heavy spears.
And then, in a moment, the light was doused and the hovering raindrops fell to ground in a single splash. Lann was hunched over the stump, and stood: himself again. No trace of crude tattoos remained; they were just as before. Fergus and Taig returned to refuel the bonfire as if nothing had happened. None of the friends could speak; they simply helped each other up and stared ahead, agape.
‘That was the Truelight. You have seen us as we were,’ Lann said. ‘We know where Ayla is. She is a captive, and her prison is in our land, in our time. We can go back, but only so far. You must go back with us. You must be the ones to bring her back home. But before you do that, you will have to prove yourselves capable.’
Benvy was the first to shake herself from the stupor.
‘You’ve given us some bloody drug! When my brother hears about this he’s going to kill you!’
Her voice shook. Finny stirred himself and started to think frantically of a way to escape the giants. He stooped to the fire and grabbed a flaming branch, waving it threateningly at them. The uncles did not flinch. He threw it with all his strength at their heads.
Fergus caught the branch calmly, holding the burning end with no hint of discomfort. He tossed it back on the fire with a blackened hand.
‘Run!’ Finny screamed and hauled his friends by the wrists.
But Sean resisted. ‘Why?’ he asked the giants, holding his ground. ‘Why do we have to go with you? Why can you only go so far?’
‘Sheridan, for God’s sake!’ Benvy hollered, ‘Let’s get out of here! They’re mad!’
‘Why?’ repeated Sean.
‘Because we will not be strong enough,’ answered Lann.
Taig pleaded: ‘Ayla needs you to believe. If we go alone, she will be lost forever.’
The three friends looked to each
‘Hey!’ shouted Finny. ‘What’s going on?’
‘What have you given us, you creeps ?’ Benvy hollered, trying to retreat but finding she couldn’t move.
Where the giant’s finger went, the ring shone yellow and orange, as if it was being set alight in a perfect, thin curve. As the rings lit up, Sean noticed something in the corner of his eye: the stones on the perimeter copied the line, their own spirals glowing, like neon worms crawling across the rock in hot coils. He elbowed his friends to look, but the hum grew louder, pressing at their skulls.
The wind had picked up ferociously, whipping the tall grass around them into a frenzy. The temperature fell and threw icy rain into their faces. They huddled together, trying to lean against the gust, but it pushed them in all directions.
Benvy was the first to fall, only saved from being sucked away by Sean’s grip on her wrist. Then all three slipped, holding tufts to anchor themselves against the tempest, which grew more violent with every second. The deluge swept against them, battering them in heavy drops so that they couldn’t see.
And then, like a switch was flicked, it all stopped. The rain hung in the air, suspended in motion. Everything was frozen to the spot, paused. Even their clothes still looked like they were flapping madly, but without moving. Andthen the stone face, leering at the far side of the field, burst into light, beams leaping out from its eye cavities and shooting across to where the uncles stood, searingly bright.
The three giants basked in the white haze, and in the flicker of the dancing fire they seemed to change. They each had long beards now, and their hair was plaited and tucked into mirror-like, copper-coloured helmets. Leather straps were slung across their torsos, each bearing two swords in scabbards at their hips. Their waists were wrapped in heavy olive-green wool and thick leather, daubed in crudely painted spirals. All of their skin was tattooed with the same markings, whirl after whirl hewn into the flesh: scar and paint. They leaned on tall, heavy spears.
And then, in a moment, the light was doused and the hovering raindrops fell to ground in a single splash. Lann was hunched over the stump, and stood: himself again. No trace of crude tattoos remained; they were just as before. Fergus and Taig returned to refuel the bonfire as if nothing had happened. None of the friends could speak; they simply helped each other up and stared ahead, agape.
‘That was the Truelight. You have seen us as we were,’ Lann said. ‘We know where Ayla is. She is a captive, and her prison is in our land, in our time. We can go back, but only so far. You must go back with us. You must be the ones to bring her back home. But before you do that, you will have to prove yourselves capable.’
Benvy was the first to shake herself from the stupor.
‘You’ve given us some bloody drug! When my brother hears about this he’s going to kill you!’
Her voice shook. Finny stirred himself and started to think frantically of a way to escape the giants. He stooped to the fire and grabbed a flaming branch, waving it threateningly at them. The uncles did not flinch. He threw it with all his strength at their heads.
Fergus caught the branch calmly, holding the burning end with no hint of discomfort. He tossed it back on the fire with a blackened hand.
‘Run!’ Finny screamed and hauled his friends by the wrists.
But Sean resisted. ‘Why?’ he asked the giants, holding his ground. ‘Why do we have to go with you? Why can you only go so far?’
‘Sheridan, for God’s sake!’ Benvy hollered, ‘Let’s get out of here! They’re mad!’
‘Why?’ repeated Sean.
‘Because we will not be strong enough,’ answered Lann.
Taig pleaded: ‘Ayla needs you to believe. If we go alone, she will be lost forever.’
The three friends looked to each
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