Tanner grinned. "Good. And your secret, Jessie, is still a secret.
Whatever it is."
Nodding, Jessie stared out at the waves below. Her secret: a life she"d never lived but was drawn to; a love she"d never experienced but deeply felt, and a crisis she"d known nothing of but had the power to change her world, those were her secrets.
Those secrets gnawed at her now, after seeing Ceara"s beautiful photo books of Wales, of Mona, and of the large monoliths Cate had placed into Jessie"s head that were, as of the publication of the book, still standing.
Still standing . . . after all these years.
The questions were, had Cate, Maeve and Lachlan lived through the disaster at Mona? If they did, where did they go after that? Would Cate have made it to the huge gray monolith standing watch over the hallowed grounds in Wales? If so, was it possible that she would ever make it to Wales to find out?
She could only wonder.
There were thousands of Druids on the Isle of Mona; so many, Cate could not believe it. There were others as well, but the vast majority were Silures and Druids, with a few dozen Iceni Druids tossed in for good measure. A handful of island warriors were scattered here and there, but most of them were awaiting word from the Chieftain.
244 *245.
When Cate"s boat landed on the east side of the islands, dozens of Druids were there to greet them. "They look glad to see us," Cate said, pulling the three boats they had towed up to the sh.o.r.e.
"We bring news, and any news is better than guessing," Lachlan said, surveying the crowd and helping her with the thick ropes attached to the empty boats. "But where are the other boats? How can we get them off without boats?"
"Perhaps they are on the other side," Maeve offered, feeling the first pangs of worry.
As they disembarked, an old man carrying an oaken staff approached them. "Greetings my brethren and sisters. I am Doald, high priest of the Druids of the Isle. Have you come bearing news or are you, too, seeking sanctuary on this, our beautiful homeland?"
Sanctuary, Cate thought, shaking her head. They were in the direct line of the Roman attack, yet believed themselves to be safely ensconced on the island. "This island is-"
"Greeting, Doald," Maeve interrupted. "Is there a private place where we might talk?"
When Doald saw Maeve"s gray eyes, he nearly fell prostrate upon the ground. "You are she, from Gaul. I-I had no idea it was you. It is most certainly a great pleasure to have you here on our island. The others will fill with joy and hope upon seeing that you have come. My humble abode is just across the river. Come."
They followed Doald for a bit until they came to a small village nestled next to the river at the opening of a great oak forest. Maeve understood why the Chieftain thought this a safe place to be; the woods offered protection while the river enabled quick escape to the ocean. It had its merits, if the Roman Army did, in fact, come by boat.
While Maeve was informing Doald of the Roman battle plan, she was also considering the possibility that Eire would be the safest place to send these Druids, since Jessie had mentioned that the Romans had never been able to attack that island. But, would they be welcome, and for how long? Maeve sighed. They would send many to Alba, where clans were still strong and the Romans had yet to conquer them at all.
If only there was time.
244 *245.
There was not. Paulinus"s fleets could be seen making their way along the coast. Dozens and dozens of flat-bottomed boats swimming ever closer to Mona. Following Doald"s instructions, the Druids did not panic. Instead, they followed Maeve, Lachlan and Doald to the other side of the island in order to send as many as they could to Eire and Alba. There were not many boats, not nearly enough to save even a fraction of the people who either lived here or had come here for sanctuary, but they did their best. Maeve requested a boat or two be left behind should anyone survive the attack and need to get off quickly.
Those left behind to fight-men, women and children-collected spears, swords, daggers and even rocks and lined the sh.o.r.es with these weapons to use in defense. Others built fires all around the island, doing rituals, praying, preparing traps, and making means to attack the Romans from the spiritual realm.
They spent the entire day and into the evening readying the island.
Every now and then, someone would climb down from the highest cliff to announce the closeness of the Roman fleet. As darkness finally fell over the island, the Druids and their loved ones gathered around the big bonfires sharing tales, myths, legends and prayers. This was not a morose sharing, for these people believed they would be together again. Doald, himself, shared a tale or two, even eliciting laughter from those who shared his bonfire. It was a remarkable end for a remarkable people who knew in their hearts their time in this life would soon be over. Proud, merry and brave, even as the specter of death hovered over them, they stayed together deep into the night, relishing every precious moment.
Except for Cate.
She felt saddened that for all her powers and her travels through the portal, she hadn"t been able to do more. These people were a special breed, misunderstood and even feared by the mightiest beings on the planet, who sought to destroy those it did not understand. If a people did not speak that ugly Latin tongue, then they were an enemy of the arrogant Roman Senate, who, all too often, turned its sword upon its own. What kind of people were these Romans who could so easily take the lives of some of its greatest heroes?
246 *247.
Who were they that they could come so close to destroying the beautiful people gathered around these fires?
Closing her eyes, Cate leaned against a tree far from the light of the bonfire, and rested. She just needed a little nap-a moment"s respite.
It was a sleep that would change history.
After Tanner left, Jessie spent the rest of the morning flipping through the numerous books Ceara had left for her. She had known nothing about the British Isles; she hadn"t even known that Ireland was an island. G.o.d, how had she managed to pa.s.s any grade in school with such limited knowledge? How could she not know how beautifully green England was? If it weren"t for Princess Diana, she"d know nothing about England or its people. It was a wondrous place filled with monoliths, burial grounds and myths that blurred folklore and reality.
The more she looked at it, the more familiar it became, and though she had studied hundreds of pictures, she kept coming back to the big white stone where Cate was to have left the ankh.
"Someday, Cate," Jessie whispered, tracing the rock with her finger, "I"ll go there. I"ll not rest again until I know for sure."
She opened one of the newer history books and idly leafed through it until she came across a picture that made her blood run cold. It was a painting of a woman in a chariot with a lion"s mane flowing behind her as she urged her steeds onward into battle. One look at the caption, and Jessie knew. It was the woman from her dream.
It was Boudicca.
"Who in the h.e.l.l are you?" Jessie whispered, leaning over to turn on the lamp. "Boudicca, Queen of the Iceni." She knew the Iceni. They were the group that lived to the east of the Silures.
Reading on, Jessie felt her muscles begin to tighten and her stomach fold in on itself.
Boudicca became Queen of the Iceni after her husband, Prasutagus, was murdered and her two daughters raped by soldiers of the Roman Army. She raised an army of close to 100,000 and, upon the advice of her administrators, attacked the Roman Army as it was in the midst of its final *
246 *247.
and complete destruction of the Druids and Silurians.
Jessie stared at the word advice. Someone had told Boudicca when to attack, causing Suetonius Paulinus to withdraw from Mona and Wales before he could complete what he had come there for. That was why she"d seen Boudicca in her dream. It was the Queen"s intervention that saved the Silurians, not just knowing that the Isle of Mona was going to be attacked.
"s.h.i.t." Jessie spat, running for the phone and calling Ceara"s shop.
"Ceara?"
"Jess? Are you all right?"
"I have to go back."
"Oh, my dear, I thought Maeve had made it clear-"
"They still don"t have all the information they need. I"ve had-I don"t know what you"d call it, but I think I"ve had a vision of some sort."
"What are you talking about?"
"Can you meet me at the Pit in ten minutes?"
"Let me close up shop and I"m on my way."
When Jessie got to the top of Morning Glory, Ceara was already waiting for her behind one of the tall cedars.
"What is going on, my dear?"
"Boudicca."
Ceara"s face fell. "Oh-my."
Jessie nodded. "I think she"s the one who ultimately saves the remaining Druids and Silurians by entering the fray early and forcing Paulinus to turn his troops away from Wales and toward the Iceni. I read about it in one of your books. The book said someone advised her to attack sooner than she"d wanted to."
Ceara nodded slowly. "You believe you might be the one who advises her?"
Jessie nodded. "She changed her plans at the last minute."
Ceara"s eyes narrowed as they walked toward the house. "What do you have in mind?"
"What if Boudicca isn"t advised to start her attack early? The reports say she was advised. If Boudicca isn"t warned, if I do nothing, is it *
248 *249.
possible that everyone on Mona could be killed?"
Ceara sighed. "If there is no event in history, there can be no memory of it."
"What does that mean?"
"If you do what is not recorded by anyone, if no one sees it or hears of it, if it just happens, there will be an effect that no one will truly know why it occurred."
"Like why she attacked early. All it says is advised."
"You keep forgetting that you are not merely changing history, but you are becoming a part of it. She will attack early because you advise her to do so. Is that what you"re asking?"
Jessie nodded. "Yes, I am. And if the history books can"t say why or who advised her . . ."
"It is because they do not know."
Jessie grinned. "I get it now. It"s like that Buddhist line If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to see it, does it make a sound?"
Ceara nodded. "Precisely. If you are going in to advise Boudicca, I suggest we get going before your parents return." She started for the house. "Just keep in mind you might not be welcome, nor might you be in time."
"I still have to try."
Ceara reached out and touched Jessie"s shoulder. "You are not understanding me, my dear. It is quite possible that Cate is already dead."
Jessie felt like Ceara had punched her.
"You must consider all the consequences of going back Jessie, because if you go and Cate is-dead, wounded, not able to receive you-there are any number of things that could happen to you, and none of them good."
Jessie nodded, but her mind was made up. She would not be afraid.
She would not let fear control her. "This is my destiny, Ceara. It"s not just that. I couldn"t live with myself if I didn"t do more."
"For Maeve?"
Jessie nodded again. "She"d go back for me." Jessie started up the stairs and reached into her pocket for the key. "I won"t be back until I *
248 *249.
am certain Cate hears me."
"Jessie-"
Turning to her, Jessie nodded. "I can think of worse fates than being trapped in the first century."
Ceara nodded. "Indeed. Please be careful, my dear. Who knows what could happen? I shall be here waiting, hoping, praying that you are not too late."
"See you soon, Ceara. And thank you. Thank you for everything."
Slipping the key into the lock, Jessie was not the least bit prepared for what she was about to encounter.
All along the sh.o.r.es, Druids cast prayers, spells and spears at a befuddled and fearful Roman Army as it slowly, methodically, disembarked from the many, many, flat-bottomed boats arriving like waves upon the sh.o.r.e. The Roman soldiers, who had heard plenty of myths and legends about these strange people, were staring statues, afraid of the mythical might of the Druids of lore.
Silurian men and women alike screamed and ran back and forth along the sh.o.r.e, hurling curses against the soldiers, who were surprised by the preparedness of the Druids of Mona. They had been told not to heed the magic of the priests, but no one had told them the Druids would be standing on the sh.o.r.e waiting for them, unafraid, unfettered by the fear of death. The Romans had believed what Caesar had written about them; that they were aged and weak, slightly off-center and without bloodl.u.s.t.
It was disconcerting to see none of that was true. Horses stamped on the ground, officers yelled and bullied the men to move forward, but it was to no avail. The Romans were clearly afraid. Even their horses seemed unsure as to what to do.
Suddenly, a Druid spear flew through the air striking a mounted Roman square in the chest, knocking him off his horse, impaling him to the ground. That act, that singular aggressive move seemed to chase the fear and trepidation from the soldiers. Instantly, they began responding to their commanders" orders.
250 *251.
In that moment, Cate knew all was lost. The Roman soldiers, swords swinging, arrows flying, began cutting down the first line of Druidic defense. Blood was everywhere as the soldiers compensated for their earlier hesitation by killing everything and everybody in sight.
Old women and young children alike felt the bite of Roman metal swung by ma.s.sively muscular arms. Horses trampled the dead beneath their feet as they pursued the retreating Druids.
Some soldiers died beside their feared and hated prey, but it became clear to everyone that Paulinus"s order had been not to capture, but to destroy them. There would be no surrender, no prisoners and no survivors. These soldiers were a death squad sent to clean up the island of Mona and eradicate the leaders of a people too proud to bow to the Roman Senate.
The Chieftain, in his limited wisdom, had trapped his own priests on an island that was quickly turning into a burial site.
"Maeve," Cate whispered, watching the death and destruction from a hill by the river.
"I know, Catie. We cannot fight them or even hope to hold them off much longer."