Time After Time

The rebels arrived at a farm perched on the side of a hill. At the bottom was a vast empty plain. There were a couple of small stone buildings and little else. Farmhands stood watching with forlorn expressions, as the men stole grain and cattle.

There was a commotion nearby. The small band sent off to capture the Radcliffe brothers had returned. The leader of the group pushed forward an elegant man with a trimmed grey beard and a high forehead.

“Adam de Radcliffe,” said William. “But where are your brothers?”

The prisoner remained silent, peering down his nose at Sir William even though William was on a horse.

“They escaped my Lord,” said the leader of the returned group. “We caught this one at the Radcliffe Parsonage but the others saw us coming. They mustn’t think much of him, because they didn’t hang about.”

“Brotherly love is not a virtue held by the Radcliffe clan. Not surprising coming from a family with a history of back-stabbing,” said Sir William.

“We did manage to track them to Sir Henry de Bury’s house my Lord. They had moved on by the time we got there.”

“That is unfortunate but I see you have de Bury’s fine horse.”

“Yes, my Lord. It was a hard day’s riding. We did not want to leave without making the journey worthwhile; so we killed de Bury and took his stallion.”

They rode for an hour, and made camp. The sky was darkening, and a fire was burning in the middle of the clearing. Tom and Pete sat away from the others.

In five hundred years, the wilderness would fill with dark satanic mills. There would be chimneys, pitheads, and thick black smog. A hundred years later, it would all be gone again, replaced by retail parks, car showrooms, housing estates and a sports stadium. In 650 years’ time, Tom’s house would stand not far from this spot.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” asked Pete. “We’ve never fought before, not even in school. You and I have always been the first ones to run away when the nutters get a bit fighty. This is like the time all the lads in school had a massive scrap with the boys from Deanery. Well, a bit like it, with the addition of swords, crossbows and those ball and chain things covered in spikes. We were having none of it at school, and yet here we are.”

“You don’t need to come with me Pete. I have no choice but you should go back to Kate.”

“I’m not about to sod off and leave you, but you should think about what Kate said. She’s usually right.”

Kate was usually right. At junior school, he had not been aware of her existence. She was a quiet, serious little girl who gravitated to the back of the class. Then in the final year, they suspended her.

After school one day she had hidden waiting for Kevin Mason, the largest boy in the class, and a notorious bully. She gave him such a beating he was off school for two weeks. It later turned out Mason had been engaging in a continuous campaign against her. He threw her bag onto the school roof, flicked paper at her in lessons and tripped her as she left the classroom. Kate’s parents sent her to see a psychiatrist, who ran some tests and pronounced her a genius. Her mother found this even more worrying, she had hoped the tests would show Kate was normal.

She was far from normal.

“Who’s that?”

Pete nodded towards Sir William, who was deep in discussion with a tall man in a long hooded brown robe. The man stood with his back to them; he must have been seven foot tall. Tom was sure he would have noticed the man earlier if he had been a member of Banastre’s forces.

Tom and Pete watched Sir William and his strange companion for a couple of minutes. Sir William glanced over and said something to the man, who turned and pulled back his hood. Bright blue eyes stared from a pale face, framed by long white hair. Despite his extreme height, his limbs appeared to be in proportion, he had the build of an athlete.

“Tom and I aren’t married,” said Kate. It was dark and they were lying in Mabel’s bed. Mabel had insisted it would be safer for Kate now Tom and Pete had gone.

“I guessed that from the way he treats you,” said Mabel.

“What do you mean? The way he treats me?”

“With kindness.”

“Isn’t William kind?”

“People like William talk about injustice. They want to save their fellow men, but their kindness is always at a distance. They display caring for humanity, but none for the people closest to them.”

“Don’t you love him?”

“My father arranged our match, to strengthen ties with Sir William’s family. I was thirteen when we married. Consider how much you have changed since you were thirteen. I didn’t have any say in the matter; I had to give consent but if I had refused, my father would have made my life difficult. He made that clear at the time. I was a valuable prize, as an heiress to a fortune including a good deal of land.”

“Has he ever hurt you?”

“He has never hit me. I can live with neglect, as long as the children come to no harm. It’s the unrest that worries me.”

Mabel’s voice took on a lighter tone.

“What about you? I am going to ask the same question. Do you love him?”

“Who?” Kate asked.

Sir William came to collect Tom and Pete in the middle of the night. Most of the men in the camp were now fast asleep. They climbed onto their horses and followed Sir William into the woods. After ten minutes trotting through the dark, they had no idea which direction led back to the camp. Sir William was a proficient rider and they struggled to keep up. Tom wondered what would happen to them if they lost sight of their guide.

Half an hour later, Sir William raised his hand for them to halt. They were at the foot of a sheer rock face. They dismounted, and tied their horses. Sir William pushed aside thick brambles to reveal a dirty flap of rough cloth, which he pulled back. Warm flickering lamp light poured out of the entrance of a large cave. Sir William entered followed by Tom and Pete.

Inside the cave was immense. Inset into the walls were a series of oil lamps, giving off a dim flickering light. Shelves leaned against the wall, filled with bottles of coloured liquids, stuffed animals, faceless dolls and human skulls.

At the centre of the chamber was a large solid wooden table, at which stood the giant and another man. This man was the giant’s physical opposite, a short, squat, and fat individual with beady eyes. From his manner, he appeared to be an apprentice. Neither of them glanced from their work when the visitors arrived.

William, Tom and Pete crossed to the table, on which lay three sinister effigies wrought into the shape of men. The giant and his assistant were winding cloth around each of these figures.

“John,” said Sir William, tossing a small cloth bag onto the table. The giant nodded back.

John picked this up and tipped out three small clumps of hair, each tied with string. He fixed these strands of hair to the heads of the effigies. For the first time since they had arrived, he looked up. Staring at Tom and Pete, he muttered something to Sir William, who nodded.

The giant laid the three dolls in front of him, as his assistant lit a series of candles. The candlesticks formed a pentagram at the centre of the table. He blew out the oil lamps on the walls of the cave, leaving them isolated in a pool of light around the table.

John bowed his head, and took deep breaths. The sound grew rasping and asthmatic but transformed into a low repetitive chanting. They could not see his lips moving. An icy breeze blew through the cave. Pete shuddered, and gasped as something brushed his leg.

Whispering came from the dark corners of the chamber. A black shadow flittered through the air across the table. Pete grabbed Tom’s arm.

The giant lifted a hammer and a lead pin. He placed the point of the pin on the head of the first effigy. He chanted again. His deep repetitive tones reverberating around the chamber. He swung back the hammer and drove the pin through the head. After a brief pause, he took another pin, which he drove through the chest of the figure. He repeated this sequence for each of the three effigies..

The giant collapsed into a chair, drained. The whispering ceased. His assistant returned to the edges of the cave, and re-lit the lamps. A shifting gloomy light again filled the room.

“Done?” Sir William asked.

John nodded.

Sir William strode to the cave entrance and disappeared into the night. Tom and Pete followed.

“Wait,” said John.

He gestured for them to come closer. When he spoke, his voice was faint and hoarse.

“You are not supposed to be here. You are in great danger. We are all in great danger.”

He struggled to get to his feet but collapsed.

“Go now, before it is too late. You must return to your century.”