Chapter 12Orkney Isles, September 1, 1790
They ran into the night, heading for the ruined barn, and nothing lunged from the darkness to menace them. “There was nothing there,” William whispered as they gained the shelter of the building. “I saw nothing; I heard nothing; he is afraid of something only he can see.”
“Perhaps it was madness as well as laudanum, then,” Elizabeth whispered back.
They waited, holding still, for long enough that she started to shiver from the wind and the reaction to the interview they had just concluded. Hearing absolutely nothing that might indicate the presence of a monster, they dared to light the dark lantern (“I shall miss the matchsticks when we go home,” Elizabeth murmured) and found a more comfortable place to sit. Half of the building’s roof had falle
