Free Scaderstone Pit (The Darkeningstone Series Book 3) by Mikey Campling Page A

understand it myself? But then I had the first glimmerings of an idea. I reached across the table and put my hand on hers. “Cally, I’m going to tell you something that I shouldn’t know, and I want you to tell me honestly if I’m right or wrong.”
    Something in my tone must’ve convinced her I was serious because she sat perfectly still, and although she glanced down at my hand, she didn’t move hers away. “All right. Tell me.”
    “On the day you saw me in the quarry, you laid down on the black stone twice. Once, just before you saw me, and again, right after I left you.”
    She sat back and pulled her hand away. “Were you watching me? Is that what all this is about? You’ve got some stupid fixation on me or something?”
    “No,” I said, and I couldn’t keep my voice from rising. “Don’t you get it? I couldn’t have been watching you—you weren’t even there. It was 2010 for god’s sake.”
    Cally opened her mouth to protest, but at that moment the waiter arrived with our food. I did my best to thank him in French, but beside Cally’s perfect pronunciation, my attempt was clumsy and lame.
    Cally picked up her knife and fork. “This looks good.” She started eating, and I followed suit, though without much enthusiasm. I thought I’d lost my appetite, but that changed when I bit into the burger. The meat was rich and juicy, and flavoured with spices and fresh herbs. “That’s the best thing I’ve eaten in a while,” I said. It was true. Since I’d set off on this journey, apart from the awful steak at the hotel, I’d been living on tired sandwiches and stale coffee. I took another bite of the burger and washed it down with a mouthful of red wine. I gave Cally the best smile I could muster. “How’s your fish?”
    “Yeah, it’s good,” she said. But she didn’t return my smile. She took a long sip of wine then set her glass on the table with a sigh. “OK, let’s try again. How did you know about me lying down on the stone?”
    “Because I did exactly the same thing and something happened to me. Listen, the day after we met, I went back to the quarry to look for you. But there was no sign of you and your friends because you hadn’t got there yet—it was still 2010. You weren’t going to turn up for another four years.”
    Cally shook her head, but she didn’t interrupt.
    “Anyway, I had a run-in with one of the local thugs—an evil bastard called Robbo. I fell back on the stone, and banged my head.”
    Cally opened her mouth to say something, but I didn’t give her the chance.
    “And no, I didn’t have a head injury and I didn’t go into a coma. I didn’t even lose consciousness. But the stone did something to me, and it was bloody painful.” I paused and took another drink of wine, draining my glass. I took the bottle and offered it to Cally. She nodded, and I filled her glass and then mine. “Like I said, it was a horrible experience, and when I climbed off the stone, I wasn’t in the quarry anymore.”
    “I see,” Cally said very deliberately, as if she was choosing her words with care. “And where do you think you were?”
    My blood rushed to my cheeks. “Please, don’t patronise me. I’ve had enough of that from other people. I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s true.”
    “I’m sorry,” she said. “I want to believe you. And you were right, I did lie down on the stone. Just like you said. And I…” She shook her head and looked down at her plate.
    “What? What is it that you don’t want to talk about?”
    She hesitated. “Tell me your story first. Tell me what happened to you. And I promise I’ll listen this time.”
    “All right. I’ll keep it short.” I took a moment to gather my thoughts then I launched into the edited highlights of my brief time in the distant past. I told her I’d been taken to a different stone, probably in a different country. And I explained as best as I could how I came to be pressed against the stone for the final