Free Trespass: A Tale of Mystery and Suspense Across Time (The Darkeningstone Book 1) by Mikey Campling Page A

Tellan said, doing his best to sound doubtful. “But would you follow Waeccan up the rock face? Would you risk being seen? The rock face is exposed, and he would have the advantage of height over you.”
    “Of course not, you young fool. I’ll wait until he’s off being busy somewhere. You could keep an eye on him, and I’ll climb up.”
    “Ah, that is a very good idea. You’ve thought of everything, Burlic.”
    “We’ll go tomorrow—after daybreak.”
    “Yes,” Tellan said. “We’ll go tomorrow.” And he smiled to himself. That had been much easier than he’d thought.

Chapter 20
    2010

    CALLY THRUST HER HANDS into the pockets of her dungarees. Alone again. Poor boy , she thought. I was a bit rough on him. He wasn’t the worst boy who’s ever asked me out . She sniffed. That title could belong to any one of a long list of creeps and idiots. She could still hear Jake thrashing around in the undergrowth somewhere above her. She’d like to say sorry to him and to explain. In his own way, he’d been quite sweet, nice to talk to. It’s just that he was a bit…young. At least he’d made her laugh. But it was too late now—he wouldn’t be back. She sighed. She needed cheering up. Her day was not going well.
    It had started out OK. The prof had been busy making phone calls up at the base camp, and Cally and the other volunteers had been given some free time. It had been Dean’s idea they should go down to the ledge. He’d got what he called some “cheeba.” Honestly, he was so uncool. Why on earth had she said that Dean was her boyfriend? She shuddered at the thought. It had just been the first name that had popped into her head.
    Cally had smoked a joint before. It wasn’t really her sort of thing, but she wasn’t going to say no and be the only one to stay behind. So they’d all sat on the ledge and passed the joint around. But this one had seemed much stronger than the one she’d tried before. She’d felt sick and dizzy. She’d muttered an excuse and stood up, but that had only made her head spin. Worried that she was going to throw up, she’d wandered away from the others, over to the black stone. She’d felt faint, needed to sit down. They weren’t supposed to sit on the stone, but she’d been past caring. The ground had swayed under her feet. She’d sat down, then lain down on the cold stone. The others had laughed at her, called her names, jeered. Their voices had echoed and faded. She’d closed her eyes, seen flashing lights, felt the ground spin. And had a terrible dream.
    She shook her head to get rid of the memory. It was best forgotten. And when she’d woken up, they’d all left her. How could they? She’d been alone and unconscious. Anything could’ve happened. She had a good mind to quit the dig. She wasn’t sure she could face any of them ever again. But it would mean leaving the stone. And whatever she said to make light of it, she was genuinely fascinated. She walked across to it, leaned over and ran her hand over the smooth surface. Was she imagining it, or did it make her fingertips tingle? For the second time she sat on the edge of the stone. For a moment she was lost in thought as she stroked the cold stone with the backs of her fingers. It really was beautiful. But there was no one to share this moment with. Jake understood , she thought. She’d seen it in his eyes. Sadly, she pulled her legs up and hugged her knees to her chest. She sighed, closed her eyes and wished she was somewhere else.

Chapter 21
    3,500 BC

    BURLIC DID NOT LIKE THE RAIN . He could cope with extreme cold and fierce heat, but now, crouched in the mud, he was drenched to the bone and miserable. He leaned back against the broad tree trunk. It was a good hiding place, but it provided no shelter from the relentless downpour. Tellan, he noticed sourly, did not seem to mind. The younger man had been cheerful all morning, ever since they’d decided to keep their distance and just keep an eye on