The Battle for Duncragglin (4 page)

A
lex squinted against a sun that hung low over the rugged hilly landscape, wondering what a thousand pounds of frightened cow would take to doing. Would she run until she dropped, or find a place to hide? Then again, she didn't look very bright. Perhaps she would forget why she was running and stop to chew on some grass.

Willie tapped his arm. “She won't be that way. The others were brought back from there. She's probably gone off in the direction of the sea.”

“She'll be miles from here after the way Alex scared her,” Craig said, with a smug little smile.

“Don't blame Alex,” Willie snapped. “You're the one who made the bales fall.”

Craig protested, his voice rising, “No, I didn't.”

“Did too! I saw you up on those bales where Alex was working.”

“It was an accident!”

“I'll bet! You never wanted Alex here.”

“IT WAS AN ACCIDENT! I was trying to help.”

“What? Without telling anybody? Help by sneaking around?”

“BOYS!” The roar came from Mr. McRae, who had emerged from the barn. “Quit your yapping, git out there, and start looking for Vanessa!”

Willie turned and stomped away. He waved for Alex to follow.

Enraged, Craig picked up a stick and swung it hard against a post. It snapped with a loud crack. He threw the broken half at Willie. It missed, spinning over Willie's shoulder to land on the lane ahead. Willie ignored it, continuing on at the same pace. Alex ran to catch up.

They cut through several fields, crossed the coastal road, and came all the way to the cliffs without any sign of the cow. Alex peered over the edge. Down below, waves crashed onto a long stretch of sandy beach. He was relieved to see it was empty. At least the cow was not stupid enough to run straight off the cliff.

The coast curved outwards in both directions to form a bay. Rising above the cliffs at the far end were ruins.

“Duncragglin?” Alex asked.

Willie nodded absently, his eyes sweeping back and forth over the terrain. “Runaways don't usually go this far,” he muttered irritably. “At this point, she could have gone either way.”

They split up, Alex taking a path north along the top of the cliffs, while Willie headed south. An onshore wind was picking up, moaning as it blew.

Something moved in the shadows near the base of the cliffs. Alex descended along a steep and crumbly path, taking
care not to get close to the edge. Halfway down, he heard someone calling.

High up on the cliffs, Willie was waving his arms. “Come baaaaack. We're not allowed down there – too dangerous.”

Alex cupped his hands around his mouth. “But, I've found Vanessa – she's up ahead.”

“Noooooo – come back. Craig found Vanessa down the rooooad.”

Alex was confused. Then what had he seen?

The low moaning grew louder. It sounded as if it was calling him, pulling at him, drawing him nearer. Alex felt a chill. He turned and ran back up the path. The moaning gradually diminished. By the time he reached Willie, it had died out altogether.

“What did you see down there?” Willie asked.

“I couldn't tell,” Alex gasped, still panting from his climb. “Something was moving in the shadows…. Is something wrong?”

Inexplicably, it had suddenly become very dark.

“Let's go!” Willie yelled. He started sprinting, Alex right behind him. They slowed only when they were finally in the open laneway.

“Nah, nah,
you missed me.” Willie laughed and whooped. He shot a defiant fist up in the air. As if in response, the wind picked up and the light from the moon completely disappeared.

Willie squealed. The boys sprinted again. This time they didn't stop until they had run all the way to the farmhouse.

Alex and Willie washed and put away the dinner dishes while Mr. McRae enjoyed a pint of beer at the kitchen table with the newspaper. Annie and Craig were at the table having a game of crazy eights.

“When I was looking for Vanessa, I heard this strange moaning over by the cliffs,” Alex said, giving the counter a fast wipe. “Anyone know what it's from?”

Annie and Craig looked up from their game. A small crooked smile appeared on Willie's face.

Mr. McRae lowered his paper. He gave a small dismissive wave. “
Och,
the rock formations catch the wind and make that sound sometimes. Everybody around here calls 'm the wailing rocks.”

“What about the castle ghouls?” Willie cocked his head and waited for his father's reaction. He did not have to wait long.

Mr. McRae thumped the table and raised a threatening finger. “How many times do I have to tell ye? There's nothing to them tales of castle ghouls. And I dinnae want any more talk of it!” He glowered, then, catching himself, slowly lowered his finger and sat back. His eyes softened. “Alright, I'll tell ye what, lads 'n' lassie. I'll take the whole lot of ye over to the ruins in the morn, after I'm done milking the coos. You'll see for yourselves that there's nothing to all this but your imaginations.”

“The Duncragglin castle ruins?” Alex exchanged an excited glance with Willie.

“Oh, aye,” Mr. McRae answered. “The very one your ancestors lived in, so many years ago. The very one that was blasted to bits by the English general, Oliver Cromwell, back
in the mid-
1600
s. Yon old castles weren't built to withstand cannonballs.”

“Have you ever been in the caves under the castle?” Alex asked eagerly.

“Caves? Wherever did ye hear of that? There are no caves.” Mr. McRae frowned and took up his paper. “Now that's enough of this. Everybody get ready for bed. It's going to be busy in the morn.”

Willie, Craig, and Alex crowded the room, each tooth-brushing furiously, white toothpaste foam on their lips.

“Quit hogging,” Craig mumbled, drooling toothpaste that was about to drip from his chin. He wriggled to get to the sink.

Willie gave Craig a hip check to get him out of the way. Craig flicked his toothbrush bristles out from behind his front teeth and sprayed foam over Willie's face. Enraged, Willie banged his cup on the countertop, splashing Alex's pajamas.

“It's not funny!” Willie shouted, but that only made Craig laugh harder.

Hurriedly putting their toothbrushes away, Willie and Craig rubbed their faces with a facecloth, then promptly tried to throw their cloth into the other's face. Willie ducked, and Craig's cloth hit Alex on the side of the head. Willie's cloth missed and landed half in the toilet. Craig laughed harder than ever. Willie snatched the cloth from Alex and chased Craig from the bathroom.

Alex dried his face and rubbed a towel over his wet pajamas. He gingerly lifted the facecloth from the toilet rim
and deposited it in the bathtub, wondering if it was a blessing not to have brothers.

Cautiously looking around the bedroom, wary of an ambush, Alex saw Willie lying on his stomach, reading a book on fishing. Craig was kneeling on the floor, sorting his card collection.

Alex pushed aside the bedroom curtains. The full moon was now bright enough for him to see the horizon. He watched the glow of far-off headlights as a car wound its way along the coastal road. Several shadows passed down a distant hill.

“Do you keep sheep or cattle out there?” he asked.

Willie got up and peered out the window. “Where?”

“It's gone now, but something was moving across that hill there.”

Willie groaned. “You're not seeing things again, are you?”

Craig dove under the covers. “Are they back?” he squeaked.

“There's nothing out there.” Willie sighed. “It probably was just a shadow from a wee cloud passing in front of the moon.”

Alex looked up. There were no clouds. The blackness surrounding the moon was broken only by speckles of stars. “Have you seen anything out there before?” he asked.

Craig's frightened little face popped out from under the bundle of blankets and bobbed up and down vigorously.

“
Och,
ye cannae be sure of what ye've seen,” Willie said.

Willie and Alex knelt on the floor to keep a lookout. There were many shadows. Every now and then, they thought one of them moved, but neither ever saw the same movement at the same time.

“I guess there's nothing,” Alex said finally.

Craig emerged and squeezed in between them, resting his chin on his folded arms. “There was once a big battle out there,” he said quietly.

“Aye, but that was hundreds of years ago,” Willie said.

“Who was fighting?” Alex asked.

“The English attacked us Scots,” Willie replied.

“Who won?”

“The English. It was the battle where they took over Duncragglin. Granny says it was a very dark day. Lots of our ancestors died.”

Alex pictured a battle raging below: swords and shields clashing, horses charging, men slashing and stabbing. The rugged countryside would have looked much the same back then. The hills would have had their same contours, the sea would have been pounding on the same shore. Only the trees would be different, and the buildings.

Craig yawned, which started Alex yawning too. He suddenly felt tired, very tired. Willie turned off the light and the boys went to bed.

Hours later, Alex awoke with a spasm from a frightening dream, a tight-fisted grip on his covers. Heart pounding, he wondered if he was truly awake. His dream was so real that the fear was still in him. He'd seen unspeakable monsters from the past. Wailing eerily, they'd clambered up from the base of the cliffs, rising from under the rocks, climbing hand and foot over the hills, all with a single objective – they were coming to take him away.

A
lex lay wide-eyed in his bed, sweat beading on his forehead, certain that the monsters of his dream were somewhere in the room. It was still dark. Alex wanted nothing more than to stay hidden under his covers, but he
had
to go to the toilet. There were no two ways about it.
And there is no such thing as monsters,
he repeated to himself as he reluctantly got up and tiptoed out to the hall.

The toilet door was shut. Dismayed, he twisted the handle, but it was locked. He rapped softly.

“I'll be right out,” called Annie.

Alex danced in a little circle. The door opened and out she stepped.

“Hi, Annie – gotta go.” Alex shot past and swung the door shut behind him, not taking the time to lock it. When he emerged, Annie was sitting at the top of the stairs, her arms wrapped about her knees. She was facing away, her head down.

“Hey, what's up?” he asked.

“Can't sleep.” Her voice was muffled by the sleeve of her housecoat.

“Why not?”

“Been thinking about my mother.”

Alex sat next to her and waited for her to say more. “Sometimes I think about my parents too,” he said.

Annie lifted her head. Her eyes were red. “Your parents disappeared from around here too, didn't they?” she asked.

Alex nodded.

“Do you know what I think happened to them, and to my mother too?”

Alex stared, his heart pounding faster.

“The castle. It's haunted … or something.” Annie brushed strands of hair off her cheek. “Everyone around here knows that. She wouldn't have just left us – she couldn't have….” She looked about to cry.