Chapter 31
T his time looked far worse than before. For a start, Edmondson had them all thrown into the tiny, cramped shed. No chance of cutting through tent walls. Besides, who would be coming to rescue them? Brigid thought of the way Sandy’s men had hung back when he was arrested at Gillies Tower. It seemed unlikely that any of them would come charging into the camp. And she could not blame them. They had families and lives of their own to worry about.
Edmondson hadn’t even bothered to have them all tied up. He clearly thought he’d won. Frankly, Brigid was inclined to agree with him. All four of them were completely within his power now. No more chances of rescue, no more bargaining chips. He held all the advantages.
Brigid buried her head in her arms. She couldn’t cry any more. Her eyes were dry and sore. She’d completely cried herself out over Finn.
Sandy wrapped an arm around her, warm and comforting. Brigid didn’t dare look up at him, for fear of the pity she might see in his eyes.
“I saw Finn,” she muttered. “Turns out he was working for Edmondson all along. I wasted my time trying to save him.”
“I’m sorry,” Sandy murmured. He held her tighter and stroked her hair. He didn’t even seem angry, considering how much he had risked himself to save Finn.
Brigid felt as if her misery was an ocean, crashing over her in endless waves. Why did she still feel so sad? Finn, liar that he was, didn’t deserve a fraction of this grief, but she still couldn’t stop feeling it.
“Well, we’re in a right mess,” Tam said gloomily. “Didn’t expect things to get quite this bad.”
“Cheer up,” Mary said, elbowing him in the ribs. “At least we’re all together. Surely this little band of rogues and thieves can plan something spectacular. I mean, if we can’t, who can?”
Brigid slowly lifted her head, turning through a jumble of fresh ideas. Maybe Mary was right. If they all acted together, they might just be able to achieve something. But she would need to tell them the truth - the whole truth.
“I have something important to tell you,” she said, her voice wavering a little. “It’s about me - and Edmondson. See, he has a time machine.”
Three sets of eyes stared at her. Brigid could almost feel the tension in the air, like a solid thing.
“He kidnapped me and brought me here from the future,” she went on. “I’m actually from the twenty-first century. That’s why I couldn’t get home, or contact my parents. But Edmondson’s running out of power for his time machine, and he can’t get it to work like he wants. That’s why he needs me - I have a special gift for time travel. Basically, he plans to use me as an energy source. That’s what all of this was about.”
They all stared at her, faces frozen in varying expressions of shock. No one spoke.
“So, we need that equipment that Mary found,” Brigid went on, trying not to babble. “If only we can get that back, I will be able to travel in time. And maybe that will be the key to defeating the Professor. It is my special gift, after all.”
To her confusion, a grin spread across Sandy’s face.
“I always knew you were a strange woman,” he said. “But, my goodness, this is wonderful! Travelling in time? You have a true gift indeed, a special power that other people can only dream of.”
He shifted so that he was on his knees beside her, gripping her hands and gazing intently into her eyes.
“We will do everything we can to help you,” he said. “But, most of all, I have faith in you. With or without our help, you can do this.”
Brigid felt her own smile grow in response. She was almost starting to believe him. Perhaps, after all, she could use her special skills to get them out of there. Whatever Finn might say, she certainly wasn’t useless. She could throw knives, shoot a gun, ride a horse bareback, and travel through time. Who was Edmondson to think he could control her?