his horse, the horse rearing, the gunshots, Giles suddenly on the ground urging him away, the mad dash through the dark wood along the river, stumbling onto the ley . . . it had all happened so fast he had reacted on instinct.
Now that he had time to think, what he thought was that he was probably extremely lucky to be alive, and he hoped Giles had survived too, and that the wound was not too bad. He wondered how Wilhelmina would deal with this kink in the plan. No doubt she had a remedy ready at hand and was already employing it.
The day was warm, and after cooling his heels for a while, listening to the drone of bees working the poppies and dog roses growing along the slope, Kit grew drowsy and decided to walk to the top of the path, have a little look around, keep himself awake, and see if he could tell where in the world he might be. Not that it mattered very much; he did not plan on remaining here long. It was more just something to do while he waited.
The path up to the top was steep, and he was sweating by the time he reached the trail’s beginning, where a broad plain of low, gentle hills rising and falling in heavily wooded waves greeted him. There were no roads, no towns, no fields, not a hint of human habitation anywhere—only the fading green and gold of an autumn woodland in every direction as far as the eye could see.
A track through long grass joined the trail leading down into what Kit now realised was a very substantial canyon. He followed the grass path a few dozen yards to a place where it divided into several more trails—one to the left, one to the right, one leading into the wood directly ahead. He took this one and was soon strolling through a very pleasant grove of ash, larch, birch, and alder with a few beech and walnut scattered throughout. The air was heavy with the scent of leaves and moist soil, and a pungent animal smell. But if there were any creatures about, they kept themselves hidden.
When the path divided again, he took the right-hand way and continued through an unvarying landscape of trees interspersed now and again with small clearings or meadows. Although he kept his eyes peeled for the merest hint of human activity, he did not spot anything more substantial than a trail made by animal feet, much less a road. Realising he might trek for hours this way, he abandoned his excursion and turned around, retracing his steps to the track leading down into the gorge.
Kit descended at a steady pace and, upon passing the place where he had landed, pulled out Mina’s ley lamp. The little lights remained dark, the instrument cold in his hand. He shoved the gismo back into his pocket with the thought that, some leys being more time sensitive than others, the ley was obviously dormant for the moment. He would check it again later.
His walk had made him sweaty and thirsty, so he resumed his excursion and followed the old straight track down to the river at the bottom of the gorge. A few dozen yards from the ley, the trail widened, losing the arrow-straight line as it followed the natural undulating curves of the cliffs down and down into the valley. The walls were marked with striated bands of grey-and-white stone—limestone and shale laid down in ribbons and layers over countless millennia. As the surrounding rock walls rose ever higher around him, Kit had a sensation of riding an escalator down through successive ages of time, each layer another eon or so.
Eventually the path ended in a bowl formed by a wide, lazy bend in the small river that picked its way among boulders the size of cars and garden sheds littering the centre floor of the valley. On either side of the river lay a wide grassy verge; along the low banks were reed beds and scrub oak, and small bushes and trees. Here on the valley floor, the air was warmer and more humid.
Hopping from one large stone to the next, he worked his way along the river’s edge until he found a small pool, clear as glass. Kneeling, he scooped up cupped handfuls and drank his fill of sweet, fresh water. He sat down and let the pale sunlight drench him. In a little while, he was dozing