destroy the armies or the cities of their enemies. And it was fun, to my old self. But I will never do that again, not for anyone. No man will use me as his weapon again.”
Mariella nodded, thinking things over, the moonlight making her green eyes glow like a cat’s. Seth was gaping silently out at the waves.
“It’s all waves,” Seth whispered. “One after another, it’s all just waves, waves in the universe of the ocean...or the ocean of the...what was I saying?”
“I think the mushrooms are starting to work,” Jenny said, and Mariella laughed. She kept laughing, and Seth started laughing, and Jenny shook her head, watching them stumble around the beach, laughing so hard they toppled over into the cold, wet sand.
“Okay, kids,” Jenny said. “Let’s go back in time. We’re trespassing, so try to keep quiet.”
A wooden fence surrounded the nearest field of standing stones, but a few boards were missing, so they were able to slip right through. That was lucky, because Jenny doubted Seth or Mariella could climb a fence in their current state. They kept bumping into each other and giggling.
“Sh!” Jenny whispered. She pointed to the small farmhouse on the far side of the field. “Someone might be home. Stay quiet.”
“I wonder who lives there,” Mariella whispered.
“Old French ghosts,” Seth whispered, and they both laughed, and Jenny had to shush them.
They found themselves in the middle of nine perfectly straight rows of tall standing stones stretching away into the distance, where Jenny could make out the remains of what looked like a megalithic house, with a few gigantic stones for walls and equally large stone cross-pieces across the top. She wondered why Stone Age people had built such things.
“Stand over here, next to each other, and look at me,” Jenny said. She thought back to the few previous lives in which her memories had been fully awoken.
“You’re glowing, Jenny,” Seth said. “You’re glowing blue.”
“That’s just the moonlight. Concentrate,” Jenny said. “Close your eyes, both of you. Imagine...imagine there’s a door right behind you.”
“What kind of door?” Seth asked.
“You tell me,” Jenny said. “What do you see?”
“My door’s made of colored glass and crystal, and sunlight is glowing through it. It’s so beautiful,” Mariella sighed.
“Good. What about you, Seth?”
“My door’s awesome. Like a big castle door, with big spikes and torches all over it.”
“Okay...This door leads to all your past-life memories,” Jenny said. “Imagine it slowly opens, and through it, you see a long hallway of doors. Each door on that hall opens to one of your past lives. Now, open your eyes, turn around, and step through into the hall.”
“Ooh!” Mariella gasped as she turned and opened her eyes.
“I can see it,” Seth said, looking at the long rows of standing stones that stretched out of sight. “I can see the doors! Are there supposed to be ducks?”
“Open the first door you see,” Jenny told them.
Seth and Mariella each took a step forward and touched one of the tall stones, which now represented doors to them.
“Oh, I see it!” Mariella told them. “I see both of you...and General Kranzler...and...” Mariella’s chest hitched and she gave a loud sob. “Oh, Jenny...”
“Barrett,” Seth said. “He betrayed us. I told you I had the worst great-grandfather in history.”
“Now imagine all the doors opening, all the way back to the beginning,” Jenny said. “Don’t hold anything back. Don’t hide anything from yourself.”
They kept walking, touching one stone after another as if looking into each door, sometimes running away in horror, or laughing at some long-forgotten moment of happiness, or crying at some tender memory. She watched as they awoke to themselves, overpowered by all that they’d forgotten.
“Good,” Jenny said, though neither seemed to be listening to her anymore. “You’re doing fine. Just take it easy, don’t rush...”
“A jester?” Seth laughed, shaking his head as he stared at the blank face of a standing stone. “I was a court jester, can you believe that?”
“Yep,” Jenny said, catching up to him.
Mariella cried out in horror as she stared at a tall stone ahead of them.
“What’s wrong?” Jenny hurried to catch up with her, then hesitantly took her by the arm. “Mariella? Tell me what you see.”
“I...see...” Mariella’s face turned ashen. “Plague, suffering, war...”
“Keep talking,” Jenny encouraged her. “Remember, it’s in the past, it’s not happening now.”
“There are men in armored masks, plates, chains, they have swords and hammers...”
“Do you know where you are, or when?” Jenny asked.
“It must be medieval Europe...” Mariella’s eyes closed. “I think those are the