Excerpts from The Isle Of Mist:

Chapter One

The moon was full shedding light on the ring of stones. Maggie could see something moving toward her, but the shape was constantly changing and she couldn’t quite identify what it was. Suddenly, the shape became clear. Standing directly in front of her was an old man. Up to this point Maggie had not been frightened, but now she could see that the old man was very angry and he was dressed strangely. He was dressed in clothes that were worn in the Scottish highlands in ancient times. He was speaking in a language that sounded vaguely familiar, but Maggie couldn’t understand what he was saying to her.

Even without understanding the words, Maggie knew that this man meant to hurt her. As she turned to run, she felt his hand gripping her shoulder forcefully. She screamed as she fell to the ground.

Maggie awoke from the nightmare in a cold sweat. She was shaken, but relieved that it was only a dream. Ever since her father died, Maggie had these nightmares. She supposed it was natural and, being of Scottish descent, she was not surprised that they took place in Scotland.

Maggie MacDonald and her mother lived together in a lovely brownstone in New York City. Her mother was a librarian and usually had her nose buried in a book. Maggie’s father had died almost six months ago, but it seemed like yesterday.

Life had changed after his death….it was very lonely for Maggie and her mom. Angus was the kind of person who lit up a room when he entered. A kind and caring man who always made time for his family. He was missed very much. His full name had been Angus Ian MacDonald and he had married Margaret Mary MacLean. They lived ‘happily ever after’ just like in the books Margaret was so fond of.

At least up until the time Angus was killed by a drunk driver on Lexington Avenue. At that moment, their lives were forever and irretrievably altered by fate. Maggie could hardly comprehend how quickly her life had been changed by the act of one thoughtless drunk driver.

Sometimes the pain was absolutely unbearable. Maggie had loved him so. At first, her anger at the drunk driver anesthetized her keeping her numbed to the pain. Later, Maggie realized that her anger wouldn’t bring her father back to her and the cold realization of his loss took its place. Maggie and her mother supported each other emotionally through this horrible time and they realized how blessed they were to still have each other.

When Maggie was a very little girl, her father had given her a lovely necklace to wear. When Angus presented it to her he said, “Maggie, this is a very special stone. It comes all the way from the Isle of Skye in Scotland. The MacDonalds have lived on the island for a thousand years. This very stone has been passed down through the generations in my family. It is my hope that someday you’ll present it to your daughter or son. Always wear it and it will bring you luck.” Maggie adored the necklace. It was as smooth to the touch as glass and round in shape. It had a perfectly rounded hole right in the middle of it. She touched the stone now and realized that it was a part of her father’s legacy to her. While she wore the stone, she felt that a part of her father was still with her. Maggie never took it off.

Chapter Two

On a cold, crisp October day, they received a letter from Angus’ sister in Scotland. The letter informed them that upon Angus’ death, Maggie’s mom had inherited a cottage and bookstore in the village of Portree on the beautiful Isle of Skye in the northwest of Scotland. Angus’ family had lived in the village of Portree for centuries before his family emigrated to America. Hardworking Angus had never had the time to go back for a visit. Now he never would, but Maggie and her mom could go.

Maggie saw this as a new beginning for them and she became very excited. She hated New York now, mainly because of the memories the city held for her. She believed that a change of scenery was just what they both needed and proceeded to nag her mother until Margaret gave in. After all, Maggie thought: if they didn’t like Scotland, they could always return to New York. How could they pass up such an opportunity to begin a new life?

Truth be told, Margaret was not very difficult to convince: everything in New York reminded her of the incredible loss. A drastic change in their day-to-day living might be just the thing to get them back on their feet. The thought of a bookstore in the Scottish Highlands made Margaret feel optimistic for the first time in a very long time.

Margaret wrote to Kathleen (Angus’ sister) to tell her they would be arriving in a few weeks and inquired about the condition of the cottage. They had a thousand questions between them, but decided to wait until their arrival in Scotland to ask them.

Within a week they received a reply from Kathleen with the good news that the cottage was completely ready for their occupancy. Kathleen told them that the family was looking forward to their arrival with great happiness and would be at the airport to meet them.

Maggie and her mom felt the excitement and anticipation grow as they made their plans to leave New York for Angus’ homeland. There were a million things to do to get ready for this extended trip and the weeks flew by. Maggie and her mom realized that it was the first time since Angus’ death that they were truly focused on something else – something positive in their lives.

They had no family left here in the U. S. so there were no emotional ties to hold them here. Margaret would miss her job at the library and the friends she had made there. However, the idea of owning her very own bookshop was a dream come true and made leaving a little less painful for her.

Maggie couldn’t think of anyone she’d miss. She preferred to be a loner and she left no close friends behind. It wasn’t that Maggie was not a likable person – it was just that she was shy and enjoyed the characters in her books more than she did the kids at her school.

They quickly rented their house to a nice, professional couple and on October 28th, they closed the door without a backward glance. They hailed a taxi and arrived at Kennedy International Airport with plenty of time to make their flight to Scotland.

Chapter Eleven

In today’s foggy weather, the bookshop was even more inviting. Maggie was again reminded of how her aunt and uncle had spent a great deal of time getting the house and shop into immaculate condition for them. There wasn’t a speck of dust anywhere. Maggie decided to check out some of the books they would be selling. Her mother had impressed upon her how important it was to be familiar with the inventory so that Maggie would be able to help customers find what they were looking for.

A large book on the far wall caught her eye and she walked over to pull it off the shelf. It was a history of the families of the Isle of Skye – how perfect! Maggie decided to make herself a cup of tea and begin reading.

As she started to walk toward the back of the room, her shoe caught on a loose stone in the floor. She tripped and the book flew out of her hands.

Maggie sat up and turned to look at the stone that tripped her. The stone was smooth, like all the others, but the mortar that held it had broken down and it had worked itself loose over the years. She lifted the stone and was astonished to see something underneath it.

Upon further investigation, Maggie saw that it was a large rectangular package and very well wrapped. She lifted the package out, got up and went into the backroom.

Maggie placed the package on the table and moved toward the stove to put the kettle on for tea. She very carefully unwrapped the package. It was an incredibly ancient-looking book with a very fancy leather binding. On the ornate front cover were these words, “Journal of Donald MacNeill of Sleat, Isle of Skye”. Underneath those words were the Gaelic spelling of MacNeill and the motto of the family.

Maggie knew her parents’ clan information by heart: MacDonald is spelled “MacDhomhnuill” in Gaelic and the clan motto is “My hope is constant in thee”. Her mother descended from the Clan MacLean. Their Gaelic name is “MacGhille Eoin” and their motto is “Virtue Mine Honour”.

Maggie thought that the whole idea of clans, Gaelic names and family mottoes were very romantic and she was absolutely thrilled that she had found a hidden journal from that romantic period of time. But why had it been hidden?

At that moment, the tea kettle began to scream and Maggie almost jumped clear out of her skin. She turned off the kettle, but instead of getting a cup, she turned and lifted the book off the table. She decided that until she knew what the journal contained, she wasn’t going to tell anyone about it. Maggie really wasn’t quite sure why she felt that way, but she trusted her instincts.

Maggie left the shop with the journal clutched tightly in her arms. She went into the house and brought the book directly up to her room where she would be able to examine it more closely.