The Druid Gene Read Free Page A

places like this. All this red rock is full of iron oxide. There are large quartz deposits under the rock and that’s got something to do with it. Also, there’s some kind of mineral called magnetite. It has to do with geology and magnetism. It’s like a hot spot of geomagnetic energy.”
    “A hot spot? Like for Wi-Fi?” She tried to keep the amusement from her voice, but wasn’t very successful.
    “Look, birds navigate by sensing geomagnetism, right? So, who says we can’t sense it? Especially if there are places where it’s concentrated? What if it affects our brain waves? Our mental state? Gives us a feeling of well-being or enhances our ability to heal?”
    “Adam, birds have specialized anatomical structures. They evolved to detect that stuff. We aren’t birds. We’re human. We learned to migrate using environmental cues and maps and things. And besides, if that’s really true, why aren’t birds dive-bombing this place?”
    He frowned and shook his head and she felt kind of bad for making light of something he cared about. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”
    “If people feel something here, it’s just because the landscape is breathtaking. It’s so beautiful, it brings tears to my eyes. That might feel like something spiritual to some people.”
    “Yeah, probably. I should check the soup, see if it’s ready.”
    She couldn’t stop herself from asking, “Is someone making money off this site?”
    He didn’t answer and his stride was stiff as he walked back to the campsite. She’d offended him and she’d have to apologize, but maybe it would be better if she left him alone for a few minutes, so she lingered. She found a large circle of stacked stones nearby, divided into four quadrants, very precisely laid out.
    The wind made an eerie, mournful sound, sweeping through the gorge. It blew wisps of unruly hair that had escaped her ponytail around her face as she squatted to examine the stacked stones. She picked up a flat rock lying nearby, about the size of a paperback book, and placed it on top of the pile. As she did so, slowly and deliberately, she felt a tingling sensation in her fingertips.
    She gasped like she’d been burned, jerked her arm back, and scrambled away. The stack of stones swayed a little, but did not fall. She glanced toward the campsite to see if Adam had seen her. He looked thoughtful, slightly turned away, stirring the soup. He hadn’t noticed.
    She stared at the stones, her mind boiling with flummoxed consternation. A powerful instinct told her she should walk away and never think of that moment again. That was the part of her that was always on guard against anything that reminded her of her mother’s foolishness.
    But she couldn’t do it. Something equally potent, the part of her that had to understand , commanded she investigate further. She stepped to the edge of the circle.
    Tentatively, she laid her hand flat atop the stack. This time her whole hand tingled and the sensation began to slowly ascend her arm, pulling her. She shuffled closer, now inside the circle.
    She could no longer take her hand away.
    The hair on her arm stood on end. She gaped as a faint blue light began to glow around her hand where it touched the stone. Streaks of the light surged up her arm, under the skin. She realized with detached fascination that they traced the paths of the major nerves.
    Her body ached with a sudden onset of leaden fatigue. She rocked back, hard, onto her back, feet slipping out from under her, right hand still held fast to the stones.
    Her low-rise shorts had slipped down, leaving her lower back exposed. She was horrified to realize a similar tingling sensation was emanating from that point of contact with the limestone floor of the gorge, traveling simultaneously up her spine and down her legs. She looked down to see the blue light outlining the nerves inside her thighs, heading steadily toward her feet.
    Her limbs were no longer under her control. Her legs went