Nora and Killian sat, side-by-side on the ugly yellow sofa in the servant’s quarters as Lance, Anton, and I clustered together in the foyer at the foot of the grand staircase.
“Is this enough to keep us out of the way?” Nora asked.
“You should be good,” Lance said with confidence. “Although I cannot guarantee you will appreciate what you see.”
“I found it fascinating the last time,” she replied.
“And… how did you say it? Creepy,” he said. “This could prove to be even more creepy to you.”
She turned to Killian. “Have you seen something like this before?”
He nodded. “Not in a long time, but I have.”
“Is it creepy?” she timidly asked.
He shrugged. “I didn’t think so. It really depends on the mindset of the person.”
After a moment’s thought, she took a
I was furious with the society. They not only informed me that they had no one available who could assist me in returning to the past alongside my husband, they insisted upon returning him to the past immediately since his body was decomposing at record speed. Apparently, teleporting a body back to the past did not require that someone skilled in time travel accompany it, while teleporting a human being did. I imagine I taxed their nerves when they had to repeatedly assure me that they were positive that Lance would end up in the right place. They might have been doing things the way it was done for centuries, but it wasn’t my way and my confidence level was low.A full day passed before Anton appeared before me.Rushing into his arms, I wailed my dismay over the chain of events that occurred.“I saw to his burial myself, lass,” he assured me. “He was laid in the family plot. You can visit his grave her
Lance rejuvenated enough to be coherent and conversational for a few days. As I watched the color return to his face, I began to feel encouraged.Sadly, it was short lived.He’d returned to his old self long enough to reassure me of the love that he had for me and to make sure that I knew that I was to move forward with my life. Reminding me of my magic and my ability to time travel, he struggled to get me to go over the running of the estate with him to be sure that I understood and could handle it on my own both in the past and in the future. I didn’t want to have that conversation with him, but I eventually lamented and allowed him his say.When he felt confident that I was prepared for the inevitable, he told me something that shocked me to my core. He’d been Marduke’s prisoner since the night I’d learned that he intended to take me back to the past. With the help of Killian to keep me occupied, Jason and his w
My head felt like it was filled with lead as I sat at the kitchen counter and stared into my empty coffee cup. I had no idea how long ago I’d finished the beverage. I was numb with despair.“How are you doing, my beautiful Esmerelda?” Anton asked as he walked up behind me and placed his hand on my shoulder. “What can I do for you?”“I feel like my world has just crashed and burned,” I moaned as I leaned back against his rock hard, yet comforting chest. “I don’t know what to do next.”“There is very little to do, but be supportive,” he said with sadness.“He should be taken back to his time,” I whimpered as I wiped at a stray tear. “I think he’d be happier if he was.”“I agree, but the doctor said that he can nay return to the past,” he said. “It would take what little life he has left in him. I
We eased Lance into bed and inspected his condition. He was in very bad shape.“I fear I can do very little for the man. We need better medical help than I can provide,” Anton confessed.I was at a loss over what to do. Taking Lance to the hospital would bring on a slew of questions that neither Anton or I were prepared to answer. I thought about calling Roger, but he was never totally brought into our world. Since he wasn’t magical, Killian had felt it best to keep him in the dark about most things. I also knew that one of the main reasons why he and Nora broke up was because she hadn’t shared much with him either. How could I tell him that his partner had been turned into a vampire and that Lances condition was a result of his work? There was also the question of explaining what happened to Nora to him.No, Roger was not the answer.“I can take him back to the past, but I ques
We reached the area with the portal just as Killian came rushing forth. Or should I say the remnants of Killian because he’d been turned vampire? His dark eyes were now a fiery orange that literally looked as if they were spitting fire. I didn’t remember Nora’s eyes being that bad. I assumed it was because, although he didn’t possess as much magic as Anton, Lance, or me, he did possess magic.“Oh no!” I bellowed as I pointed out the fact that Killian was rushing toward us. “Look! It’s Killian! They turned him!”Anton picked Lance up over his shoulder and urged me to find the portal right away. My entire body trembled from shock over seeing my former lover and friend in such a state as well as in fear of what I knew that he was capable of doing to us.Because we were focusing on Killian, neither Anton or I paid attention to what was happening to Nora. Being this close to a v
Getting into the torture chamber was far easier than we’d anticipated. It was so easy, in fact, that we were on the alert for danger even more than normal.It took time for my eyes to adjust to the dim lighting. When I finally did and was able to move about without fear of bumping into something and bringing attention to our presence, I headed for the small cages along the back wall.There were six cages in all. Two were empty. I moved close enough to see the occupants in the other four. Only one was a human from my world. He was in the very last cage in the dank and darkest corner.I emitted an agonizing gasp as I peered between the bars to better inspect the cage’s occupant. Before me was what looked like the remnants of my husband. Instead of the robust, sexy, handsome man with raven hair, he was gaunt, hunched over, and sallow in complexion with streaks of gray running through his now dull black hair.&l