Forbidden Tomes by S.A. Beck

Author:S.A. Beck [Beck, S.A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Beck Books

12

Della was having an amazing day with Bjorn. He was so friendly, so knowledgeable about things she found interesting, that he put her immediately at ease. That was rare in any situation and doubly so for the situation she found herself in at the moment. The stress of feeling such tainted earth energy wherever she went was wearing on her. He talked to her about magic and otherworldly beings like they were simple constructions of premodern culture, not the real and dangerous entities that she knew them to be. It took her mind off things a bit, reassured her.

He was attentive too. Della had always been the quiet, studious type, easily overlooked by extroverts like Bjorn. But he made an effort to listen and didn’t need to feign an interest in her accounts of excavations in the United States and England. He enjoyed the folktales she had learned related to the Rollright Stones near Oxford. She skipped the part about the legends of the witch Old Mother Shipton being true, however. She didn’t want him thinking she was some lunatic.

Instead she kept up an easy banter that ranged from intellectual conversation to enthusiastic sightseeing to subtle flirting.

She kept a part of her mind in reserve, however, as she always did. While she allowed herself to relax and go with the flow of conversation, the aloof, analytical part of her studied everything Bjorn said to find anything that might be of use.

Because the unsettling power crackling through the ley line beneath them would not make her forget her mission completely. No, not for an instant. An awesome guy like Bjorn only made it a bit more tolerable.

After studying the Ring of Brodgar, they retreated back to the cars in an increasingly heavy rain and drove to Maeshowe. Della rode in Bjorn’s car, and the conversation continued uninterrupted.

“So, you’re quite the research team,” Bjorn said.

“We’re a motley crew, that’s for sure.”

“Why are you coming up here in the winter and during term? Wouldn’t summer be better?”

Della shifted in her seat at this awkward question. Their cover story didn’t make much sense from an academic point of view. It was the best they could come up with, though, if they wanted his assistance.

“We were… busy during the summer.” Della hated to lie to this guy, yet she didn’t see how she had much choice. She decided to lie as little as possible. “I was working on an excavation at the Rollright Stones, like I said, plus doing a lot of lab work. Lucas and Cassandra and Richard were doing research in London. And as you know, Sebastian was in Greece.”

Bjorn looked at her sidelong. “Sebastian mentioned you.”

Her heart did a flip-flop. “Did he?”

“Yeah. He mentioned he had a new girlfriend, an archaeology student from America. I felt sorry for him.”

“Excuse me?”

Bjorn shrugged. “Most of his friends figured out how he was. We never brought it up because he never did. It was obvious, though.”

Della crossed her arms. “It wasn’t obvious to me.”

He glanced at her again from the corner of his eye.

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