The Mammoth Book of Time Travel Romance by Telep Trisha

Author:Telep, Trisha [Telep, Trisha]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Robinson
Published: 2010-02-01T10:00:00+00:00

Iron and Hemlock

Autumn Dawn

Jordon flinched and shielded her eyes. The glow of lightning lit the darkness behind her lids, persisted in dots of colour as she slowly lowered her hand. She blinked, disoriented. Death was a lonely country road?

It was no wonder she was confused. Only moments ago, she’d been crossing the street on her way to meet the bus. When the speeding Porsche had lurched around the corner, then gunned for her with an angry growl, she’d known she was dead. Only the lightning had struck before the car did. Had it somehow knocked her out of the way?

She drew a shaky breath and looked around. No. It was dark here, and stormy. The sun had been directly overhead in Spokane. The city had disappeared completely, leaving nothing but whispering trees and a crawling sense of unease.

A cold wind worked its way through her jeans, stealing her warmth. She hitched her light leather jacket closer and thanked God for the vanity that made her wear her cashmere and silk sweater, though it had been a little warm for it this morning. Unfortunately, the suede boots didn’t fare as well, quickly becoming waterlogged in the rain.

A flash of lightning illuminated the outline of a tremendous stone wall lining the dirt road. A quick glance showed nothing behind her – no lights, at least, which would have indicated people. A hundred yards ahead, the wall was pierced by a wrought-iron gate. As she drew closer, she could see that the panels were unlatched, swaying slightly in the wind, almost in invitation. When she was close enough to touch it, the torches above the gate flared to life, illuminating the gravel path. She glanced up and started slightly at the fierce gargoyles flanking the wall on either side.

As she watched, one of them blinked.

Jordon froze. But she was not the kind of girl who screamed and ran at every shadow, even in such dire circumstances. She watched the gargoyle instead. It did not take long to convince herself that she’d imagined it. The statue was obviously stone.

Still, she felt watched. She looked behind her, but there was nothing out there. Blackness, night. And yet she had the feeling that something was watching her; something other than the gargoyles.

Shrugging her shoulders against the sensation, she slipped through the gates. Uneasy, she glanced back, just in time to observe the wind pushing the gates closed. They shut with a loud clang and remained fixed, as if they had latched. Was she locked in?

She did not have time for further speculation. The sound of hoof beats heading her way made her stiffen. When she saw what was bearing down on her, she ran. She did not need the lightning to see the flames shooting from the head of the midnight-coloured stallion charging her way. His eyes and nostrils blazed, as if he were a living furnace. Sparks flew where his feet struck the earth, and the ground shook.

She doubted he was checking to see if she’d brought oats.

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