Stopping Time: Paranormal Fantasy Young Adult/New Adult Romance (Kerrigan Chronicles Book 1)

by W. J. May

  “Dev?”

  Waiting...

  “Devon?”

  Still waiting...

  She twisted around to see him, then closed her eyes with a comedic sigh. Just one look at that peaceful, sleeping face and she was suddenly reminded he had a severe concussion. A second later she was lying down on the bed once more, nestling into the circle of his arms.

  It’s for the best, she said to herself, staring quietly up at the stars. He really loves that sweater...

  Chapter 9

  That night, Rae slept better than she had in a long time. Secure in the knowledge that if anyone unwelcome tried to sneak into the camp, about a hundred feisty Hungarians and seventy grazing sheep would wake her. She opened her eyes with a smile and stretched her arms towards the sunlit canvas, arching her back with a deep and contented sigh. They were safe—for now.

  Then she rolled over and found herself touching noses with a man who was most certainly not her husband.

  “Yeep!” She let out a comical screech, leaping to the floor of the wagon with both hands thrown out like a shield. Fortunately, she was still wearing her full-length shift dress. And fortunately, the swarthy man sleeping beside her, despite having shed his shirt, had seen fit to keep on his pants.

  That is where their ‘fortunately’ ran out.

  “What the heck are you!” she shrieked, snatching up a kerosene lamp and holding it like a weapon. “Who are you!”

  The man stumbled out of bed, looking just as surprised as she was herself. Though he only stood about as tall as her chin he was at least three times as wide, belly bulging over the waistband on his trousers. He took one look at the lamp, panicked, then threw up his hands in total surrender

  “Do not worry!” he cried in broken English, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “I am Paco!”

  Paco?

  There was a beat of silence. Then Rae shouted with all her might.

  “GABRIEL!”

  Right on cue, the sound of sparkling laughter drifted in through the canvas awning. A charming London accent was soon to follow. “Gotta go, fellas. I think my friend’s awake.”

  A few seconds later, a head of golden hair popped into the wagon. Gabriel straightened up, took one look at the scene in front of him, and let out an appreciative whistle. “Rae Kerrigan, you saucy minx.” He tossed her a conspiratorial wink. “You know, your husband is sitting right outside.”

  Under most circumstances, Rae would have blasted that smile right off his face with a bolt of karmically- charged lightning. Today, she simply narrowed her eyes with a scathing glare.

  “This is Paco,” she hissed through gritted teeth.

  “I am Paco,” the man agreed instantly, understanding only a slim portion of what was going on. He offered both a smile, which only Gabriel returned before turning back to Rae.

  “Yes, love. I met him this morning.”

  Of all the days not to have my powers.

  She bit down on her lip, literally aching to wrap her hands around his neck. “Care to tell me what he was doing in my bed?”

  “Darling,” Gabriel folded his arms across his chest, “I would never presume to have the faintest idea of what happens in your bed.”

  “I am Paco,” the man said again, as if it explained everything.

  Gabriel nodded soundly, then flinched as Rae grabbed him fiercely by the arm. She didn’t need her powers to make it hurt. Nor did she say a single word as she dragged him back outside.

  The sun was shining by the time she set foot on the grass, and the camp was already in full swing. Children were running back and forth. Animals were being herded to makeshift enclosures within the trees. Fires were being cheerfully smothered as the women of the group began cleaning up the remains of the morning meal.

  Overall, it was a beautiful day. Darkened only by the way in which Rae entered it.

  “Paco?!” she demanded, whirling around the second they were alone.

  Gabriel’s green eyes danced with merriment, though he kept it carefully off his face.

  “Yes, Rae—Paco.” He shook his head chidingly, as if she was being quite unreasonable. “It was quite crowded in the camp last night, what with the addition of the seven of us, and I didn’t think it would inconvenience you to share your space with one of the people gracious enough to host us.”

  A scathing silence fell between them.

  “You didn’t think it would inconvenience me?”

  A flash of pure mischief twinkled in his eyes. Guess yesterday’s near disaster had no linger effect on him. “No. I didn’t think it would inconvenience you.” Just like that, he forgave himself like he always did, draped an arm around her shoulders, and began leading her further into camp. “At any rate, I don’t see what you’re so upset about. I made sure he bathed first.”

  She pulled up short, trying to make sense of the words. “You made...you made sure that he... what?”

  “Paco tends the pigs,” Gabriel replied authoritatively.

  She opened her mouth for another scream, but he popped a piece of bread inside. Smeared with a sweet flavor she didn’t recognize. She glared for a second, then took it tentatively in her hand.

  “Good morning.” He wiped the slate clean with a charming grin, sweeping her messy hair away from her eyes. “Or, should I say, good afternoon. You slept most of the day away, my dear.”

  He was right. Now that she took the time to notice, she saw the sun was shining down from the very center of the sky. The meal the women had been clearing away wasn’t breakfast, it had been lunch.

  “It should also be said, you’re an incredibly heavy sleeper,” he continued casually, bright eyes drifting through the trees. “Not exactly the best quality in a spy.”

  She stifled a reluctant grin, stuffing the rest of the baguette in her mouth. “ ‘ere’s er-body els?”

  He smiled at her patiently. “Swallow, love. Haven’t you been teaching your daughter any manners?”

  She did so. With another spiteful grin. “I bet you say that to all the girls.”

  His lips twitched up in a crooked grin as he answered her original question. “Molly and Luke are out looking at the horses, Angel and Devon went back to the healer, and Julian’s with the old lady who runs this place. Cooking something.”

  Rae lifted her eyebrows in surprise. Julian’s attempts at cooking could rival even her own. “Is that... wise?”

  “He’s watching, mostly. And listening.” Gabriel cocked his head and began leading her along. “I think Olanna is seriously considering adopting him. It’s unlikely she’ll ever give him back.”

  Rae smiled to herself, the hem of her dress skimming over the soft grass.

  The tribe’s interest in Julian was to be expected. These people valued blood above anything else. And, although most of his mother’s side of the family had yet to be born, they were quick to recognize that kindred likeness and embrace him as one of their own.

  It was an interesting situation to find himself in, especially for a shy boy who never had any family. But Olanna’s curiosity seemed a bit more directed than the rest. It was something about the way she’d asked who had given him those eyes.

  The camp was a confusing maze of identical-looking wagons and tents, but after a half hour of unsupervised recon Gabriel already seemed to know his way around. A minute or two later, he and Rae rounded a corner to see Julian and Olanna sitting together beneath a brightly colored tarp.

  He was holding a bowl, shifting it occasionally so the contents didn’t settle, while she was ladling out giant spoonfuls into little pockets of what looked like pita bread. Both were drinking a strong herbal tea. Both were completely absorbed in their quiet conversation, oblivious to what was happening in the world around them.

  After a few seconds of not being noticed Gabriel shifted impatiently, running his fingers back through his hair with a pointed “Ahem”.

  The two looked up with a start, then flashed automatic smiles at the newcomers. Olanna muttered something in quick
Hungarian.

  Julian bowed his head with a hidden smile.

  “What was that?” Gabriel asked loudly. He spoke over a dozen languages himself, but that didn’t happen to be one of them. Therefore, he found himself highly disconcerted to be out of the loop.

  Olanna returned to the bread as Julian glanced at his brother-in-law.

  “She says you remind her of her son.”

  “Oh.” Gabriel’s face relaxed into a presumptive smile before tensing just as quickly. “That’s a good thing, isn’t it?”

  There was a slight pause.

  “Sure.”

  “Why don’t you go be somewhere else?” Rae suggested rudely, flashing him a vengeful grin as she settled down at the table. “I’m sure Paco would welcome the company.”

  The two shared a knowing look before he left her with the others. Heading off into the camp to see what new sorts of mischief he could find.

  “Would you like some tea, child?”

  Rae turned back to the table, accepting the mug that was offered to her with a smile. “Yes, please.”

  With their dark hair and shared coloring, Rae and Julian could pass as siblings. They’d posed as brother and sister on missions for the Privy Council many times before. Between that and the fact that she also spoke the language, she’d been encouraged by the gypsies to make herself at home.

  “What are you cooking?” She leaned over the table, sniffing at the thick aroma of spices coming up from the bowl. “It smells amazing.”

  “I haven’t the faintest idea,” Julian answered honestly, giving the contents another cursory swish. “In the beginning, I tried to help. But Olanna learned that lesson pretty quick.”

  “Buta fiú,” Olanna swatted his head. “Silly boy. You only need someone to teach you.”

  It was a good sentiment, though Rae happened to know he needed a lot more than that. A fire hydrant, perhaps. Still, she couldn’t help but warm at the sweetness of the provincial scene.

  Her best friend making the traditional food of his people. His long hair pulled back in a hasty knot. Barefoot with fingers covered in sauce. A far cry from the English gentleman who’d grown up in Liverpool. The clairvoyant super-spy who lived four hundred years in the future.

  Yet, in a strange way, he couldn’t have looked more at home.

  If she could do it without being seen, Rae would have taken a picture on her phone. Stuck it on his refrigerator door. But, as it stood, the utopic image was about to take a sudden turn.

  “Here,” Olanna held the ladle up to his lips, “try.”

  He barely had time to blow off the steam before she shoved it into his mouth. Taking great pleasure in his look of surprise. And in his unspeakable disgust.

  Rae bit down on her lip to conceal a smile, half-hiding behind her mug of tea lest she be asked to do the same thing. Only two decades of impeccable manners kept him from spitting it out all over the table, but still, the look on his face wasn’t fooling anyone.

  “It’s good,” he choked, forcing a strained smile. “I didn’t know it would be so... sharp.”

  “Those are the bones,” Olanna said wisely.

  His face whitened several more shades. “Oh... right.” He swallowed hard, looking as though he might be sick. “The bones.”

  The old woman cackled merrily, clapping him on the back as she turned to greet a young girl who’d run in from the clearing and began tugging on her sleeve.

  “They need you by the horses,” the child panted in a rush. “It’s Axel, he’s at it again...”

  “Never a dull moment.” Olanna pushed stiffly to her feet, setting out across the grass before gesturing back to the ladle with a wicked smile. “Feel free to help yourselves.”

  The second she rounded the corner, Julian spat into the grass.

  “Not a fan?” Rae asked innocently, linking her arm through his as they left the little tarp behind and started strolling over the grass.

  “I think you have to be raised with it,” he coughed, half-laughing all the while. “Maybe then you develop a sort of immunity.”

  Rae laughed again and the two of them walked in silence. Pausing occasionally as packs of shrieking children raced across their path. Silently memorizing the beautiful simplicity of the scene.

  “I was surprised you speak Hungarian,” Rae said suddenly, casting him a sideways glance.

  He nodded silently, sticking his hands into his pockets. “After that summer... I started taking lessons.”

  Rae glanced at him again but held her tongue. She remembered it all too well. The day that Carter had walked into their shared kitchen and placed a sealed case file in Julian’s hands. A file that unlocked a piece of his history. Revealed that her father had once imprisoned his own.

  They’d been living in the same house at the time and his reaction hadn’t been pretty. But Carter never did things without a reason. The file revealed other things as well.

  That he’d been born in Hungary. That his mother was born there. That she’d been living in Budapest when she met his father and fell in love.

  “There was this gallery,” he said quietly. “An art gallery my grandfather owned. Apparently, it’s where I spent the first few years of my life.” His lovely eyes swept thoughtfully over the grassy field. “Angel and I went there last summer and tried to track it down. We couldn’t find it.”

  Rae’s chest tightened as she dropped her gaze to the ground. She had long ago dedicated her life to disproving the old saying that the sins of the father were the sins of the son. She was not Simon Kerrigan, nor was she in any way responsible for what he’d done. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t painfully aware of what her family had done to others. That she wasn’t profoundly heartbroken every time her friend was handed another piece of his broken past.

  “Stop it, Rae. I can feel you stressing from here.”

  She laughed lightly, resting her head on his arm. Sometimes she forgot that her friends knew her even better than she knew herself. Even without the psychic connection.

  They came to a stop on the shore of a little pond hidden away inside the trees. Watching the sunlight dance on the waves. Listening to the quiet sounds of the forest.

  “You know who would love this?” she asked after a while. “Lily.”

  A smile warmed his handsome face as they both pictured his two-year-old daughter. Long white hair like her mother, and her father’s dark eyes. A delicate little fairy come to life.

  “The horses,” he said fondly. “She’d love seeing the horses.”

  Rae flashed a conspiratorial grin, betraying a secret her husband would rather have kept to himself. “You know Devon almost got her one in Barcelona, right? They stopped him at customs.”

  Julian let out a burst of laughter, both amused and exasperated at the same time. “Yeah, I saw that. Who do you think tipped off the customs agent?”

  There was no limit to the things Devon would do to spoil his goddaughter. In most people, this was nothing more than a sweet sentiment. But Devon Wardell was too capable for his own good.

  “It was bad enough when he chartered that dirigible,” he muttered, raking his fingers through his hair. “That whole rest of the week she ran around the house singing, ‘and what goes up must come down...’”

  Rae snorted into her hand, well acquainted with the child’s sing-song voice. “Okay, but in his defense he did ask if he could give her a tour of the city. He just did it from a bird’s eye view.”

  Julian shot her a sarcastic look. “That’s like when he asked if the two of them could go and get ice cream—”

  “Which they did.”

  “He took her to Rome!” the psychic exclaimed. “What? We don’t have gelato in London?”

  “I’m just saying, you might as well get her a horse. You guys already have a wolf—”

  “Is Julian reconsidering the horse?” a bright voice interrupted. The two looked up as Devon made his way into the clearing. He was flanked by two people Rae didn’t recognize, but at the mome
nt he was too excited to care. “Because I’ve already got my eye on several breeders—”

  “Did you need something?” Julian interrupted sharply, before the fantastical schemes could get off the ground. “Or were you just looking for something else to smear on your face?”

  Devon cast a wary look at the pond before clearing his throat. “Actually, I was talking with Olanna and the others, and we think we’ve found a way to get us back into the city.”

  “You have?” Rae exclaimed. “That’s great!” She leaned over and kissed his cheek, feeling partially guilty for not waking early to check on him. He looked slightly less the worse for wear, and apparently the concussion had either turned into a minor headache or Devon was hiding it well. “You’re good?” she asked simply.

  “Couldn’t be better.” He patted her bottom and winked.

  “So there’s a way back into the city?” The sooner they got back into it, the sooner they could find the time-traveler and get back to their own century. Where they could hold their kids, instead of just talking about them. Another pang rang through Rae. Were the kids missing them? Had time continued to move on? She pushed the thoughts away. Get into the city, find the time-traveler, get home. Easy-peasy.

  “What is it?” Julian asked curiously.

  There was a slight pause, and they couldn’t help but notice how Devon’s smile faded a bit.

  “It’s nothing bad,” he said quickly, unwilling to actually reveal what it was. “But the thing is... Molly’s going to hate it.”

  Maybe not so easy-peasy.

  “RAE KERRIGAN! I AM never going to forgive you for this!”

  Molly was standing in front of a covered wagon, her arms folded tightly over her chest. The gypsies were watching the showdown with great amusement and the others were already inside.

  ...buried beneath a pile of sun-ripened fruit.

  “It’s not my fault!” Rae countered, up to her waist in a mountain of pears. “Devon was the one who came up with this brilliant little scheme, not me!”