by Reese Rivers
“Not a witch you say and yet here is the proof of your lies!” I accuse her in a cold tone. I expect her to deny my words, beg or plead but once again this woman does what I least expect. She groans out a frustrated screech, tilts her head back, and looks to the ceiling.
“Seriously? Tried for witchcraft and burned at the stake for a fucking iPhone? Seriously?”
The other three men in the room have moved closer and loosely encircle her. It’s Cade that asks, “Are you calling to the one you worship, lass? Or the one you serve?”
She shakes her head and whispers, “Jesus,” under her breath but then says it again louder. “Jesus! That is who I worship and serve, in my own way, if I have to pick. I…am…not…a…witch!” She spits out before whipping the magical object out and holding it up for all of us to see.
“THIS is not magic. It’s, it’s technology. A tool. Where I’m from, almost everyone, rich or poor, owns some version of one and none of them are witches!” She sighs and lowers it down and uses her thumb to brighten it again before holding it out, offering it to any of us to take. When none of us do, her shoulders slump. “It won’t hurt you. It’s not dangerous…unless you have an Amazon Prime membership and an addiction to online shopping.” As we all take a step back, she laughs. “Joke, I was making a sarcastic joke! Honestly, it’s just a device that is common where I come from.”
Luca steps closer to her and leans his upper body to get a better look at what is displayed on the front of the object. He frowns and asks, “Where are you from, then? It must be a wealthy land if all people have such a marvel.”
She snorts out a laugh and uses her free hand to swipe away a thick hank of her red curls to behind her back. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” When he just lifts his eyebrows in dispute, sadness crosses her face and she gives a tiny shake of her head. “No one could believe me. I hardly believe it myself.”
Luca lifts a hand and cups the witch’s face, causing me and the wolves to rear back in shock. Luca refuses to touch others unless it’s during a fight or by accident. Should anyone touch him, he will flinch from it or lash out. Seeing this out of character behavior from him is just one more instance that proves to me that the woman has cast a spell on him.
“You would be surprised at what we would believe. Try us,” he tells her in a soothing tone.
I see her face softening and the longing and loneliness I can read in her expression have me doubting my belief for a moment. She chews on her bottom lip in indecision and something about that sends a bolt of heat down to my cock. Such attraction for a woman this quickly doesn’t happen to me and my mind is again swayed back to her being a witch that has spelled us. We don’t even know the witch’s name, for hell’s sake.
Her eyes dart around the room to look at each one of us before she takes a deep breath and then blows it out, causing my eyes to dip down to her breasts. I force them away and focus on her face to see the lie that I know is coming.
“My name is Eden Kelly and I’m from the future. The year I come from is 2028. If math is hard for you all, that’s three hundred and sixty-one years in the future, to be exact.”
The room is dead silent for a moment after her ridiculous lie of a statement until I let out a roar of anger, done with this foolishness. She swings her face my way, still filled with defiance so I show her a truth that will force her to reveal every secret she has. I let the change come over me and feel my canines lengthening to fangs as my eyes blaze a red to match fires of hell. I step towards her with a snarl so my teeth are on full display and wait for the screaming to begin. The witch’s eyes widen but not with the terror I expect. Instead, they almost seem to be filled with wonder. Her mouth drops open in surprise but quickly snaps into a grin of…delight?
Nothing in her reaction is how it is supposed to be so I find that I’m the one who is shocked instead of her when she takes a few steps toward me instead of fleeing for her life. She lifts a hand as if she’s going to touch my face but quickly shakes her head and drops it to her side, still with that infuriating grin.
“Holy shit, you’re a vampire!” And then the witch laughs…laughs! “Boy, did Twilight get it wrong. Not a single sparkle to be seen!”
Eden
Holy cracker jackers! A vampire? A real-live, honest to God, mother effin’ vampire is standing in front of me right now. As if time travel wasn’t enough to scramble my fragile brain, the universe is going to throw this at me too? Not that it isn’t freaking amazing but now I’m wondering what other crazy is headed my way. I’m grinning like an idiot at vampire guy and try not to giggle when he loses the fangs and glowy red eyes to leave a small pout on his sexy lips.
I guess he was expecting a different reaction from me but as a huge fan of Buffy, True Blood, and The Originals, not to mention a few hundred e-books that I’ve read - well, I guess I could be scared but honestly I’m more intrigued than anything else. I can’t help the sassy wink I toss at him before I spin away to take a closer look at the other three shocked men in the room. My eyes lock onto Luca and I slowly start to nod my head while lifting my hand to point at him.
“Vampire.” It’s more of a statement than a question and my heart does a little flutter when he nods back just as slowly that I’m right. I grace him with another big smile and switch my focus to the blonds, Finn and Cade. Here I pause while squinting my eyes in consideration but then shake my head.
“Not vampire but…”
Both of them lean forward like they’re eager to hear what I’m going to guess. They just don’t give off the vamp vibe that fits the other two men now that they’ve revealed themselves. I track back to all the things I’ve heard since I landed in this time and focus on the words dog, pup and…wolf! My eyes go wide and I practically choke out, “Wolves! Oh my God, are you guys wolf shifters?”
The huge grins that plaster across both of their faces tells me that I’ve nailed my guess and I just stand there in total shock.
“How did you know that, lass? Are there many shifters where…uh…when you come from?” Cade asks in excitement.
I let out a laugh. “In real life, no clue. But in books, TV shows, and movies, yes. So many.”
Cade elbows Finn in the side. “Do you hear that, cousin? We’re famous in the future! There are many books written about us and the other two things she said that I don’t understand. Many, she said!”
Cade opens his mouth to ask me something but a thought crosses my mind like a lightning bolt so I cut him off and spin to look at the others.
“Time travel, vampires and wolf shifters - for all that’s holy, please, please say there are dragons too?”
Luca barks out a laugh, causing the other three men to stare at him like he has two heads but only for a second before Sebastian finally loses his patience.
“Enough! Enough of your incessant chatter and lies! I’m done dealing with this nonsense.” He roars at me and points to Finn and Cade. “Take her to one of the guest rooms and lock her in. I will get the truth from her tomorrow.” He turns his glare on Luca. “And you! I don’t know what spell the witch has cast over you but I don’t like it. You will come with me to the palace to inform the King of what transpired today.” When Luca frowns, Sebastian throws up a hand. “No arguments. The further away from her we are, the more the spell will weaken.” With that proclamation, he steps up to me, pries the iPhone from my hand, and strides purposefully out of the room.
I glare at the empty doorway he’s disappeared through for a moment before switching my gaze to Luca and change my expression to a hopeful one and asking a one-word question, “Dragons?”
He smiles softly at me but shakes his head before leaving the room. As the two wolves escort me to a guest bedroom I mutter under my breath. “Dammit, why couldn’t there be dragons too?”
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YA Post Apocalyptic Titles Written as Theresa Shaver
The Stranded Series
Land – A Stranded Novel, Book One
Sea – A Stranded Novel, Book Two
Home - A Stranded Novel, Book Three
City Escape – A Stranded Novel, Book Four
Frozen – A Stranded Novel Book Five
The Endless Winter Series
Snow & Ash – An Endless Winter Novel, Book One
Rain & Ruin – An Endless Winter Novel, Book Two
Sun & Smoke – An Endless Winter Novel, Book Three
Fire & Fury – An Endless Winter Novel, Book Four
Scorched – A Dry Earth Novel
The Flare Series
The Journey – A Flare Novel, Book One
The Line – A Flare Novel, Book Two
The Bridge – A Flare Novel, Book Three
