Ancient Illusions

by Joanne Pence

  "Not much else to do out here," he said.

  "And I'm loving it," she added. She put his plate in front of him, then gave him a quick kiss before she took her seat. The bright blue of the lake was beautiful and invigorating, and they enjoyed watching the sea gulls circle it.

  They had traveled from Boston to Salmon where they checked in on their friends, and then headed north to Idaho’s panhandle, not far from the Canadian border. While driving around the lake, they spotted a large furnished home on twenty acres available for lease. It had a view of the water in one direction, and the Rocky Mountains in the other. They took it.

  Over the past month, they were learning a lot about each other, particularly that two strong-willed, strong-minded people didn’t always have smooth sailing. Simply being together, however, made it worthwhile. Ceinwen realized that what she thought was love had been an infatuation. As her feelings for Michael deepened, she was learning what the real thing was all about.

  Michael remained wary of his feelings, but was slowing lowering his guard, and each time he let her get closer to him, the more he appreciated her patience, and even thought that she—dare he say it?—understood him. There were times he found himself marveling at the new emotions she caused him to feel, the kind of emotions others talked about, but he hadn't truly known for most of his adult life. Things like love and happiness.

  Still, he knew that living here in Idaho was a temporary reprieve, not the way he or she expected to live their lives. He enjoyed being an archeologist too much for that, and he wondered if she’d be happy living in remote places, or going with him to even more desolate areas on digs. But that was an issue for another day. Right now, he was content here, and she seemed to be as well.

  He had finished his breakfast, and found it delicious, when his phone chimed to let him know he'd received a text message. "It's from Jianjun," he said, his brow crossed.

  "Take it. I'll handle these." Ceinwen picked up their dirty dishes and headed into the house.

  For some reason, he hesitated. That's silly, he told himself, then opened the text.

  I think I found your father in, of all places, St. Petersburg, Russia. I hired a PI, and he took a photo of the man at an outdoor café on Nevsky Prospect. If it’s William Claude, we can talk about how you want to proceed.

  Michael had expected he'd get such news someday, but not quite yet. He sucked in his breath as he enlarged the photo to better see the features. When he did, the phone nearly slipped from his hands. He picked it up again and stared hard at the photo Jianjun had sent.

  Yes, it was William Claude, sitting at a small table having coffee. But he wasn’t alone.

  Sitting at the table with him, clearly engrossed in conversation, was a person whose face he knew he would always recognize no matter how many years had passed.

  Sitting with William Claude was Irina Petrescu.

  The demons had been right.

  She was alive.

  Author’s Note

  Great liberties have been taken with many of the places mentioned in this book. For example, the Aokigahara Forest is a real place, but it is in the vicinity of Mount Fuji in the Eastern part of Japan’s main island. It does have a long and colorful history involving suicides, and was featured a few years ago in a horror movie entitled “The Forest.” The Kumano Kodo is a network of pilgrimage trails through the peninsula south of Osaka. They have been in use for over a thousand years and are the only pilgrimage routes besides the Camino de Santiago in Spain to be designated a world heritage site.

  Lafcadio Hearn is a fascinating man with a small but dedicated following throughout the world. In Matsue, Japan, there is a museum dedicated to him, and it is near the samurai house where he once lived. If you’re interested in learning more about Hearn, two great biographies of him are A Fantastic Journey, the Life and Literature of Lafcadio Hearn by Paul Murray, and Wandering Ghost, the Odyssey of Lafcadio Hearn by Jonathan Cott. Most of his works are freely available on the internet or in libraries and large bookstores. And, if you’ve never seen the art file, Kwaidan, which features the story of Yuki-Onna among others, you’re in for a real treat. Many copies of the film have only three stories, but the full DVD includes a fourth story, called “A Cup of Tea,” it’s the story Michael remembers when he sees a face in the pond.

  For pictures of those places, Lafcadio Hearn, and much more, be sure to visit my website, www.joannepence.com, where they can be found under The History of the Ancient Secrets Novels.

  Plus …

  Don’t miss hearing about the next archeologist Michael Rempart adventure and all of Joanne’s new books by signing up for her mailing list at www.joannepence.com.

  About the Author

  Joanne Pence was born and raised in northern California. She has been an award-winning, USA Today best-selling author of mysteries for many years, but she has also written historical fiction, contemporary romance, romantic suspense, a fantasy, and supernatural suspense. All of her books are now available as ebooks and in print, and many are also offered in special large print editions. Joanne hopes you’ll enjoy her books, which present a variety of times, places, and reading experiences, from mysterious to thrilling, emotional to lightly humorous, as well as powerful tales of times long past.

  Visit her at www.joannepence.com and be sure to sign up for Joanne’s mailing list to hear about new books.

  * * *

  The Rebecca Mayfield Mysteries

  * * *

  Rebecca is a by-the-book detective, who walks the straight and narrow in her work, and in her life. Richie, on the other hand, is not at all by-the-book. But opposites can and do attract, and there are few mystery two-somes quite as opposite as Rebecca and Richie.

  ONE O’CLOCK HUSTLE – North American Book Award winner in Mystery

  TWO O’CLOCK HEIST

  THREE O’CLOCK SÉANCE

  FOUR O’CLOCK SIZZLE

  FIVE O’CLOCK TWIST

  SIX O’CLOCK SILENCE

  Plus a Christmas Novella: The Thirteenth Santa

  * * *

  The Angie & Friends Food & Spirits Mysteries

  * * *

  Angie Amalfi and Homicide Inspector Paavo Smith are soon to be married in this latest mystery series. Crime and calories plus a new “twist” in Angie’s life in the form of a ghostly family inhabiting the house she and Paavo buy, create a mystery series with a “spirited” sense of fun and adventure.

  COOKING SPIRITS

  ADD A PINCH OF MURDER

  COOK’S BIG DAY

  MURDER BY DEVIL’S FOOD

  Plus a Christmas mystery-fantasy: COOK’S CURIOUS CHRISTMAS

  And a cookbook: COOK’S DESSERT COOKBOOK

  * * *

  The early “Angie Amalfi mystery series” began when Angie first met San Francisco Homicide Inspector Paavo Smith. Here are those mysteries in the order written:

  SOMETHING’S COOKING

  TOO MANY COOKS

  COOKING UP TROUBLE

  COOKING MOST DEADLY

  COOK’S NIGHT OUT

  COOKS OVERBOARD

  A COOK IN TIME

  TO CATCH A COOK

  BELL, COOK, AND CANDLE

  IF COOKS COULD KILL

  TWO COOKS A-KILLING

  COURTING DISASTER

  RED HOT MURDER

  THE DA VINCI COOK

  * * *

  Supernatural Suspense

  * * *

  Ancient Echoes

  Top Idaho Fiction Book Award Winner

  Over two hundred years ago, a covert expedition shadowing Lewis and Clark disappeared in the wilderness of Central Idaho. Now, seven anthropology students and their professor vanish in the same area. The key to finding them lies in an ancient secret, one that men throughout history have sought to unveil.

  Michael Rempart is a brilliant archeologist with a colorful and controversial career, but he is plagued by a sense of the supernatural and a spiritual intuitiveness. Joining Michael are a CIA consultant on paranormal
phenomena, a washed-up local sheriff, and a former scholar of Egyptology. All must overcome their personal demons as they attempt to save the students and learn the expedition’s terrible secret....

  * * *

  Ancient Shadows

  One by one, a horror film director, a judge, and a newspaper publisher meet brutal deaths. A link exists between them, and the deaths have only begun ....

  Archeologist Michael Rempart finds himself pitted against ancient demons and modern conspirators when a dying priest gives him a powerful artifact—a pearl said to have granted Genghis Khan the power, eight centuries ago, to lead his Mongol warriors across the steppes to the gates of Vienna.

  The artifact has set off centuries of war and destruction as it conjures demons to play upon men's strongest ambitions and cruelest desires. Michael realizes the so-called pearl is a philosopher's stone, the prime agent of alchemy. As much as he would like to ignore the artifact, when he sees horrific deaths and experiences, first-hand, diabolical possession and affliction, he has no choice but to act, to follow a path along the Old Silk Road to a land that time forgot, and to somehow find a place that may no longer exist in the world as he knows it.

  * * *

  Ancient Illusions

  A long-lost diary, a rare book of ghost stories, and unrelenting nightmares combine to send archeologist Michael Rempart on a forbidden journey into the occult and his own past.

  When Michael returns to his family home after more than a decade-long absence, he is rocked by the emotion and intensity of the memories it awakens. His father is reclusive, secretive, and obsessed with alchemy and its secrets—secrets that Michael possesses. He believes the way to end this sudden onslaught of nightmares is to confront his disturbing past.

  But he soon learns he isn’t the only one under attack. Others in his life are also being tormented by demonic nightmares that turn into a deadly reality. Forces from this world and other realms promise madness and death unless they obtain the powerful, ancient secrets in Michael’s possession. Their violence creates an urgency Michael cannot ignore. The key to defeating them seems to lie in a land of dreams inhabited by ghosts … and demons.

  From the windswept shores of Cape Cod to a mystical land where samurai and daimyo once walked, Michael must find a way to stop not only the demons, but his own father. Yet, doing so, he fears may unleash an ancient evil upon the world that he will be powerless to contain.

  * * *

  Historical, Contemporary & Fantasy Romance

  * * *

  Dance with a Gunfighter

  Gabriella Devere wants vengeance. She grows up quickly when she witnesses the murder of her family by a gang of outlaws, and vows to make them pay for their crime. When the law won’t help her, she takes matters into her own hands.

  Jess McLowry left his war-torn Southern home to head West, where he hired out his gun. When he learns what happened to Gabriella’s family, and what she plans, he knows a young woman like her will have no chance against the outlaws, and vows to save her the way he couldn’t save his own family.

  But the price of vengeance is high and Gabriella’s willingness to sacrifice everything ultimately leads to the book’s deadly and startling conclusion.

  Willa Cather Literary Award finalist for Best Historical Novel.

  * * *

  The Dragon’s Lady

  Turn-of-the-century San Francisco comes to life in this romance of star-crossed lovers whose love is forbidden by both society and the laws of the time.

  Ruth Greer, wealthy daughter of a shipping magnate, finds a young boy who has run away from his home in Chinatown—an area of gambling parlors, opium dens, and sing-song girls, as well as families trying to eke out a living. It is also home to the infamous and deadly “hatchet men” of Chinese lore.

  There, Ruth meets Li Han-lin, a handsome, enigmatic leader of one such tong, and discovers he is neither as frightening cruel, or wanton as reputation would have her believe. As Ruth’s fascination with the lawless area grows, she finds herself pulled deeper into its intrigue and dangers, particularly those surrounding Han-lin. But the two are from completely different worlds, and when both worlds are shattered by the Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906 that destroyed most of San Francisco, they face their ultimate test.

  * * *

  Seems Like Old Times

  When Lee Reynolds, nationally known television news anchor, returns to the small town where she was born to sell her now-vacant childhood home, little does she expect to find that her first love has moved back to town. Nor does she expect that her feelings for him are still so strong.

  Tony Santos had been a major league baseball player, but now finds his days of glory gone. He’s gone back home to raise his young son as a single dad.

  Both Tony and Lee have changed a lot. Yet, being with him, she finds that in her heart, it seems like old times...

  * * *

  The Ghost of Squire House

  For decades, the home built by reclusive artist, Paul Squire, has stood empty on a windswept cliff overlooking the ocean. Those who attempted to live in the home soon fled in terror. Jennifer Barrett knows nothing of the history of the house she inherited. All she knows is she’s glad for the chance to make a new life for herself.

  It’s Paul Squire’s duty to rid his home of intruders, but something about this latest newcomer’s vulnerable status ... and resemblance of someone from his past ... dulls his resolve. Jennifer would like to find a real flesh-and-blood man to liven her days and nights—someone to share her life with—but living in the artist’s house, studying his paintings, she is surprised at how close she feels to him.

  A compelling, prickly ghost with a tortured, guilt-ridden past, and a lonely heroine determined to start fresh, find themselves in a battle of wills and emotion in this ghostly fantasy of love, time, and chance.

  * * *

  Dangerous Journey

  C.J. Perkins is trying to find her brother who went missing while on a Peace Corps assignment in Asia. All she knows is that the disappearance has something to do with a “White Dragon.” Darius Kane, adventurer and bounty hunter, seems to be her only hope, and she practically shanghais him into helping her.

  With a touch of the romantic adventure film Romancing the Stone, C.J. and Darius follow a trail that takes them through the narrow streets of Hong Kong, the backrooms of San Francisco’s Chinatown, and the wild jungles of Borneo as they pursue both her brother and the White Dragon. The closer C.J. gets to them, the more danger she finds herself in—and it’s not just danger of losing her life, but also of losing her heart.

  Copyright © 2018 by Joanne Pence

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, public or private institutions, corporations, towns, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Quail Hill Publishing

  PO Box 64

  Eagle, ID 83616

  Visit our website at www.quailhillpublishing.net

  First Quail Hill Publishing Print Book: October 2018

  First Quail Hill Publishing E-book: October 2018

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