Now and Forever:: A NEW ADULT TIME TRAVEL ROMANCE NOVEL (RAVENHURST SERIES Book 5)

by Lorraine Beaumont

  “Aha! So you feel it too.”

  “Well yeah…isn’t it obvious.” She fanned her face with one hand and plucked at her jacket with the other.

  “Good, I thought it was just me.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “Since we met, I mean…well not exactly on the day we met but after…” He dragged his hand through his hair. “Sorry, I guess I am not making much sense.”

  “No, you are not.” Even though the way he was acting was making her feel a little breathless, lightheaded, and giddy all at the same time.

  His brow furrowed. “What is that smell?”

  Her nostrils flared, sniffing the air. “It still smells like…” Her eyebrows rose. “I didn’t do anything.” Her face burned bright.

  “Raven…” He laughed again, the sound loud and boisterous. “Not the bad smell…the other one.”

  “O-oh,” she said, wrinkling her nose, trying to smell past the rotten odor of eggs, thankful he didn’t think she let one fly. “Is that water?” she asked, smelling the salty brine hanging in the air.

  “Yeah, I think so.”

  “So what good is that? We still can’t see where we are going. The optical illusion?” she reminded him.

  “I know!” he said, lifting his finger in the air, like he just had an epiphany.

  “Well?” She crossed her arms and waited.

  “Give me a minute.” He shut his eyes and inhaled deeply. When he reopened his eyes, he smiled down at her, the action making her heart skip a beat. Leaning forward he gave her a quick kiss. Then he pulled away.

  “WH-what was that for?” She reached up to touch her lips.

  “No reason, just felt like it,” he said and gave her a flirty wink. “Now take my hand.” He held out his hand to her.

  She looked down at it, her heart doing a quickstep and placed her hand in his. “Now what?” she asked a bit breathlessly as a tingly sensation slid up her arm.

  “Close your eyes and follow me.”

  “Oh—kay,” she said slowly.

  Raven followed Reed for what seemed like only a matter of moments but at the same time she was breathless from exertion, like she had been walking up a really big hill. Reed stopped abruptly and she butted up against his back, practically eating his jacket.

  “Open your eyes,” Reed directed.

  “Holy shit!” she said in awe looking at the brightly lit passageway. She angled her head and looked up at Reed a question in her eyes.

  “I think it is safe to say this is the path of light, don’t you?”

  “Yeah,” she said, nodding her head. The entire passage was covered in a luminous glowing light. There were no torches, though, the light came from the walls, ceiling and even on the floor itself. “How?” she asked, it was all she could manage.

  “I am not sure, phosphorous maybe.”

  “Wow. This is even better than an Indiana Jones movie.” She shook her head in awe. “How did we get in here?”

  He lifted his finger and tapped the tip of his nose. “I followed the smell.”

  “With your eyes closed?”

  “Yeah,” he said smiling, obviously quite proud of himself.

  “Now what?” she asked.

  He reached into his pocket and withdrew the map. “It looks like we follow it to the end and then make a left at this.” He pointed down at the drawing on the map.

  “What is that?”

  “I am not sure. It looks like a black blob.”

  “It can’t be just a blob though.”

  “Maybe it is another passage or…”

  “A body of water,” she supplied helpfully, looking back up at him.

  “I guess it could be that…let’s hope it’s not a booby trap.” He grinned down at her.

  “Hey, you better hope it’s not cause according to the movies I have watched and let me tell you I have watched A LOT of movies.” She nodded her head emphatically. “Something bad will happen if we go there.”

  “Really,” he said sounding skeptical. “What might happen?”

  “The walls could collapse or maybe there is a giant spider or a dragon, or snake or evil sorcerer.”

  “Do you ever go out?”

  “Huh?”

  “You just seem to be very informed…you know about movies.” He shrugged.

  “Oh, right. Yeah, I have been staying home a lot lately.”

  “Why’s that?”

  No money. “Oh, I just like staying home.” Oh God, why did I say that? I sound pathetic.

  Reed gave her a strange look. “You watch them by yourself?”

  She debated her answer. Was he asking because he thought she was a loser or because he was interested or was he jealous? Yeah right. “Um mostly by myself,” she answered finally.

  “Really?” he asked, looking relieved and a bit surprised.

  “Yep…I do.” She nodded her head and shoved her hands back into her pockets.

  “Why?”

  Because no one asks me to go anywhere. “I just enjoy relaxing at home on the weekends,” she dumped out a big lie.

  “Do you ever re-watch movies you have already seen?”

  All the time. “Sometimes,” she lied. This seemed to make him happy because he smiled.

  “Good,” he said finally. “Now, do you want to find this treasure or what?”

  “Of course,” she answered. “But first,” she placed her hand on his arm, “why did you want to know, about the movies I mean?” she had to ask.

  “I was just thinking it would be fun to watch some of these movies you have been talking about…”

  “I can make you a list.”

  He frowned.

  “What?”

  “I was thinking we could watch them together… if you want.”

  Happy dance! “Oh yeah, that would be fun.”

  “Be sure to keep an eye out for those booby-traps.” He gave her another flirty smile and then started walking again.

  “Oh I will,” she assured him and couldn’t keep the huge smile from spreading across her face as she followed behind him, walking into the path of light.

  Time’s up

  THE PASTTHE HIDDEN GLENN

  THE barking of the hounds grew louder, closing in on them, accompanied by the thundering of horses hooves. Darias dismounted and pulled Marguerite down. He held her for a moment against his body.

  Tears flowed freely down her face. “Darias…”

  “I know.” He pressed his forehead to hers, staring deeply into her eyes. “Perhaps we will be together in another life?” He tried to smile but it did not reach his eyes.

  “Do not say such things.” She shook her head refusing to accept it had come to this. They had already been through so much together. And yet even though she denied it, the end was near, she could feel it deep inside.

  “If we are separated in this life… I will …”

  “Stop,” she cried. “Do not say it…please.”

  “I must.” He held her face in his hands, staring intently into her eyes. “I promise on all that I am or will ever be… I will find you.”

  Terrified, breathless, and weak-kneed Marguerite held tightly to him not wanting to let go of him…ever. She reached up and placed her hands on either side of his face, trying to memorize every inch. “I love you Darias de Winter…my Raven Knight… now and forever.”

  “And I love you as well…” He smiled down at her his eyes reflecting all the emotion he was feeling. “Now and forever,” he breathed, and then he lowered his mouth to hers, sealing their fates together once and for all with but a kiss.

  MARGUERITE

  Their time together had finally run out.

  “Run!” Darias yelled, pushing her forward.

  Marguerite gripped the amulet firmly in her grasp and her skirts in the other, running sightlessly into the whirling mists descending from the sky above. Every step jarred her body but she continued onward. Her life depended on it. After all her time traveling through time, no matter how
terrible some of the places she had visited had been, there was always a niggling sense of hope in the back of her mind that somehow, someway, she would make it out of the predicament she was in.

  Now however, it seemed her luck had run out. Hot tears stung her eyes. She stumbled over a foreign object jutting from the ground. Face first she landed against it, a burst of white shot through her head and the amulet flew from her grasp. Her teeth clamped down against her tongue. The acrid taste of copper filled her mouth.

  Frantic, she scrambled up on her hands and knees. The grass beneath sharp and prickly was barely visible through the thick mists covering it like a shroud. It was as though she was crawling on a cloud made from thorns. Blood seeped out of the palms of her hands, hot, and sticky, leaving a trail, as she searched for the amulet—it was her lifeline. Without it, she felt exposed, vulnerable, and knew deep down that without it her adventure through time may very well be at an end.

  Still she could not give up and continued onward. One hand landed on the amulet and she closed her fingers around it.

  “Thank God!”

  Relief poured through her veins. She stood and wiped her bleeding palms down the front of her gown, wincing from the pain. Taking another sightless step, she hit dead air. Pitching forward she plunged headfirst into an abyss of nothingness.

  DARIAS

  Darias unsheathed his sword. The metal rang out with chilling clarity as he lifted it to the sky and unleashed a shrill battle cry.

  The first hound flew at him. With a quick pivot and plunge of his sword, he quickly dispatched the animal. The yelping cry silenced as he extracted his sword. Another surged forward. But this time when he tried to move, his feet felt weighted down. From sheer will, he made his body move but his steps were lumbered, slow. These hounds were not pets. No these animals were breed for one thing and one thing only. To kill.

  The thick mists whirling around him made it impossible to see how many there were or which way they were coming at him from. Over the low throaty growls, he could hear metal striking metal but he had no idea if they were friend of foe. He heightened his senses his sword wielding with deft precision as he dispatched another hound coming at him head on but there were too many.

  Turning he swung his sword sightlessly, and only then did he realize where he was. He was only a short distance from the dreaded ravine. He too had used this tactic to catch many of his enemies unaware, where they plunged to their death unwittingly. The very place that had saved him more times than he could count in battle was now working against him.

  With sheer will and determination, he moved toward the ravine, trying to protect his back. Although the mist blinded him, he used his memory to see without seeing.

  Another beast lunged out of the thick mists, the glitter of the yellow eyes the only thing visible. The sharp teeth snapping at him barely missing his jugular and instead submerged deeply into his shoulder. Reaching up he grabbed the fur around the neck and flipped it over, snapping the bones of the back when he slammed it into the ground. It was too late though. Blood seeped from the wound, sending the animals into a heightened frenzy from the smell. They now worked together, closing in on their prey…him.

  JAYCE

  Jayce swung his sword madly fighting his way toward Darias through their common enemy. Some of the men he recognized screamed in agony as he hacked through them. Blood spurted out across his mail, and face in a shower of warm rain. Innards fell to the ground in a cascade of crimson that stained the grass underfoot and still he pushed onward, like a man possessed. His golden blonde hair clung to his blood soaked face. Salty sweat slid in his eyes, his muscles straining with every blow he delivered and yet he knew it would not be enough.

  Something had to give. He was losing ground. Every step he took toward his brother, another knight would join against him.

  A dagger flew out of the mists and plunged into his unprotected back.

  GAITLAND

  Gaitland was not that man. He was selfish, jaded. He did not immediately see the good in people like he once had. No, life had given him one too many hits below the belt. Every time he took a stepped forward he was pushed back twice as far. His life had turned into an uphill battle with no lulls, no reprieves. Oh, there had been a time where his life seemed to have been blessed, when he met Evangeline but she too, in the end, had been taken from him. Back then he would have fought for all he was worth because it was better than the alternative, but to what avail? Would he always stumble…would he always fall? Would there never be anyone to catch him or to stand by his side? Yes, these were all the thoughts coursing through his mind as his life’s blood spilled on the ground beneath him.

  Still as a reflex he wielded his sword. His life may not be worth much but there were others… men he loved like brother’s, who needed him, so he fought onward. Blood oozed from the gash in his arm, its warm sticky wetness dripping steadily, draining little by little, bit by bit from his body.

  His sword arm sagged. He was tired, literally and emotionally. He stumbled forward, barely missing a deadly blow from his opponent. More blood ran from under his tunic onto the front of his mail.

  The end was close, he could feel it, but he did not retreat like he normally would. No, for once, Gaitland d’ Mezerach held his ground. He swung his sword madly in the air slicing through one man after another, splitting skulls and appendages apart from bodies as he made his way toward his friends.

  Now the three men stood on the edge of the dreaded ravine. Jayce and Gaitland each covered a side, Darias in the middle. Their backs pressing against open air. One wrong move, or a misstep and they too would plunge backward into the abyss that seemed to rise up and meet them.

  The mists seemed to part around them, holding them in its white embrace.

  “So it has come to this my brother.” Jayce lifted his sword once more, the act causing him to wince from pain.

  “I suppose it has,” Darias exhaled, breathing hard from exertion. The open wound on his shoulder spurting blood with each movement he made.

  “Well hell!” Gaitland groaned, looking down at his mail, the bottom open, exposing a large gash in his chest. “I liked this mail too.” He tried to laugh but blood sputtered out of his mouth, dripping down the sides of his face.

  Darias looked at Jayce. “This,” he waved his free hand to indicate Ravenhurst, “is now yours brother.”

  “What if I do not want it?” Jayce argued.

  “Come now brother,” Darias said. “You love this place. It is your home.”

  “It is your home to.”

  Darias shook his head. “Not any longer.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Mayhap you aren’t meant to.”

  Jayce nodded, seemingly accepting his answer. “I have to ask you this…is she truly worth it?” he said. “Is she worth giving all this up?”

  Darias looked across the valley and beyond up to Ravenhurst. “Yes,” he said, adamant in his avowal.

  He nodded his head accepting his words. “It is such a shame to lose you, now that I have finally found my brother once again.”

  Darias looked into his brother’s eyes so similar to his own. “I love you my brother.”

  Jayce smiled and said with sincerity, “And I you brother.”

  Darias gave his brother a brief smile, nodded his head, and then turned to Gaitland. “Thank you my friend.”

  “Any time,” he said with meaning and then shifted his stance. “Well then,” he said, coughing up more blood. “If you two women are done talking, it looks like we have more …”

  It happened so fast, Gaitland merely reacted. He jumped in front of Darias, without thinking. A selfless act, one that was very much out of character for him and he did not know why he would do such a thing, but it did seem like the right thing to do.

  His breath rushed from his chest as he looked down at the sword hilt protruding from his body, in shock.

  So it has come to this, he thought a bit bitterly. His time on earth w
as for but naught.

  If only I had more time, he thought. If only I let go of the past. I could have enjoyed the present and looked forward to a brighter future, maybe my life would have turned out differently. But no, I, Gaitland d’ Mezerach spent too much time chasing after a past I could not change, instead of living in the present and looking toward the future. I let it slip from my grasp and now it is too damn late.

  He closed his eyes to the pain. Images of his beloved swam before his closed lids. He stumbled back. The earth gave way and he was falling. He heard a voice somewhere deep in his mind.

  ”What if you had more time? What would you do with it?”

  “I would live my life instead of letting it slip from my grasp.”

  “Would you?”

  “Yes,” he said.

  “But life is hard.”

  “I don’t care.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I am…” He promised. “I am not ready to die. I am not ready to give up.… I can change.” And with that last avowal, Gaitland d’ Mezerach vanished.

  MERLIN

  Merlin felt the power. It emanated from some distant point working against him. He dropped his cloak, and lifted his arms to the heavens above, his naked flesh exposed to the elements. His black hair whipped in the wind as he brought forward the force of his power. Lightning skittered out across the bleakness of a starless sky. Ominous clouds roiled above, and the wind began to howl in its fury. Holding his arms to the air, the ribbons of ink glowed on his arms and chest as he conjured against the inevitable.

  But he was already too late.

  PRESENT DAY

  Pieces of Eight

  THE PRESENTRAVENHURST

  THE glowing lights had given way to a nearly impossible path that led through tight passages, and airless confines but still they continued onward until they literally walked out into a cavernous room with large pool of water. Blinking furiously Reed stood on the threshold taking it all in. Stalactites hung from the ceiling and Stalagmites protruded from the ground. A small boat bobbed up and down in the wake of water.