Adam lay by the fire with his head resting on his paws. Things weren’t going well. The enchantress was sharp and suspicious. Instead of accepting him as a cute and cuddly collie that wandered into the boundary and was in need of human assistance she suspected him of being exactly what he was, a creature of the dark in disguise. He’d been laying low in an effort to gain her trust and convince her otherwise. He should have returned to Shadow Land with the witchdoctor in tow by now. If he couldn’t get the enchantress to soften soon, he’d have to abandon the idea of glory and fetch the witchdoctor. He really hoped it wouldn’t come to that. At least here, in the company of the enchantress and her companion, his life wasn’t at risk. He wanted to keep it that way. Delaying much longer would also put him in jeopardy with Balthazar. Any way he looked at it, getting the enchantress to enter Shadow Land with him was imperative.
“How long d
Things were serious. Tara was clearly dying. To add to this dilemma, they were in the company of a sorceress who’d been raised in Shadow Land and had been living under the protection of Joshua who was one of Balthazar’s most prized and powerful soldiers.After spending time with Fiona, Luella’s defenses slowly lowered and she responded readily to the woman’s questions. It was obvious Fiona was a woman with only the best intent for Dennis and his sister. Since she risked everything, including her life, to see Dennis to safety she saw the advantage in teaming up with her ideas, powers and skills.“So, enchantress, I’m at your disposal,” Luella offered.“Aye, as I am you,” Fiona replied with a sincerity that tugged at something deep inside the other woman.“Can I ask ya how ya came to be living in Shadow Land?” Fiona asked. “Much of ya has changed, but I can still see that ya are human.&
The world was spinning and she needed it to stop. Her head hurt and her eyes burned. Everything was blurry. What was happening? Dennis. Did she dream he carried her off? It certainly felt real. Make the spinning stop. Everything moved too fast. Her stomach was queasy. She would vomit if the spinning didn’t stop!****Fiona stood over Tara as Brandon laid her on the cowhide covered sofa in the great room of her quaint country cottage. Tara’s long, shapely torso stretched from one end to the other. It was as if the sofa was created just for her.Fiona marveled over every inch of the young woman’s body. This was the first she’d seen Tara. The lass was an exact replica of Lucy. If Fiona hadn’t known better, she might easily be fooled herself. It was easy to see why Brandon was so crushed when she didn’t remember him. Had this girl lived in the same era as Lucy, she woul
She’d witnessed and learned so much over the past months that the incredulous story she was hearing made perfect sense. Tara was full of emotion as she listened to Fiona’s speech pattern and watched her body language. There was no denying the resemblance. Dennis, on the other hand, hadn’t spent the hours in study of the mystical arts like Tara and he required a more in-depth explanation. Even with all that had happened he had a difficult time grasping things.“Never mind,” Tara said as she patted her brother’s hand. “It’ll all make sense someday.” “How are ya feeling, truly?” Fiona asked Tara.“I feel fantastic,” she replied. “It’s nothing like when I first arrived. I was off from the minute we...err... landed and I grew progressively weaker. Except for, let me think, there was a time when I felt a little more like myself, but I can’t put my finger on just when it was.&rdquo
“The doppelganger is an exact double of a person. They’re an extension of the person, but there’s a difference. Here, read this,” Luella said as she pushed the open book in front of Dennis and pointed to a paragraph. “I was never good at explaining things. I’d make a horrible teacher.”Dennis focused on the words.“A ghostly double of a living person, especially one that haunts its fleshly counterpart,” he read.“I’ll admit that even though that’s the true definition of a doppelganger, little by little the meaning has turned toward a label for a person’s twin or double. So, in a sense, you’re her doppelganger and she’s yours, but, in truth, you’re not. Especially since you’re both sharing the same soul. I’ve never heard of doppelgangers sharing the same soul,” Luella said.“If her soul is attached to me, what happens to her?” Tara
Her backside hurt from being forced to balance on the pommel of the military saddle. The musky scent of Joshua’s skin that she’d found so alluring in the past repulsed her now. She seethed inwardly as the reality of everything that occurred set in and the memories came forth. As his arm tightened around her waist and her body stiffened, the saddle irritated her all the more. She didn’t care. He’d fooled her twice. There would be no third time.Her mind raced with what to do. She was no longer disoriented and weak, but did he realize that? Perhaps it would be in her best interest not to let him see that she was well and healthy. At least until she could figure out a plan of action. As much as it repulsed her to do so, she leaned into him and feigned fainting. His hand came up to stroke her hair and her nostrils filled with his scent. She felt repulse and it took considerable effort to maintain control to hide it. He slowed his horse down to a gent
Flames engulfed the cottage and taunted the leaves of the old apple tree, forcing its sap to the surface to help ease the scattered damage to the charred bark. The hot, dry air seared her lungs. She’d never experienced heat of this nature. Her skin hurt to the touch. She could see the evilness in Dominic’s eyes as he prowled the parameter of the dwelling. His bellowing pierced through the chaos, “I want you Tara. If I can’t have your body, I’ll have your soul!” Tara’s firelight curls fell over her shoulders and down her back in wild abandonment as she shook free memories of that horrible, fateful night. Sliding her hands up the sleeves of her oversized lamb’s wool sweater she hugged her tall, slender body against the chill both from the air and her thoughts.Leaning her head against the window pane, her dark green eyes peered at the blanket of frantic white snowflakes as they billowed toward barely visible outbu
The storm ceased sometime during the early hours just before sunrise, leaving behind it mini mountains of icy snow to be removed before her home could run at its normal pace.Tara sighed. Winters in Manhattan were so much easier. She couldn’t have imagined such burdensome weather and was therefore not totally prepared for it. She was grateful for the good sense she exercised in following Maggie’s suggestion to purchase the small tractor with a snow plow attachment. A cold reminder of her friend, the valuable piece of equipment was left dormant since the day it was delivered.Today it would make its debut.She’d programmed her coffee maker prior to going to bed and wafts of the dark liquid’s rich aroma lured her out from beneath the warm security of her goose down comforter. She hated the cold and often wondered why her crazy ancestors settled in the north. Even if they had come from a cold climate, surely, they could have accl
Tara was lightly dozing off when she heard the unmistakable padding of slippered feet on the wooden landing as they made their way past her bedroom door. Her bedroom was at the top of the first flight of stairs and centered between the guest quarters and the stairwell that led to the third floor. The creaking of the hardly used door at the base of that stairwell signaled to her that whoever was tip toeing around wasn’t heading to the kitchen for a snack. There hadn’t been enough time passed since she and Mitch were dating for her to forget the sound of his footsteps, which left only one other person; Alana.Why would she be sneaking upstairs; especially after Tara specifically kept it out of their tour, explaining its disrepair as hazardous? In its days of glory, the third floor of the house was the residence for the servants. Since her grandmother had neglected to maintain things for so many years, there was structural damage on the top floor where th