Time Travel Romance Collection

by Grace Brannigan

  Erik moved toward Iliana and reached for her horse's reins.

  "Leave before I change my mind."

  Erik quickly helped Iliana mount, then led her horse from the cavern and down the small hill to where his own horse awaited. "Let us make speed," he muttered.

  "Yes." She hugged William in front of her.

  "I don't trust him to change his mind," Erik added. He held his arms up. "Let me take William, it will be easier riding for you."

  Erik placed the child on his saddle and mounted behind him, his arm securely around William.

  They retraced their earlier path and soon they came upon Ulrich's corpse.

  "Poor Ulrich," Iliana said softly as the scavenger birds circled. "I cannot bear to remember him strewn upon the rocks when he went to such risk for my son. Can we bury him?"

  "We must hurry then," Erik said. Using Ulrich's shield, he dug a hole as best he could, glad the red soil was like fine sand. There was not much left of Ulrich to bury and with a few words of prayer he was laid to rest, his bones covered and his shield placed above his makeshift grave.

  "Thank you," Iliana said.

  "Is your ankle paining you?" Erik asked, remounting behind William.

  "It is bearable, but I agree we must hurry."

  Something in her voice alerted him. Iliana touched the saddle sack behind her, briefly lifted the cover and then let it drop, but not before Erik had seen a green gem as large as a platter, winking green sparks. He began to grin.

  "Clever, the way you argued with him over the gem remaining in this world."

  She shrugged. "I did not want to appear too eager to give in."

  They set off for the keep.

  ¤¤

  After several hours Iliana no longer tried to keep pace with Erik's horse. The destrier was considerably larger, and his legs allowed for a longer stride. "Erik, I know you will arrive faster if you ride ahead."

  He looked at her incredulously. "Do you think I would leave you? We will get there in time enough." She understood he feared letting her out of his sight.

  William rode with Erik and they galloped for some distance, then let the horses slow their gait and recoup their energy, before riding hard the remainder of the way to the keep.

  For the first time in three years, Iliana was overjoyed to see the dark stone fortress against the red sky.

  They cantered across the wooden plank and through the open portcullis and into the courtyard. Iliana was surprised to see what appeared to be most of the village gathered inside the courtyard.

  As they drew to a stop beside the stables, all eyes turned on them, and then smiles and happy expressions were seen.

  "My lady!" Someone called out.

  "Young William is returned."

  Without wasting a moment they rode to the second courtyard and right up to the sacred circle of trees. With William in one arm, Erik helped her dismount as she carefully placed weight on her foot.

  They both stared at the strange light emanating outward from the sacred circle, haloing out from the trees, shooting straight up into the red sky. Red clouds churned and swirled in the sky above.

  She bit her lip. "I have never seen the light move in this manner. I must place the stone within, but what if I am trapped on the other side?" With the saddle pack in her hands, Iliana paused at the edge of the trees. "This is not as I left it. Mandrak has done something here."

  "Do you think the green gem will correct the damage he may have wreaked upon it?" Erik said.

  "I do not know." Once she walked inside, there would be no retreat.

  "I will bring the emerald into the circle," he said, holding out his hand.

  Iliana's ankle began to throb. She shook her head. "I must do it." She looked at him. "I pray I do not lose both you and William."

  "Together," he said.

  Wind swirled around them. Erik gripped her waist, William in his arms as a fierce wind opened the tree limbs to receive them. They walked into the center of the maelstrom, light of all colors swirling around them.

  Iliana lifted the large emerald from the sack, placed it in a small depression that now appeared on the ground. There were strange inscriptions and symbols on the gem, and it seemed to settle into the ground of its own will. Gently, she touched its surface with her fingertips, then rose to her feet. Light began to glow, a deep, soothing green with tiny spheres of white light radiating out from the core. William laughed, his chubby fingers reaching out to catch the little sparkling spheres of light, delighted when the light burst between his fingers.

  Looking up, she saw the churning red clouds dissipate and change to blue sky.

  Gradually, the circle of trees around them retreated back into the ground, and little sprouts of new grass sprang beneath their feet.

  Now they saw the people of the village who stood around them in the courtyard, the wonder on their faces a reflection of their own amazement.

  "The curse is lifted?" someone said.

  "The power of the emerald has been given back to us," someone else said.

  "You have saved us," Rowenna exclaimed, stepping from the crowd to stand beside Iliana and Erik. Her eyes lit up to see William, and then she dropped her eyes and stepped back.

  "Rowenna," Iliana said, "William being taken was not your fault."

  "But William was in my charge," Rowenna said painfully, still looking at the ground. She looked at Erik.

  "He used magic on all of us," Iliana said. "Mandrak disguised himself as Erik and took William away. I know how much you care for William."

  Rowenna looked up, tears sparkling on her lashes. "I thank you for your forgiveness. The veil has been lifted from our eyes," Rowenna added. "We see you, mistress, as the one who has redeemed our world. If not for your perseverance, our lives would be nothing."

  "And you know Erik is not evil?" Iliana asked.

  Rowenna smiled at him. "My lord pretender."

  "Erik," he said dryly. "Rowenna, can you take William a moment?"

  "Of course." She took William in her arms and reverently placed a kiss on his forehead.

  To Iliana's surprise, Erik lifted her up into his arms and she placed her arms around his strong neck.

  "Is Sorenta about?" Erik asked. "Iliana needs care for her ankle."

  "I am certain Sorenta will be waiting for you," Rowenna said, and followed them inside as Erik carried her through the stone archway and into the great hall.

  Sorenta waited for them in the great hall beside the fire pit, her woven basket of herbs and lotions beside her.

  Erik put Iliana on her feet and helped her to a chair beside the fire pit where embers burned gently. His hand lingered on her shoulder and she looked up, her gaze running over him. He wore a smile on his mouth but she sensed his worried preoccupation.

  Iliana put her foot upon a wooden stool and pulled her tattered and dirty dress to expose the bruised ankle.

  "It is a mystery you did not break it," Sorenta said, placing an icy lotion along the skin and then wrapping the ankle snugly with a length of linen.

  "Thank you, Sorenta. All is well now that the gem is found."

  "You never claimed your life tapestry," Sorenta said, staring at Erik, her head tilted knowingly.

  He shrugged. "I did not find it."

  "Even now as you look into its face?"

  Erik narrowed his eyes and looked at the dragon tapestry on the wall.

  Sorenta flipped the one side of the tapestry, showing the light colored threads on the back surface.

  Iliana clapped her hands. "Erik, it is the back of the tapestry itself."

  He removed the tapestry from its pegs and placed it upon the large wooden table used for the meals. He studied the tapestry, his expression wary. "It is strange to me to see my life as a tapestry." He studied the finely woven threads, and Iliana could see the scenes taking shape. Suddenly, his expression became grim.

  Iliana gripped his arm, half rising from her stool. "Erik, what is it?"

  He pointed to the tap
estry. "Mandrak is coming."

  Rowenna cried out, "But the curse is lifted, surely the sorcerer no longer has any power?"

  Grimly, Iliana said, "He comes because he does not have the true green gem." She took William back into her arms and hugged him to her.

  "But the gem is in place," Erik said. "He cannot wrest it from the ground, can he?" He moved to the open doorway and stood there, looking up into the sky.

  Iliana continued to stare at the tapestry. As she watched, a curious scene began to form. "Erik --" she stared at him, but he was busy staring at the skies. "Erik, your tapestry -- it is creating a possible future, something I have never seen a life tapestry do." She looked up at him.

  "Let it do what it will," he said. "We have more important matters to attend."

  Iliana saw them leaving this place, but Erik pushed it aside. "Erik!"

  "We have no time being preoccupied with a tapestry. I am concerned with here and now. We must keep everyone safe."

  Iliana agreed, but she wished she had been able to see what the tapestry revealed.

  Chapter Twelve

  Iliana came up behind him, William in her arms, and Erik looked down into the child's green eyes. "We shall come out all right, then, won't we William?" he said with a smile.

  "Will we, Erik?" Iliana asked uncertainly. "I had hoped the threat of the dragon would stop Mandrak."

  Erik reached out his hand and touched her dark hair, letting his hand rest on her shoulder in reassurance. There was nothing he could say for he did not know the outcome. "If I knew how to send him back to his world, I would do that," he said grimly.

  Iliana took a deep breath. "William and the others will be safer inside the keep. Rowenna, you and the others must go inside." She watched as Rowenna carried William inside.

  Iliana gripped his arm. "This must be said. I am deeply shamed to have doubted you for even one moment. I have no excuse and I ask you to forgive me."

  Erik pulled her close in his arms, placed a kiss on her hair. "It is the past. We now move forward together." He ducked his head down and kissed her mouth, stealing a moment in time to revel in the woman he'd traveled so far to find. "Together we fight."

  "It will be a test of will," said Sorenta.

  He looked down at her. "Perhaps you should be inside," he said.

  "This is where I shall remain." She looked at Iliana. "Ulrich paid a high price," she remarked sagely.

  "He paid with his life," Iliana said.

  "He did it willingly," Sorenta acknowledged. "He knew the price of defiance." She looked at Erik. "You owe him a greater debt of gratitude than you know, pretender. He saved your son," she added softly.

  "Yes, Iliana's son."

  "And yours."

  Iliana gripped Sorenta's hands. "Wait. What are you saying?"

  "I am saying your child is also the pretender's child."

  Erik stood stock still, staring at Sorenta's wise old eyes.

  "How can that be?" Iliana asked.

  "It is so," Sorenta said complacently. "Why question the how and why? Be content with what is."

  Erik wanted to pursue what Sorenta had so calmly stated, but it was not the time. They still faced a life or death struggle with Mandrak.

  Still, a sense of wonder filled him. William was his son.

  ¤¤

  Mandrak walked into the castle through the open gate. He narrowed his eyes as he saw them standing in the courtyard. "Oh, sad day when I cannot trust the lady of the keep to tell the truth. Shouldn't you be hiding within your stone walls?"

  "You have no right to take the gem," Erik said.

  "And we have no reason to hide," Iliana said.

  Mandrak brought his attention back to her. "You should have an abundance of fear, my lady. Especially since you still have something I want," he said softly.

  "You were given a green gem. My duty is fulfilled."

  "I disagree."

  "It belongs to the people of this world," Iliana said, lifting her chin.

  "That was a pretty trick, distracting me with a lesser gem, even as large as it was," he said. "Now take me to the real emerald."

  "It is in its rightful place. It will now guard this world with its energy and power. Come back in one hundred years," she added softly.

  Mandrak looked around, then stared at the area where the sacred circle of trees once stood. He smiled.

  "I think not."

  ¤¤

  Mandrak stared at the green gem nestled in the ground, its size breathtaking and more than he had ever expected.

  "The brightness and clarity speaks of the power emanating from the stone," he murmured in awe. He stood still, letting the energy flow into him, the purity of its power a siren call that had beckoned him across time. He studied the intricate symbols etched across its surface, leaned down on one knee to trace the ancient carvings. Sparks flew from the stone to his hand and traveled up his arm, forcefully jolting him and then pushing him back as if a giant hand had shoved him.

  "It speaks to me. I must have -- I am meant to have it," he said feverishly, advancing once more, only to be thrown backwards again by the power of its energy.

  He turned to Lady Iliana. "Unleash your hold. I have toiled long and hard to win this gem. It is mine."

  "The stone knows where it belongs," Sorenta said, and he spun to face her.

  "The emerald goes where the power feeds it the most," he said. "I can give it unlimited power to feed upon. It will not be content in this dreary world." He carefully brushed the sand from the edges of the stone. Its glorious sparkle drew him to lean closer. Suddenly, he could see himself swimming in the stone. He looked away from the stone with difficulty, mesmerized by its overwhelming beauty.

  "Undo the spell you have cast upon this emerald," he warned, "or I shall call upon the dragons to scorch every living being they find."

  "Your power over the dragons is done," Erik said.

  Mandrak laughed. "You have no idea of the power I can conjure." He put his hands out toward the stone but was careful not to touch it. "This stone's time has come and I am the one to wield its power. You cannot corrupt it. I will not have it."

  "You are not the only one who knows how to harness the power," said Sorenta. "I will tell you the stone's secrets," she whispered, "and together we will decipher its ancient words."

  "And how do I know you won't want it all for yourself?" he demanded.

  "Are you afraid of an old woman?" she asked slyly. "You who claim all power?"

  "Tell me and be done with it."

  "First I will have your promise."

  "I will share power with you," he said grudgingly. "Now reverse the magic so that I might embrace its power."

  Sorenta reached into a small pouch and sprinkled black dust over the stone. She spoke in a low voice and he watched her suspiciously. "Waters of the divine, let this one merge with the emerald in all its power."

  "Wait," Mandrak said.

  "A spell undone," Sorenta said. "Surely you know the most simple words of a spell undone? It is known by every sorcerer apprentice."

  He narrowed his eyes. "If you seek to trick me, I will send you to a place that boils your skin."

  "New sorcerers," Sorenta said contemptuously. "Do you wish my help or do you not?" A puff of acrid smoke enveloped them, turning the air white and heavy. "It is done," she said. "Iliana as the lineage holder of the gem is done."

  "Wait," Erik said, his hand against Mandrak's chest when he would have reached for the stone. "I want to know about my men."

  Mandrak lifted a brow, his expression amused. "You worry over men who are easily replaced."

  Erik clenched his jaw.

  "They are all dead and your ship is burned." Mandrak lunged toward the emerald, shoving the old woman out of his way. Sorenta fell to the ground.

  "Remember your promise," she said.

  With one hand on the emerald, he pointed at her and from his hand a sliver of light hit her chest. Then he pointed at Erik as he moved to follow him.
"Don't."

  Erik stepped back, pulling the Lady Iliana to his side.

  "Very wise," Mandrak applauded.

  Sorenta smiled, though weakly. "Foolish man. Never content with what you could have had in the other emerald, you have undone yourself."

  Mandrak laughed. "There is no promise to be kept if you are dead. And so shall you die." He turned but the old woman vanished. "There is nowhere in this world or the next you will hide," he yelled.

  Placing his palms on the glowing green surface, he admired the fire sparking and winking inside, the absolute clarity of the jewel. It even seemed to lift from the sand, moving toward him. With his hands flat on the stone, he then gripped the edges and pulled it up out of the ground.

  "I feel the depth of its power moving into my arms. Such energy. The gem is mine," he roared.

  Mandrak frowned -- his hands were fast to the stone, then his hands and arms were jerked into the stone. He pulled back but it was too late. He screamed as he was pulled fully into its emerald luminescence, the green liquid swallowing him up and closing in behind him.

  A bright green flash exploded with brilliant light as the stone dropped to the ground, rocked, then settled and embedded itself once more into the ground.

  Erik and Iliana looked down at the brilliant stone. The air pulsed with a pale green light.

  "He is now forever a part of its power," Erik said as a new inscription began to burn into the emerald's surface.

  Iliana tilted her head in wonder as he whirled within the stone and then the surface was once more brilliantly green and clear.

  "Sorenta?" Iliana said.

  "All is well, eh?" Sorenta said behind them. "I merely asked the stone's cooperation so that he might touch it, the rest is part of the stone's legacy."

  Iliana leaned close to Erik and his arm came around her to hold her close.

  "Erik," she said somberly. "I hope Mandrak lied. I hope your men and your ship are unharmed."

  "As do I," he said somberly, "but alas I know the foul deeds he was capable of and the ship is our way back." He took a deep breath. "When we ride to the coast, we will discover the truth."

  People walked into the courtyard from the keep, flooding through the gates as word spread that Mandrak was gone.