by Leela Ash
“A kiss,” she whispered as he turned to her and her lips met his. He ran his hand through her hair and slipped his tongue against hers.
It was all so perfect. She wished it never had to end.
But she knew she couldn’t stay there.
When they broke apart, his eyes looked sad, as if he knew it was all over, too.
“I need to go,” she said. “Can you take me back to the cave?”
Saber looked out at the fire and ignored her for a moment. She could tell he didn’t want her to leave.
Her heart ached as she was torn between her decision and the man in front of her… Could she leave him now they had met? Their connection was so pure and fierce. Could she walk away from him?
Tears stung her eyes and she wiped them away. Saber shook his head and held onto her chin. He looked at her deep in the eyes and said, “No.”
Melissa smiled and nodded.
“Come with me?” she said as a stroke of genius flooded through her. “You don’t have to stay here… Come back with me?”
She knew it was a crazy concept, but she also knew it was the only answer. She didn’t want to leave him; there was no life for him there. But she didn’t think he would let her go. If she managed to get him back to the cave and they found a way to reopen the vortex, maybe they could be back in 2015 and live happily ever after.
Saber was looking at her as if he didn’t understand anything she was saying. It was the first time he had looked confused since he found her. Melissa took his hand and smiled.
“Trust me,” she said.
He smiled back and nodded.
***
The journey back to the Neanderthals’ cave was short and frightening. Saber threw her up over his shoulder and ran with her back down the incline, past the rocks and cliff face and over a small rise. The opening was there and Saber sniffed the air. He nodded and moved forward, happy that the coast was clear.
Inside the cave, the carcass of the tiger was lying limply on the floor and the Neanderthals had already removed its tusks. Melissa shivered as she opened her mind to suggestion and hoped the rocks would call to her again.
Saber watched her as she held onto his hand and looked around. Her heart was pounding and she was about to panic when suddenly a light shone on the corner of the room and two points from two rocks, one above and one below, were almost touching.
“That’s it,” she smiled as she led him over to them.
Saber held her hand and with their other hands, they both took hold of the rock points. Just as before, Melissa felt a surge of power run through her and Saber roared like a lion as the pain hit them and the earth began to move.
The world went black, but she could still feel his hand.
And then… nothing.
***
A big arm cradled her, and as she opened her eyes, they met his.
“Melissa,” he said with a smile as he brushed the hair out of her face and kissed her gently on the lips.
She sat up and looked around in panic.
Were they back? Had she brought him back to the present?
They were in the cave and it looked similar to when she had been there with Quattro, but there was still something different.
She looked down and they were both still wearing the fur pelts and their skin was dirty.
“Dr. Quattro?” she called out, but her voice echoed around the cave. She knew there was no one there.
“If this were 2015, this cave would be crawling with archaeologists after yesterday,” she said. “Something’s changed.”
She could see the shaft they needed to climb in order to get back to the surface, and Saber led the way. He put her on his back and climbed it with his bare hands and feet with such incredible strength Melissa couldn’t believe he was actually capable of doing it.
He had lived a long time in a savage land with only himself to rely on, but now he had found her and he wanted to protect her. When he reached the top of the small cave opening, he heaved himself up and out with Melissa still clinging to him. As they rolled back onto the grass in the French field, Melissa looked around and was surprised that there was still no one there.
“Looks like we’ll have to walk,” she said.
Saber put her over his shoulder again and headed east.
They reached a road after about two hours and the first car that pulled over held an old couple who looked intrigued and confused by what they were seeing. Saber’s eyes were like saucers as he watched the car as if it were a predator. Melissa assured him it was all fine, and as they made their way back to Bordeaux, she asked the couple in basic French what the date was.
“April 10th, 1973,” the woman said as she turned to smile at her.
Melissa’s heart pounded and she didn’t know where to look. Saber wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close.
She wasn’t even born until 1990… She couldn’t help but laugh.
She thought back to her life in 2015 and of all she was lacking. She may have had a great career, but she could still do that in 1973. Her family were long gone and she didn’t have a boyfriend or husband to speak of. The explorer in her wanted to stay where she was, to never tell anyone what had happened to her and to integrate Saber into society without anyone being any wiser.
She looked at him, and when he looked back at her with his beautiful and innocent eyes, she knew they could make it work. They could stay in France and build a life. Now that they had each other, anything was possible.
Neither of them were from that time and that made it all the more real. It made it so much more exciting for them to be experiencing the journey together.
“Let’s do this,” she smiled and she squeezed Saber’s hand.
The archaeologist had her very own caveman, and they were about to embark on the wildest ride either of them would ever have thought possible.
“Time doesn’t exist when you’ve got love,” she whispered to him. And even though he was still learning, she was pretty sure he understood.
THE END
Also if you enjoyed this story please check out the companion story Mated to the Caveman which you can find here.
Through the Gateway
Iona Savage
Copyright ©2015 by Iona Savage. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic of 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.
Thank you so much for your interest in my work! Please
Chapter 1 The Cellar
“You sure you want one of them?” Tammy double checked with the guy, if she couldn’t change his mind, it meant lugging a crate of beers from the cellar.
“I’d like what I asked for, if it’s all the same with you?” Niyol was not going to change his mind.
Tammy tried to stare him down. Okay, so he was a good looking guy, tall and handsome, with a trace of Native American features, but didn’t he realize that her shift was nearly over and she really didn’t want to go into that damp, dark cellar, just to get his bloody beer?
“Is there something special about that particular beer, that none of the others taste like?”
Niyol noticed the cold stare she was giving him, but he knew he wasn’t going to change his mind. It wasn't by chance that the beer he wanted was in the cellar.
“Sorry,” he replied, staring back at her with no intention of being the one to look away. “That’s the beer I ordered, and that’s the beer I want.”
Tammy knew her cold stare wasn’t going to work on this guy. She was going to have to go down there, in the last ten minutes of her shift, just for this punk.
“Right,” she said, in his face, “you’ll have to wait until I fetch some up from the cellar, won’t you?” she told him, hoping this might change his mind.
“I suppose I will,” he replied, equally as cocky, “you better get going then.”
Nothing
she said was going to work. With a loud audible sigh, especially for his benefit, she turned and looked for the cellar keys. Tammy slammed the drawer open and shut, ensuring he knew exactly how she felt about his bloody beer.
“Sorry,” she said, turning back to him, “it seems Paul, the cellar guy, has taken the key with him on his lunch.”
“Is that not it there?” Niyol asked, pointing to a key hanging on a hook, just under the wine glasses shelf. She really wasn't making this easy for him, he thought.
That was her last throw of the dice, she knew exactly where the key was, and it seemed that so did he. She had tried to appeal to his better nature, but this guy didn't have one, Tammy thought to herself. There was no point asking anyone else either, because the few staff on duty were all new here. This job sucked. Staff were always changing, customers were awkward, like this guy here, and all she wanted to do was finish her shift, go home and pick up with her friends on Facebook.
“Okay, I won’t be long, Sir,” she placed extra emphasis on the sir, letting him know exactly what she thought of him.
Tammy opened the cellar door, reluctantly. She hated the cellar, it always gave her the creeps, and she usually refused to go down there. It was definitely haunted, she was sure, or perhaps it was just her imagination, but there was something about it. Maybe she should just get her coat and go home now, she had less than ten minutes left on her shift, no-one would be any the wiser. Nah, she couldn’t afford to be sacked again, the rent was due. She’d just have to suck in air and get down there. Quickly, she turned around to see if she could change his mind, but he had his back to her. If only she knew where this particular crate of beers was located, then she could be up and down in no time at all. It was going to take ages to find it.
Switching on the light, she mustered up courage and put one foot in front of the other, descending into the damp smelling, black hole of a cellar. The light was dim, Paul her boss was a cheapskate and hadn't replaced the blown bulbs down here, making it difficult to see. Somewhere there was the drip, drip of water. She wouldn’t be surprised if mushrooms didn’t grow down here, or something worse. She quickly scanned all the crates, searching for this guy’s particular brand, desperate to get out of this place, when she heard a noise, like a scraping, as if a door was opening.
She looked in the direction of the noise but could not see anything in the darkened corners, although one corner looked a little darker than the others. She was about to turn her head again when she felt a light breeze flow across her face. Staring hard now into the corner, she was now convinced that it definitely was darker than anywhere else in the cellar, as though there was another room. She’d never noticed another room before. Maybe the specialist beer crates were in there, because she couldn’t find them here. As she neared the darkened shape, she could make out it was an entrance to another room. She supposed it was a bit hidden away. With this dim light it was no wonder she’d not noticed it before. With a bit of luck the crate would be in here, and then she can get off home.
Chapter 2 Flickering Light
As soon as she stepped into the passageway, she knew she had made a mistake, it seemed to go on forever. What was she thinking? Just turn back round Tammy girl, get your coat and go home, sod the dude and his pretentious beer. Then she turned to look back but couldn't see the entrance, all she could see was the cellar wall, she must have made a turn somewhere, without realizing. Looking in front, she could see a light glowing. With an increasing feeling of trepidation, she headed for the light.
The light flickered, like a flame, but she couldn’t see anyone lighting a fire down here. A breeze blew up the tunnel and she realized she was about to step outside. How could it be the outside? She looked on in puzzlement, yes, it was definitely the outside, it led to a woodlands. There were no woodlands at the back of the bar, she was certain.
Her heart pounded in her chest and her legs felt like jelly, but bravely, she stepped out of the end of the tunnel, and into a dense woodland. Sat in a small clearing, next to a camp fire, was a figure. It seemed to have a cape or blanket over the shoulders. As she approached the figure, she could soon make out that it was an old man.
“At last you’ve returned to us, Princess Tamara, and not a moment too soon,” the figure spoke to her with a deep rattling voice.
Tammy was surprised to hear the old man call her by name, her Sunday best name at that, but she had never met him before, she was certain.
“I think you’ve got the wrong person, old man, I just work in the bar over there, and I ain’t no one’s Princess,” she turned back in the direction she had come from, and all she could see were trees in her wake. “Where the f… I’m telling you, I just came down a passageway, back there, and now I can’t see it. I have to get back, there’s a customer waiting for me.”
“You have bigger problems than customers, Tamara,” the old man told her.
“Do I know you? I’m sure I would have remembered you. How do you know my name?” Despite her question, she was certain she’d never met this man before in her life.
“I gave it to you,” he replied, with no further explanation.
“Are you crazy? I don’t even know who you are, or how I got here. And, while we’re at it, where is here, exactly, it’s no part of Baltimore that I know of?” She was beginning to feel afraid and unable to keep the rising levels of panic out of her voice. Something was wrong, maybe it was just a dream.
“Calm yourself, Tamara,” a voice spoke behind her.
Tammy swung around at the sound of the voice behind her, and was a little stunned at what she saw. It was the guy from the bar. Speechless, all she could do was stare at the man.
“Are you following me?” she managed to utter. “Just because I work in a bummer of a job, doesn’t mean you can stalk me.”
The man looked at her with contempt, but said nothing, instead he walked over to the old man.
“It’s a mistake to bring her here, look at her, she cannot help us Father.”
The old man looked at his son.
“She is our only hope, she always was,” he looked at his son harshly. “Make your peace, divided we are weak, and that suits no one but our enemies.”
Father? There was some crazy stuff going on here, and Tammy’s head was in a spin.
“I don’t know what you two are about, but I think you’ve got the wrong girl, here,” she huffed at him and walked away, only thing was, she had nowhere to go.
Turning to Tammy, the old man beckoned her to sit by him.
“Come, I have much to explain and little time to do so.”
She stared at the two men, unable to see any resemblance between them, although the father’s skin was darker, and his features more pronounced. His eyes were dark, almost black, and seemed to look like deep pools, but she found them calming. He smiled at her and beckoned to her again. She was still uncertain, but the fire looked warm and comforting. What did she have to lose, she thought to herself as she walked up to the old man and sat down next to him.
“My name is Angeni, and if you are ready, I shall begin?”
She nodded and waited for him to start.
Chapter 3 The Cruel Truth
She listened to what the old man had to say, with rising incredulity at what he was telling her. It was simply unbelievable.
“You are from a bloodline of Royalty that has ruled this land for a millennia,” he started, what followed was nearly an hour of pure fantasy in Tammy’s mind. These guys were playing some kind of trick on her.
“Look,” she said to the younger guy, when the story had finished, “can you just show me how I can get back to the bar? I don't mean to be disrespectful to the old man, but that story is simple nonsense. Surely you don’t expect me to believe all this crap about me belonging to a Royal family and my brother’s gonna murder me if he discovers I’m in this fairy land. All because I can neutralize his magical powers. Hah!” she spat out her last word. “Are you two nuts?”
“I told you it was
a waste of time, Father. She’s not worth the effort,” Niyol said, contemptuously. “My Father holds a lot of faith in you. I warned him not to bring more bad blood into these lands, we have enough with Vaclav. How do we know this sister will not side with her brother?” He turned to the old man as he asked this question.
The old man ignored his son, turning to Tammy, “Please Princess Tamara, sit back down and watch.”
Tammy did so. He pulled a small leather pouch out of his pocket, opened it, and poured some fine powder into his hand. Throwing the powder onto the fire, it caused it to flare up, brightly.
“Look,” she said, a little hesitantly as she didn’t want to upset the old man. “I’m sorry, but I don't need any parlor tricks, I need to get home.”
While she said this, she didn't take her eyes off the fire. It seemed, for a second or two, when the flames died back down, that nothing was going to happen. Tammy was just about to turn away, when something caught her eye. The flames were flaring up again, and this time, embedded in the flames was a moving image. It was hazy and distorted as the flames flickered, but it was clear to see. Tammy sat back down mesmerized by what she was viewing.
She saw a young boy in his teens, walking with two people, her parents. How she could know this she had no idea as she didn’t recognize them, but yet she did know. In her heart she felt a connection, a love and then a yearning. She watched on in horror as the boy murdered them in cold blood, but she was unsure how. He carried no weapon, yet kill them he did, and horribly. It was clear they died a painful death. The scene changed and she could see armed soldiers, terrorizing people. Killing some, and imprisoning others, but above all this, in a dark blood red sky, was the face of her brother. She knew him now, sensed who he was as he smiled evilly, amused by the bloodshed. The scene changed again and she could see the old man, but younger, carrying a baby into a swirling abyss. She recognized her home town. The face of a young boy changed, grew older with cruelty written into every line of its features. This was her brother, and he was the evil tyrant.