Trevor didn’t answer. Instead, he closed the distance between us. “We need to call TAO. Now. They’ll know what to do.”
My fingers and knuckles ached as I dialed the number Trevor gave me from memory. Between the two of us, we were a bloody mess.
“Put it on speaker,” Trevor said, and I did.
It rang a few times, then a woman picked up. “Thank you for calling—”
“We need to speak to Dr. Connor Hill right now,” Trevor said.
“It’s Chelsea Danning and Trevor. From SeaSat5,” I added.
The line cut, and Dr. Hill spoke next. “Chelsea! Trevor! We got your S.O.S.”
“Lemuria took SeaSat5 to the future,” Trevor said—well, more like shouted—into the phone.
“We used my cell phone to get here,” I said. “I think we traveled through time.”
Trevor leaned in over the phone. “We need to go back. To help them.”
A bus drove by, blaring its horn and covering up the first half of Dr. Hill’s response.
“—only one-way. We’d need another Link Piece to travel there. Where are you? I’ll send a contingent to get you.”
“They’re only one-way?” I asked. “Are you freaking kidding me?”
His voice garbled, the call losing reception. Damn city cell coverage. “Two hours out… Stay put… Tracking call.”
Silence encompassed us, save for sirens whizzing by, a plane flying overhead. City sounds. Sounds that used to make me rest easy, knowing I was home. Tonight, the sounds left my body quaking and my lungs gasping for breath.
Trevor and I looked at each other, expressions mirrored. Drawn lips. Shallow breaths. Wide eyes.
“We left them,” I whispered.
He shook his head. “There’s nothing we could’ve done.”
“You don’t know that.” My voice broke over the words.
He shook his head, hand rubbing the back of his neck. “We can help them here. If we stayed, we’d be prisoners, too.”
Tears welled up and stung my eyes. “You’re assuming they’re still alive.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. “We have to.”
Trevor led me over to the wall where we met months ago, and we slid down it. He wrapped an arm around me. I tucked my head under his chin and squeezed him tight. That’s all we had to keep us together. To keep us from falling apart.
Gyre has been a three-year journey, and I have a ton of people to thank for their help in turning this manuscript into the book you hold in your hands today. This list is long, so please stick with me.
First and foremost: thank you to my critique partners, Talynn, René, Jen, Chy, Emma, and Suzanne. Thank you for always being there, for never letting me give up, and for always believing this day would come, especially during the times when I didn’t. Thank you for every late-night freak out, for reading Gyre countless times in all its incarnations, for making me delete that one “special” storyline, and for NOLA; for everything. This book would be nothing without the six of you, and words can never express my gratitude for the love and the enthusiasm you’ve given me and Gyre over these years. Thank you.
To my editor, Tori, thank you for falling in love with Gyre and for championing me throughout this journey. You are seriously an amazing woman. Thank you also to Nikki, Andrew, Clare, Lisa, Christine, and Andy for all that you do. And a big thank you to the entire CQ family, who welcomed me with open arms.
To my friends at #WIPMarathon, you’ve been along for the entire ride. Thank you for the monthly check-ins and, most importantly, for your friendship. You ladies remind me that writing isn’t a lonely hobby.
A big thank you to my beta readers who read all or part of Gyre: Heather, John, Kate, Liz, Patrice, and Steph. Many grateful thanks to my contest mentors and the writing community. Thank you all for every bit of advice, every tough critique, and every cheer of encouragement you’ve given me.
Thank you to my grandparents, family, and friends. There are far too many of you to risk naming individually, and I don’t want to forget anyone. You know who you are. You believed first. I started this publishing journey because of you, and I never would have made it this far without you. Thank you for cheering me on every step of the way, and for being patient with me when I needed to bounce ideas or write something down on the back of a Duckpin Bowling score sheet mid-turn.
To my sister, thank you for teaching me to follow your dreams, regardless of anything or anyone else. You’re the best sister anyone could ask for, and I’m glad to call you mine.
To my parents, thank you for your unconditional love and unwavering support. For encouraging me at a young age to grow my imagination in every way possible. For introducing me to the science-fiction and fantasy genres, teaching me that amidst all the unbelievable and impossible things in this world, you will find the very definition of humanity and love. For everything, thank you. And sorry for all the BTVS books I read instead of the books they wanted me to read. Guess it paid off?
Born in Connecticut and raised on science-fiction and fantasy, it was inevitable Jessica Gunn would end up writing novels. She spent most of high school binge-watching a plethora of “old” and current sci-fi shows before diving into fanfiction. Jessica wrote her first novels in high school.
In college, Jessica studied anthropology where she learned enough about ancient civilizations and flintknappingto inspire GYRE, her first published novel. But being honest, daydreams of Atlantis and other ancient mysteries have captivated her for over a decade.
Jessica now lives as a continuous student of the writing craft in small-town Connecticut. She remains an avid fan of stories of the wormhole and superhero variety. Oh, and villains. She loves villains. When not working or writing, she can be found attending to her ever-growing TBR pile and hiking the forests of New England.
To catch up with Jessica, follow her on Twitter (@JessGunnAuthor) or on her website,www.jessicagunn.com.
Now that you have completed this book, we hope you will leave a review so that other readers may benefit from your perspective. Authors like Jessica Gunn live and die by your reviews, after all!
Please visit http://curiosityquills.com/reader-survey/ to share your reading experience with the author of this book!
Treasure Darkly, by Jordan Elizabeth
(http://bit.ly/1yk5x6t)
Seventeen-year-old Clark Treasure assumes the drink he stole off the captain is absinthe…until the chemicals in the liquid give him the ability to awaken the dead. A great invention for creating perfect soldiers, yes, but Clark wants to live as a miner, not a slave to the army—or the deceased. On the run, Clark turns to his estranged tycoon father for help. The Treasures welcome Clark with open arms, so he jumps at the chance to help them protect their ranch against Senator Horan, a man who hates anyone more powerful than he.
And he is not alone. His new-found sister, Amethyst, thinks that’s rather dashing, until Horan kidnaps her, and all she gets is a bullet through her heart. When Clark brings her back to life, she realizes he’s more than just street-smart - and he’s not really a Treasure. Amethyst’s boring summer at home has turned into an adventure on the run, chock full of intrigue, danger, love, and a mysterious boy named Clark.
A Curse of Ash & Iron, by Christine Norris
(http://bit.ly/1IxI9pf)
Eleanor Banneker is under a spell, bewitched and enslaved by her evil stepmother. Her long-lost childhood friend, Benjamin Grimm, is the only person immune to the magic that binds her. Even if he doesn’t believe in real magic, he cannot abandon her to her fate and must find a way to breach the spell - but time is running short. If he doesn’t succeed before the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, Ellie will be bound forever…
Homunculus & The Cat, by Nathan croft
(http://bit.ly/1cZNgna)
In a world where every culture’s mythology is real, Medusa’s sisters want revenge on Poseidon, Troy is under siege again, and the Yakuza want their homunculi (mythological artificial hum
ans) back. Near Atlantis’ Chinatown, a kitten and her human campaign for homunculi rights. Against them are Japanese death gods, an underworld cult, and a fat Atlantean bureaucrat.
The main character dies (more than once) and a few underworlds’ way of death is threatened. Also with giant armored battle squids.
Broken Dolls, by Tyrolin Puxty
(http://bit.ly/1FWlsMl)
Ella doesn’t remember what it’s like to be human – after all, she’s lived as a little doll for thirty years. She forgets what it’s like to taste, to smell…to breathe.
She helps the professor create other dolls, but they don’t seem to hang around for long. His most recent creation is Lisa, a sly goth. Ella doesn’t like Lisa. How could she, when Lisa keeps trying to destroy her?
Ella likes the professor’s granddaughter though, even if she is dying. It’s too bad the professor wants to turn Gabby into a doll, too. What’s a broken doll to do?
Appetizer:
Book Cover
Title Page
Dedication
Quote
Main Course:
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Dessert:
Acknowledgements
Closing
About the Author
Copyright & Publisher
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Gyre (Atlas Link Series Book 1) Page 30