Kathryn took the five steps that led her up to the large stone landing in front of the heavy oak castle door. Stuffing the journal in her pocket, she faced the west where the sun was a blinding ball of orange in the sky. The afternoon was half gone and it would begin its descent behind the mountains in the distance within a few short hours.
She began to chant the words under her breath, having no idea if this would work.
As a woman of science and reason, she felt half foolish thinking that a few spoken words could actually make the tapestry appear. As a woman who’d experienced all she had the past two days, she knew that anything was possible.
Opening her heart and her mind to the magic, she shut out the scene around her and concentrated on the words that had been written in the journal. They were a mishmash of languages—Latin, Arabic, French and some she’d never spoken before.
Yet she knew how to pronounce them and their meaning. That in itself was magic. It also bespoke of the unassailable fact that her ancestor had traveled to many different places, some on Earth and some on unknown planets.
The air began to swirl around her and she could almost hear a voice on the wind.
She began to chant louder and faster, the words blurring together to create more of a rhythm than individual meaning.
Lightning streaked across the pale blue sky. People screamed and yelled but no one moved as the scene unfolded around them all. The hair on her arms and on the back of her neck rose. Power filled Kathryn and she rose up on the tips of her toes as her body jerked.
She heard her name yelled in anguish. She wanted to reassure Marc that she was fine but her lips wouldn’t stop chanting. It poured from her, a river of power.
Kathryn focused on the energy, channeling it the way it was meant to be. Calling on the tapestry to come. There was a blinding flash of light. She blinked to clear her vision and it was then she saw it, drifting as if held by an unseen hand in front of her.
The air all around it hummed with power. Several women screamed and Kathryn knew that the tapestry brides from this generation were frightened. Marc scrambled up the steps with Logan and Tienan hot on his heels. He grabbed her, his hold so tight she could barely breathe.
She pushed at his arm and he loosened his grip but only slightly. She could almost hear his thoughts. And if the tapestry was going to take her, he was determined to go with her.
Shocked, she froze in place. It had never even occurred to her that Marc would leave Javara and return to Earth with her. That wasn’t how it was done. But hadn’t they already broken every rule?
Kathryn needed to think about this.
Instead, she turned to Christina and Jane. “There is no need to fear. You have made your decision and the tapestry would never unmake it.” The tapestry drew her gaze, the design was swirling, never settling. Forests, castles and faces all came into view for a split second before disappearing. “This is the tapestry that was given to this world. It has changed the rules this time. Possibly because I am a descendant of the original sorceress, I have been given knowledge.” A woman’s voice floated on the wind, spilling over the forest and the tall stone castle, swirling around the people where they stood. “This was my gift to you, yet for some of you it is not enough.”
Voices protested and many men and women fell to their knees where they stood as fear overtook them. Kathryn blinked as the vision of a woman’s face appeared in a large cloud. Her hair was white, yet her skin was unlined. Her eyes were sad and kindly at the same time. The cloud grew in size until her entire body was revealed, floating in the air. She appeared ageless, ethereal, her long hair flowing around her simple silver robe.
Behind her, Christina gasped. “That’s the woman from the shop. The one who sold me the tapestry.”
“She’s the woman from the thrift store.” Kathryn hadn’t been introduced to the woman who spoke but she knew it had to be Jane.
Kathryn knew that this was her ancestor, the original sorceress. The resemblance to her mother was uncanny. Kathryn might not have known her mother but she’d seen pictures and the two women looked enough alike to be sisters.
“She looks like you,” Marc breathed. “If your hair was white, you would be almost identical.”
Now that he’d mentioned it, it made perfect sense. She looked like her mother, so she also bore an uncanny resemblance to the sorceress. The woman looked at her and smiled. “Are you enjoying my gift to you?” Her voice, though soft and melodic, reached to the far edges of the crowd.
“Ah…yes. It’s been interesting.”
Sarainta laughed. “You will make your choice as all tapestry brides do. Go or stay.
It is your choice.” Then she turned toward the crowd. “This was a gift. A thank you to your world for the time I spent here. You will accept the will of the tapestry.” As one, everyone in the crowd nodded.
“Then all is good.” She returned her gaze to Kathryn. “You have one more day.” With that there was another blinding flash. Kathryn barely managed to bring her arm up to shield her eyes. Hands grabbed her, holding on tightly. When she could finally see again, both the woman and the tapestry were gone.
Marc, Tienan and Logan were holding various parts of her body. “Ah, you can let go now.” Fingers and hands slowly unpeeled from her arms but Marc kept his forearm wrapped around her.
“This is done.” Jarek’s voice rang out authoritatively over the crowd. “You will accept the will of the tapestry and Kathryn’s decision.” One by one the men and women passed her on their way back into the castle. They all nodded, most of their gazes darting away. Great. Now she felt like a freak in this world too. No matter what, she seemed destined to be different.
Abrah paused before her. Bending down, he brushed her cheek with his lips. “I will accept your decision. But, if you get tired of this group…” His eyes twinkled as he made his offer.
Kathryn rather liked the man and his brother, who stood by his side but not enough to leave Marc. “Thanks.”
Marc growled behind her but she ignored him for the moment. She had a feeling he was going to have a lot to say later.
The last to stop and stand before her was Jarek, with Christina by his side. He stared down at her from his great height. “Our home is your home.” Cupping her chin in his large hand, he stroked the line of her jaw. “You have brought much excitement here.”
Kathryn felt her cheeks flush. Excitement, her ass. More like chaos and bloodshed.
“You make Marc happy and that means everything to me. Please consider staying.
Do not let what happened here today taint your decision. Take tonight to…think about things.”
She knew what he really meant was, take tonight to have hot monkey sex with Marc. Her nipples tightened and her sex clenched as if to let her know how much they approved of that idea.
“Tomorrow, tour the castle. Talk to the people here. Get to know us all before you decide.”
“I will,” she promised Jarek.
“That is all I can ask.” He dropped his hand back by his side.
Christina stepped up and threw her arms around Kathryn. Shocked, she patted the other woman’s back with awkward movements. She wasn’t used to public displays of affection. “I hope you stay,” Christina whispered in her ear. “I could use another woman around here, one who understands what I’m going through. Jane and I are friends but I don’t get to see her as often as I’d like.”
“I will make your apologies to our guests.” With that, Jarek draped his arm over his wife’s shoulders and they walked into the castle, leaving the four of them alone on the landing.
“What did Jarek mean?” She turned to face Marc and the undisguised lust and longing in his eyes had her body softening and her limbs shaking. A quick glance down assured her that he was fully aroused. Her mouth went dry at the thought of making love with him once again.