West (History Interrupted Book 1) (32 page)

Read West (History Interrupted Book 1) Online

Authors: Lizzy Ford

BOOK: West (History Interrupted Book 1)

4.26Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub

Oh, good. You’re okay. You need to go back to the well. Fast, before we lose the lightning.

It was the last place I wanted to be. The mention of lightning reminded me Carter needed it to fuel sending me back in time, the way he had the night I arrived. I looked around my room with dread and regret.

I really did like it here. I had seen the possibility of remaining here with Taylor, too. The thought of him made my heart and stomach twist hard enough for me to ache. I could stay here, where we had hoped to make a home …

But with all the memories that now haunted me … with Philip waiting in the shadows …

The urge to run and never look back filled me with scared energy that replaced my exhaustion. I didn’t even ask Carter where he planned on sending me. I didn’t care, so long as it was far, far from here, somewhere where I could forget about Taylor and how I’d probably un-created the only good man left in the world.

I left quickly and quietly, hurried down the stairs of the brightly lit house and fled out the front door.

With some dread, I returned to the gruesome scene behind the barn then texted Carter.
I’m here.

The massive man I’d seen before disengaged from the shadows of the smaller barn. Clutching my phone, I resisted the urge to run. He’d protected me once, and Carter swore he wanted me alive for some reason.

“Kneel,” the man ordered in a voice low and gruff enough to be thunder.

Swallowing a sob, I obeyed and closed my eyes, shivering as much from cold as emotion.

Just know you gave me – and Fighting Badger – the peace we otherwise never would’ve known. You made a difference
. Taylor’s parting words echoed in my thoughts. They were generous, considerate, an attempt to comfort me in the face of being un-created, erased from history, the universe.

You made a difference.

I didn’t deserve the words or the emotion behind him, as if he truly believed I’d helped him and Fighting Badger. Only I would mourn the man who didn’t exist. Only I would remember him. Only I would know there once was a good man named Taylor Hansen, whose sole wish in life was to retire and live in peace with me.

He deserved so much more, and I had taken everything from him.

The tears began again. I made no effort to stem them this time.

The shadowy figure pressed a large thumb to the back of my neck. I waited for the brilliant light or maybe, for him to chop off my head the way he had halved Nell.

Something smashed into my head instead, and I slid into darkness.

C
HAPTER
E
IGHTEEN

Gradually, I became aware once more. I was engulfed in brilliant light and heat, caught between the sensations of moving rapidly and floating in place, distantly aware of sonic booms and cracks, as if traveling between times required ripping the fabric of the universe.

This trip was smoother than the first and felt shorter. Seconds after the sonic boom, the light cleared, and I was left on the ground once more, in the dark.

It wasn’t rainy – but it was
freezing.
Bone-deep cold air gobbled up the heat generated by time travel, and I began shivering before I opened my eyes. Sunspots blinded me for a moment. I tested out my body as I waited for my vision to clear. I was uninjured from the travel, simply disoriented.

How many times did Taylor travel like this?
I almost sighed. I’d hoped Carter would wipe my memory, if that was even possible. I was hurting once more, unable to stop thinking about my first trip through time and how I was the sole person left standing when it ended.

The empathic memory chip was strangely silent, and I realized how much chatter had been going on in the back of my mind. Now there were just my sad thoughts and the dread of guessing what Carter had in store for me next.

I sat up. Moldavite chunks steamed around me in the crater. I wore the same clothes I’d changed into before leaving the eighteen forties and gazed at the sky. The stars were brilliant and bright, the moon a sliver and sky completely clear. I’d never seen a night like this with all the light pollution in my home of southern California. It was too stormy for me to notice the sky in Indian Territory. But this … this was absolutely breathtaking.

And cold. Jesus – had I ever been this cold? It hurt my nose and lungs to breathe. I wrapped the riding habit around me more tightly and tucked my face into the tall collar. Making my way to the edge of the crater, I climbed out onto what looked like the steppe: a wide, open land of short cropped, verdant grass that glowed silver in the moonlight. In the distance were mountains, and between them and me …

Nothing.

“It’s freakin’ cold here!” I muttered. The air was still but had begun to penetrate my wool coat.

There was no Taylor to rescue me this time. The reminder left me feeling more desolate than the steppe stretching out before me.

The sound of movement and shuffling reached me, and I turned, letting out a startled gasp.

An army of forms on horseback extended behind my crater towards another set of mountains, as far as I could see. The men were watching me in complete silence that defied the size of the force. No one stirred. I doubted anyone was even breathing. They were as still as statues, until one of them dismounted.

He dropped all sizes of swords and knives on the ground at his feet before approaching me. Removing his helmet, he stopped a good six feet away, his gaze on the distance between us. He seemed to be thinking about whether or not he wanted to get any closer.

I took in his appearance and dress, trying to place where –and when – I was. His face was round, his eyes almond shaped and skin tone pale olive with ruddy cheeks. He wore layers of clothing: thick, bulky wools and fur-lined leathers over loose trousers and a wide belt cinched at his waist.

I’d never seen anyone like him. Of everything about him that intrigued me, his hair was what I fixated on. Beneath the bowl-shaped helmet, he wore two long braids of grey that marked his seasoned age, one on each side of his head. The rest of his head was shaved.

“Father Sky sent you to bless our battle,” he spoke.

Father Sky
. At no point in college had I studied ancient religions, so placing the reference was beyond me. I had no idea where I was. Somewhere in Asia, maybe. Not China, not India, certainly not Europe or the Middle East. Like many Americans, I could probably find India and China on a map, but I had no clue what countries lay in the vast space between them. It would be just my luck to end up in one of those places.

“The moon guides us with its white path,” he continued with a low bow. “It is an honor to be blessed by Father Sky in such a way.”

I understood half of that. “Nice to meet you, too,” I managed awkwardly.

A ripple of whispers went through the first several lines of horsemen able to hear me. The man before me broke into a wide smile. “We have milk and meat for you, Goddess of the White Path. You will eat with us this night, and tomorrow, you will accompany the silks and slaves to the Great Khan, so that he may witness this honor.”

Great Khan. Now
that
I recognized. Alarm ricocheted within me, and something Carter said when we first met blared through my memories.

Tell that to Genghis Khan when you meet him!

“Oh, Carter. You did
not
send me back to the era of Mongol conquest,” I whispered.

“Bring my finest horse!” the man ordered over his shoulder.

If I thought peeing in a bordalou was bad, I didn’t want to know what awaited me here.

***

Follow Josie’s next adventure in “East”, now available on preorder for .99 – preorder special pricing!

Amazon

Amazon UK

Summary:

The past is waiting.

Josie Jackson has been thrown back to the era of the Mongol Empire by Carter, the mastermind behind her trip to the Old West. Soon after arriving, she’s discovered by Carter’s enemies. They sever her connection to her handler, leaving her no choice but to obey them – or risk never making it home.

She completes the mission they assign her, only to have her hope of seeing her family and time again crushed. Her new handlers have stranded her in the past - alone, friendless and with no empathic memory chip to help her navigate the dangerous politics of an Empire at war.

When a Mongol warrior named Batu becomes her protector and guide, she can't decide if she's better off with him or alone. Strong, brave, loyal and quick to both laugh and kill, Batu and his world initially baffle her. With nowhere else to turn and no other option, Josie takes a chance to find happiness in the beautiful yet dangerous steppes of thirteenth century Mongolia.

Preorder now!

Amazon

Amazon UK

***

History Interrupted

West

East (April 2015)

North (TBD)

South (TBD)

Also by Lizzy Ford …

Non-Series – 2014 & 2015

Black Moon Draw (
Amazon
,
Amazon UK
) (about a reader sucked into her book)