Carnelian

  I pulled him down to me that I could kiss his cheek. “Stay safe.”

  Dee smiled and disappeared back the way we came. He must have made it to the other men as the talking seemed to stop progressing after a few minutes. Their voices faded, and I hoped they were off going another direction. I felt like we were left alone in the cave now.

  “What do we do then?” I asked the guys.

  I was not going to take time to debate if we should go now that Dee sacrificed himself to let us leave. If we could go to the future and that would keep Ty and Seth alive, then that’s where we belonged. It wasn’t like they would have to start over either. Seth and Ty had a life in the future. Maybe the plan was all along to get me to know the truth. Maybe all the goddess wanted me to do in the past was learn who my mother was. I knew now, and it was time to go to the future. I didn’t know what the future would hold for us, or how long we could all be there together, but I was sure we didn’t want to stick around to find out what would happen in the past.

  “We pray,” Ty said. He knelt before the wall, and I finally saw the outline as faint as the lines on my arm.

  “Guess our future is in the future,” Seth answered. He leaned over and kissed me briefly before kneeling by Ty. I knelt beside the two boys. The voices were growing louder again. It was now or never.

  “Please take us home to when we left,” I said to the wall in front of us. I could almost faintly make out the face of the goddess in the painting on the wall. Beneath the wall were small statues, at least twenty of them. I felt the urge to stand and touch the drawing before it came to me. The only thing I needed to travel was to picture where I wanted to be.

  I pictured my room at home and waited. I thought of my bed, the exact moment I had left. I wanted to be back there. I wanted to go home and save us from the men who were hunting me, of all people. I had been to the past for only two days, and yet I was an object the general wanted to use for his family’s gain, and an object the slaves wanted to use to prolong the war. I never knew my life could be complicated. I needed to go home. The world faded into darkness, and the voices that had almost arrived were gone.

  My eyes opened to look around the space I was in, my room. I let out the deep breath I had been holding. I was glad to be home. My heart was still pounding from our escape. I looked around my room, disappointed that I didn’t see Seth beside me, before I remembered that I had asked the goddess to return us to the exact moment when we left. That meant that Seth was seven hours away in Minneapolis while I was at home outside Chicago. I picked up my phone and flipped it open to be sure. It was one in the morning on November twenty-third. That meant it was Thanksgiving Day. I had been missing a total of maybe four hours since I left to find Seth.

  I finally opened my hand to see what Dee had given me. I didn’t think much of the color of the smooth object in my hand as we were leaving the past. I would not have guessed it was a goddess stone by the coolness that went with it. The carnelian stone had always been warm. This turquoise green stone was more like a cold day than anything, not even room temperature. I turned the stone around in my hand and found the illegible markings on the back side. I rubbed it a bit, but nothing came into focus. It was just like when I had first seen Seth’s stone. Then it hit me. This must have been Dee’s stone. Ty and Dee didn’t know that I already had the carnelian in my arm, I didn’t need a stone to travel. Dee must have stayed behind not to slow the other men down, but to give me his stone. Dee really was a great guy. I couldn’t believe he would do that for Seth or for me. Somehow, I’d have to go back some day to thank him.

  Rubbing the red lines that now appeared only faintly on my arm, I contemplated what to do next. I really wanted to call Seth and make sure he was fine, but my ancient boyfriend, who was now my fiancée, never had a cell phone before we traveled back in time. He was too old to learn new tricks, and now I resented him for not being easier to talk to. I really wanted to hear his voice. Heck, I really wanted to jump into his arms and kiss him. We made it back. We could continue our life in the present. He kept me safe, just like he promised.

  There was a pang of regret that we had left Dee behind. I didn’t like him much when I first met him, but since he would stay behind just to ensure my safety was beyond words. We would never know how much time will pass between going into the future or past. I hope that for his sake nothing happens to him for siding with us. He turned out to not be too bad after all.

  I turned off the light by my bed and picked my phone back up. I scrolled through the numbers, but knew that one in the morning was not the time to call anyone, and the real person I wanted to call didn’t leave me a number to call him. Instead, I would have to wait until break was done in a few days. Then I could drive back north and find the love of my life. I didn’t have any doubts he would be waiting for me. We were meant to be together. If I could make it three weeks without him, waiting the weekend would be a cinch.

  Closing my phone, I sat in the complete darkness of my bedroom. What I’d give to be able to hug Seth right now. We made it. After all our trying, we stayed safe and made it back to a time when no one could keep us apart. Too bad hugs would have to wait. If I was lucky, my grandfather would have a number to the Sangre home, and I’d at least get a chance to talk to Seth before driving back.

  He was a part of my soul now. I had gone to the past and back, but one thing remained the same. I loved him with every fiber of my being. The goddess must have seen this to lead us back to the present together. Seth was mine, and I wanted nothing more than just him in my life. I was his completely. It was possible the goddess would send him back some day, but now I knew how to go to him. We had survived going to the past, and we were still together. Even time could not keep us apart. What life had in store for us now was anyone’s guess, but I was prepared to face anything that may come our way. It wouldn’t matter what happened. We would get to work that out together, and lucky for us, we had a lifetime to for us to figure it out.

  Author note:

  Thank you for reading Carnelian! Keep reading for the first pages of the next book in this series- but read at your own risk… the sequel will not be out until summer time. Before we get there, I’d like to ask that if you enjoyed reading this book, please consider leaving me a good review on Amazon.com. You can do this even if you didn’t buy the book from that site, and it’s one of the best things that you can do to help me out so that I can continue writing and publishing. If you aren’t sure how to post a review there, send me an email at [email protected] I’ll be more than happy to help you with the process. If you’ve already left a review, thank you so much! Look for updates on my website on my current works, or join my mailing list at: http://www.bkristinmcmichael.com/list

  I greatly appreciate all the support from everyone and it keeps me going day in and day out! THANK YOU!

  And here’s a sneak peek at the next book in the series…. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK…. Next book will not be out until summer 2014…..

  BOOK2

  Chrysoprase

  I got up early, seeing as I couldn’t sleep anyways. I was too anxious to hear my boyfriend Seth’s voice. I needed to hear him to reassure myself that this was all real. I had just returned from traveling to the past where we had to escape people who were trying to kidnap me, and what better way to disappear then to head back to the future. Even with all my doubt, we made it. I was in the present and home in my own bed. It was only 5AM on November twenty-third, Thanksgiving Day. I hadn’t missed a day on my journey to the past and back.

  On top of everything, we learned my mother was from the past as well. She was a Nahrin princess, of all things. I couldn’t wait to tell my mother what I knew, and to ask her some questions. How did she come from the past? Who was my father? Why did she leave? My little trip back had revealed that my mother had given birth to, and raised me, here in the present, but Seth’s father knew my mother in the past. She was a Nahrin princess sent off to marry the Pharaoh. I never imagined that. She
had a lot of explaining to do.

  I looked at the clock and even at this time my mother would be up baking. I didn’t have to join her until six, but she started earlier. It was our Thanksgiving tradition after all. The whole family dinner with a turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and cranberries. The complete fixings everyone has, but all made by my mother. My mother, the woman from the past that came to the future to raise me. That would still take some getting used to.

  Even with everything changing fast, I was grateful to be home. Seth was right; as long as we were together, we could do anything. We had found a way in his time to be together, and nothing would stop us now that we were in my time. I don’t doubt the goddess had us meet for one reason- to fall in love. Seth was my other half. Being with him just felt right. I loved him. I regretted that I still hadn’t had the chance to tell him that, and now I had to wait until after Thanksgiving to see him and tell him that I loved him, too.

  I dressed quickly, choosing the longest sleeved shirt I could find to cover my arms. When I met the goddess to travel back to find Seth, she had marked my arm with the blessed carnelian stone that hung above my grandfather’s desk. Now I had permanent lines on my left arm. After talking with Mom, I was going to have to apologize to Grandpa for losing his ancient carnelian necklace. Well, not so much lost, but it technically reformed into the light brown bands circling my right hand. I wasn’t exactly sure how I was going to pass that one off yet. I needed to get back to college. I was sure Sim, my roommate and expert at keeping things covert from the parents, would be able to give me some good story to use. Right now I was flying solo on the story part, and I didn’t know what I’d say.

  I paused on my way out and looked at the green stone lying on my dresser. This was another piece blessed by the goddess. Seth’s friend Dee had given it to me to get me home when he didn’t know about the carnelian I’d have forever in my arm. The green stone was different that the carnelian Seth had. Instead of a round stone, it was more angular, almost triangular. It was flatter and cooler to the touch. If Dee hadn’t given it to me, I don’t even know if I would have looked closer at it. I had looked up all the chalcedony types before my search for one to go into the past, but I didn’t remember the green stone I had now. I dropped it back onto my dresser and left my room.

  I climbed downstairs soundlessly and stopped in the kitchen. I had checked my clock enough to know I had the day right. It was quiet, too quiet for it being Thanksgiving. Something was really off. It was not like my mother just left for a moment. It was like she never started. I looked around the kitchen and nothing was there. It was empty. There were no pies being mixed or a turkey thawed in the sink. What was going on?

  Worrying that I had the date wrong, even though I knew I didn’t, I ran down the hallway to my grandfather’s study. He was always up before my mom was. I knocked and pushed the door open before there could be any response. I stopped in the doorway and just stared into the room. Inside, my grandfather was sleeping on his couch while someone else sat in his desk. Mr. Sangre stood as I walked in.

  “Hello, Marcella,” Mr. Sangre said. I stared at him, unable to respond. Why was he in my house, and why was he with my grandfather? “Your grandfather just fell asleep. Can we go somewhere where we can talk and not disturb him?”

  I nodded and numbly led him back out of the room and into the kitchen. My stomach sank. Something had to be wrong if Mr. Sangre, the time traveling gatekeeper, was in my house. This was the same Mr. Sangre I had met three weeks earlier to tell me that Seth had gone home. He had not been a nearer of good news yet for me. We stopped in the empty kitchen. It hurt to look around and not find my mother cooking. I already guessed that something happened, but the sudden appearance of Mr. Sangre made me dread what I feared was the reason.

  “Your mother’s time here was up last night. She has been sent home. The goddess felt it would be too much to remove all the memories your grandfather had with her in them. I was beside him when it happened. He just fell asleep after spending four hours going over everything,” Mr. Sangre told me. This was what I dreaded.

  I stared at him and tried to process what he was saying. My mother disappeared four hours ago. She just vanished and was gone. For everyone else, she never existed. I sat down in the chair next to me as my legs failed to keep me standing. In this time period, I was now technically an orphan with no father or mother. The shock hit me hard, but no tears came. It didn’t feel real. It couldn’t be real. My mother was gone. When I finally looked up, Mr. Sangre was waiting for me to say something at least.

  “Four hours,” I repeated. Mr. Sangre nodded. I had just returned four hours ago.

  Had this been the goddess’ plan all along? She had warned me my travels through time would affect everything, but I thought she was meaning on a larger scale. If I started a war, then that would change the history, and the future. Not that my travels would mean my mother had to go back. She had nothing left there. She ran away from that life, and spent the last nineteen years here. She had lived more of her life in the present than in the past. My mother belonged here with me and my grandfather. My heart broke. What would my grandfather do without her? We were his only family. It was just him and me now, and I wasn’t even sure I’d end up staying in this time either.

  “I told your grandfather I’d stay until he woke,” Mr. Sangre said, still watching me for the breakdown that was bound to come as soon as I could actually get some tears out. “I should go back to watch over him. You can imagine it was quite a shock to him, and it will take time for him to process it all.”

  I nodded and watched him walk away. My grandfather’s study clicked shut and I was alone. I really needed to get back to college and find Seth. Right about now, I needed a hug. Time was changing, and everything around me was changing too fast. I wanted it to slow down. I wanted life to go back to normal. I wanted to keep Seth and my mother. Why did either of them have to leave? Why couldn’t they just stay in the present with me? Why did it have to be complicated? I didn’t even notice the time pass as I stared off out the window to our backyard. How could my mother be gone? It didn’t seem fair. She belonged here in this time.

  When I finally got up, I went back to my room and noticed the letter on my desk. I had looked at my dresser as I left and the green stone that was sitting there, but I hadn’t looked at my desk. I sat down on my bed and opened it.

  Dearest Child,

  My time here is ending. I have known since you went off to college that my time would end soon. The goddess had promised me to let me stay here until you grew up. I knew that day would come, but I have been dreading how to tell you about my past. First, I didn’t think you would believe me, and then I didn’t want to tell you as I was ashamed. The goddess reassured me you would understand, so this is what you need to know.

  I grew up as a princess in a time in the past. I don’t even know where or when I was born, just that my life was one of privilege. As privileged as I was to always have food and a roof over my head, I also had no say in my future. When I turned sixteen, I was given to a man twice my age as a political marriage. My marriage would secure trade routes for both sides. I didn’t know the man. I didn’t love him. It didn’t matter. Before I could ever even meet him, someone tried to kill me. I don’t know if it was from within the palace, or someone outside the palace. All I know is there was another man that saved me. He protected me from the attack and stayed beside me as I healed.

  When I recovered, I was sent across the desert to the king I was promised to. By this time, I found out what love was. I loved the man who saved me, and I was pregnant with his child. We didn’t know what to do. We could run away and start over, but it was not that easy back then. The man I loved was a military man. All he had ever known was the military. He had no trade, and I was a princess. I could sing and play board games. Neither of us were suited to start over. If anyone knew, the man would have been killed. Agreeing to the engagement made me the property of the king I was to marry. My love had
touched the king’s property. No one could save him, even his best friend, the young general that ran the military. Paramessu had his own young son to protect; he could not protect his friend or me.

  When my love heard there was a way to get away from all of it, we found a site to the goddess. We prayed together, and she answered by sending me here. When your grandfather found me hidden in his artifacts during a trip overseas, he brought me back and he lied to get me into the country, claiming me as his child. I had you seven months later, and the rest you know.

  I never meant for this to stay a secret so long. You would need to know some day, but I was too ashamed. Rather than stay and try to live out a new life with the man I loved, your father, I chose the easy way. To run. I don’t ever regret keeping you safe, but I regret you never knowing your father. I wish you had known him, and he you. He was a great man destined for great things. I know everything worked for the best, but I can’t change the past.

  I just hope I taught you enough. I know you are a wonderful young lady. I wish I could be around to see you get married and grow up. I wish I would see my grandchildren. I wish I could stay with you forever, but I can’t. I am not of your time, and never will be. I have to accept that and hope that I taught you enough. Never think that I didn’t love you. Never think that your father didn’t love you. And when you find that one man that steals your heart someday, don’t let him get away. Love is worth fighting for.

  -Mom

  I stared hard at the letter and reread it two more times. She was from the past. Seth’s father, the general, was right. My mom was a princess. I had tried to convince myself that it was all a dream and not real, but deep down it was true. Now after reading my mother’s words, I couldn’t deny it any longer. My life just got a lot more complicated and a lot emptier. I felt bad for my mother then and now. I couldn’t even begin to imagine her life being sent off to marry a man she didn’t know. I really needed Seth. Even if to just talk to him.