Moontide

*I have two sections for you today, BookMonsters. The first takes us back to Keeper Mountain. Enjoy!

Time Keepers

“If you are receiving this message, you have reached this number in error…”

Shep cursed and turned off his safe phone. Three times he’d tried reaching Agent Six. All he’d been able to get was the voice mail message that the Keepers used to throw anyone who mistakenly dialed the line off track. Agents were always supposed to answer a call from him.

He shoved the phone inside his coat and pulled a regular cell phone out of the back pocket of his jeans and dialed another number.

“Hi this is Cindy, leave a message at the tone and I’ll get back to you.”

Shep’s heart lurched at the sound of the recording.

“Hey, sweetie, it’s Dad. Just wondering how your trip is going?” It nearly killed him to keep his tone casual. “Give me a call when you get this. I haven’t heard from you in a while.”

He hung up and switched phones one more time, then dialed a new number.

“It’s a beautiful day in paradise,” a voice drenched in apathy laced sarcasm droned out the code words.

“Well there’s a storm system moving in from The Mountain,” Shep answered back. “I need to speak to Harbinger. Now!”

“Sorry, no can do.” The tech agent replied. The big guy is incommunicado for the evening.”

“This is Commander 1 from the Mountain…”

“I know who you are, Commander,” the agent interrupted. “We’ve had something of a situation here. Harbinger is currently unable to take your call.”

“Never mind,” Shep said, already pissed for the waste of time, not to mention the insubordination. “Tell your boss I’m on my way.”

He disconnected then dialed one last number.

“What’s up brother,” a gruff voice answered after only one ring.

“Number Two,” Shep said, by way of address.

“I told you to quit callin’ me that.”

Shep smiled into the phone.

“Be ready to ride in an hour, brother. We’re headin’ south for the winter like a pair of snow birds.”

Part II

Atlantis 10,500 b.c.

The princess and the king alighted in a grove of trees. Aureliaura blinked her eyes at the sudden change in locations. She looked all around, then up at the one who’d brought her. Stolen her rather, and to what end? She didn’t know.

She wasn’t a fearful girl, however. Her disposition more freely given to curiosity than to fretfulness and, just then, the king looked more shocked by what he’d done than intent on violence. He released her hand as if it had burned him.

Aura walked away from him, into the center of the grove, letting the sunlight that dappled the area fall soft on her skin. She reached one hand up toward the light, drawing it into her palm until her whole arm glowed from the borrowed rays.

Gadeiros shifted and her focus went back to him. His mouth worked as the bones of his jaw moved, shaping the strong lines of his face. He was very handsome she decided. His eyes stood out against skin that had been bronzed by the sun. They pierced through the space, bluer than diamond, but not as gray as feldspar. They were defined by a ring of thick, black lashes. He probably used no kohl to deflect the sun’s rays she thought. He didn’t need it.

“The sun is hotter in your realm than mine,” she said to break the silence.

His gaze locked on her fingers as they bounced a ball of sunlight between them. She dropped her hand and his eyes came up.

“Is it?” He asked.

She smiled by way of an answer and the space around them softened. Encouraged, Aura ventured further.

“Yes, Emania is a cooler world than this one.”

He nodded.

“I’ve heard little of the place, I confess. I know nothing of the sky realms at all,” he said. “I am a little surprised to find that Poseidon has been able to make friends there.”

Aura shrugged, continuing her study of the trees. It hadn’t been very long that she’d known about the pact between her father and Poseidon. She considered herself fortunate to be given to such a beautiful place in betrothal… and to such a handsome man. Intense as King Gadeiros was, the whim of youth made it all too easy for her to find the brooding warrior intriguing rather than frightening. She wondered what more lay beneath the surface of both kingdom and king.

“I know not the details of their acquaintance,” she rejoined, “only that my father hopes that our marriage will bring certainty to the Tides and keep the worlds in balance, Anax.”

“Gadeiros please, when we are alone, princess.”

She gave him a small smile.

“And are we alone?”

“Assuredly,” he answered, “this space here by the falls is one of many secluded spots on Gades. I have it shielded with Atlantean crystals. Even the gods cannot see us here.”

His voice was hard with confidence and housed the barest note of a threat. Aura started a little at the change, her eyes going wide.

“My father won’t like that. You should take me back.” She kept her voice light. The way one would when speaking to a predator they didn’t want to provoke.

Gadeiros moved into the sun-filled space where she stood. Reaching forward, he touched the crest of her cheek, then stroked a golden curl at her temple all the way down to where it fell on her breast. He twisted it softly, watching its color change in the sun. Aura took in a shaky breath, but it wasn’t fear that made her shudder.

“I don’t think I will,” he said.

Releasing her hair, he skimmed the backs of his fingers down the center of her breast, over the hard peak there and Aura’s breath caught. No man had ever touched her thus. His hand kept travelling. He watched the small jerks of her body with an unreadable expression. All the way down it went, over her ribcage, past the dip in her waist until he found her hand and clasped it. Finally, the hardness in his eyes relented.

“If you are to be my queen, you should know all you can about the lands I rule. I can show you more without an assembly. Unless you do not wish to explore?” His dark brow rose. “I assure you, you are well protected with me, princess.”

Aura slanted him an assessing look. She wasn’t so certain of that.

He’d been angry back in the temple, but now he did not seem so. His touch delighted her body. Still, he was an imposing figure. His warrior’s heart lay just beneath the surface of his royal exterior. She wondered exactly what kind of man he was. Of course she’d heard the stories of his conquests and his demigod status, but not much else. He was pleasing to the eye, this son of Poseidon. But, all too often, a beautiful face hid a wicked heart.

His chest was bare to her view—golden skinned and heavily muscled in the manner of a man who spent much of his time on the battlefield. He wore gold and onyx neck plating with a black crystal ankh in the center. His head was free of elaborate headdress, save a thin gold and black jeweled band that circled his forehead. Underneath the band, dark black hair hung thick and straight all the way to his shoulders. Both his hair and skin were oiled, as was custom for a visit to temple. The scent of body-warmed sandalwood filled the space between them, making her lightheaded.

She brought her head up to meet his stare. Inches below his eyes, his mouth twitched, turning up in the barest hint of a smile. Aura realized he’d been watching her study him and hadn’t said a word the whole time.

The sight of his lips stirred things inside of her that her maiden’s awareness had yet to bring to life. She reached out to retrace the path that her eyes had taken with her fingers, but her hand stopped in mid-air.

Suddenly, he grabbed her wrist. She jerked her head up. His eyes had been changed by his smile, warming from their normal stone to something more liquid. She swayed toward him, might have fallen into his chest, but his grip on her tightened. She righted herself just as he pulled her hand to his mouth and kissed the sensitive undersides of her fingers.

Her eyes drifted closed. Somehow, she felt his lips everywhere on her body all at once. Sending the curving of his smile, she opened her eyes just as he brought her hand down between them.

Probably nothing on this island presented her with more danger, that she might need protecting from, than him. He would take her back to her parents if she asked him, of that she was sure. Alone as they were, though, and as thrilling as this place and its king were, she didn’t want to go, not yet.

“Show me Gades,” she said.

*We’re in the middle of moving houses right now and life is chaotic. In the melee, I’ve not been all that diligent about posting these chapters. Thank you, reader Karen Robbins , for asking for it! Keep asking, lovelies! :)

On the topic of big life changes, Cindy’s about to experience a humongous change, once we get back to present day we n our story. How about you, Monsters, any exciting happenings or life shifts going on in your world?

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