Forgotten Time (Ravenhurst Series, #1) A New Adult Time Travel Romance (3 page)

The stone grew warmer in her hand. Her mind flashed to a time that was not her own, to a place she had never seen before.

Age of Chivalry-King Arthur’s Realm – the past

Purplish hues ran through the trees, falling across the carpeted floor of a forest. The smell of pine and earth hung heavily in the air, as if it had just rained.

Two riders appeared. The man in the lead was formidable, a force to be reckoned with, a knight. His long cloak billowed out past the flanks of his massive horse. A battle scar marred the perfect chestnut coat.

A young man followed stealthily behind, his squire. His horse’s hooves made a soft clomping noise on the needles of pine. White steam swirled in the air, rent from the flaring nostrils of the massive beast’s hot breath.

A ripping sound filled her ears; it was awful. She shut her eyes against the sudden pain. When the pain finally subsided, she reopened her eyes.

A cloaked figure stood in front of the knight.

The squire’s horse reared and danced backward as the lone figure removed the hood. Hair, black as night, tumbled down in waves.

All color drained from the handsome knight’s face. He looked like he had just seen a ghost, his face void of all expression.

The forest went completely still, waiting, on bated breath.

Seconds turned to minutes as they stared at one another.

Recognition finally flitted across the knight’s face, he stepped forward and grabbed the girl into an embrace. He threw his head back and began to laugh. It was a deep, resonating sound. It was heartfelt, full of promises kept, dreams realized.

He pulled away for a moment, staring at her.

Katherine could see what he let the girl see, he let her see to his very soul.

He leaned forward, taking the girl’s face in his hands; he lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her in such a way that it made Katherine’s own heart ache watching them. The love they shared with one another, was the one that everyone dreams of, the one that fills you so completely, nothing else matters.

Katherine felt like an interloper. She clutched the amulet tighter, thinking if the love they shared was ever lost, their world would never be the same.

As if in response to her morose imaginings, the winds blew harder, the trees swayed, and the girl began to fade away.

The knight was yelling to whomever was causing this great pain to rip him in two. His anguished cries filled the air as the girl slipped completely from his grasp.

Katherine watched… helplessly, spellbound, shivering to her soul.

Ravenhurst, the ancient edifice
,
cast an eerie silhouette in the full moon’s light as a line of expensive cars wound their way down the curved drive. Red, glowing taillights blazed in the darkness when each car stopped in front of the massive columned stairs, depositing guests bedecked in all their evening finery.

Katherine held tightly to the
I swear, I did not steal, only borrowed
, antique amulet in her hand as their car crept around the corner, revealing the enormity of Ravenhurst in the full moon’s light.

“Ravenhurst is bloody daunting in the moonlight, is it not?” Ned asked in a crisp English accent as he adjusted his perfectly tied cravat.

“Yeah, it’s bloody daunting,” she repeated slowly, in awe. Ned looked as dapper as any Victorian gentleman. The suit he wore accentuated his thin frame. He combed his light brown hair away from his face, making it look even narrower and more bird-like than usual.

Katherine felt like Julia Roberts in
Pretty Woman
, but Ned was no Richard Gere. It didn’t matter though. She was going to a ball in a freaking castle, thanks to Ned. And what Ned lacked in striking good looks, he more than made up for in expertise, since he was by far the best in his field.

She looked past Ned through the window of the car. Twinkling lights flickered from branches of trees clustered around the edges of the circular drive as the car moved forward a little more.

“So Katherine, how does it feel to wear an authentic Victorian gown?” Ned asked, smiling.

She looked down at the shimmering, red satin bodice with black velvet overlay, decorated with hand-sewn poppies. “I daresay it is positively brilliant!” she exclaimed in her best-feigned English accent. “I do have to say, my good man, putting it on was a bloody chore,” she added, laughing out loud.

Ned chuckled, shaking his head. “Well, I have to say you do it justice. It looks as though it was made specifically for you. The fit is just brilliant,” he said with sincerity.

Katherine watched his eyes travel down from her face to the front of her gown. She lifted her gloved hand reflexively to cover her chest.

Ned slowly brought his eyes back to her face. “I have to say, Katherine, I feel bloody terrible you had such a time putting the dress on. Had I known, I would have retrieved you much earlier, then perhaps I could have assisted you?” he commented slyly, raising one arched brow.

Crap. Was he was hitting on her or just being nice
? She pretended to ignore his comment and adjusted the skirt of the gown, her gloved fingers sliding over the sleek fabric. She had to admit he was right about the fit of the gown. The polonaise-style Victorian ball gown was a piece of art and gave her better posture than a runway model. It pushed her boobs up, while squeezing the shit out of her waist; her body never looked better.

It was kind- of funny though; she had always thought this style of dress would be preferable to her skinny jeans, but not so much.

The shoes were a different story altogether. Ned assured her they were called slippers; however, she dubbed them toe terrors that crushed each and every one of your toes with each step you took. They were worse than her new, super tight pair of Betsey Johnson peep-toe pumps…
Slippers, my ass
! she thought.

She glanced back towards Ned, whose eyes boldly found their way back to her cleavage. She wanted to say,
Gee, Ned, could you be more obvious?
Then she remembered her “borrowed” necklace. Did he know she was lying about it? No, he couldn’t know that; he never saw the gentleman who brought it in. Still, she didn’t want to chance it. She quickly changed the subject. “So Ned, what is this I hear about some legend, the one with the knight?”

He lifted his eyes slowly back to her face again. “Ah, yes, the legend,” he said brightly, warming to his subject. “Well, if I understand correctly, the original part of the home was built in Arthurian times. In the daylight, you can see the tower room and of course, the battlements. However, as time passed, each owner added something to it. As you will soon see, there is a great deal of Gothic influence in the architecture, very dark and foreboding.”

“Good Lord, then it really is old as dirt.”

Ned chuckled lightly, shaking his head.

“I have to say, Ned, it certainly looks creepy.”

“Well, if you think it is creepy now, just you wait until you see the inside. And as far as the infamous legend is concerned, there are so many variations; no one truly knows what to believe.” He paused a moment to look out the window, his reflection a mirror image in the glass as he picked something from his front tooth.

He turned back around “That’s better.” He moved a bit closer, lowering his voice as if he were about to divulge a great secret. “The one most often repeated is about the first knight, the Raven Knight. Ravenhurst is… was his home. He had fought in many battles and won favor with the King. He was both feared and revered. No opposition could rival the Raven Knight and his men in battle. The very skies would turn black as he and his men would swoop in, waylaying their opponents every time. Then, just as suddenly, they disappeared and the darkness receded. Throughout time, many speculated that he had a necromancer helping him with the outcome of the battle. He never lost, you see.”

Katherine absentmindedly rubbed her arms with her gloved hand to stop the chills that were popping up all over after hearing Ned’s story. “What is a necromancer?”

“A necromancer is simply another word for witch, conjuror, or partaker of the dark arts,” Ned said dismissively.

“What? That’s the legend? The knight never lost a battle and he may or may not have had help from darker influences?” Shaking her head, she was not quite able to figure out what the big deal was. The story was interesting, but seriously, that was a lot of hoopla for a lot of nothing.

Ned leaned forward.

She leaned in as well.

“It’s the treasure,” Ned whispered in a hushed tone, raising his brows with widened eyes.

“What treasure?” Katherine asked leaning in widening her own eyes.

“Shush!” he whispered harshly, touching his finger to her lips to silence her. “The one everyone has been looking for. It is hidden somewhere within the walls of Ravenhurst. If found, it could enable the possessor to have unimaginable power.”

Katherine froze. Her eyes darted back and forth like a crazy person until Ned finally lifted his finger.

Oh no, he was picking his teeth with that finger
. Calm down Katherine-just a finger.
Just a finger that was picking food from his teeth
, her little voice taunted. The more she thought about it, the more grossed-out she became. She started to cough-gag.

“Are you all right, Katherine?” Ned asked anxiously.

“Bug,” she lied, tearing up as she coughed louder.

“
Eww
, a bug!” he said, disgusted. “You poor dear! That is so nasty.” He shuddered for effect.

She turned away from Ned and quickly rubbed her lips…
Really Ned? Bugs are nasty
? she wanted to say.

The car stopped abruptly, pitching her forward.

“This is us,” Ned said excitedly as he turned to exit the car.

Katherine glared at Ned’s back, throwing eye daggers at him as he got out of the car. She suddenly wished she could find the treasure of Ravenhurst, so she could turn his ass into a toad for touching her lips with his smelly, tooth-dirt finger.

He was lucky the car stopped.