A quick note. This isn’t the very next scene from the book. I sort of want to keep that under wraps until the book comes out. (Available for preorder now.) Also, and I should have said this regarding the first snippet as well, these are coming from the almost ready for prime time version. So there might be an error here or there. I apprecaite those being pointed out so I can make sure the last editorial pass caught them. Now, for the snippet. Enjoy!
What the hell?
I shook my head and looked around, confirming I stood in my office more than a thousand miles away from Mossy Creek. My heart pounded so rapidly it hurt. My nails dug so deeply into my palms I worried I’d find blood when I looked. Sweat covered my face and my blouse clung to my back with it. I knew what I saw hadn’t been real, that I’d never left Chicago. But try telling that to my body.
I closed my eyes as the room started to spin. My hands clamped hard on the windowsill as I forced myself to stay on my feet, I struggled for calm. Fear left my knees weak. Worry for Miss Serena and Ali gave way to anger. If I was right and what I Saw had already happened, why had no one told me?
Think, Shay, think.
Almost hesitantly, I opened my eyes. Breath shaky, I exhaled to see the Chicago skyline outside my office window. Okay, I hadn’t somehow transported to Mossy Creek. At least not physically. That meant it had been a vision, but not the sort I usually had. This time I’d Walked, moving from this timeline to another. The question was whether it was past, present or future. My gut told me it had already happened. But what if I’m wrong?
Crap, I thought I’d left all that behind. I hadn’t Walked since leaving Mossy Creek.
Back then, I experienced visions on a fairly regular basis. My spirit guide, which wasn’t the right word but I didn’t know what else to call her, appeared in some of them and helped train me. Except the training didn’t have much use in the modern world. At least I didn’t think so then. After all, we don’t carry swords and we don’t use blades to fight the bad guys. That’s something we leave to the cops and courts.
At least we do if we’re smart.
But this was different. This wasn’t Eithne trying to train me. Instead, I’d Seen events as they happened or would happen. Just like I had less than a handful of times before leaving home. I’d Seen Granddad’s death before it happened. I’d Seen my parents the evening they received the call from the agency telling them they had a baby in Dallas if they were still interested in adopting. At first, I thought the vision had been a simple dream based on things I’d heard. When I talked with Mom and Dad about it, they confirmed not only that it was real but that there were things in what I told them they’d never discussed with anyone else, even me. Even then, however, Eithne had been present in the “vision”, guiding me. Maybe anchoring me.
So why had I gone Walking now and why hadn’t Eithne been part of it?
“Shay?”
My questions disappeared at the sight of Kensi standing at the office door. Pale, she looked at me, worry plainly written on her face. Her hazel eyes were troubled as she looked for anything that might explain what she’d walked in on. But it was the way she hurried to me, slipping a trembling hand under my arm in case I needed help, that brought me to my senses.
“I’m all right.” I scrubbed my hands over my face and dropped onto the edge of my desk before my legs gave out. “That hasn’t happened in a long time.”
“What?” She looked as shaken as I felt. “What hasn’t happened?”
She reached past me for the bottle of water resting on the desktop. After handing it to me, she stepped back, waiting for me to explain. But how do you explain that you just went “walking” through time and space?
And that it wasn’t the first time.
“Let’s just say I had an out of body experience.”
She narrowed her eyes and then her mouth formed an “O” of surprise as understanding dawned on her.
“My gran used to do that. She always said it was one of the most mind-tripping things she ever did. To be honest, hearing her talk about it, I’m glad it’s never happened to me.”
I relaxed, relieved. That’s the thing about Kensi. Very little surprises her. It went beyond being an Other. She simply takes things in stride. Her first-class mind lets her see not only the obvious but things most everyone else would miss. More than once, that proved to be invaluable to MageTech. She knew when clients weren’t telling us everything. She also knew when an employee—or, more commonly, a potential client—had less than ethical goals in mind. But it was the fact she never judged a person based on their arcane abilities or lack thereof.
“She wasn’t wrong.” I tipped up the water bottle and drank deeply.
“Are you all right now?”
I shrugged.
“What can I do?”
I started to shake my head and then stopped. Between Mom’s call and what just happened, the world shifted. Something was going on and it centered on Mossy Creek. If I wanted to find out what, I needed to go home—especially if what I Saw hadn’t happened yet. Either way, I had a feeling this wasn’t going to be my usual one day and then gone trip.
“I can’t explain everything right now, Kens, mainly because I don’t understand it. But I need to go home.”
“Home to your loft or home to Texas?”
Thank goodness she understood me so well.
“Home to Texas.”
I’ll have another snippet up over the weekend. There will be another post later today or tomorrow. I need more coffee before I figure out which. For now, coooooffffeeeee.
Witchstorm Rising is available for preorder now.