Excerpt 1
A curve in the road revealed hills covered with vineyards. The vines were mid-transformation, changing from their summer green to fall’s stunning array of deep golds and burnt reds.

“Now I’m in the vineyards.” Taylen sighed.

The road opened out, the trees moving away from the asphalt and stench of exhaust to perch atop hills or slip down their sides. They hovered in sparse clusters among the vineyards, distant reflections of the road-scape she’d just left.

“If you keep your pace,” Mom said, her voice warm with delight, “you’ll arrive the same time the brownies are coming out of the oven.”

“You made brownies?”

“Of course.” Mom laughed. “It’s been two months. You must be going through brownie withdrawal by now.”

“How’d you guess?” Taylen grinned.

The sun sank toward the hills on her left, coloring the few clouds in the sky with luminescent oranges and reds. Sunsets, like sunrises, were the best parts of the day. They were magical, a time in flux in which one thing merged into the next.

She glanced down to switch on her headlights. The glint of sunlight off the chrome trim running along the edge of her windshield caught her eye.

“Well—” The line in her ears went dead.

“Mom?” Her gaze flicked back up. The lights clicked on first in the dash, then on the tree ahead of her.

Tree!

She swerved right. More trees blocked her path. She flung the steering wheel left to avoid another, veering between tree after tree while careening through a brightly lit forest. Bushes broke and cracked under and against her car, creating a cacophony of breaking wood and screeching metal. The car bounced and jarred her to either side, the seatbelt catching her with bruising force.

Another tree appeared in her path, this one fallen over. She cursed and stomped on the brakes. The car spun left. A jarring thump and a loud bang signaled a back tire blowing out. A branch slammed into her windshield, cracking it.

She screamed as another branch shattered her passenger window when the car lurched sideways. A clearing in the trees beckoned ahead of her, then it was behind her, and a sickening weightlessness lifted her off the seat.

She had a moment to take in the view. A forest stretched out in all directions from around a large pear-shaped lake, its surface a dark reflective gray sheet. Gravity reclaimed her and her car, and she plunged toward the water below. Her shriek ripped through the air.

Excerpt 2
Sometime in the night a loud noise woke Taylen.

All but two of the candles had burned out. She picked up a lit one before crossing to her door and cracking it open. Every other torch was lit against the dark. In the dim light, the hallway appeared empty. The shutters behind her creaked and stuttered in their struggle against the wind. Perhaps it was the noise of the shutters that’d woken her. A glimpse of movement caught her eye, and she slipped into the corridor.

A pair of legs stretched out on the floor, blocking her path a few dozen feet from her door. As she drew closer, her candle illuminated a man lying unconscious in the darkest part of the hallway. Taylen knelt beside him and searched for a pulse. It was weak, and his breathing thin.

“Help! Someone please, help.” Her cries were rewarded with the thump of running feet.

She checked the man’s pulse again. It was stronger, but he hadn’t stirred. The footfalls neared, and she turned her head toward them. Opening her mouth to explain, she stiffened, her gaze locking on a pointy object hovering inches from her face. She stopped breathing.

“Quiet,” a man barked.

She snapped her mouth shut. Her gaze traveled up the long shiny blade to the hilt then to the cloaked figure holding it. The man was tall, lean, and dressed in black except for a charcoal-colored cloak. The hood was drawn close around his head, sending his face into shadow. The candle she’d set beside her reflected off his sword and dimly illuminated the contours of a strong, angular man’s face.

The thud of boots echoed behind him. He edged himself against the wall, keeping the sword pointed at her. She remained kneeling, not daring to move. Her heart hammered in her chest as four figures dashed down the hall toward her. They were dressed similar to the man with the sword.

“He is not there,” one of them whispered.

The man with the sword swore.

“Where is Feeahc Lorcan Turloc?” he demanded in a harsh whisper, his attention on her.

Fee-ahc? She shook her head. Her heart was pounding so loud, she was certain he could hear it. Her body trembled. She held herself immobile through sheer force of will. If she passed out and fell in the wrong direction… The sword hovered so close to her face she could sneeze on it.