Time Walkers 2 Book Bundle: The Legend of the Bloodstone, Return of the Pale Feather (Time Walkers 1-2) by E.B. Brown Page B
Authors: E.B. Brown
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stone from her. Maggie spent one morning searching the yehakin for it without success.
Maggie sliced her knife through the venison top to bottom, and as she watched the meat yield, a hand fell on her shoulder. She swung swiftly around, the blade clutched in her fist, thinking about how Winn had ended the life of a man with such a weapon.
Winn plucked the knife from her hand, his brows arched in challenge. She bit back a harsh retort and took a breath before responding. She crossed her arms and held her hand out to him, palm up.
“I can’t finish without the knife,” she said evenly. He nodded.
“Teyas can finish. I would walk with you.”
“Are you asking me?”
He sighed, then nodded.
“Yes. Would you walk?”
Teyas smiled as if the exchange was normal courtship, and resumed her chores without complaint. To her surprise, Winn returned the knife to her hand and watched as she tucked it into the cord tied around her waist. She followed when he walked away, wondering where he would take her. He spoke little in the last two days other than to ask random questions about her time, which she tried to answer even though it made her more homesick, so this change in his behavior intrigued her.
She noticed eyes of the women follow them as they walked through the village toward the corral. Other than Teyas, Maggie was not allowed to spend much time talking to the others. She knew she had to earn Winn’s trust if she was ever going to make any progress with her plan to leave.
His sorrel horse stood waiting. Winn helped her up and then mounted behind her in one lithe leap. He had not allowed her to ride alone since the attack in the woods. She twisted her hands in the coarse mane and tried to touch him as little as possible, but her attempts were useless when riding bareback with the man. They balanced much easier when she relaxed and leaned back, and she felt his thighs fit behind hers with less effort. He rode with one hand looped around her waist, the other guiding the horse with a single hackamore rein around its nose.
“Where are we going?” she asked. She closed her eyes to the ripple of pleasure his touch created as he rested his cheek in her hair, and silently chastised herself for being such a ninny.
“A surprise,” he replied simply.
The horse trudged up a loose gravel path which became too steep to climb safely, so they dismounted and walked the rest of the way while Winn led the animal. The air felt crisp, cool against her skin as a light breeze lifted her winding auburn hair from her shoulders. She realized they stood on a peak overlooking the village valley. She stood closer to the edge of the slope, amazed at the miles of evergreens covering the valley, scattered by clumps of white-peaked mountaintops. Maggie twisted her hair into a knot with one hand and closed her eyes as the breeze flowed over her again. She took a deep breath and let it out slow. How strange she never noticed before how beautiful this place was!
“You can see all of Tsenacommacah lands from here,” Winn said. She heard his footsteps and felt his presence behind her when the tiny hairs on her neck rose up, but he did not move to touch her. The scent of leather and sweet evergreen followed him, a scent she recognized now as belonging uniquely to him.
“It’s beautiful,” she replied.
“It is yours now as well. Our lands are part of you.”
She bit her lip and tried to soften the blow of her answer.
“I—I can’t stay here. I need to go back to my own time, Winn,” she said softly.
She felt his chest brush against her back as he let his breath out in a sigh.
“You have no choice. You are here, and it is done.” The quiet urgency in his voice left little room for compromise. “I give you this…I give you time to forget your sadness. There is no more time.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Many summers ago a Pale Witch arrived by magic and became one with our people. She had
Maggie sliced her knife through the venison top to bottom, and as she watched the meat yield, a hand fell on her shoulder. She swung swiftly around, the blade clutched in her fist, thinking about how Winn had ended the life of a man with such a weapon.
Winn plucked the knife from her hand, his brows arched in challenge. She bit back a harsh retort and took a breath before responding. She crossed her arms and held her hand out to him, palm up.
“I can’t finish without the knife,” she said evenly. He nodded.
“Teyas can finish. I would walk with you.”
“Are you asking me?”
He sighed, then nodded.
“Yes. Would you walk?”
Teyas smiled as if the exchange was normal courtship, and resumed her chores without complaint. To her surprise, Winn returned the knife to her hand and watched as she tucked it into the cord tied around her waist. She followed when he walked away, wondering where he would take her. He spoke little in the last two days other than to ask random questions about her time, which she tried to answer even though it made her more homesick, so this change in his behavior intrigued her.
She noticed eyes of the women follow them as they walked through the village toward the corral. Other than Teyas, Maggie was not allowed to spend much time talking to the others. She knew she had to earn Winn’s trust if she was ever going to make any progress with her plan to leave.
His sorrel horse stood waiting. Winn helped her up and then mounted behind her in one lithe leap. He had not allowed her to ride alone since the attack in the woods. She twisted her hands in the coarse mane and tried to touch him as little as possible, but her attempts were useless when riding bareback with the man. They balanced much easier when she relaxed and leaned back, and she felt his thighs fit behind hers with less effort. He rode with one hand looped around her waist, the other guiding the horse with a single hackamore rein around its nose.
“Where are we going?” she asked. She closed her eyes to the ripple of pleasure his touch created as he rested his cheek in her hair, and silently chastised herself for being such a ninny.
“A surprise,” he replied simply.
The horse trudged up a loose gravel path which became too steep to climb safely, so they dismounted and walked the rest of the way while Winn led the animal. The air felt crisp, cool against her skin as a light breeze lifted her winding auburn hair from her shoulders. She realized they stood on a peak overlooking the village valley. She stood closer to the edge of the slope, amazed at the miles of evergreens covering the valley, scattered by clumps of white-peaked mountaintops. Maggie twisted her hair into a knot with one hand and closed her eyes as the breeze flowed over her again. She took a deep breath and let it out slow. How strange she never noticed before how beautiful this place was!
“You can see all of Tsenacommacah lands from here,” Winn said. She heard his footsteps and felt his presence behind her when the tiny hairs on her neck rose up, but he did not move to touch her. The scent of leather and sweet evergreen followed him, a scent she recognized now as belonging uniquely to him.
“It’s beautiful,” she replied.
“It is yours now as well. Our lands are part of you.”
She bit her lip and tried to soften the blow of her answer.
“I—I can’t stay here. I need to go back to my own time, Winn,” she said softly.
She felt his chest brush against her back as he let his breath out in a sigh.
“You have no choice. You are here, and it is done.” The quiet urgency in his voice left little room for compromise. “I give you this…I give you time to forget your sadness. There is no more time.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Many summers ago a Pale Witch arrived by magic and became one with our people. She had
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