Druid Knights 02: Knight of Rapture Read Online Free Page A

fluttering away. Startled, she searched the sky for the threat but saw nothing. Oh please, not a thunder storm. Let the rain hold off.
    Everyone would be disappointed. They had been planning the celebration for weeks. If it rained, Jeannie and the women would need everyone’s help to move things indoors. Perhaps she should gather the herbs another time. She glanced ahead. She was already here and if she made quick work of it she could still get back in time to help the others.
    She rushed up the trail into the meadow then skidded to a stop. Her heart skipped a beat.
    Arik leaned against the stone signpost. He straightened when he spotted her, a sensual smile spreading across his face beckoning her toward him.
    “Love, come quickly,” he called in his deep, melodic voice that both chilled and heated her. He must have finished with the portal sooner than he expected.
    “I’m coming.” Eager for his touch, his kiss, she rushed toward him. Perhaps she’d teased too much this morning. Should she admit she had been disappointed when Logan appeared? She rushed toward her husband, the man she loved and trusted beyond all others.
    A hint of wind brushed across her face. “Hurry, there isn’t much time,” he shouted over his shoulder while he moved deeper into the meadow toward the oak tree. He was a few steps ahead. Why didn’t he wait for her? She took another step and past the stone marker.
    The air chilled and the sky turned an array of colors. Everything around her began to swirl. She realized her mistake too late. The portal—she was in the portal.
    Arik. Close to him now, she reached for him but her hand passed through the form. She examined her hand, turning it over, then spotted the shadow of the man.
    An illusion?
    The shadow turned toward her. She watched as the wind washed over his face and it changed. “Bran,” she whispered in disbelief. Her head swiveled while she searched for something, anything to grab on to. The portal had one use and she had no intention of leaving.
    Get out , her brain shouted.
    His lips twisted into a cynical sneer. He tilted his head in jaunty satisfaction, snapped his fingers and vanished.
    “No,” she yelled. “ Arik ,” she closed her eyes and screamed in her head, trying to mind-touch him while the wind tore at her.
    “Beka,” he boomed.
    Her eyes snapped open. She shielded them from the dust and debris and stared at Arik on the other side of the opening. He stood at the high plateau, miles away. His hands were braced on the opening’s edges, which were nothing more than solid streams of whirling wind. He struggled to keep the portal from closing.
    “Come.” His voice didn’t allow for any argument.
    The wind whipped at her, pushed her back. She tried again. “I can’t. The wind. Keeps. Pushing. Me. Away.” She shoved her staff in front of her and anchored it in the ground. Against the gusting wind, pulled herself toward him.
    “A little more, Beka.” He gripped the edge of the portal with one hand and stretched the other out to her. She shoved her hand toward him as far as she could. The tips of their fingers brushed. In a burst of effort he caught the top of her hand, a precarious hold. With a tight grasp she wrapped her fingers around his thumb.
    Safe. She wasn’t far now.
    She concentrated on his face. The corners of his mouth turned up as he pulled her toward safety. The wind grew stronger, buffeting around them, then changed its path.
    Before she could brace herself for the new direction, the gust blasted them. Without a firm grip, her hand began to slip. She pushed through the building panic. His smile slipped. The expression on his face turned to determination. Again her hand slipped until he held her by her fingertips.
    He held them fast—crushing them, but that didn’t matter. He had to hold on to her. Every muscle strained. Inch by inch he brought her closer to him. She tried to help him the best way she could. Anchored to the edge of the portal, Arik