Bound by time, p.1
Bound by Time, page 1
COPYRIGHT
Published by Piper Davenport
Copyright ©2023 Trixie Publishing, Inc.
Previous Edition ©2022-2023 Trixie Publishing, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States
Bound by Time is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Cover Art
Jack Davenport
CONTENTS
Copyright
Author’s Note
Back Blurb
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Epilogue
Boundless
The Bride Price
Reading Order
Book List
About Piper and Jack
AUTHOR’S NOTE
The Bound by Time stories were previously released at the end of each of the Cauld Ane Series Tenth Anniversary Editions. I have decided to consolidate them into one book so that you can enjoy them all in one place. Enjoy!
Sleepers
(end of Bound by Blood)
Frozen in time, guided by the Fates, theirs is a story that will finally be told. Join Skarde, Estrid, and Torsten as they awaken from their long slumber, challenged with the sacred task set forth for them centuries ago.
The Lost Ones
(end of Bound by Fire)
A mysterious man, born centuries ago has traveled through time, guided by the Fates. Sworn to protect the legacy of his people, he never expected his path would lead to her.
Land and Sea
(end of Bound by Secrets)
Lost to the sands of time, destined to be discovered by the one whom the Fates chose. This heroic and heartbreaking story is as beautiful as it is tragic and will take you on a journey across the globe and through time.
Eye of the Storm
(end of Bound by Song)
A reunited band of travelers face a powerful enemy as forces of good and evil rage like a storm throughout time and space.
Sins of the Father
(end of Bound by Dreams)
As enemy forces close in, Veronica and Torsten are forced to turn to an unlikely ally, and her newfound abilities are put to their first test.
Poisoned Fruit
(end of Bound by Tears)
Face-to-face with the enemy for the first time, Torsten and Veronica are forced to defend themselves while searching for their missing companions.
Hand of the Cross
(end of Bound by Light)
The enemy is at the gates, and he’s brought his own private army. Our heroes must face the greatest enemy they’ve known in modern times.
The Party
(end of Bound by Joy)
What better place for a little egg-nog fueled drama than your boss’s annual Christmas party? Join ‘George’ and ‘Margie’ on a high-stakes holiday heist.
The Dance
(end of Bound by Sight)
Forces of good and evil continue to wage battle as our brave band of travelers uncover the truth about their enemy. And they must find a way to honor the oath they swore before time runs out.
The Oath
(end of Bound by Fate)
The end of an epic story centuries in the making, the remaining travelers set forth long ago, square off against enemies thought long dead. Join our heroes as they attempt to vanquish the evil forces that could change the course of history itself.
BACK BLURB
18+ for language and sexual situations...
Frozen in time, guided by the Fates, theirs is a story that will finally be told.
Join Skarde, Estrid, and Torsten as they awaken from their long slumber, challenged with the sacred task set forth for them centuries ago.
Forces of good and evil wage battle as our brave band of travelers uncover the truth about their enemy. And they must find a way to honor the oath they swore long ago, before time runs out.
SLEEPERS
CHAPTER ONE
Skarde
“ÉG HATA ÞESSAR bækur og vildi að ég þyrfti ekki að læra svona ljótt tungumál,” Estrid protested.
“In English, my love,” I said, redirecting her back to the page.
Estrid let out a quiet groan. “I hate English. The words sound ugly coming out of my mouth.”
“Nonsense,” I said. “There is nothing ugly about your mouth. Come now, try again.”
Her eyes narrowed as she strained to sound out the next sentence, “I would like to pur...purkase—”
“Purchase,” I corrected. “Remember, the letters c and h together make the cha sound. It’s Latin based.”
“Then why use c and h instead of x?”
“Because it’s not Latin, it’s English.”
“Italian is Latin based. Why can’t we just speak Italian? It’s so much prettier,” she breathed out in frustration, then shook her head. “It’s okay. I’ll try again. I would like to purchase this book, please,” Estrid continued, overemphasizing the ch sound. “How much does it cost?”
“Very good,” I said, encouraging her with a kiss. “Soon, you’ll be dreaming in English.”
“What about me?” Torsten asked.
“Would you like me to give you a kiss as well?” I asked.
“I’m splitting your head with axe if you do,” he replied in less than perfect English.
Sounds like someone is still a little groggy from our last sleep, Estrid said to me in our private, telepathic language, causing me to laugh out loud.
“No mind speaking,” Torsten protested.
“I was just telling Skarde how good you are at English,” Estrid teased.
“I speak better at English words that you are,” Torsten growled.
“Very good, Tors,” I said. “You are doing very well with your studies indeed. Now, let us turn the page and see what’s next in our book.”
“I’m tired of study English,” Torsten said.
“Studying,” I corrected.
“Whatever,” he said. “Let’s ride into town and trick the Americans into giving us money.”
“Tors, I told you. We must learn to live among the Americans. Besides, we have all the provisions we need.”
“I know, but I like tricking them. It’s fun.”
“Torsten, you must not take advantage,” Estrid said.
“It would not be me taking advantage, would it?” he challenged. “I don’t have that power. You do.”
Estrid wrinkled her nose just as she did when we were children, back when I first fell in love with her. “Well, I’m not tricking them for you.” Turning to me, she gave me the smile she knew I could never resist. “There is a dress in town I wish to purchase, however, so we could go for that reason.”
“Nice job, elskan,” I said, using our native endearment.
She waved a finger in triumph. “I will conquer this language if it kills me.”
“Yes, town,” Torsten said. “I am hungry, and I wish to get drunk.”
“I’ll make a deal with you both,” I said. “Finish this lesson first and then we go into town.”
“And?” Torsten asked.
“Yes, my friend. You can get drunk, but no fighting with the soldiers.”
“But—” he protested.
“No fighting,” I repeated.
The promise of going to town proved to be the correct incentive and Estrid and Torsten enthusiastically returned to their studies.
Fortunately for us, the Kalt Einn possessed the ability to learn foreign languages quickly. A necessary survival skill developed over thousands of years. However, the fastest way for us to assimilate was to spend time among the local people. Of course, doing so put us at risk of exposure, but the sooner we were able to blend in with the local citizens, the better, for we never knew how long we would be awake.
Before arriving in America, we’d traveled throughout Europe and Asia for centuries. Sleeping for great periods of time, only waking when prompted by the Fates. Our prolonged periods of sleep provided us the strength needed to walk among the humans undetected, and it allowed us to be virtually unaffected by the sun’s heat for days on end, but not forever. Eventually, we would need to find shelter. Not only from the elements, but from the ever-expanding domain of humankind.
Our last home had been the crypt of a noble family located beneath the Cattedrale di San Vigilio in Trentino, Italy. A small town located at the base of the Alps. Its remote location and cold weather served as a perfect location for our small band of travelers, and our precious cargo to take shelter. Trentino’s proximity to Venice made it possible to gain passage to America via the Adriatic and Mediterranean Seas, through the straights of Gibraltar, and across the Atlantic. The trip was long and sometimes arduous, but nothing compared to what we’d faced when we left Iceland.
Until six months ago, Estrid, Torsten, and I had been asleep for almost two hundred and fifty years. America was still in its early days of European settlement back then. Its first revolution and subsequent independence from Great Britain still over one hundred and fifty years away. Now we found ourselves on the shores of the “new world” for the first-time during its first civil war. Neither of us, human nor Kalt Einn, knowing if it would be their last.
“We still have hours before sunset, and we have finished our studies. May we go Harrisburg now?” Torsten asked.
I raised an eyebrow. “May we go...”
“May we go to Harrisburg,” Torsten corrected himself.
Estrid smiled at me, one of indulgence, much like a mother might give to a father, and I nodded. We had yet to have children of our own, but Torsten was handful enough, even though he was a grown adult.
“Come, now,” I said. “Let us get dressed and we will go into town. I must find a blacksmith. My horse needs shoes.”
“And I need that new dress,” Estrid said.
“You have two dresses already.”
“Yes, but they are not beautiful like the ones in Madame Desmarais’ dress shop.”
“You are becoming more American every day,” I replied.
“There is one dress that is my favorite.” Estrid’s eyes sparkled as she spoke. “The color is called Cornflower blue. A silly name for a beautiful color.”
“I’m sure this color would not look silly on you, my love. Only beautiful.”
“I wish to go to the Golden Hatchet,” Torsten said.
“Fine, my friend. But remember what I said about fighting?”
“But the soldiers are tiny, and they talk funny,” Torsten said with a childish smile.
“Yes, but this is our home now. The Fates have delivered us to the shores of the Susquehanna River, and we must learn to get along with the people of these lands.”
“The people of these lands have already been driven out by the ones who live here now,” he said.
“Which is why we must be careful to act and speak as they do,” I said. “Americans fear those whom they do not know more than anything. You must trust me and follow my lead.”
Torsten nodded.
“Good, now go and dress in your proper American clothes. I will ready the horses and meet you outside in one quarter of an hour.”
When our group set sail from Iceland there were nine of us. Now, only the three of us remained. Our ship’s captain perished shortly after we reached the shores of England. His body weakened from the journey and prolonged periods of exposure to the heat. However, he refused to leave his post until we’d all reached our destination and eventually succumbed to his injuries. His mate followed him in death shortly, thereafter, leaving me in charge of those who remained. Four of whom had been lost to us over the centuries. But those are tales for another day.
We had been sent far away from our homeland on a sacred mission to protect the last remaining enchanted objects of our people. Objects from ancient times which held great and powerful magic. Magic that our enemies would use to destroy us and attempt to rule over mankind. The most powerful of the objects being the rings of time.
Once the Fates had guided us to a new location, I would be the one to wake first. I would then prepare for the others as they remained in hibernation. Securing lodging, food, and money, while learning the local language and customs. Sometimes I would be awake and alone for many months as I procured everything we’d need. This time we’d been guided to take refuge in a vacant farmhouse several miles outside of town. Edwin Holdridge, the farmer who owned and worked this land had joined up with the Confederate army and left for Virginia, along with his two sons in November of the previous year. His wife died of a fever shortly, thereafter, leaving the farm abandoned. If any of the locals were aware of our presence on the Holdridge property, they hadn’t made it known to us. Within Harrisburg, we were known as Swedish fur trappers, who’d come down from Canada to do business in America. An identity the locals practically invented all themselves the night Torsten and I first entered the Golden Hatchet tavern.
They took one look at our pale faces dressed in winter furs and heard the way we spoke and off they went. “Y’all must be Swede’s huh?” they asked. “Come down from Canada, did ya?”
Harrisburg was a bustling town located at a large junction of America’s ever-expanding railway lines, home to a large training facility for what the people in the North called the Union Army. Between the goods found on the incoming trains, Harrisburg’s many shops, and the Army store houses, I was able to easily procure just about everything the three of us needed for survival. I didn’t possess the strength or training for large scale magic, but the Americans were easily fooled by simple spells and suggestions, making obtaining whatever I needed a relatively simple task.
The details of the conflict between the Americans of the north and south regions were not entirely known to me, but I understood two things clearly. This country of young Americans was bitterly divided and deeply scarred from this ongoing war of brother against brother. I’d seen enough war in my day to recognize soldiers who’d seen battle and those who had not. Most of the soldiers I’d encountered in Harrisburg were mere boys, still in training, unable to imagine the horrors they’d soon see, let alone the one’s they’d commit.
* * *
Are you wondering why the Fates have brought us to America? Estrid asked me privately as we neared Harrisburg.
It is not polite to eavesdrop on my thoughts, I replied.
I did not have to read your thoughts. I need only to read your face.
And what else does my face tell you? I asked.
That you are worried about the future and unsure of why we are here.
I raised an eyebrow. My face told you all these things?
Not just your face, she replied. I can tell what type of mood you are in by how you sit in your saddle, or by how much or how little you speak. Sometimes I can even predict what you are going to say before you say it.
It was not uncommon for our kind to wait centuries before finding our mates, but Estrid and I were bound as soon as we both came of age. Destined by the Fates to be together in this age and the next.
I have always worried about your well-being. You are my mate, I replied.
That is true, but I sense an even deeper uneasiness within you. What is it, my love?
I gave a heavy sigh.
Within a few thousand years mankind has reached nearly every shore on earth, spreading their seed wherever they go, while we hide in the shadows. Asleep.
The day of our people will come again. For all we know it could be tomorrow. What is a thousand years to the Kalt Einn? she challenged.
Yes, I know.
Our task is to protect the enchanted objects until that day.
But why did Haddi entrust us with such a thing? Did he know so many of us would be gone by now? Did he know what a burden this would be? How much I would fail?
You have never failed us, and you have never failed at your task.
Are you forgetting about the rings? I asked.
Losing the rings was not your fault. It was Torsten’s, which is why he never lets them out of his sight.
Back in the 1700s, we were in India, and Torsten had lost the rings to a ship captain sailing for the Cary Shipping Company. Come to find out, it was a rigged card game. It had taken several weeks, and our combined magic to find and retrieve them. They had ended up on a ship headed for the new world, and we had to reach through time to pry them from the drunken captain’s fist.
I am our leader. Everything that happens to us, or the objects, is my responsibility.
Perhaps, she replied. But I have always known you to be a man who trusted the will of the Fates above all else.
You believe my faith has wavered?
No, my love. Only that you are burdened by it.
