I had been there, waiting, between the shadows, every Samhain for the past eight years—she hadn’t come➱ Sky Watcher Series by Heather Lynn Series Tour with Rafflecopter
I had been there, waiting, between the shadows, every Samhain for the past eight years—she hadn’t come.
Empty Shadows
Sky Watcher Series Book 4
by Heather Lynn
Genre: Historical Fantasy Time Travel Romance
Every
year, Charlotte faithfully performs her Samhain ritual, anxiously
awaiting her visit with Jessica. But Jessica has not appeared for the
past eight years. What could possibly have happened to prevent her
from being there?
As a stormy night sets in,
Charlotte’s friends arrive entangled in a web of theft and murder.
When an old adversary resurfaces with plans of their own, the
situation becomes more complicated, and secrets begin to
unravel.
In the aftermath, Charlotte and Ben
establish the “Doctor’s House”, offering comfort to the ailing.
An obscure summons leads them to a stranger being held in the
gaol—his presence in the schoolhouse a mystery, the turpentine and
striker in his possession leading to more questions. Who is this man?
What secrets does he hold? And what does he seek from Charlotte?
Between the Shadows
Sky Watcher Series Book 3
She
didn’t see this coming . . .
After glimpsing Jessica’s
grief-stricken face reflected in the window, Charlotte Williams—along
with her husband, Ben—is pulled back to the future she left behind
to help her friend. What Charlotte and Jessica share connects them
irreversibly, their lives now intertwined forever. Confident their
bond can transcend time, Charlotte returns “home” to her life in
the past.
Following a risky time jump, Charlotte and Ben
are reunited with their friends and family in 1819 and she resumes
her mission to pass on a dear departed friend’s heirloom ring. As
they begin to grow their own family, they face a series of
challenges, including a surprising opportunity for Ben. The ensuing
adventure leads to an inevitable encounter that tests their marriage
absolutely.
The love between Charlotte and her friends
spans time and space, helping her to define family and what home is.
And yet, illusion and betrayal threaten to obscure her reality. Will
she come through this with her family intact? How will Charlotte move
forward?
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Déjà-Vu
Sky Watcher Series Book 2
Charlotte
Harper’s best friend Jessica is shocked to receive a letter
detailing Charlotte’s journey back in time to save her possible
ancestor Elizabeth. The letter, written in 1819, speaks of the
consequences of Charlotte’s actions and asks for Jessica’s
help.
Charlotte’s adventure begins with a Wiccan ritual
and spell that takes her back to 1818. After arriving at a small town
on the shore of Owasco Lake, New York, she settles in, finding work
at the general store to earn her keep. While awaiting Elizabeth’s
arrival, she forms strong bonds with those around her, finding
herself part of a tight-knit circle of friends and deeply in
love.
Charlotte knows that walking through one door often
closes many others, so when she dreams of warnings from the future
she left behind, she wants to understand. Is Jessica reaching out to
her? What is she trying to tell her? Knowing that one single choice
can change who is your friend, your lover, who lives and who dies,
Charlotte must choose her path wisely so as not to make the same
mistakes.
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A Shadow in Time
Sky Watcher Series Book 1
Charlotte Harper’s life isn’t going as she expected. She had to change her course of studies, her ex-boyfriend has hooked up with her best friend, and she misses her mother desperately since her passing.
Searching
for meaning and direction, she pours herself into her family history,
researching her roots. When she learns of a possible ancestor named
Elizabeth from the early nineteenth century, who was hung for the
crime of witchcraft, she is determined to try to save her fate.
Charlotte explores the strength of her Wiccan beliefs and the powers
within her stones, preparing a spell to transport herself back in
time nearly two centuries.
She
arrives at a small, sleepy town on the shore of Owasco Lake, New
York. Intending to stay just long enough to save her ancestor, she
creates a cover story and attempts to fit in, but after waiting for
weeks with no word of Elizabeth, she immerses herself in the
community. She works in the General Store to earn her keep and uses
her knowledge of herbs and medicine to help those in need. She soon
forms strong bonds with those around her, finding herself drawn into
the simple and fulfilling life of a bygone era, and even falls in
love—more deeply than she ever thought possible.
As
the deadline of the execution nears, visions of the future begin to
plague her and those around her. Can she truly save Elizabeth and
undo what happened almost two centuries ago? With two lives on the
line, she knows she must face the consequences of meddling with time,
even if it costs her everything.
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Prologue
Time is always.
It is now, it is then;
it cannot be stopped, and it waits for no one.
I asked myself once again: Charlotte, have you lost your mind? Have you gone completely off
the deep end? My saner inner voice was becoming repetitive. In fact, it
was getting on my nerves! Not for the first time, I tried to reassure myself
that, yes, while even thinking about doing something like this would be
considered crazy, attempting it was absurd—yet, here I was. I was on my way to
Owasco Lake, New York, on what could prove to be the greatest, and quite
possibly last, adventure of my life.
As the bus travelled East on the thruway,
my mind was racing. My thoughts turned unexpectedly to the conversation I’d had
with Jessica yesterday morning. She’d called about dropping some boxes off at
the house. Given that I had some running around to do, I told her I’d leave the
side door unlocked for her or Michael. She reminded me of a letter that had
come for me, which she’d left on the table by the phone. As I told her I’d be
in touch tomorrow, I scanned the table and the floor at its base, but saw nothing.
After speaking to Jessica, I’d gone to see
my lawyer to review the handling of my affairs if I hadn’t come back within two
years. Chances were, if I hadn’t come back by then, I wasn’t coming back.
That’s assuming, of course, that I made it there at all.
I expected to be gone for a year or so, and
had suggested that Jessica and Michael live in my house during that time. It
was a win-win situation—my house would be lived in and looked after, and they
would have somewhere to stay together while they saved for a house of their
own.
Upon returning home, I was struck by how
empty the house felt. The butterflies in my stomach started fluttering. This is not an ending, I reminded myself. It’s the beginning of the adventure of a lifetime! I went
upstairs and released the staircase from the attic, climbing up with the last
of my boxes. I couldn’t help but smile as I looked around the large open space.
This attic wasn’t a gloomy, confined room; it was properly floored and
insulated, with two high, half-circle windows letting in the sunlight. Though
it had a low ceiling, I could walk through the middle without having to duck my
head. When I was little, it had been my playroom. We’d painted a wall pink,
hung a large blackboard, and taken up a little table, chairs, and tea set. I
still remembered sitting at the table with my biggest teddy, Super Fluffy, and
my bunny, Alice, sharing tea and cookies. When I was a little bigger, I’d come
up here with Jessica and we’d shared our secrets. Now the floor space was
occupied by a rolling rack hung with off-season clothing, boxes of Christmas
decorations, books, and keepsakes. I put the last boxes onto the floor and,
after one last look around, closed up the attic. It was now midafternoon and
all that remained for me to do was write my letter to Jess.
The weather this March had been remarkably
warm, and I was hot! First things first: let’s get out of
these sweaty clothes and freshen up. I dropped my clothes to the floor,
reached in behind the glass shower door, and turned on the water. I took down
my ponytail and brushed out my hair and when the temperature was just right,
stepped in. Mm-mm, this, I will miss! Questions
rushed through my mind. Would I succeed in making this journey? Could it even
be done? I had seen Elizabeth’s name on that list on my computer and made up my
mind to try to save her, but would I even be able to find her? Is it possible
to change things that have already happened? Would there be consequences?
Completely engrossed in my thoughts as I was, it came as a shock when Michael’s
face came into view in the open shower door. As I looked at him, confused, he
smiled and stepped in, pulling the door closed behind him. “Michael, what the—”
He cut me off.
“Charlie, when I realized you were in here,
I had to come. I just want to be with you one last time, to say goodbye.” His
hand ran up my arm, before his fingers lifted my chin, his touch was familiar.
I put up a valiant fight, I did, but he
knew me too well.
When he left some time later, I felt only
emptiness. I sat on the edge of the bed, turning to avoid my reflection in the
mirror. That door had closed some time ago. I thought back to the evening we’d
called it quits. We had both known that breaking up was the right thing to do,
that it just wasn’t to be. I’d come up to bed after he’d left and cried until I
had no tears left. A soft, unfamiliar voice whispered to me in my dreams that
night: “Every ending is a new beginning, Charlotte.” These wise words had stayed
with me.
It was about a year later when he and Jess
got together, and they were perfect for each other. I hoped that they would
have a good life together, I truly did. I felt no jealousy, no hard feelings,
though now I did feel a small amount of guilt. I suppose that my fear and
uncertainty about what lay ahead of me had caused me to grab hold of the
feeling of love and protection he’d offered, fleeting as it was. Without
question, it would be easier to move forward when I was no longer in the here
and now. Tomorrow would change everything.
Excerpt 2 Totems
Her eyes showed her bewilderment. “You said my guides
showed themselves to you?” The tone of Charlotte’s words reflected the wonder
she was feeling.
“Yes, and when they did,” he pulled up on a cord that
held a purse-like sack, resting on his back. Inside was a greyish-green
coloured statue of some sort. “When they did, this is what I saw.” He passed it into her hands. “It is a totem
pole. These are the guides that are with you now.”
She looked at it carefully, turning it slowly to see all
the details. “Here, on the bottom is an eagle,” she said, looking at him for
confirmation. “Above that a dove. And what’s this on top of the dove?”
“That is something I saw, that you did not. It is a
wolf.” She forced herself to hold his gaze as he looked hard into her eyes. “I
have told you some of what the wolf represents, but she also has a connection
to the moon and her energy. As you do.” He was watching her reactions. “Above
that, is a puma. She represents silent power and grace and she would be your
companion on a journey to other worlds.”
She looked back up at him in awe. He had nailed it!
“You made this?” she asked.
“Yes. We call this soap rock.”
Holding her totem firmly in one hand, she stood and
wrapped her arms around his neck. “Thank you, Keen Wolf. Nyah-winh. It is
beautiful and it represents,” her voice cracked, she tried again. “It
represents a lot, all of the time it must have taken you, and all of the
thought and care that went into it . . . Thank you.” She kissed his cheek.
Excerpt 3 Samhain
. . . After lighting the white Goddess candle and the red God
candle, I quietly welcomed them into my sacred Samhain circle where I would
work my will between the human and the spirit world. “So mote it be.” Then I
lit the candle in the jack-o-lantern, which was sitting in the West beside a picture
of my mother and one of Jessica. I did not intend to call my mum, she told me
that it was too difficult for her to come to me here; I simply put her picture
there as a reminder of her. “Jessica and Wiccans past, the veil between our
worlds is thin, please join me and celebrate.” I picked up the last candle, the
white one used to call Jess, and I anointed it with oil, as I spoke. This is
the part I’d been waiting for. I lit the candle, sat in front of the altar and
relaxed in order to allow our thoughts and feelings to mingle.
I
remembered the morning of my twelfth birthday. Mum and I had driven up to the
cottage with Jess the night before, singing together with the stereo most of
the way. The two of us had stayed up, talking and giggling well into the night.
In the morning Mum had made us triple chocolate pancakes, drizzled in syrup and
we were talking about what we would do for the day, it was my choice; canoeing,
swimming, and tanning were high on the list. Now, I sat in the candlelight
smiling as I remembered those happy, carefree feelings. The image changed then
as Mum stood up from the table and looked deep into my eyes, she put her hands
over her heart and smiled at me with wet eyes, unable, it appeared, to speak. I
thought, I love you too, Mum. From
the darkness, I began to hear Jessica’s voice. “I called Sarah this evening,
Charlotte, you and Sarah,” she said. Mum put her arm around Jessica and the two
stood smiling at me, and then it was Gracie who stood beside Jess. I looked at
Gracie and thought-asked, It’s true isn’t
it? They looked at one another before Jess turned toward me. “Yes, it’s
true Charlie, it’s true.” She seemed to be the only one able to speak. I
watched her as she turned her head to her right, I followed her line of sight
and what did I see? It was Gifted Hands; she was sitting in her chair nursing
Mitenah. She looked up as she became aware that we were in the room with her.
Her smile, as always, was beautiful. Jess looked back at me now. “I brought us
all together. Charlotte, you look . . . Charlie?” She sucked in her breath and
tears began to trickle from her eyes. “You’re going to have a baby? I can see its
glow within you. Oh my God, Charlotte, how wonderful! And Gracie—” she didn’t
finish her sentence, instead she glanced at me—I understood. To Gifted Hands
she said, “I thank you for being such a good friend to my Charlotte and for
helping to save her. She told me so much about you; I almost feel that I know
you. I wish you much happiness, Gifted Hands.” Looking back to Gracie, she
said, “Gracie, you must have the soul of Sarah Gray within you, for I have seen
it . . . You have been with Charlotte in two lives and you have loved one
another so very much in both. I thank you as well, Gracie, and wish you every
happiness.” She came back to me, as the others disappeared. “Please, Charlie,
while we can, show me what I’ve missed since you returned.”
Except 4 Thunder and Lightening
I lay my head on my pillow, and I think of her
. . .
I
can see November’s full moon and watch absentmindedly as the clouds slowly blow
across, dulling its glow. The last time I “met” with Jessica was just before
Holly was born.
Every
year since, I have set up my altar and decorated it with the colours of the
season—with pumpkins, apples, or a cob of corn. Each year, I have performed my Samhain ritual with
great care, hoping that this time, we’d be together, that this time,
that special window would open, and she would be there. But no . . .
I
do see her in my sleep sometimes but always in the unreality of a dream. We
haven’t had the opportunity to commune, to experience a connection of souls, as
we have in the past.
I
miss her so much . . .
Something isn’t right, but I have no idea what and
no way to find out. Well, that’s not true; I could return to her time, which
would be 2028, and see what happened, but I promised Ben I would never attempt
time travel again. It’s too dangerous. Nothing is guaranteed, and if I’m
honest, I, no we, were both lucky to have made it back the last time.
No, I belong here in 1834, and here is where I will stay . . . with my family.
My
sleepy thoughts turned to plans for tomorrow—Holly’s birthday. We didn’t do
birthday parties, but we did celebrate. Our family and best friends will visit
tomorrow afternoon for a meal of Holly’s choice and cake. Holly chose
hamburgers with all the fixins—she would eat them every day if she could. I
prepared everything today. By now, we had burger-making down to an art, but the
birthday cake—it was a bit lopsided.
It
had been a tiring day; I didn’t last long after tucking the children into their
beds. Robbie, now fifteen years old, still liked a hug and kiss goodnight from
his mum and dad, while Sabel was quite adamant that it wasn’t necessary, but
she never turned us away. Phillip had reached the ripe old age of twelve and
always asked for a kiss on the other cheek; for Jessie. He still spoke of her
every single day, unwilling to let her memory fade. The attachment they’d had
for one another was something he still felt strongly. Often, he would tell us
of dreams he’d had—dreams of her beckoning him to come closer, to share her
secrets.
I
fell into a strange dream, and Jessica was in it; she was bent forward, walking
toward me through some kind of dark tunnel. It reminded me of something you
might find at an amusement park, where the tunnel wall was lit with little
lights and slowly spinning clockwise, while you tried to walk through to the
other side. She was calling my name. “Charlotte, are you there? Can you hear
me, Char?” I was waving at her, trying to call out, to let her know I could
hear her, but no sound was coming from my mouth. She stopped walking and looked
around. “Whoa, it just got cold here,” she said under her breath.
I felt it, too. At the same time, I could almost
feel a presence in the cold, thick air, but nothing was visible in the dim
light. Jessie’s voice was calling, “Mummy?”
Something brushed past me. I gasped.
Then
there was another voice. It was coming from a bedroom down the hall, and it was
loud enough to enter my dream. “Jessie! Jessie, be careful!” It was Phillip. I
watched Jessica turn toward his voice. “Come in! Come in!” he said, and she
smiled.
Rolling onto my back, I awoke feeling goosebumps
crawling over my body. Phillip’s voice sounded eerie. Startled by a loud
crashing sound directly overhead, Hazel sprung straight up from where she was
sleeping on the bed. The house shook for several seconds; at the same time, a
bright flash of light filled the upper level.
“I heard it,” Ben said, sitting up.
The bedroom door creaked open. “What was that,
Daddy?” Sabel asked, standing in the doorway. “It was really loud.”
“Was it an earthquake?” my sleepy voice asked.
Phillip came to stand beside Sabel with tears
running down his cheeks. “I saw Jessie. She was coming to see me and then . . .
there was a loud noise and a flash, and she was gone,” he said, wiping his
eyes. “She’s gone,” he added in a whisper.
Heather Lynn, born in Toronto, Ontario, lives with her family just north of the city. Her education in biology and health sciences has supported an ongoing interest in physiology and the potential of herbal healing. In addition, she has been intrigued by the possibility and impossibility of time travel since childhood. When she's not writing, Heather enjoys family time, working in her garden, and learning more about the 'power' of stones.
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The cover looks great. Sounds really interesting.
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