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?

EXCERPT

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.

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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?

EXCERPT

Prologue

What did that bitch do to us? After all we’ve been through, how has it come to this?

I tipped my forehead onto the cold pane of glass, and squeezed my eyes shut tight, feeling a single tear roll down my cheek. I stubbornly wiped it off with the back of my hand, refusing to give it any power. Instead, I opened the window a couple of inches and listened to the sounds of the waves, smashing angrily, relentlessly onto the rocky crag below.

The sounds, though untamed and fierce, relaxed my mind; they allowed me to find the calm and the strength within myself that I was going to need. I watched a tuft of lovage that was growing in the cracks of the rocky cliff, blowing in the wind coming off of the North Sea.

A large, dark purply-grey cloud mass above the water seemed to be headed our way. I could see the blur of rain in the weather front as it made its way toward land. The storm would be here soon.

The door creaked behind me. “We’re back! Look what we brought for you.” I couldn’t help but smile at the little voice that was so close to my heart.

I bent to take the two bunches of wild flowers into my hands. “Oh, aren’t they lovely? You must have walked for miles to find just the right ones!” I smiled. “Thank you! What if you go see if Ronny knows where there might be a vase we could put them in? I’ll join you soon.”

They left the door open behind themselves and I could hear their muted voices bubbling through the hall—sounds that tugged at my heart. The unconditional love of a child is something that can’t be outdone. It can cheer you, even when you are in a deep dark place all alone. Without knowing it, they have the power to help you see the light, to make you see the good, to give you a reason to carry on.

As much as I loved this place, this was not where I wanted to be, not like this. I wanted to be with Ben. I wanted to be standing here looking out this window with his arm around my back.

I wondered what I would take with me as I moved forward from this.

I wondered what would become of us if I couldn’t.

‘Thump!’

Suddenly, there was a loud thud as a large, dark sea bird side-swiped the window.

Instantly, my mind was taken back . . .

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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.

EXCERPT

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.

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Book Trailer:

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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.

EXCERPT

I had wondered what I would do if this moment ever came to pass. This was it, do or die! In that instant, I would make a choice—which door would I open? I reached my hand out toward the door and slowly began to turn the knob. I had already made up my mind. I loved them, and they should know the truth. “OK, but I’m warning you, this is going to sound nuts.” Gracie and Ben nodded and sat back in their seats, waiting to hear whatever it was that had me in such a state. I took a deep breath and stepped over the threshold, without reservation.

“It all started about four years ago when I started college. I was going to become a nurse, working with doctors to care for their patients. I began the course and found that I enjoyed the knowledge I was gaining, but that I would have to find another way to use it.” I could see that they weren’t really following. “It will make sense soon.” They nodded. “Instead, I began to learn about herbs and nutrition. When I did this, I was required to pick up an additional credit. I chose a course on the history of witchcraft, thinking it would be something different from the science classes I’d been taking. And it was; I learned about the ridiculous attitudes people had in the past, accusing others of being witches and what they did to them.” I paused for a moment and looked from Gracie to Ben. They were waiting for me to continue. “One day, I was reading about people who had been accused of and killed for being witches and found a list of names of hundreds of men and women who had died for no other reason. One of those names was Elizabeth Gray Bruce. I told my mum because the name sounded as if it could have been someone from her mother’s side of the family. She agreed. That got me thinking, and I started to look back into my ancestry. From the information I could find, Elizabeth was found guilty of murder by witchcraft, and hanged on March 5, 1819. She was found in your village on February 15.”

I stopped and looked at them. They looked at one another confused; today was August 16, 1818. How could I know this?

“This course also introduced me to the study of Wiccan beliefs, which I found very like my own. I began to study and practice Wicca—I learned about energies and so-called magic, living within stones and crystals, and herbs, and how the phases of the moon affect many things. My goal was to try to come here and prevent Elizabeth’s death.” They looked at each other and then me, confused. “Gracie, Ben . . .” I swallowed hard and squeezed the moonstone I wore around my neck. “I was born in 1989. I left my home in Canada on March 22, 2012. I learned how to perform Wiccan rituals and made myself a spell, of sorts.” I heard Gracie suck in her breath. “I waited for the moon to be in the best phase for a travelling spell, a new moon, and I arrived here under your full moon.” I saw them look at each other, trying to comprehend what I was telling them. “I’m saying that I have come from the future. My plan was to find Elizabeth and save her, then return home. I don’t belong here; this is not my time.” Gracie looked as if she’d seen a ghost: her skin pale, lips opened slightly, her eyes focussed on mine, she was speechless. Ben’s eyes were unfocussed as he weighed this new information with what he knew to be fact.

“I wasn’t expecting to come here and fall in love with the two of you.” There was silence as they each tried to absorb this information. I took a deep breath, “I hope that you don’t feel deceived and want nothing more to do with me, but if you do, I understand.” I let out a sigh and let my head fall forward. I was afraid to look them in the eye.

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Book Trailer:

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About the Author

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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