Beyond The Old Green Door
Beyond
the Old Green Door -is where Urban Fantasy, Steam Punk Erotica, meets,
re-incarnation with a twist of magic and those sexy little bits everyone loves.
Can the
impossible really become possible?
Sherry's
world falls to pieces when the honeymoon she had planned in Rio with her
fiancée turns to a tragedy with his death in a plane crash. Can a twist of
fate, a wrong turn and a touch of magic find the love and passion she thought
she had lost in the arms of another? Or will her love once again be torn apart?
Can a
wish really turn back time?
EXCERPT-
With an exhaustive sigh, she rose and wandered down the
narrow rows of merchandise, examining many items but touching nothing. A
delicate aroma drifted through the air, and her nose twitched as it picked up
an intoxicating scent of sweet spice and roses. A
bittersweet smile spread her lips. Lachlan had arranged to have a bouquet of
red and white blossoms delivered to their hotel room upon her arrival. Attached
to the arrangement was a card that read, Love you, now, and forever.
Sherry wiped the tears from her
cheeks and glanced down. Through a haze, an unusual golden idol caught her eye.
The hair on her nape rose.
Where had she seen it? Visions from her dream last night
surfaced. Of course…the decadent couple embracing. With a mixture of dread and curiosity, she reached for the statue to examine it closer,
but she was halted by a voice.
“Are you sure that is the one you want?”
Sherry glanced up, her hand hovering above the statue, her
gaze traveling to the old man at the end of the row of shelves; tall and wizened, a long white beard hung to his waist and
tiny silver stars adorned his royal blue robes. If it hadn’t been for the
serious look on the man’s face and the hint of warning in his tone, Sherry
might have laughed. He reminded her of a character
straight from the annals of an Arthurian tale.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to startle you. I must
come as a bit of a surprise, but my clientele has come to expect a certain
amount of eccentricity from me.” His warm smile calmed her. “Hence the gown.” He smoothed his hands down his robe and gave a soft
laugh.
Sherry smiled back and nodded toward the idol. “It’s a
lovely piece,” she said, lowering her hand to her side. “Is it real gold?”
“Yes, but gilded only.” His gaze met hers as he wandered
toward her. “However, the piece is not for you. You
have suffered much tragedy and have no need for more.”
Still out of sorts, Sherry’s words came more harshly than
she intended. “Are you a seer? Do you tell fortunes?”
“I read people,” he said, hovering over her. “You have lost your parents and…” He peered at her as
if searching her mind. “Someone else you loved dearly.”
“Lachlan, my fiancée.” She glanced away from his
penetrating gaze. “We were to be married today.”
“Ah, yes, I see.”
She swung back. “Fine then, tell
me. What does my future hold without Lachlan? He was my world, and now all I
see is a bleak, desolate hole.” Mesmerized by the deep violet of his eyes
against his weathered face, she tried to look away, but failed.
The old man took her hand and rubbed
it between his gnarled fingers. “Do you really wish me to tell you? The truth
can be painful.”
“What does it matter now?” Tears escaped her eyes and
stained her silk blouse. “Surely the future can be no worse than the present.”
He squeezed his eyes closed and
spoke in a deep, sonorous tone, his voice sounding much younger than he looked.
“The future holds many paths,” he said. “But on one path only do I see your
man. Your lives are one, and you live happily together to a ripe old age,
surrounded by children.
“On another path, your man dies and you are forced to carve
out a life on your own. You never marry, and your life is lonely, but you
become a brilliant historian.”
He opened his eyes and dropped her hand.
She searched his face. “Is that all?”
“I could go on, but as I have
told you, only in one of your futures did I see your man.” His voiced softened.
“That is the question you wished to ask, is it not?”
Sherry stepped back and hid her disappointment by looking
over his shoulder into blank space. How she wanted to believe him,
but what he spoke of seemed unattainable. She could not allow herself to wander
down this path of dreams and illusions, no matter how much she wanted it.
She leaned forward and reached for the idol, but he caught
her hand again. “If you could ask for anything,
anything at all, what would it be?”
A stab of pain tore through her heart. “Why do you torment
me with such useless talk, and why have you stopped me twice now from touching
this idol?”
The old man laughed. “A question for a question, ah. I wasn’t expecting that. I think I am
beginning to like you.” His brow furrowed, and his lips curled into a smile.
“What can I say except to leave you with one thought?”
“Yes?” she said listening intently.
“True happiness is like a warm breeze that touches your life when you least expect it.”
Sherry shook her head. Crazy. There would be no happiness
for her without Lachlan. “Then you must know what I would choose,” she said. “I
want to see Lachlan alive again, go back five days, but that is impossible.”
He waved a hand before him. “And if you could select any
piece in my store, what would you choose?”
“I have already chosen, have I not? Drawn to this golden
idol from the moment I entered your shop, I would choose this statue.”
“Then let it be upon your own
head.” He shook his shaggy mane and released her hand. “You were given a
choice.”
Sherry plucked the idol from the shelf. “I don’t
understand—”
Her words came to her through a tunnel, and a vivid palette
of colors flashed behind her eyelids. Time ceased to
exist, and the old wizard disappeared like fog rolling out to the ocean.
Down…down…she tumbled into a pit of darkness. She burst through only to be
pitched into a tunnel of bright, whirling lights, and, still, she plummeted,
spinning faster and faster until all thought, all
reality vanished and only a feeling of terrible dread existed. She closed her
eyes, ceased her struggles, and allowed her mind and body to float free.
Until she came to a thudding halt.
Buy links: Amazon
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About the Author
Julie A. D’Arcy - lives in Wangaratta, Australia with her partner
Philip and her Tokenise cat Jesse. Julie has been a writer for twenty years and
has been published for almost as long. Her first two novels Time of the
Wolf and Silverdawn were first published in 1999 and the year 2001and
Shortlisted for several prestigious awards, including the PEARL and Sapphire,
with Time of the Wolf winning the 1999 RIO (Reviewers International,
Dorothy Parker Award) in the Fantasy category for Women’s Fiction. Both books
were also runners up in the prestigious Australian, R*BY Award run by the
Australian RWA.
Julie began writing seriously in 1994, and has been
published by ImaJinn Books, Mundania Press, Double Dragon Press, Eternal Press,
Noble Romance Publishing LLC, Moongypsy Press, Secret Cravings Publishing and Sweet
Cravings Publishing and is now at iHeart Publishing.
Watch for
Julie’s Tarlisian Sagas. The Dragon and the Rose, and Elven
Magick, andthe
re-release of The Cross of Tarlisand The Realm of the Wolf.
Her single
titles include: Silverdawn, Night’s Eternal Vow, Whisper of Yesterday,Spellbound,The
Shape of Destiny,Beyond the Old Green Doorand short GAY story, Encounter in
Paradise.”All with Amazon and other online stores or will be
soon.
You will
find Julie A. D’Arcy at: http://www.julieadarcy.com
Julie’s hobbies
include reading, making greeting cards, and creating video trailers and book
covers for other authors. She
loves to hear from people who have read her books. Please leave a review on
Amazon or Goodreads.
Web Page:http://www.julieadarcy.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JulieDarcy57
Blog at Wordpress: https://julieadarcy.wordpress.com/
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