Title: Behind the Mirror
Author: Fay E. Simon
ISBN: 978-1-62420-150-9
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Excerpt Heat Level: 1
Book Heat Level: 3
TAGLINE
Emma and Ehrich fight for
their lives against a demon and its high priestess. They battle human
trafficking, a political coup, and their own inner demons.
BLURB
What would you do if your favorite
novel suddenly became a reality? What would you do if the handsome main
character of that novel fell in love with you? During a trip to Paris with her
friends, nineteen-year-old Emma King walks through an antique mirror and into
the embrace of Ehrich de Natois, the mysterious main character of her favorite
novel. Unfortunately, whether in books or real life, living happily ever after
just doesn’t happen. Emma realizes this when she is pulled into the "in between;" a place between
dimensions, a place much darker and more surreal than she could ever imagine.
.
EXCERPT
PROLOGUE
The
Wilds of Scotland, 1849
The shadows of twilight danced across the lush
meadows, stretching dark fingers out to the Mystic Pool of Aire in the garden
of Shylah, the Celtic Seer. A tall, hooded figure shrouded in a black robe
glided into view. It wore the hood pulled up around its face, leaving only the
yellow glint of its eyes visible. Kneeling by the pool, Shylah disturbed the
water when the dark shape overshadowed her.
Shylah cast her dark eyes upward to meet the eerily
glowing orbs. Still kneeling, she gathered her robe around her, shivered, and
offered the dark figure a seat by the pool.
"I know why you've come. You want to know your
future," she said in a delicate English accent. Looking back at the pool,
she continued to stir the water. When she stopped, the water swirled into a
ghostly white mist reaching out its tendrils.
The image of a young woman in her late teens
appeared in the center of the mist. She was dressed in clothes different from
their time, a white top with writing and dark blue denim trousers. Her soft,
brown hair gently framed her face, bringing out the sparkle in her dark,
flashing eyes. She laughed and talked with two other young people about her
age, a male and a female.
"How very strange," Shylah said.
"For you, I see two separate, yet intertwining destinies running parallel
to each other. This woman becomes a major part in both sides of your
future." Shylah reached out to disturb the vision, but a skeletal hand
stopped her. Its shockingly cold touch sent chills through her body, nearly
frightening her to death.
"You want to see more of this woman?"
The dark figure nodded, so Shylah stirred until
another image formed. "She comes from another time and space. At the
moment, she abides in our future, yet she knows you and everything about
you."
The vision in the pool showed the woman and her
friends watching flickering shadows on a wall where two lovers kissed. The
tender moment was interrupted by a dark-robed figure enveloping them.
"I'm not sure how, but this picture moves,
telling your story."
A bony finger tapped the side of the pool. Shylah
paused, trying to understand what the figure wanted. Again, it tapped then
pointed to the vision.
"You want to know how to meet her?" The
tapping continued. "I cannot tell. But without her, your second destiny
will be final: one of intense hatred, unrequited love, and certain death."
Shylah flinched at the icy, death-like touch of the skeletal hand.
"Do you want to see the second woman in your
future?" The hooded head nodded. Shylah passed her hand over the pool.
White vapors covered the image and dispersed, revealing a new one. A beautiful
young woman in her late teens with dark, cascading curls stood on the stage of
a grand theater. With a curtsey and a smile, she accepted the applause.
"They call her Cerise. She is the death you
cannot escape. She will never love you." Shylah shivered again and
reminded, "You cannot change history."
The shrouded figure stood abruptly.
Standing in the presence of a foreboding creature
made Shylah turn cold, and knots of anxiety formed in her stomach. She wanted
to jump up and flee into the night, screaming, but the creature's eyes gave her
second thoughts.
The skeletal hand grabbed her arm. Its angry,
vice-like grip brought excruciating pain, sending her to the ground screaming
and pleading, reminding the creature that she only prophesied what came from
God.
It released her arm. She fell to the ground
gasping, clutching her discolored limb. Again, a skeletal finger tapped the
edge of the pool.
Shylah rolled over, holding her damaged arm,
gasping and biting her lip. The tapping continued until she passed a shaky hand
over the pool.
Visions of both young women appeared. The one
entwined in a lover's embrace with a black-clad figure. The other wept softly
within the walls of a building.
The golden orbs blazing within the hood resembled
an artist's concept of the Grim Reaper. Shylah turned her face to the ground,
sobbing and pleading, as she cradled her throbbing arm. No longer could she
bear to look into its eyes. Her entire body trembled until her heart nearly
failed. Suddenly, the hooded figure turned and swiftly melted into the night.
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