A Love Beyond Time [Song of the Muses]

Cursed for mocking Aphrodite, the goddess of love, Clio, muse of history and her lover are thrust back in time to the Salem witch trials and then the Italian Renaissance. Only love can save them both, but is it enough? Is their love A LOVE BEYOND TIME?

Miniature
(128 pages) Spicy

Excerpt:

"Pierus! My lord," she breathed and then fell upon one knee.

The man dropped the plate. A meager slice of meat slapped the cold, stone floor. Hard, crusty bread thudded. Unafraid, two mice hauled it off, each of them grabbing a corner like two eager workers. The vermin went unnoticed as the man swallowed hard, then shook his head.

"Pierus?" Clio raised her eyes to meet his troubled gaze. "You remember me?"

"I uh ... no," the man muttered, squeezing his eyes shut tight. A flood of scenery, sunshine and memories drenched his mind. He and this woman lying beneath an oak, making love in a vibrant meadow full of daisies, thick with plush clover. His eyes snapped open.

Clio stood and took his hands. "I knew I'd see you again, my lord."

He dropped her hands and cleared his throat. "You're being tried for witchcraft. Is this one of your spells?"

Clio reached for him in desperation. She thought he remembered if only for a second. A second is all it would take to remember a love like theirs, but he was mortal and humans never remembered their former lives or very rarely. The man stepped back again. "Clever witch. And I'd thought this was all such nonsense."

"Aye! It is, my lord! I was sent here to help the accused."

"Sent here?"

"Yes, by the gods!"

"The gods?"

"Well, mostly from Aphrodite. I'm seeking atonement for wrong doing and I..."

"You've lost your wits!" he blurted out, cutting her off. "There's only one god: the Father Almighty. Watch your tongue, woman! You've already caused enough trouble in Salem."

"No, you don't understand! Please, my lord!"

"Stop calling me that," he snapped. "I'm no lord! My name is Ben Hart. I'm the prison guard. I'm no king. I'm lord of nothing, except this god-forsaken place."

"Please, listen to me," Clio begged, grasping his hand. When she did, a surge of liquid energy soared through him. Clio caught him, barely capable of holding up the large man as he collapsed into her, knocked senseless. His crystalline blue eyes were glazed, staring at nothing. His breathing increased as she squeezed his hand harder, feeding him her energy, their memories together. Memories from another lifetime ... a lifetime centuries before, when he was indeed a king, king of Macedonia. His soul shuddered back in time. Back to the bath house within their palace where they lay together, intertwined beneath the water, reclining on rocks as servants poured wine. A group of musicians in the corner strummed on lyres and played flutes. He groaned as Clio whispered in his ear.

"Remember me, my love. Remember our love."