Through Time Indefinite

By Catharina Shields

A timeless romance . . .

Siaylah (pronounced See-ay-lah) Valinski is a time traveler with supernatural powers. She's sent on missions by the unseen Powers That Be to protect great, historical figures when events surrounding them threaten their premature demise.
After a mission in ancient Egypt, where she saves the life of one of ancient Egypt's most influential and greatest Pharaohs of all time, Ramses II, she's transported to an era she prefers the least: late 1800's America.
She's dropped right smack in the middle of the boudoir of a saloon's "Lady of the Night" where she meets Nicholas Alastair, a handsome, sexy gunfighter and incorrigible gambler. Things get complicated when he mistakenly believes she's the woman he has paid for to spend the night with.
Despite their first, then second, confusing and uncomfortable encounters, they learn the truth about destiny, the undying soul, the ever-changing fabric of time, and that the power of true love really does transcend all space and time.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Catharina Shields
• Release date: Mar 6, 2011
• ISBN: 9781452465708

Catharina Shields

{PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR THE LIST OF MY AVAILABLE E-BOOKS} I've always enjoyed storytelling, ever since I was a child. My love for storytelling has evolved from hand-drawn comic strips, to creating hand-puppets - "Meemies and Fluffies" - for my younger brother and sisters' morning puppet show, to writing stories in longhand in spirals armed with only a Penmate pen while battling a stiff hand and dreaming of a day when I'd finally own a typewriter. Today, in my peaceful Southern California home near the mountains, I can't go a day without my computer and I now enjoy storytelling via my e-books, specializing in mystery, drama, Young Adult and paranormal romance. If you've read one of my books and like them, please leave a review, good or bad, and add me as a favorite author {a single click on a button to your left is all it takes}. Remember . . . reviews are tips for Authors.

Book preview

A timeless romance . . .

Siaylah (pronounced See-ay-lah) Valinski is a time traveler with supernatural powers. She's sent on missions by the unseen Powers That Be to protect great, historical figures when events surrounding them threaten their premature demise.

After a mission in ancient Egypt, where she saves the life of one of ancient Egypt's most influential and greatest Pharaohs of all time, Ramses II, she's transported to an era she prefers the least: late 1800's America.

She's dropped right smack in the middle of the boudoir of a saloon's Lady of the Night where she meets Nicholas Alastair, a handsome, sexy gunfighter and incorrigible gambler. Things get complicated when he mistakenly believes she's the woman he has paid for to spend the night with.

Despite their first, then second, confusing and uncomfortable encounters, they learn the truth about destiny, the undying soul, the ever-changing fabric of time, and that the power of true love really does transcend all space and time.

Through Time Indefinite

Published by

C. Shields at Smashwords.com

Copyright 2011 by Catharina Shields

Smashwords Edition

Cover Design by Catharina Shields

All Rights Reserved

Visit C.Shields' Smashwords Page

Author's note:

This is an original work of fiction. All characters depicted in this original work of fiction are 18 years of age or older.

This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

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Table of Contents

Chapter One: Beautiful Stranger

Chapter Two: Forbidden Fruit Is Sweetest

Chapter Three: The Sands of Time

Chapter Four: History in the Making

Chapter Five: Time to Travel

Chapter Six: An Error in Era

Chapter Seven: A Gambling Man

Chapter Eight: A Familiar Rogue

Chapter Nine: Death Becomes Her

Chapter Ten: Déjà vu?

Chapter Eleven: A Timeless Passion

Chapter Twelve: History NOT Repeating Itself

Chapter Thirteen: Not Stone Engraved

Chapter Fourteen: Together, Definitely

Chapter Fifteen: Love Transcends All

Chapter Sixteen: Horizon of Hope

Epilogue

About the Author

Chapter One: Beautiful Stranger

Egypt in Spring, 1279 BCE {Before Common Era}…

It was midmorning, but the sun already burned bright over the prosperous kingdom of Pharaoh Seti I of Egypt. Many were not yet awake, awaiting the uncomfortable heat of the day to drive them from their cots. For the harem maiden sitting alone in the gardens by the harem quarters of the palace, sleep was not essential thus awakening was not as well.

She was an oddity there, with fair skin glowing warmly from within. She was not fair of hair; her curls were as deep black as the deepest night. Her slender body was wrapped in a simple white tunic that left soft, glowing limbs bare to capture every whisper of cool breeze of the desert morning air.

She was alone, perched on the edge of a great marble fountain in the shade of a large tree. She was enjoying these rare, quiet moments of solitude, exploring the finer things of life in beautiful and mysterious, ancient Egypt.

Behind her, statues of graceful gods poured fresh water from urns into the large, rippling fountain bath. The escaping water spray helped cool her in the warming morning air, making her glowing skin shimmer softly with stray droplets.

Unlike most there, she donned a face-veil, but it was insufficient to hide her most striking attribute: her emerald green eyes. They resembled those of a cat, but not merely for their shape and color. They were as mysterious, comely, bold, and unwavering as any, and when her ire was aroused, fearless and fiery as well.

It was uncommon among the people of middle Egypt to don face veils for they were impractical in the dry, dessert heat. They were, however, quite popular and obligatory in Persia. But by Pharaoh’s royal decree, she, as the only maiden in his kingdom, was instructed to wear one, and to never remove it when not within the privacy of her quarters.

To disobey a royal decree was to invite certain death.

Hm. Now how would these taste upon my tongue? Do gods and goddesses eat? Do they taste? For if there is no taste, how can there be a desire for food? she said a bit animatedly as she looked at the small bounty of fruit in a bowl in her lap.

She was careful when selecting them that morning. This was, for her, no simple task. Although they were merely simple fruits, to her, they were as precious as the finest gold and silver, and the anticipation of eating them was a new and exciting prospect.

We shall see if they are as wonderful to the tongue as they are to the eye.

She took a banana from the bowl in her lap, and behind her veil, her lips pulled into a content smile as she began peeling the sweet fruit with careful fingers. She appeared to be highly curious about the simple fruit. Her emerald green eyes sparkled like precious gems as she removed the thick outer skin, gazing at it with intense focus and interest.

She did not choose the fruit out of the need to nourish her body, but out of pure curiosity. It had been some time since she’d known the pangs of hunger or the stirring of appetite. She missed experiencing such sensations. She feared she would forget the simple things that made one feel . . . alive.

A sound made her pause. She raised her head, and her shining eyes above her face veil looked curiously at a man suddenly standing in the lush green gardens. He stood a few meters away, looking a bit lost there. She had not heard him enter the gardens, and she was curious where he could have come from.

He was a tall one. Much taller than most, she noticed, and his face was not one common among the people of Egypt. He lacked the exotic features of traditional Egyptians. He’d been walking by, as if in search of someone, but then he paused when he came upon her.

She saw him slowly turn to look at her. His long, sleek, black hair blew softly back from a strong-boned face. Even from where she sat, she could see his eyes were of a light hue, much like her own, only . . . different. Blue perhaps?

He was well-built, like a warrior. He was handsome, tall, and dark, with lean, muscular arms and wide shoulders. The white tunic he wore added to his masculinity, something she believed very few men could accomplish successfully.

His jaw was much broader than any man’s she’s so far seen in the kingdom. His features were more of that of Norsemen, and as she slowly frowned in curious wonder, she realized she had never seen this one before. She also realized she did not feel guarded with him. He felt so strangely familiar to her.

He didn’t speak, standing almost as if he were surprised to see her.

Sabaah al-khay, she greeted, saying good morning in middle Egyptian.

He stared at her as if she’d grown a second head.

She set the bowl of fruit aside, and rose to her sandaled feet. It was strange, but she felt a powerful need to engage him. She wanted to speak to him. There was something so agonizingly familiar about him that it peaked her curiosity, and she felt compelled to discover what that was.

Do you not speak? she asked, tilting her head with a curious look. Come, she said with a graceful hand sweeping to the spot on the fountain wall. Sit with me so we may be acquainted, and I may know who you are.

He stared at her, but said nothing. He didn’t move. It was as if he could not understand what she said. Perhaps he could not hear? He certainly could not speak for he would have done so already.

She felt a pang of compassion, believing he might be one of many whose tongue had been removed for insubordination. It was one of the many brutal punishments meted out under ancient Egyptian laws, and unfortunately, quite common. It was a shame this might be the case with this one. He was such a beautiful man, almost perfect, but surely as perfect as any man could be, and it would be a sin to mar any part of him.

She folded fingers to her chest and gave him her gentlest look. I am called Siaylah. See . . . ay . . . lah, she said slowly, enunciating each syllable in the event he could read her lips. What . . . she said slowly, unfolding arms and fingers his way, are . . . you . . . called?

"SIAYLAH!"

She gasped as she heard her name thunder in the blue skies above. She snapped up her head, and searched the heavens, but all was quiet again. She did not hear the voices of the gods whispering, and she knew it was not yet time for her to go. But why did they call her?

All was eerily still. Even the breeze ceased, as if nature held its breath.

She turned her attention back to the handsome visitor, but then she blinked. He was no longer there. Her big eyes scanned the area, but he was nowhere to be found. She slowly frowned as she went searching for him, peeking behind the blossoming shrubs and low-hanging branches of trees, but it was as if he were never there.

**~~**

Minamon walked proud and tall into the posh harem quarters of his nephew, Pharaoh Seti I. His bronze body was tense, his gaze, searching. He was impatient, for he had awakened in a state of full arousal, and he sought relief from it.

He suffered this infliction from the night before. It had not left him since he was mesmerized by that one. The Forbidden One. She had danced for his nephew and Queen Tuya, and the moment he laid eyes on the lovely harem maiden, he could think of nothing else.

He attempted to ease his torment with his willing wife and her compliant sister. His futile efforts lasted throughout the night, and although they were exceptionally accommodating, it was to no avail. Neither succeeded in extinguishing the fires the Forbidden One ignited within him.

He was convinced she had bewitched him, and he was equally convinced she, and she alone, had the power to lift the spell. He had come to seek her out now, for he would otherwise go mad if this continued a day longer.

Was she sorceress? Perhaps goddess? She charmed and captivated him as none before her. The harem maiden with skin that glowed from within, had enchanted him with her supple body and sensuous dance. Her emerald eyes had mesmerized him, drawing his very soul inside her. Now, he decided, she would free him of her spell.

He would beg her if need be. He hoped it would not have to come to that, for that was not something a man as proud as he could easily do, but for her, for this Forbidden One, he would do it if she would but end his torment.

As his dark, kohl-lined eyes swept across the lavish interior of Pharaoh’s harem quarters, comely maidens in flowing tunics rose from their pillows to greet him. They quickly scurried to kneel before him, whispering his station and name with gentle voices and deep respect. He smiled to mask his disappointment and lack of interest for them, for he did not see the one he was eager to meet.

He was, however, pleased they were so willing. His pride swelled twice its size. He was convinced their zeal was for him, not his status, for he was a seasoned and celebrated warrior, and uncle to the great Pharaoh.

He believed they recalled the pleasures of his warrior’s body from days passed, and they craved more of it. It mattered not to him they were required to