Veils, Book 2: The Veils Trilogy, #2

By Linda Mooney

Griffin and Natalia are still surviving one veil at a time, living life not knowing when another one might make an appearance, or where it may take them. Mountains, desert, summer or winter—there's no way to prepare, they just take what's thrown at them. Through it all their love continues to grow, and it's more than just because of circumstance. They've grown to rely on each other. Depend on one another. But they shouldn't get too comfortable…

 

They soon learn that with the storms, they're not only traveling to different locations, but different times as well. How far into the future or past will they go? When will it end? No one knows. All that matters is they have to survive, no matter what. Together.

 

Do they find strength in numbers, gain new allies, or are they safer with just the two of them? New enemies, old friends, and new revelations of their situation… They've developed a theory, and if it's correct, they could finally end back up where they started, but that could mean losing each other for good, which they vow never to do.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Linda Mooney
• Release date: Jun 10, 2020
• ISBN: 9780998532776

Linda Mooney

Linda loves to write sensuously erotic romance with a fantasy, paranormal, or science fiction flair. Her technique is often described as being as visual as a motion picture or graphic novel. A wife, mother, grandmother, and retired Kindergarten and music teacher, she lives in a small south Texas town near the Gulf coast where she delves into other worlds filled with daring exploits, adventure, and intense love. She has numerous best sellers, including 10 consecutive #1s. In 2009, she was named Whiskey Creek Press Torrid's Author of the Year, and her book My Strength, My Power, My Love was named the 2009 WCPT Book of the Year. In 2011, her book Lord of Thunder was named the Epic Ebook "Eppie" Award Winner for Best Erotic Sci-Fi Romance. In addition, she write naughty erotic romances under the name of Carolyn Gregg, and horror under the pseudonym of Gail Smith. For more information about Linda Mooney books and titles, and to sign up for her newsletter, please visit her website. http://www.LindaMooney.com

Book preview

1

Water

Rotten eggs.

Griffin Strong awakened with a start. He was unsure whether he’d actually smelled the tell-tale scent of sulphur, or if he’d dreamed it, but to be on the safe side, he sniffed the air. He detected nothing but the familiar tang of salt air coming from the ocean lying less than a hundred feet from the cave’s entrance.

Natalia stirred in his arms. His chest and groin remained pressed against her back and buttocks. They were both fully dressed, although they’d made love late into the night last night. When the threat of another veil sneaking up on them without warning was an ever-present danger, they’d gotten into the habit of slipping back into their clothes before going to sleep. That way, in the event they were forced to make a run for it, they wouldn’t have to do so in their birthday suits.

He strained his ears, listening for the sound of thunder or rain. All that came to him was the steady ebb and flow of the tide inching its way up the sandy shore. It would reach its zenith in another hour or two before heading out again. Once it was beyond the tide pools, he and Nat would raid the shallow holes for any trapped fish or crustaceans left behind.

She moved again, this time rolling over to face him. You awake? she whispered.

Yeah. I thought I smelled sulphur.

Her eyes widened, and she sat up in alarm, sniffing. I don’t smell anything.

I don’t either. Not now.

Maybe you dreamt it.

Griff rolled onto his back and shrugged. It’s possible.

They continued to listen to the distant surf. Or, more importantly, for the sound of an approaching storm. He absentmindedly stroke her hair. She rubbed her cheek on his arm.

How long have we been here? Three days?

Yeah. Three days, Griff confirmed.

Huh. Maybe all this shit is over with, Nat remarked. I mean, we haven’t stayed more than a day in one location. Maybe being here this long means the veils are gone, and everything’s back to the way it used to be. The wistfulness was evident in her voice, as was the hope on her face.

Seeing her expression in the light of the dying fire, he sat up. It’s a beautiful dream, but I wouldn’t pin my hopes on it.

Is there any way we can find out?

Find out how? We’re on some kind of island. You know that. We’re totally surrounded by water. We’re just damned lucky there was a fresh spring inside these caves, or else we’d probably be dead by now.

A faint rumbling came from outside. The sound was definitely not from the waves. Nat nervously got to her feet and walked over to the narrow cave opening.

I see lightning. There’s a storm brewing. I thought you said there would be two veils before a storm.

I was trying to make an educated guess. Does it look like it’s coming our way?

I can’t tell. Griff, what if it’s a regular storm, and not an acid one?

We’ll have to wait and see. Getting up, he went over and drew his arms around her waist. Together they stared out past the stretch of beach, into the nearly absolute darkness. The clouds masked any stars or moonlight, making it difficult to see anything.

Where’d you see the lightning?

She pointed off to their left. At that same moment, a jagged line of bright, neon green raced toward the horizon. Griff gasped and pulled her away from the cave’s entrance.

That’s one of those acid storms. We best retreat farther inside so we don’t get any of it on our skin.

What if it’s not coming our way? What if it bypasses us?

We can’t take the chance.

She resisted the pull of his arms. What’ll happen to the ocean after the storm rains acid on it? Will it kill the fish?

I don’t know. I can’t even begin to hazard a guess.

A shudder went through her. What if it’s rained here before? Have we been eating tainted seafood?

He understood what she was trying to say. If we’ve been eating tainted fish and all, I think we would’ve felt the effects by now, don’t you think?

He tried to urge her back inside the cave, when a hard gust of wind buffeted them. It slid around from the side instead of head-on, which told him it hadn’t originated from the storm they were watching.

Unless…

Nat, get back, he ordered, almost pulling her out of the entrance.

This time she obeyed. What?

I don’t know, but that wind isn’t coming from that storm. It’s coming from behind us.

She gasped. From another storm?

Could be. Let’s go over to the fire to wait this thing out.

Since when do two storms show up at the same time? She paused. What if it’s not a storm? What if it’s a veil?

Veils aren’t preceded by winds, he argued.

That we know of, she challenged. Ever since those veils showed up, we’ve tried to make sense of them. Just when we thought we knew what was going on, the tables were turned on us. We’ve tried to figure out why they started, and why things changed so much after we go through them. Why are we in the middle of farmland one moment, and in a desert the next? We’ve been in a jungle, on a mountain, and now this island. And, on top of that, one time it was the middle of winter, then it was summer, then the fall. We don’t even know what year it is!

Her voice was rising as panic started to overtake her. He felt the same fears threatening to overwhelm him. Taking her face between his hands, he kissed her, cutting off any further protests. It wasn’t meant to be a sexual kiss, but it was a loving kiss. One that conveyed his growing affection for her. She calmed and leaned against him, kissing him back.

In the few days since they’d found each other, he’d come to realize how much she meant to him. At first, he’d argued with himself that their mutual attraction was because of their circumstances. They were two survivors of a catastrophic event no one understood or had anticipated. They needed each other the same way a drowning person clings to a life preserver. But of the handful of people they’d encountered since the veils overtook the world, they’d quickly discovered they could only count of each other.

Another blast of wind whistled through the cave opening, throwing sand into the air and nearly blinding them. Coughing, Griff lifted the neck of his t-shirt over his nose to keep from breathing in the grit, when another gust swirled inside. This one was strong enough to extinguish the fire, plunging them in blackness.

Nat clutched him, burying her face in his chest against the flying sand. He enveloped her in his embrace and guided her to the far end of the cave without going deeper into the rear cavern. He didn’t know if the coming storm would penetrate the back area, or if it would even reach them. Either way, they needed to stay far away from any openings to prevent themselves from getting hit by the acid rain.

They remained in each other’s arms and watched what they could of the storm. The wind continued to blow fiercely against the island, and several times they felt drops of sea water reaching them.

Could this be a hurricane, you think? Nat yelled at him to be heard over the gale.

Or a water spout. Let’s hope it’s over with soon.

An unearthly howl began to screech around them. Griff wondered if his guess was correct, and a twister was descending upon them, when Nat jumped.

The water’s coming in!

She stepped back. He felt the water’s resistance against his boots. Bending down, he dipped his hand into the coldness that was almost at his ankles.

Griff!

He sensed her starting to retreat farther toward the inner chamber, but stopped her. No! We need to get out of here before the tide rises!

But the acid rain will scald us!

We can’t stay in here! he insisted. We could get trapped. We need to get above the water level. If we’re lucky, we might find a ledge or something to hide under.

They’d discovered yesterday that the small spit of land they inhabited was actually the upper cone of what had been a volcano, whose eruption from the ocean’s depths had created this solitary island. The inner part of the volcano was honeycombed with caves, but they’d held back from any further investigation for fear of getting separated. Or worse, falling into a crevasse and dying.

Griff, the water’s getting higher!

Come on! Hold onto me!

She clutched the waistband of his pants as he started to wade toward the cave entrance. The water was up to his calves and quickly rising. He heard the pounding of the waves coming from outside. The sound grew louder as it grew closer. Stark fear went through him as he realized at the last second what was about to happen. He turned to grab Nat when icy water surged into the cave, blasting them like a gigantic firehose, and sending them flying into a rock wall.

2

Afloat

Blinded by the spray, Griff fumbled for her. He no longer felt her hands holding on to him, and knew she’d been ripped away. He opened his mouth to call out to her, but cold sea water gushed into him. Spitting it out, he gasped for air.

The water was up to his chest and rising fast. In the total darkness, he screamed for her.

"Nat! Nat!"

Griff! Her answering cry came from the other end of the cave.

He tried to swim toward her, but the water’s pressure was too strong.

I can’t get to you! he yelled. Take a deep breath and see if you can swim out the entrance! Try to make it to the middle of the island! We can climb up the side of the cone if we need to!

What if the water doesn’t stop? He heard her spit and cough. Griff!

Deep breaths, Nat! Take several deep breaths, then come toward me!

He prayed the water swirling like a whirlpool inside the cave would sweep her toward him. With his shoulders submerged, he struggled to keep his face above the surface. Throwing up his hand, he