Defying Time

By Mandy Rosko

The Nightshade Guild: Chapter Three - The year the Guild was lost in time.

The future is bleak now that the Nightshade Mages are gone.

Being thrown in time is not something Lisa expected to experience once she became a Nightshade Guild Mage. The fact that her lover, Jason, and familiar, tiny dragon Angus, were tossed in with her just made it personal.

Before they’ve even had time to learn the new rules of the year 2333, Lisa receives a message. She needs to find the piece of the time shard that arrived with her, retrieve it, and return to Ameria so she can help the Nightshade Guild mages stop the impending apocalypse.

They’ll have to play it cool while Lisa searches for the shard, Jason avoids the wandering eye of a giant gargoyle woman, and Angus puts up with being fed kibble.

They can’t escape fast enough.

Defying Time is Book 2 of The Nightshade Guild Chapter Three. The reading order for this chapter is:

Rocking Time by Lia Davis and Kerry Adrienne
Defying Time by Mandy Rosko
Illuminating Time by Renee Hewett
Dueling Time by Sheri Lyn
Darkest Time by Cherron Riser
Losing Time by Jennifer Wedmore
Time After Time by Louisa Bacio
Swing Time by Cassidy K. O'Connor
Time Maverick by Gracen Miller
Crucible Time by Landra Graf
Restoring Time by Lia Davis and Kerry Adrienne

The Mages of the Guild encourage you to read Chapter One and Two which should be read in this order:

Chapter One
Mated to a Mage by Cassidy K. O'Connor
Mage you Blink by Gracen Miller
Mage you Look by Abigail Kade
Shadow Mage by Lia Davis
Mage Crafted by Cherron Riser
Mage of Misfortune by Lily Winter
Mage in Hell by Sheri Lyn
Sunny Mage by Jessica Ripley
Half-Blood Mage by Landra Graf
Sea Mage by Louisa Bacio
You Mage Me by Jennifer Wedmore
Midwinter Mage by Kerry Adrienne
Mage to Disobey by Mandy Rosko

Chapter Two

Magic Mishap by Lily Winter
Magic Confined by Mandy Rosko
Magic Clouded by Renee Hewett
Magic Mayhem by Louisa Bacio
Magic Mourning by Cherron Riser
Magic Flawed by Jennifer Wedmore
Magic Deadfall by Gracen Miller
Magic Exposed by Lia Davis
Magic Reflected by Sheri Lyn
Magic Masque by Kerry Adrienne
Magic Malfunction by Abigail Kade
Magic Burned by Cassidy K. O'Connor

• Language: English
• Publisher: Celtic Hearts Press
• Release date: Feb 23, 2023
• ISBN: 9781949575323

Mandy Rosko

USA Today Bestselling and award winning author Mandy Rosko loves writing paranormal romances with werewolves, dragons and people with special powers. She is the author of the Things in the Night Series, Night and Day, and the Dangerous Creatures Series.She does M/F, M/M, a touch of medieval under her other pen name, Rizzo Rosko, and pretty much anything else she's in the mood to write (which makes things confusing for readers since that means she's too much of a flake to stick to any one brand).Favorite authors right now are anyone who writes dangerous and tortured heroes ;)If you want to keep up to date on the sexy guys in my hot new releases, then sign up for my Newsletter and receive a free copy of The Vampire's Curse: http://mandyrosko.com/contact.htmlAnd on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MandyRoskoRomanceThings in the Night Series:The Vampire's CurseThe Legend of the WerewolfThe Shepard's AgonyThe Dragon and the Wolf (A prequel novella)Night and Day Series:Night and DayThe Calm Before The StormAll Hell Breaking LooseBook Four Coming Soon!Dangerous Creatures:Burns Like FireA Shock To Your SystemAs Cold As Ice Coming December 8th 2015

Book preview

Chapter

One

One second, they were there. Then just… nothing.

All of the Nightshade Guild mages had been fighting against Sidrith, and they weren’t alone. Familiars of all kinds—such as Lisa’s little red dragon, Angus—and even spouses and partners had gone into the battle with the ones they cared about. Lisa’s boyfriend, Jason, human though he was, stood alongside them. He’d had his arms around Lisa, holding painfully tight while trying to pretend everything was all right.

Lisa might’ve been squeezing him back just as hard.

Angus had his claws dug into Lisa’s scalp as he kept a firm grip on her bun, hissing and spitting and ready to attack anything that came near them.

But the dramatic battle that had just ensued faded from Lisa’s vision, as did all the others.

Nothing was there.

And it was a true nothing.

It couldn’t even be called darkness because there was always something in the dark. This nothingness was a void.

Lisa couldn’t feel Jason’s arms around her or the frantic beating of his heart against her chest. She couldn’t hear his voice or feel his breath against her neck.

Angus could be dragging his claws up and down her back and legs, using her as a scratching post and she wouldn’t know it.

Lisa couldn’t feel her body. She couldn’t see. She couldn’t breathe.

She tried to scream, and maybe she did, but nothing came out. Her chest didn’t expand to welcome in the breath she needed to shout.

Was she dead? Was Jason dead? Angus would die without her. She needed to get out of there!

Suddenly, out of the void something came toward her. Slow at first.

She couldn’t see or hear anything, only sense that something else was with her.

The taste of cotton rose in her mouth and she felt the same muffling feeling in her ears. Then, yes! Lisa’s fingertips and toes tingled. She had fingers and toes again!

That tingling quickly turned to burning, spreading through her body like a virus. A small light pierced through the void like a glinting knife in the dead of night. Stars twinkled, and she was propelled toward them at a painful speed that made her wish for the void.

Like she was hanging out the back of a commercial airplane by a thousand tiny fishing hooks through her skin, flying behind it at a thousand miles an hour, the force around her threatening to stretch her skin right off her bones and burn her up in the jets.

Then, an explosion of light. The sensation of being hot and cold at the same time stopped. The hooks in her skin were gone.

Lisa came to a painful landing on her knees.

She threw up immediately, her stomach twisting, but at least she retched on solid ground.

After her stomach was emptied, Lisa pounded her fists against the asphalt, proving to her brain that it was real. It was there.

Even if it tilted and turned every three seconds on her.

She might’ve been dizzy, but this was more than that. Too heavy. Her body was drenched with sweat. She still felt the heat from the invisible engines that had burned her, but Lisa couldn’t stop trembling like she was cold.

You got this kid. Get it out.

Angus. He was here. He was alive.

That’s it, good girl, he said, his claws a gentle, comfortable scratching against her scalp this time.

She reached for him.

Hey! Hey, don’t puke on me now, Angus said, letting her grab him and hold him to her chest.

She didn’t try to wiggle free on her which was nice. He snuggled closer to her chest, his little warm body bringing her closer to a sense of calm than she thought she could be after something like that.

Y-you’re alive, she said, her throat feeling like she’d just swallowed some coral.

‘’Course, kiddo, Angus’ wings fluttered behind him. You think I was going somewhere?

Lisa didn’t know what she’d thought. She only knew that nearly losing him once was more than enough.

He was here, she was here, but it wasn’t right. Not yet.

Where’s Jason?

She looked around, expecting to see him puking his guts out next to her, but he was nowhere to be found.

Lisa didn’t like that. That same dread she’d felt while swallowed up in that darkness seemed to catch her now.

Jason had been holding her when that… whatever it was happened. So many people had been there.

Where were they all now?

That’s what she got for celebrating too damn soon. It’s what they all got.

Lesson learned, she supposed.

What have to find Jason, Lisa pushed herself to her feet.

Her wobbling, aching feet.

Her heels were gone, and it was chilly. The sky was gray, but a quick glance around and… everything was normal.

She was on a pier. The sounds of the ocean were all around.

Seagulls cawed, and there were some boats tied up.

A man in the distance glanced her way. She couldn’t make out any features, not with that shaggy gray beard of his hiding most of his face.

He tipped his hat to her and went back to his fishing line.

At least he wasn’t bothering her. Probably thought she was a drunk.

We need to get out of here, Angus whispered, holding himself close around her neck, almost like a scarf.

Agreed, Lisa said, and there was only one place to go.

Back to land.

And the vision of a city. A silver city made of glass and crystal that might have blinded her if the sun had been out.

Whoa, Lisa breathed. She tried to think of literally anything else to say to that, but nothing came to mind. Whoa.

That’s not like any city on Earth.

On… what? Lisa’s brain scrambled. Have you ever seen anything like that anywhere else in your life?

Angus shrugged, still holding close to her skin. Not really. Looks like Rivendell went to the future though.

Lisa took another look at it, paused, and… yeah, she had to kind of agree.

Despite the towers and glass and crystal, the slender arches between the buildings, the growing, well-maintained greenery, and the damn waterfall coming down from… she couldn’t tell where all that water was coming from. Why bring it all the way up the tower just for it to fall down again?

Like some oversized bird bath.

Let’s just go, Lisa needed to find Jason, and she needed to get off this damn pier.

The closer she got to land, the more people there were. The more fishermen, the more cars, and on