Hegira

By Ela Lond

This is a 30 pages (11,000 words) long fantasy romance set in Victorian period.

Amanda believed she was alone in the world and afraid of never being able to escape her uncle's greedy clutches, especially after he betrothed her to a complete stranger. But then three men burst into the house, interrupting the wedding, and take her away. The intruders call themselves Elementals, and she begins to rediscover her forgotten connection to them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ela Lond
• Release date: Nov 13, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301829545

Ela Lond

Ela Lond writes paranormal and fantasy aimed primarily at young adults. A lover of adventure and intrigue herself, she has long enjoyed exploring supernatural beings and the worlds they inhabit along with her adventurous heroes and heroines.

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Hegira

by

Ela Lond

SMASHWORDS EDITION

Copyright © 2012 Ela Lond

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Hegira

Amanda, with her skirts lifted high, more stumbled than ran past flower beds and sculpted shrubbery, the rain wetting her veil, her ginger hair and her white frock. Over her harsh and shallow breathing she could hear the noise of battle coming from the broken French windows of the villa behind her. She tore off the veil and threw it aside as she stomped over the freshly cut lawn, the heels of her white satin boots sinking into the wet earth.

Five minutes ago, she had been standing beside a stranger she had met an hour earlier, while her guardian, her uncle, insisted that she say 'I do' to the magistrate's question. She refused.

At the sound of crashing footfalls, she looked over her shoulder and saw the dark shadow of a man catching up with her in the twilight. Who was he? The groom? Or one of the three men that had burst into the drawing room, interrupting the wedding ceremony? Who were they? And what where they doing there?

She silently cursed the whiteness of her dress, the tightness of her corset and weight of her petticoats as she quickened her pace, hoping to reach the iron gate at the end of the garden. A night constable regularly patrolled the street beyond it.

Just a little bit farther.

Ten steps.

Nine. Help, she yelled. Help!

Eight.

Seven. Help! Could anybody even hear her through the thick curtain of rain?

Six.

Five. Please. Please, let there be somebody there. Please, help.

Four.

Three.

Two. With her last strength she threw herself forward. Her hands touched the iron gate, trying to open the bolt with her clumsy fingers as she stared at the empty street barely visible in the drenching downpour. Help!

A heavy weight fell on her, knocking her down and away from the garden path.

She shrieked, her heart beating in her chest like a frightened bird as she lay face down on the wet grass.

A hand pressed against her mouth.

She bit into it and kicked backward as hard as she could with her legs entangled in the wet cotton of her petticoats, glad that she hadn't worn a skirt with hoops.

Cursing filled her ears and fingers dug into the skin of her face as the weight on her pressed her deeper into the earth and the edges of her corset cut into her skin. She couldn’t breathe.

She expected a slap or a well-aimed punch, something to render her immobile and silent, a violence to put her in her place, something her cousin was so fond of doing.

Fingers released their painful hold and moved so that only a palm covered her mouth. It's me, James. I won't hurt you, a soft, gentle male voice said, so different from the one her future husband had used to shout at her when she had refused to repeat the wedding vows. I promise.

Like she would believe him. She tried to kick him again and flapped her arms around.

Calm down. The hand withdrew. Amanda, calm down.

Please, please, sir, she begged as she wiggled under him, hoping to toss him off, while