Mark Bell is
being haunted.
Ever since his
friend, Samantha, drowned in the Treasure Pit, he’s been running from her ghost.
When his path takes him to a historical site and shipwreck in Texas, he hopes
the past will stay where it belongs. However, the more he uncovers, the clearer
it becomes that something is not right. Old friends need his help, and he
doesn’t know if he’s the man to get the job done.
Samantha
O’Rourke is a time traveler trying to survive in the past. Trapped in the
social pyramid of the French Court and the secret society her husband, Tristan,
defends, she feels more out of place than ever before. Nothing ever stops a
treasure hunter for long, though, and she soon finds herself caught up in
another mystery, only to have life yanked to a precarious perch, where only the
truly strong will survive.
Can the future
be changed? Or is everything set in stone, destined to follow only one course?
Excerpt:
The city was as amazing and
beautiful as I’d imagined. Cobblestone streets led the way past tall buildings
with designs that seemed to have been forgotten by my own generation, trees
lined the avenues, and all of it left me gaping. Paris even had a sewer system,
which I hadn’t been expecting. It was a relief, not having to watch where I
stepped, for the most part. Walking through the space was like going back in time
all over again.
Upon leaving the inn, I still
wasn’t quite ready to hire a maid. I wanted to see the city on my own and
didn’t know if she would immediately start following me around. While Tristan
had been right about my major anxiety being over something else, I was still
uncomfortable with the thought of ringing a bell and having a woman appear to
serve me.
Slowly, I made my way through
town, stopping at merchant carts and watching the people. It felt like a maze
of sorts, with some of the structures set into the old walls that had been
erected around the city. I arrived at places with no idea of how I’d gotten
there, despite having just passed through the area. At one point, I suddenly
realized I was on a bridge; one side of the path was all houses, built up tall
and skinny, but when I turned around there was a perfect view of the river.
Eventually, I found myself standing before one of the sights I’d most wished to
see—Notre Dame.
It was more than I expected,
probably due to the pictures I’d seen of the place. In my mind, it was just the
iconic front facade and towers, but the whole edifice stretched out behind
that, apparently bustling with people doing their religious work. The cathedral
was huge, reaching into the sky, her painted glass windows shining in the
sunlight. Bells rang in the tower and I closed my eyes, taking in the moment.
“Señorita?”
Gasping at the familiar
voice, my eyes flew open and I turned, bursting into the widest grin I’d worn
in ages. The man was wearing the plain, brown robes I’d met him in, his dark
hair still fashioned in a bowl cut. He looked every bit the pious priest, and
yet I knew him to be one of the most fun loving, romantic men on Earth.
“Father Torres!” We stepped
together, laughing, and threw our arms around each other. “How are you? I
didn’t know you were in Paris!”
“Sí, sí,” he said, squeezing me tightly. “I came on the ship from
the island.”
“Of course. We went on one
and you were on the other. I thought they would have dropped you off in Spain,
though.”
“No. I had to speak with the
men—you know which ones—about keeping the secret.” His voice lowered as he
stepped away, peering around cautiously. “What happened on Oak Isle—”
“Was horrible,” I interrupted
him. “Thank you for your help. I know you were worried about working with an
organization you didn’t feel you could support.”
“The Lord commands evil men
be stopped, señorita. I did what I
felt was right.” Pausing, he studied me over, smiling at my dress. “You look
very lovely. I suppose I should call you señora,
no? How is your husband?”
“Wonderful,” I replied
warmly. “He’ll be sad that he missed you. He’s working now, unfortunately.”
“At the Temple?” He watched
me expectantly, clearly thinking I had some idea of what was going on.
“I’m sorry, Temple?” I asked,
confused. “What Temple?”
“The one built by the Knights
Templar,” he stated. “It is across the river some way. Of course, I don’t think
they openly admit the Knights are still there, since they were cast out from
the church. I believe many artisans live and work in the area. It has been
standing for centuries.”
“Really? I had no idea
anything like that was even here.” Staring in the direction he pointed, I bit
my lip. Would the Templars hide in plain sight like that, using a building they
had erected and been removed from hundreds of years before? Had the Temple been
the very place that was ransacked when King Philip demanded the Knights
arrested?
“It is very large,” he
continued. “It served as the Knight’s prison when they were captured as well. I
thought Señor O’Rourke would have
told you about it.”
“We’ve been a bit more
preoccupied as of late.” Laughing slightly, I turned back to him, pushing the
Temple to the back of my thoughts for later. “I am to meet the King. As you can
imagine, I’ve had to learn how to be a proper lady for the occasion.”
“His Majesty, the King!” He
appeared both flabbergasted and pleased at the same time. “What an honor! I’ve
always wanted to visit the gardens at the palace, but I have never been called
to visit. Maybe someday I will get to serve in the chapel there. I hear it is
very beautiful.”
“Do you plan to stay here in
Paris? I thought you wanted to be a missionary.”
“I did,” he replied,
chuckling uncomfortably. “I am somewhat ashamed to admit that my time as a
pirate was not what I’d expected it to be. It was a romanticized version I
wished to play out. Now that I have experienced the real thing, I do believe I
am done with traveling the high seas for a time.”
My expression fell a little
at that, guilt overtaking me. “I’m sorry for what I put you through, Alfonso,”
I said quietly, looking at the ground. “If we’d never run into each other on
that dock, you might have had the life you wanted.”
“If I hadn’t found you on
that dock, you never would have made it on the ship and back to your husband.
The pirates would have killed me when the boat was overrun. You have nothing to
apologize for, my friend. I would not change the past for anything.”
Glancing up, I caught the end
of the bow he had honored me with. All the memories I had of him began flooding
my mind and I suddenly wondered if there was as good a library here as the one
he’d left behind at the abbey in Spain.
Author Bio:
Kamery is not the person who grew up dreaming of the day that
she would clutch her very own novel to her chest, tears brimming over the rims
of her eyes as she thought about how she'd written it herself, finally! In
fact, anything remotely like that didn't even happen until she was actually
holding her first book in her hand, amazed that she'd written it and wondering
how on Earth she'd managed to do it when it hadn't ever occurred to her to
write one until months before. Surprisingly, though, it was just what she never
realized she loved doing.
When starting out in life, Kamery had (and still has) big dreams to perform on Broadway. She loves music and acting very much, while she and dance have a love/hate relationship; she would love to do it and every form of dance decides it hates that about her, haha! The one constant she always had between the performing world and the book world were the stories, tales that transported her to other worlds and made her feel like she really could do anything. Finally, she decided she wanted to do that for someone else and sat down to write.
It's been a few years since she held that first book, realizing that she really liked writing and wanted to do more, but the love that blossomed in that moment has only grown. Currently, Kamery works from home in the White Mountains of Arizona, while taking care of her two adorable kids, a girl and a boy, and talking her sweet husband Jake's ear off about the insane amount of characters in her head who are ready to fight to the death for a chance at their own novels. She also gets together with other authors in the family and they all gab together, making up The Royal Court of the Queens of Romance. It truly is a wonderful life!
When starting out in life, Kamery had (and still has) big dreams to perform on Broadway. She loves music and acting very much, while she and dance have a love/hate relationship; she would love to do it and every form of dance decides it hates that about her, haha! The one constant she always had between the performing world and the book world were the stories, tales that transported her to other worlds and made her feel like she really could do anything. Finally, she decided she wanted to do that for someone else and sat down to write.
It's been a few years since she held that first book, realizing that she really liked writing and wanted to do more, but the love that blossomed in that moment has only grown. Currently, Kamery works from home in the White Mountains of Arizona, while taking care of her two adorable kids, a girl and a boy, and talking her sweet husband Jake's ear off about the insane amount of characters in her head who are ready to fight to the death for a chance at their own novels. She also gets together with other authors in the family and they all gab together, making up The Royal Court of the Queens of Romance. It truly is a wonderful life!
For more information on future releases and how
to contact Kamery, please visit her website www.kamerysolomonbooks.com.