Chapter One

Get into character, Gina. You're a fighter, a warrior, and this is your moment to save the world.

God, she loved these scenes. Deeply immersed in the role, her thoughts became the character's thoughts. She was now Melissa—archaeologist and adventurer, prepared for the battle to come, only needing the director's cue to spring into fight mode.

Funny how much of the real her was like this character, how closely her own thoughts mirrored those of this feisty adventuress. This was one of the easiest roles she'd ever played.

"And, action!"

She glanced around the stone keep, at the priceless artifacts on the walls. "You know, Rorg, I understand the allure of cashing in on all these treasures. But the difference between you and me is that I have scruples, and you have none. You take from the past and use it for gain in the future. I can appreciate its beauty, its history, but I could never remove anything that doesn't belong in our time."

"And that's why you fail, my dear Melissa," he said, taking one step closer.

Lost in the fantasy, she backed up against the stone wall, realizing she had only two choices: Die or jump. One misstep and she would be impaled on her opponent's sword. But she hadn't come here to lose.

She hated to lose.

The tip of Rorg's sword was pointed at her heart. It was a life-or-death moment. Hers. The next step would decide. She had only a second to think because the time warp was unstable. If she didn't kill Rorg soon and get the hell out of there, she'd be forever lost in a century that wasn't hers.

"Make your choice, bitch. I don't have all day."

Her lips curled in a sneer. She refused to show fear to this barbarian, this monster who had killed without remorse. "Gee, and I thought I'd have time to get a manicure first."

Decision made, she leaped from the stairs and landed with a thud on the cold stone floor, then made a mad dash for the broadsword hanging on the wall. Lifting it off with both hands, she whipped around, swinging just as Rorg caught up with her. He sidestepped her attack, laughing at her.

"If that's the best you can do, this won't take long at all."

"Oh, but I was just warming up." Arrogant asshole. Keep on thinking I'm just a weak woman and no match for you. Lots of now-dead men thought the same thing.

Her breath blew white smoke in the early dawn, the chill still lingering despite the quickly rising sun. The torches flickered, trembling as she rushed past. She scrunched her shoulders then relaxed them again, hefting the sword up with one hand and leveling it in Rorg's direction. Excitement drove her. She loved being in battle again. She lived for these moments.

He nodded appreciatively, obviously having assumed she'd never be able to hoist the heavy broadsword with one arm.

"You have strength, I'll give you that. But it won't help. You're an amateur, a little girl playing a game reserved for grown men."

"If only I had a dollar for every time I heard that one," she said, grasping the sword with both hands and swinging it in a half-circle toward Rorg's middle. His sword met hers and the clash of steel against steel reverberated as the time warp sizzled, transporting them back and forth between ancient times and present day, between a fully functional castle and ruins. Momentarily distracted, their swords locked at the hilt, Rorg looked around at the constantly changing landscape. Gina used that moment to backhand him, then kick him in the stomach with the heel of her boot. He grunted and stumbled back, but managed to maintain his balance.

Too bad.

Rage turned his face a mottled red. He roared and dove toward her, his hands pulled in to his chest and his sword pointed dead-on. She stepped back, then lunged forward as he retreated. A game of thrust and parry ensued, a seemingly civilized match of fencing fought with medieval broadswords that had been used by highlanders to forge their freedoms. She fought for freedom, too, to free the past from a devil of the future before it was too late and all their lives were irrevocably altered.

Copyright © 2007 by Jaci Burton.